My 10' turbine and 8' turbine.
In designing my original mill everything I could do wrong, I did. The entire design concept was flawed from the get-go. But it taught me a great deal of what not to do. After much research on wind power I decided to build a axial flux machine. I could get away mounting a smaller turbine on ham radio towers. As a ham I collected several towers and now could put them to use.
I live in a rural area where wind is in no short supply. I have kept records of wind speed for many years so I had a good idea if this was a viable project. I live on top of a hill surrounded by mostly open fields. The only problems of not enough wind are my own buildings. MN wind map.
The project has been great fun and a tremendous learning experience. I believe most people really do not understand just how much electricity they use in a day. I started reading my meter every day at the same time and kept records of how much we used and why. It’s a real eye opener.After switching to compact florescent lighting and shutting down computers and turning lights off when we left the rooms, along with replacing a few energy hog appliances, we were able to cut our electric bill by almost half. And it did not hurt.
Can you save electricity with wind/solar? Sure, but producing your own power is way more costly than buying it from the power company if the grid is nearby. But not nearly as fun.............
What follows is a few pictures of the process of building a turbine at home. It's not intended to be a "How To" guide. Just a collection of pictures taken building my 8' mill.
My first mill.
Can't believe I ever flew this thing........
A trip to my local steel yard to buy the required steel. Enough steel for several mills.
The McNeilus Wind Farm in Dodge Center Minnesota. McNeilus is also where I buy my steel. I believe it is the largest private wind farm in the world.
The frame of the turbine and the basic shape is welded together.