Windmill plans??

[RxRatedZ71]

I may just have to try both positions and see what works best.

 

[zzvyb6]

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.

Not quite so. I have 4 windmills and they all work according to this:

Yes, there is a pullout system that is operated by a winch or an over center pullout lever. A pullout tube rides around the pump rod and does not turn with the motor or tailvane. It stays aligned with the tower. At the top end of the pullout tube is attached a chain which travels out of the motor case and rides on some pulleys out to the tail vane spine. When you drop the lever or crank the winch, the pullout tube tightens the tailvane chain and draws the tail 90 degrees to the fan. At the end of the travel it engages a brake band on the fan hub which stops/clamps the fan rotation. This is only done when service is needed (oil or pump repair, or water tank is full). Or you fear a strong wind will cause some damage.

Otherwise, the tail spine and vane are offset in the top view from the motor shaft (and fan center by a good amount: 8" - 12" ). When the wind vector drives the fan, it tends to turn the fan axis relative to the vane and is restrained by a properly sized spring. If the wind gets very strong, the fan will turn almost 90 degrees to the tail and will stall out. As the wind dies down the spring pulls the fan back into the wind vector thus creating a stable self-regulating system. When you watch all this happening, the vane stays with the wind and the fan rotates relative to the vane while still revolving. In severe 60+ mph winds, my mills are completely stopped and the brake bands are automatically engaged when the spine hits a buffer spring. This system is used on virtually all brands of new and vintage windmills since the late 1800's.

I'm going to string some Christmas lights on the fan of on one of mine tomorrow using a slip ring to power them as it turns. If I can remember it, I can take some close up pictures of they way this all works if you are interested.

 

[Willl]

if you are interested.

Very interested.

 

[zzvyb6]

How's this. Ought to be more clear now...

 

[CharlieG]

Can anyone comment on the use of windmills for the purpose of pond aeration? There are a couple of companies that sell windmills just for this purpose. A link to one here: Koenders Windmills for water aeration

Do these really work? I have a 2 acre pond that would be the right size for one of these windmills, just not sure if they really do the job of aeration or would I just wind up with a nice windmill?

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Not quite so. I have 4 windmills and they all work according to this:

Yes, there is a pullout system that is operated by a winch or an over center pullout lever. A pullout tube rides around the pump rod and does not turn with the motor or tailvane. It stays aligned with the tower. At the top end of the pullout tube is attached a chain which travels out of the motor case and rides on some pulleys out to the tail vane spine. When you drop the lever or crank the winch, the pullout tube tightens the tailvane chain and draws the tail 90 degrees to the fan. At the end of the travel it engages a brake band on the fan hub which stops/clamps the fan rotation. This is only done when service is needed (oil or pump repair, or water tank is full). Or you fear a strong wind will cause some damage.

Otherwise, the tail spine and vane are offset in the top view from the motor shaft (and fan center by a good amount: 8" - 12" ). When the wind vector drives the fan, it tends to turn the fan axis relative to the vane and is restrained by a properly sized spring. If the wind gets very strong, the fan will turn almost 90 degrees to the tail and will stall out. As the wind dies down the spring pulls the fan back into the wind vector thus creating a stable self-regulating system. When you watch all this happening, the vane stays with the wind and the fan rotates relative to the vane while still revolving. In severe 60+ mph winds, my mills are completely stopped and the brake bands are automatically engaged when the spine hits a buffer spring. This system is used on virtually all brands of new and vintage windmills since the late 1800's.

I'm going to string some Christmas lights on the fan of on one of mine tomorrow using a slip ring to power them as it turns. If I can remember it, I can take some close up pictures of they way this all works if you are interested.

My mill IS our source of water, not up for ambiance. My brother and I put it up and maintain it. Sorry that I was not technical enough in my simple explanation.

Oh and as can be seen in the picture, a great reason to not have a wood tower.

 

[zzvyb6]

My mill IS our source of water, not up for ambiance. My brother and I put it up and maintain it.

Oh and as can be seen in the picture, a great reason to not have a wood tower.

That's a great picture and a good reason to have one or more. Some owners have tanks up in the tower to deliver a reasonable amount of water pressure. You must raise the pump outlet or have a secondary spout on the drop pipe. BTW: There is a seller on eBay who has new and used parts for Aermotor and lots of other brands and sizes of windmills, including tower parts. Keep yours oiled and check the governor spring regularly. I use rubber tarp straps as a backup on my Flint & Walling mills. They sag when the steel spring is good. When they have tension in them, its time to climb.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

That's a great picture and a good reason to have one or more. Some owners have tanks up in the tower to deliver a reasonable amount of water pressure. You must raise the pump outlet or have a secondary spout on the drop pipe. BTW: There is a seller on eBay who has new and used parts for Aermotor and lots of other brands and sizes of windmills, including tower parts. Keep yours oiled and check the governor spring regularly. I use rubber tarp straps as a backup on my Flint & Walling mills. They sag when the steel spring is good. When they have tension in them, its time to climb.

The tank in the picture is just for the animals. We have a 10,500 gallon tank 75 feet in elevation up the hill about 3000 feet away. My brother is a dealer for Aermotor and Fiasa mills. Parts are no problem. We actually have another 12 & 16 footer that need to be put up sometime in all our spare time.

A couple of more pics.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

love the windmill pics. I tried to buy an old one about 20 yrs ago but couldn't agree on his price Guy had replaced it with a new one, the old one was very worn and needed a lot of work.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

love the windmill pics. I tried to buy an old one about 20 yrs ago but couldn't agree on his price Guy had replaced it with a new one, the old one was very worn and needed a lot of work.

We did a 12 footer for a guy years ago. He paid someone else to get it down and transport it to his place. Apparently they torched the legs on a 40' tower and pulled it over. My brother told the guy he should just get new everything, the guy said to just fix what he had already bought. The repairs ended up costing more than if he had just bought everything new.