Moving a windmill

[cowboy357]

I,m not sure if this is the right place to post this or not . But it looks like a project to Me .

I have an old dempster windmill about 40 foot or more, tall that I,m wanting to take down & Rebuild & move it elsewhere on the property to provide water to My small pond . This has no hinges on the bottom like some smaller ones that I have seen before so it could be layed down safelly .

It is also in the middle of a few trees I might have to remove as well to get it out of there . I also have very limited access to get any type of crane truck in Our driveway because it is lined with low trees .

I Do Most everything by Myself & other then going up & taking it apart piece by Piece if even posable. are there any other options that anyone has any experience with , Or should I just forget its there ? .

I,ve enclosed some pics allthough not very good . Thanks for any input . Bob

 

[cowboy357]

Sorry I guess I should have listed the equipment I have available. 12,ooo pound forklift with 8000 Lb lift capability. 2 - 28 hp 4wd tractors with loaders & 3 4wd pickups for posable dead weights . Thanks Bob

 

[DANOCHEESE]

I cut one down with a saws-all a few years back. Ther eis not that much metal to these. You may want to look at taking off the top section and moving it in two pieces. THe gear at the top is very heavy. Maybe rig up a gin pole and lift the top piece down and then fork the bottom section over to th enew location. Gin the top section back up.

I would love to have the one I cut up now that I ahve a spot for it. It was in the middle of a new subdivion and peopel worried kids would climb it.

 

[Wis Bang]

State had a fire lookout tower near our cabin that was all angle and bolted together w/ each section numbered. They took it apart to re-locate it.

Does it have 'sections' that could be removed as units? Set up a gin pole to solve the crane clearance though a small hudraulic truck crane or a job site forklift [Lull] should fit the driveway...we managed to put an 18' long aggitator into a 18' tall tank w/ a Lull...I think it's max lift was 40'.

 

[cowboy357]

Thanks Guys for the suggestions . Its Buryed in the trees enough I cant make out how the sections are put together but I Believe it will all unbolt starting from the top .

I First have to kill the Poison stuff around the base & do some limb trimming . If & when the wind lays down I,ll climb it & check it out closer & maybe take some better pics .

The good thing is theres several trees close I can rig up a block & tackle to tie off to Remove the bolts & take it down one stage at a time Using the forklift for the counter weight .

Also Theres no rust on the tower or fasteners so that shouldn,t be an issue . Once again thanks & any more suggestions are welcome .

My biggest problem is I,m not a big fan of being up 40 foot in the air. . Bob

 

[Aquaman]

I,m not sure if this is the right place to post this or not . But it looks like a project to Me .

This is EXACTLY the right place to post this. Thanks for the pics!!

 

[tommu56]

I took one down by cutting the legs on one side cutting loose and the side of the angle for the other 2 and used the steel as a hinge.
I rigged up a gin pole out a heavy duty extension ladder and used my truck as dead weight and just backed it up to lower it after starting it over with a comealong.

tom

 

[cowboy357]

I took one down by cutting the legs on one side cutting loose and the side of the angle for the other 2 and used the steel as a hinge.
I rigged up a gin pole out a heavy duty extension ladder and used my truck as dead weight and just backed it up to lower it after starting it over with a comealong.

tom

Thanks for the input Tom . I was wondering if that was posable . How tall was that one ? Any Idea of how much they weigh ? This ones around 40 foot or a little more . Bob

 

[tommu56]

Thanks for the input Tom . I was wondering if that was posable . How tall was that one ? Any Idea of how much they weigh ? This ones around 40 foot or a little more . Bob

about 30 - 40 ft
it didn't have any blade left on it.
the frame was light about 100 lbs per section avg
gearbox weighed about 150lbs

the fame is pretty flimsy.

I had the ladder set up about 25ft a chain from the ladder to top and a doubled up 1/2 rope to my truck and guy ropes to sides to keep it plumb.

I took it down because I wanted to us it at my cabin but the gear box was worn through the bushings and in to the cast iron shafts were worn 1/3 away so i ended up scrapping it

tom

 

[cowboy357]

Thanks again Tom , Thats the kind of info I was looking for . The Blades & rear fin on mine are gone as well , the winds ripped them off awhile back pushing the trees limbs into them so I,m hoping the head is ok.

At Least its starting to sound posable to do safelly & that was My biggest concern . Thanks again to all. Bob

 

[Scooby074]

Like mentioned above, id probably rent a all terrain forklift . They have a pretty long reach and are quite nimble in those sorts of places (all wheel steer). Id likely rig up some sort of a cage for the forks to work out of and remove it piece by piece (pr section by section if not too heavy)from the top down., I imagine the rental on one wouldnt be outrageous for the weekend.

A genieboom would also work, but wouldnt have the capacity of the forklift.

Looks like its going to be an interesting project. Keep us posted.

