[HN Gopher] How to Build a Windmill (2012)
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How to Build a Windmill (2012)
Author : ff_
Score : 118 points
Date : 2023-12-22 12:21 UTC (2 days ago)
(HTM) web link (jacquesmattheij.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (jacquesmattheij.com)
| greenbit wrote:
| Especially enjoyed the part where they fabricate a custom 500
| watt, 54-pole (if I counted right) out-runner alternator
| essentially from scratch. Sheet metal was cut!
| dbrower wrote:
| So, at his site, 10+ years ago, his wind produced more frequent
| power than PV would have, at 3x the cost of a commercial
| solution.
|
| Even then, PV would have been more cost-efficient. Now with
| storage probably even more so.
|
| Small wind is a mug's game except in very specific circumstances.
| dylan604 wrote:
| sometimes, it's not about the money.
| pstuart wrote:
| Indeed. It is a fascinating journey and he even notes it in
| the article: "...even though from an
| economical point of view this project was an absolutely
| terrible loss the amount of satisfaction of seeing a dream
| like that come true is truly amazing"
|
| I hope he sees the post hit the front page and shares any
| updates on it.
| bruce511 wrote:
| I sooo want a wind turbine to supplement my solar, but as you
| say, I just can't make the economics work.
|
| For starters, wind is a lot more mechanical. Meaning moving
| parts. Meaning maintainence, storm care, and so on.
|
| For another it's more obtrusive, large, high, creates some
| degree of noise etc.
|
| It's not exactly cheap. My inverter could handle it, but
| between the mounting and turbine, it's some real cash.
|
| The argument for it just falls apart when I do the math. For
| less money and waaay less hassle, I could just extend the
| solar.
|
| So I love the -idea- of wind but the economics of it just don't
| work at personal-scale (yet?)
|
| Personal Hydro also looks interesting (but alas I have neither
| the elevation, nor river for that). For a while I researched
| ocean wave (especially shore wave), but I dont live by the sea.
|
| Ultimately we use what we can get, which for me is solar. I get
| plenty of wind here, which is why it seems a waste to not use
| it, but again, economics...
| cyberax wrote:
| There are commercially available wind turbines, rated for
| 1-20kW.
|
| My partner's parents installed such a system in Oregon, they
| live off-grid and use it to minimize their propane
| generator's use. A 3kW system was around $7k in total.
|
| It doesn't make much sense if you have a grid connection, the
| payback time will likely be at least 15 years or so. But it
| makes sense for an off-grid system.
| spockz wrote:
| What is the longevity of such a wind turbine? How much
| maintenance goes into it, both hours and money for parts?
| 15 years is quite a long time.
| cyberax wrote:
| The maintenance needs to be done about once every two
| years or so. It requires lowering down the mast and
| inspecting the bearings. Both are pretty easy to do.
|
| It's a simple system without a gearbox, the only moving
| parts are the rotor and the brakes.
|
| The turbine is supposed to last for 20 years, and it can
| probably exceed that.
| onlyrealcuzzo wrote:
| How many kwh per day does the 3kw system cost?
|
| 2 of those could, theoretically, power all of a typical
| house's electricity if they got anywhere near 3kw on
| average.
|
| $14k to not need the grid would be a deal.
| adrianN wrote:
| Big commercial onshore turbines run at something like 20%
| peak on average. Your tiny system would likely be much
| worse.
| dotancohen wrote:
| You would need energy storage as well, not to mention
| spare parts.
| cyberax wrote:
| You won't really be able to power a house consistently
| with wind turbines because there are long periods (many
| days) without enough wind. No amount of storage can
| compensate for that, you'll need a generator or a grid
| tie-in.
|
| The average capacity factor over the last year was about
| 30%, and they live in a rather windy location.
| 082349872349872 wrote:
| Note that the original uses (pumping, grinding) of windmills
| were for high-torque, low-speed applications.
|
| In principle, gearing should make the low-torque, high-speed
| motors that one can drive via PV their equivalent or better.
| I'm no MechE; what's the situation in practice?
| apitman wrote:
| Was in the Netherlands recently and toured an old windmill.
| Highly recommended. The way they reuse the same core equipment to
| perform various jobs is awesome. Plus it just sounds cool.
| dang wrote:
| Discussed at the time:
|
| _How to build a windmill_ -
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4579932 - Sept 2012 (53
| comments)
|
| also:
|
| _How to build a windmill part 2: Parts, nuts, bolts and blades
| (2012)_ - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10791461 - Dec
| 2015 (7 comments)
|
| _How to Build a Windmill, Part 2: Parts, Nuts, Bolts and Blades_
| - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4584772 - Sept 2012 (10
| comments)
| neonate wrote:
| https://web.archive.org/web/20231222123505/https://jacquesma...
| sandworm101 wrote:
| But is this actually a wind _mill_? This is a turbine, a
| generator. A windmill does _milling_. It is connected to
| mechanical devices that do mechanical work such as milling flour,
| rather than a generator that creates electricity.
|
| The inside of a working windmill are more complex and beautiful
| than any turbine.
|
| https://d1dqs20vqfxmh2.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/201...
| tremon wrote:
| So what does a textile mill do? Does it grind cloth into fine
| dust, or does it something else? Is the sawdust produced by a
| sawmill its primary output product?
|
| The word mill is overloaded. In Dutch, these are two separate
| words: molen, a singular noun describing a machine using a
| rotational mechanism for powering some industrial process; and
| malen, a verb describing the milling of particles into flour.
| In this case, the article describes a mill of the first kind.
| 48864w6ui wrote:
| If the brits and not the yanks had taken the lead in
| production hw, we would still be saying "mill" instead of
| "ALU".
| mauvehaus wrote:
| One suspects there's a certain amount of grinding in
| Fickmuhlen.
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