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.

 

[rd_macgregor]

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

Variety is the spice of life!

 

[GGB]

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?

I've got a Koenders Windmill which aerates one of our ponds, and it works great. Since I set it up, I have not had to do anything to that pond, and have had virtually no scum. Before the windmill, I had to put $200-$400 per year in beneficial algae to keep it under control. A this rate, it will pay for itself in chemical costs in just a couple of years, I don't have to spend time to monitor, and it also looks great.

I got lucky on mine, as I found a used one. I really wasn't sure I wanted to spend the money for a new one when I wasn't sure how it would work, but now I wouldn't be afraid to buy a new one. Besides Koenders, there are several other companies in the market. Do a google search to see what's available. I think a windmill is a great solution to aerate a pond, especially if you don't have a ready access to electricity.

GGB

 

[RxRatedZ71]

Well, i didn't intend to let this thread die out. Ive purchased the lumber and most of the sac-crete to finish the project. Here are a few pics: one is a single side being completed and the other is the 5' fan. Hopefully the weekend will allow me to be quite productive. Im gonna wait until it warms up before i attempt to form & pour the slab for the base.

 

[crbr]

Thanks for the pictures

 

[hr3]

Looks like the fan blade I have but mine has a fixed rear wing,, If yours has a grease able front bearing you might want to put an axel cap on it,, Mine got water in it in the first few months now that it's capped it's doing much better,,

Keep the pic's coming as you build the frame,, mine is on a steel pole but like the looks of the wooden structure ..

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

Any info on the project and cost of parts ?, I plan to start mine come April 30/ 32 foot tower 6/8ft fan. I want a constant stream and 12 volt power

 

[RxRatedZ71]

So far, the head cost me $200, knocked down from $400 b/c the guy was moving. The treated lumber is $150 & another $100 in crete bags.

The footprint measures 62" square. I was planning to widen it to 68-72" for the pad. I dug out where i want my pad and it think its gonna be about 8" thick in some areas. Im estimating 20-30 80lb bags. Does that seem like enough weight for a base or is it overkill? I figured if its gonna be 20' in the air, our Oklahoma breezes of 50+mph could provide some significant forces on the unit. I would hate to see it topple over. I would anticipate the wood to fail prior to tipping over with that much weight at the base.

 

[RxRatedZ71]

My next question is how to anchor the tower. I dont want to cement the posts in. Im thinking about some big eyebolts embedded in the slab. Then cabled to a few eyebolts in the interior of the tower using turnbuckles to keep it cinched down. I thought about embedding a mobile home anchor/auger and then fasten that to the underneath of the tower's head. Ive got sandstone and shale about a foot down. Im not sure if that anchor could bore through that stone..

 

[philbuilt]

My next question is how to anchor the tower. I dont want to cement the posts in. Im thinking about some big eyebolts embedded in the slab. Then cabled to a few eyebolts in the interior of the tower using turnbuckles to keep it cinched down. I thought about embedding a mobile home anchor/auger and then fasten that to the underneath of the tower's head. Ive got sandstone and shale about a foot down. Im not sure if that anchor could bore through that stone..

Nice tower build. I bought the 20 tall Koenders aeration wind mill this past spring for my pond.
The Tower has 3 sides and the anchor consist of (1) 1-1/2" pipe 3' long driven into the ground
2.5' and bolted to each leg. Total of 3 pipes. So your base would be more than enough. Hurricane
Sandy didn't even phase it. By the way so far it's working great for the aeration.
Keep the pics coming.

 

[RxRatedZ71]

Moved the tower today. Rather difficult to maneuver a 16' wide unbalanced load thru a 10' gate. Here are a few action shots. My wife and son helped supervise and stabilize, respectively.