Windmill plans??

[RxRatedZ71]

I've always wanted to have a windmill on our property. We have a perfect elevated, rocky outcrop in our backyard. I know you can buy the 8' ones inexpensively at TSC, but i want to build a wooden one that is more to scale. Does anyone know of any free plans online for a reproduction. I know sometimes the Ag schools will offer PDFs of various projects.

 

[SandburRanch]

I've always wanted to have a windmill on our property. We have a perfect elevated, rocky outcrop in our backyard. I know you can buy the 8' ones inexpensively at TSC, but i want to build a wooden one that is more to scale. Does anyone know of any free plans online for a reproduction. I know sometimes the Ag schools will offer PDFs of various projects.

*****************************************************
Free plans online seem somewhat difficult to obtain but about a 3 hour drive to the north west to the small town of Shattuck will put you in a location that has a neat looking windmill museum from what I can see on their web site. And they just might have some information where plans could be obtained.

SHATTUCK WINDMILL MUSEUM

 

[zzvyb6]

For what you would spend on a wooden reproduction, you can buy an old original and stand it up. Ebay has quite a few options. I have several on the property and another one going up soon.

You could try Craigslist, too. Two of mine came from there.

 

[RxRatedZ71]

Great! I've checked CL locally but it seemed the motor heads were in the $1500-2k range. Haven't tried Bay yet. Im sure there is some old rancher out there reading this post thinking he'd s got one laying out in his north 40 that he'd like to get rid of...(hint, hint)

 

[zzvyb6]

Use searchtempest.com to hunt for stuff on CL by zipcode.

For example:

There's one for $975 in Seminole.
One for $750 in Blackwell,
And a complete one in Gateway AR.

Take a trailer and some wrenches and 2 long ropes. Unbolt two legs ompletely. Unbolt the other two legs partially so the remaining bolts act as hinge pins. Tie an end of each rope to the top of the tower. Pull by hand with one rope. Tie the end of the other rope to your truck's front bumper and over the top of the cab. Then have someone back it up slowly, VERY slowly while you gently pull the first rope.

Take the tower apart in two equal length sections and put them on the trailer intertwined (one within the other). The head end probably has ball bearings in the mast cap, so collect them up. Take the fan off to make lifting the parts easy. Then take her home.

Some days I just go out there and stare at them. Its also fun to climb the tower and take a look around. No mosquitoes at 30'.

Here's the next project, as soon as I decide where EXACTLY I want to put her. Has an observation deck. Just bought a used spiral staircase for the interior so the squeamish can enjoy the view (as well as me when I'm too old to climb a rusted out ladder).

 

[TheGoose]

You forgot about the draining the oil part.

They sell a 19' wood tower complete with functional head at a good discount. Look up "American West Windmill", they sell the Aermotor 702 clone, but they have a special 19 foot model that is mostly for decoration but will still pump a small amount of water.

I just set a ~20' tower and 8 ft 702. I like windmills also, someday I plan to have my own.

Use searchtempest.com to hunt for stuff on CL by zipcode.

For example:

There's one for $975 in Seminole.
One for $750 in Blackwell,
And a complete one in Gateway AR.

Take a trailer and some wrenches and 2 long ropes. Unbolt two legs ompletely. Unbolt the other two legs partially so the remaining bolts act as hinge pins. Tie an end of each rope to the top of the tower. Pull by hand with one rope. Tie the end of the other rope to your truck's front bumper and over the top of the cab. Then have someone back it up slowly, VERY slowly while you gently pull the first rope.

Take the tower apart in two equal length sections and put them on the trailer intertwined (one within the other). The head end probably has ball bearings in the mast cap, so collect them up. Take the fan off to make lifting the parts easy. Then take her home.

Some days I just go out there and stare at them. Its also fun to climb the tower and take a look around. No mosquitoes at 30'.

Here's the next project, as soon as I decide where EXACTLY I want to put her. Has an observation deck. Just bought a used spiral staircase for the interior so the squeamish can enjoy the view (as well as me when I'm too old to climb a rusted out ladder).

