DIY Windmill Tower

The single pole windmill tower requires the fewest parts to build.

Wind can produce the energy required to power much of your home needs by installing a wind turbine in your yard. The trick is getting the wind turbine high enough to reach the strongest winds. To get it up there, you need a tower that elevates the turbine into position and keeps it there. There are two basic types of horizontal axis windmill towers. One uses a single pole for smaller turbines, and the other uses four poles similar to the design used for water towers. The easiest tower to construct is the single-pole tower, and it takes up the least space on your property.

Things You'll Need

• Wind tower kit
• Tower base
• One 3-inch diameter pole, cut to appropriate size
• One 2-inch diameter pole, cut to appropriate size
• Locking collar
• Guy wire collar
• Guy wires
• Guy wire rods
• 3/4-inch bolts, nuts and washers
• Shovel
• Cement
• Hammer
• Drill
• 3/4-inch drill bit

Instructions

1. Locate a good area for your windmill tower. Ideally, the tower should be taller than the tallest obstruction in the area. This includes trees and buildings. The area should be reasonably level, and free of bedrock that can interfere with installing the footer and the guy wires.

2. Calculate the height required for your tower, given the nearest obstructions.

3. Dig a footer, 1 foot deep for every 10 feet of height in the tower, and 6 inches wide for every 10 feet in height. The appropriate height of the tower depends on the weight of the turbine and area obstructions.

4. Place the tower base at the center of the footer. Use a level so the base does not lean to one side. Insert the thicker bottom pipe into the tower base. Use a level to stand the pipe perfectly upright.

5. Fill the footer with the concrete required, and let it harden.

6. Slide the locking collar down 3 feet from the top of the pipe. Note the hole in the locking collar and insert a screw through this hole to mark the pipe. Drill a hole at this mark and use an electric screwdriver to insert a screw to keep the locking collar in place.

7. Slide the guy wire collar over the top of the pipe so it rests on the locking collar.

8. Clip each of the guy wire connectors to the end of the guy wire cables. Tighten by hand until each is firmly attached, then toss the other end of the cables to the ground.

9. Clip the other end of each guy wire on the ground, to the guy wire rods. Pull each rod out tight from the base of the tower, and hammer the rod into the ground. These guy wires form the support that prevents the tower from swaying.

10. Make a mark around the circumference of the pipe, about 2 feet from the top. Drill a 3/4-inch hole through the pipe.

11. Drill a 3/4-inch hole through the 2-inch pipe, 2 inches from the bottom. Insert the 2-inch pipe into the 3-inch pipe and lower it until the holes on both pipes line up. Insert a 3/4-inch carriage bolt through these holes, and tighten it using a nut and washer with an adjustable wrench. The top of the tower is now ready for you to install the wind turbine.

References

• You Tube: How to Build a Wind Turbine Generator Tower
• Net Solar Wind: Wind Turbine Towers
• MD Pub: How I home-built an electricity producing wind turbine