 

[dynasim]

When I was growing up, we tilted them over to move them. We did some relatively big ones that way. Take the top head off and, observing safety precautions, tilt it. It is hard to tell from your picture if you have a clear path.

It is likely that dempster has a weight for them, but I don't think it is that much.

Chris

 

[zzvyb6]

Hope you are not afraid of heights. The secret is to never look UP. Look down all you want. I took down a 32' tower with a good fan and motor a few years ago and set it back up at my ranch. Here's a few tips:

A gin pole is a 4x4 lashed to one of the legs of the tower at the very top. You want to have an eyebolt at the top which extends well above the top of the gearbox. Use this to remove the fan as necessary, tail and gearbox. They are loose at the top so you want them off before the tower comes down. You really need 2 people to get this done. One to attach the hooks and line and the other to run the tackle. A smart move is to use a truck on the ground in case the person below is a lightweight. You may need more rope for that method, though in case you are using more than 1 to 1 on the pulleys. The center of gravity of your empty tower is about 2/3 of the way up the tower. So, if you use a rope to pull the tower from the top, and another rope on your truck to hold the tower back, you can drop the tower in one piece using a slow pull on the tower rope and someone who knows how to drive on the holdback end. If you have some doubts about your abilities in using this method, instead of cutting (better to unbolt) all the legs, just unbolt 1/2 of them and use the remaining ones for hinges. Since its angle iron at the bottom, you will need to saw thru one side of the angle iron to allow it to bend in the ground plane. If it gets away from you, it probably will bend the tower so take it slow. Erecting it all back up is the reverse. A front end loader sure helps a lot to get the lift started. You need to stake the ground legs to prevent them from slipping when you pull. You also need the restraint rope because the tower may carry thru if you pull too fast and it could come down on the pulling side/person/vehicle.

Its really simple but attention to details and doing prep work pays off in the end. Assembling the tower in sections is a slow, painfull and possibly dangerous process. There's just no good place to stand. If you are really good, have the cemented in ground anchors already in place when you put the tower back up. If its for water pumping, you need to get the well dug FIRST so you know it was worth your time. That's my 2 cents. I did it all by myself by controlling the pull and holdback ropes together. I used a ground pulley to run a return line back to me.

The only real trouble I had was the outside temperature. It was -20 below windchill when I climbed the tower to put the fan on the gearbox. I used my beard to hold the fan bolts while I fumbled at getting them in the driveshaft hub 1 at a time.

She's still standing !!!

 

[cowboy357]

Thanks for the input Jason & Chris . I do have a 8000 lb capacity forklift But I,m not sure of the reach , I,ve had it about 20 foot . But its Pretty soft ground back there so I doubt it would be much use other then a dead weight Or using it for the tipping puller because of the mast & Cage Protection in case something went wrong .

Also thankyou zzvyb6 for the detailed explanation . There is no Blades or tailpiece on it As they were pretty much ripped off during a windstorm a few years back , Allthough They were pretty well tore up I,m now wishing I would have saved the pieces .

That being said I,m Wondering if its necesary to even remove the gear box before attempting to lay it down . Its Surounded by big trees on all sides Except for one little clearing that You can see in pick 1 & 5 that it could be pushed that direction after some tree branch removal .

If & when I can get it down , Would it be posablle to Remove the lower tower section to Shorten it some as I would not want it quite as tall as it is now as it will be out in the open .

I,m even figuring worse case scenerio that its not rebuidable without a lot of Expense . Still Putting a well down Putting the WM over it & Using the base for a pump house & it would just be for looks if that makes any sense . If any one has pics of theres I sure would like to see them if posable. Thanks again for the great input. Bob

PS . I see Your in Manhattan Chris , The damage that Happened to this WM is from the same storms that did the damage up Your way a few years back.

 

[zzvyb6]

These pix are from a windmill museum in Indiana.

 

[cowboy357]

Great pics, Thanks again zzvyb6 . I never Realized there were so many different types . Very interesting . I,ll let Ya,ll know how it goes . Bob

 

[tommu56]

If & when I can get it down , Would it be posablle to Remove the lower tower section to Shorten it some as I would not want it quite as tall as it is now as it will be out in the open .

As long as there isn't any thing to disturb the air flow I dont think it would be a problem.
Use the top 12" of lower section for the new base to bolt the uppers to.

I'd leave the top 12" bolted on the next section use the rest of the leg steel tack them in position so when you pour the base with the angles in it will lign up correctly

tom

 

[dynasim]

If it was hit by those storms, it must be some sort of stout!

Good luck.

Chris

 

[cowboy357]

Thanks Tom that makes sense . It will be more out in the open so I beleve going 8 foot or so shorter shouldn,t cause any problems .

Thanks Chris , The Only damage was the Blades & tail section because the broken tree linbs blew into it . If it wasn,t surounded by the trees I Beleive it would allready be down. . Bob

 

[RobS]

These pix are from a windmill museum in Indiana.

Hey zz, where is this windmill museum? Might be worth a road trip! Thanks for the pics.