 

[sfloggie]

Tyler,
I owned 80 acres in Arcadia until 2006. We sold it to Dr Christopher Barry. He put a windmill above an old pump. Call him and ask if you could see it and ask where he got it. He is a diehard scrounger.

Chris is with ST Anthony in OKC and is quite busy, but a great guy with wealth of knowledge about the farm.

Jim

 

[RxRatedZ71]

Man, lots of info to sort through here. I do appreciate all the feedback. Looks like the old era of the windmill hasn't been completely forgotten. Now I just have to find a way to sneak it by my wife. This may be a fly-by-night project. Always easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, right?

 

[RxRatedZ71]

Went today to pickup a windmill kit. The head is from http://windsco.com and it was already assembled by a local dealer. He was trying to get out of the business and had a 5' headkit marked at 40% original cost. I think he was wanting to make some space, seeing as he is moving within the next month. Anyhow, the kit came with a set of detailed, step-by-step instructions on assembling a wooden tower. Mine will be 20' in height when the project is complete. Now, I've got to dig a footing or pad and buy the lumber. Stay tuned for coming pictures. Here are a few from the mfc website.

 

[Willl]

Rx, maybe you could explain something to me.

In the 2 pictures you posted from Windsco, on one head the tail fin is straight out the back and on the other it looks to be sideways.

Are my eyes playing tricks on me ?

 

[crbr]

Thanks for the pictures

 

[RxRatedZ71]

After talking with the guy, i asked the same thing. He said it can go either way, depending on preference. However, he did point out that straight out allows the fan to spin much faster and is not a good idea in real windy locations. I clearly need it angled here in Oklahoma.

 

[wyeguy]

Windmills used to have a chain you could pull to shut them down. It would pull the tail sideways, locking the wheel so it wouldn't turn, & not pump water if you didn't need it. Or shut it down in a storm so it didn't "run away".

 

[Willl]

I was kinda thinking it had something to do with speed control.

I wonder if any vary the amount of angle themselves, like a built in governor of sorts.

 

[jbooth]

Rx, maybe you could explain something to me.

In the 2 pictures you posted from Windsco, on one head the tail fin is straight out the back and on the other it looks to be sideways.

Are my eyes playing tricks on me ?

Don't know about the Windsco brand, but the old time windmills had a lever that turned the tail fin to the side to stop rotation. Did not alway stop the mill dead still but actually worked pretty good. For the most part the ones that were out in the pastures were just set to run all the time with an overflow on the tanks.

 

[RxRatedZ71]

I need to clarify something, this is not a "pumping" windmill. I just wanted one strictly for ambience & looks only. However, i believe you are right in that you could lock down the wheel on the Aeromotor designs. Truth be known, i probably could fabricate something to swap in a fully functioning head should i ever decide to drill a well.

 

[crbr]

good project

 

[/pine]

FWIW...
Not sure if this applies windmills but it does to most turbines etc...
I learned when I was researching water wheels it is best to make the number of blades/paddles etc. etc. a prime number to "minimize aerodynamically induced resonances"

 

[Furu]

The earlier posters who stated that it was a control mechanism were correct.
The vane is to turn the blades into the wind. So when it is "straight out" it puts the blades into the wind-stream so they can spin with the wind speed. If the lever is adjusted to pull the tail to the side the vane will turn the blades so that the blades are not 90 degrees to the wind but parallel and thus should not spin or at least much. It is basically just a weather-vane for turning the blades to the angle to the wind that is appropriate for what you want. Back in the early 60's we had a working one in SW Kansas and it did not spin at all when the vane was pulled 90 degrees.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

When the tail of a windmill is parallel with the fan, the unit is turned off and does not spin. As the brake adjustment wears in, the fan will still spin a little. As far as furling out of the wind, with an Aermotor windmill, as long as you have the furling spring set as light as it will go, the mill is safe for 100MPH winds. My 12 footer has seen 80MPH + and has held up fine for the last 12 years.