Wind Generators, Rpm

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lanejm

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Jul 9, 2002
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Ray,

I can't answer the question definitively, but I have seen videos of these in operation and I'd guess they ran at about 10-15 rpm. One can do a little math. I'd guess your blades are about 75 ft long. At 50 rpm the blade tips would be moving at about 260 mph. That seems a little high. At 10 RPM, they would be moving at 50 mph. I assume you are using a direct drive from the motor. You won't be able to get it to go much lower without gears. DC motors just aren't designed to work that slowly.

Mike
 
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RAY METIVIER

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WIND GENERATOR, RPM

MIKE

Im sure you are correct as to the rpm.

As you will see, no room for gears, already had to make the housing 3/16" higher to fit the motor.

Im not saying I will give up, but until I find a better way, I'll have to live with what I have
 

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Biggles

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Oct 23, 2002
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G'Day Ray.

Great idea and great modelling.

Don't know if you have tried it, but have you investigated non model railway motors?
Say from a firm that specializes in small motors.
There are plenty of applications in the electronics world.

Are the posts hollow?
If so, it might be possible, if the diameter is large enough, to have a belt drive from a geared motor below the bench.
 
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tomfassett

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I drive by these things two to three times a month. I just returned from Palm Springs and checked them out in a good stiff wind. They were indeed turning at about 60 RPM, well above the normal 25-30 RPM. If you wanted to get a slower speed, the only way other than gears that I can see is to go with stepper motors. These are the little motors you find inside computer controlled equipment like printers, etc... Some of them can be very small (I have some that would fit in a Z scale loco and leave room...):) I work for a computer POS company and do a lot of bench repairs so I save all the little goodies when I part out a piece of worn out gear. You would need the controller with them as they have a specific drive system and can't just be hooked up to a DC source. Check an electronic parts store that sells robotics and experimenter kits. I know there are a lot of them on the internet, I just don't have any URLs at hand. Do a search on "electronics" and "robotics parts" and you are bound to find all sorts of stuff...

Tom F
 
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RAY METIVIER

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WIND GENERATOR, RPM

Tom F

Thanks for the information, believe I will live with the 30 RPM I able to run at.

I now have a small fortune in them now, and need not spend more.

Thanks again.
 
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tomfassett

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Personally, after looking at the photos you posted, if you have these things running smoothly at 30 rpm, with as good as they look, I'd be ecstatic to be in your position. Those things are GREAT! I was eyeing the model airplane props at the hobby store today with the idea of maybe sticking a couple of these up on top of the mountain on my layout...;)

Tom F
 
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Cowcatcher

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Ray,

I stood right below the blades of 100' diameter NASA/DOE/Boeing experimental wind generators on the Goodnoe Hills above the Columbia Gorge about 15 years ago. They looked like these except the wind turbine was in a box about the sice of a box car on top of the ped. with a cat walk all the way around it.

At full speed those ran very slow to the eye. In reality one of the attendents said the tips of the blades were traveling at over 100 mph.
 
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RAY METIVIER

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alex_mrrkb

First, welcome to the gauge.

Now, I guess you want me to give up my secrets. Well the wind generators are a Walthers kit, a HO kit at that. I used my N scale rule to measure the hight of the tower, and length of the blades. Actually the measurments are smaller then the wind generators used today. So, so much for scratch building. The motor housing had to be made 3/16'' higher to accomidate the motor, which is a Atlas loco motor. I found that I could not run them slow enough to suite me. I now am working with LL (Like Life) motors and they run at .7 volts dc and 25-30 rpm.

By the way, are there many Metiviers where you live?
 
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