The blades

The pvc pipe First we took a PVC pipe. The pipe was about 1/5 as thick as it is long . We have 50 cm blades so the PVC pipe should have a diameter of 10 cm. One length of pvc pipe can make four blades.

We wanted to quarter the pipe We wanted to quarter the pipe. Drawing straight line and measuring on round surfaces is hard, so the best method is to get a large sheet of paper. 1 2 3 4

1st 2d 3d For each three of four quarters we did two things: 1) Cut out a rectangle from the base about 5 cms in, so we can easily attach it to whatever we want to. 2) Cut from the high tip of the base to the point. steps

Then we were all done. We had three blades ready to use.

finally

Here is another view of the hub with blades attached.

30 volt motor was in good shape and worked great 30 volt motor was in good shape and worked great. Even just giving the shaft a quick turn with fingers would light a 12 volt bulb quite brightly. we gave it a real test by chucking it up in a drill press and connecting it to a dummy load. It works great as a generator, putting out easily a couple hundred Watts with this setup.

Next we needed a mounting for the turbine Next we needed a mounting for the turbine. Keeping it simple, we opted to just strap the motor to a piece of wood. The turbine snaps right around into the wind every time it changes direction. For a tail to keep it turned into the wind, we just used a piece of heavy sheet Aluminum.

Next we had to begin thinking about some sort of tower and some sort of bearing that would allow the head to freely turn into the wind . 1 inch diameter iron pipe is a good slip-fit inside 1 1/4 inch diameter. We could use a long piece of 1 1/4 inch conduit as our tower and 1 inch pipe fittings at either end. For the head unit we attached a 1 inch iron floor flange centered 7 1/2 inches back from the generator end of the 2X4, and screwed a 10 inch long iron pipe nipple into it.