windmill wheel fan

Dave Straub · Feb 3, 2019

Hi.. Being in the windmill restoration business I have build several windmill wheel fans. One a 6' and another 8'. Powered by electric motor and using a speed reducer. Now am going to build a 9 blade 12' fan. But will be powered by hydraulics. Am researching a hydraulic motor that needs to be super quiet. The hydraulic lines will be going to the floor level where the hydraulic pump and forward/reverse/speed valve is located. Anyone have experience with hydraulic motors that are quiet? There are different types and most appear to be noisy.

zzvyb6 · Feb 3, 2019

Why only 9 blades ? I'd go with the Baker 36 blade fan, myself. It's the most dramatic, although the F&M Model 37 was claimed to be the most efficient in moving air. I have a Baker Heller Aller wheel on the side of my barn attached to a shaft driven by an electric motor at about 25 rpm. Quite a breeze considering that it's back up against the siding.

BTW: I sure would not want hydraulic fluid dripping on my head or a barn floor for that matter. And what happened to the windmill forum? I'm not able to get on anymore.

Dave Straub · Feb 4, 2019

The windmill forum has changed hands. To get on the new one go to: paul@vintagewindmillforum.com

Nope, will stay with the 9 blade unit. Have to keep the weight down. Besides that too many blades will have prop wash. (wind turbulence)

3Lfarms · Feb 4, 2019

In my experience with hydraulic test stands, the power source/pump is lots noisier than the motor. What is providing the power?

What RPM do you need from this hydraulic motor? If you could direct drive the fan with a high torque motor, I bet it would be pretty quiet.

Dave Straub · Feb 5, 2019

I'm thinking of using a small car power steering pump. The pump doesn't need to provide more than 100-200 psi. The motor needs to be bidirectional so fan can rotate both directions. Also the two hyd lines going to the motor need to have a low pressure relief valve back to the reservoir to prevent hi torque in case someone operating the motor control valve lever goes from hi speed forward to high speed reverse. The wheel RPM will be around 20 rpm max. So will need a gear reduction between motor and wheel Haven't researched that yet Zero turn mowers have a very low rpm motor.

texasranger556 · Feb 5, 2019

What sort of horsepower do you think you're needing? From there you can determine pressure and flow, and size the motor accordingly.

Dave Straub · Feb 5, 2019

For the 8' fan I built I used a 1/3 HP 1750 rpm electric motor and used a 60/1 speed reducer then a 2/1 v belt reduction. This gave me 14.5 rpm. This was adequate. Two reasons for the belt reduction. 1st I was concerned that the start up load may be too much at the time the motor shifts from start phase to run. The belt had a spring loaded idler pulley that gave a delay for tightening the belt on motor start up and allowed for a smooth start up. Another benefit was when motor was shut off the tightener relaxed and the belt slipped in the pulley and allowed the wheel to coast to a stop. 2nd. The wheel fan acts like a loudspeaker and radiates motor noise downward. Much of the motor noise is lost through the belt. The motor is also isolated from the frame with rubber stud mounts.

The 12' fan will weigh at least 4 times the 8' so I will estimate i will need 1-2 HP to run the Hyd pump. Keeping in mind the relief valves will open up and keep the torque low on start up until the start up load decreases
The object is more for effect and less to move air.

I'm sure it will take some experimentation to get everything right.

Ford850 · Feb 5, 2019

Dave Straub said:
The windmill forum has changed hands. To get on the new one go to: paul@vintagewindmillforum.com

Nope, will stay with the 9 blade unit. Have to keep the weight down. Besides that too many blades will have prop wash. (wind turbulence)

That's an email address. Here's the site's link in case someone else was curious (like I was).

https://vintagewindmillforum.com/

herm0016 · Feb 7, 2019

i would love to convert one to generate power. finding them in decent shape is difficult and too many people are willing to pay a lot for damaged ones or part. cool that you guys have them turning.