How to Build a Small Working Windmill
So you're thinking of living off the grid? You have a whole life planned that will set you free from the expensive shackles of your local electricity company. Now all you have to do is build a simple windmill, sit back and let the wind work for you. The large windmills on commercial wind farms can power an entire block of homes. A small windmill that can generate enough power to charge a 12-volt car battery is the most common method of utilizing wind energy for a home or other electricity-driven device.
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Things You'll Need
- Motor
- PVC piping
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Saber saw
- Band Saw
- Measuring tape
- Drill
- Tap wrench
- Sheet metal
- Tin snips
- Channel aluminum
- Pipe flange
- Steel pipe
- Pipe union
- Freestanding base
- Hose clamps
- Bridge rectifier
- Battery
- Wire
Instructions
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1
Clamp 8-inch diameter, 24-inch long PVC piping to solid surface for cutting.
Set metal ruler on PVC pipe and draw a straight line onto the pipe with a pencil.
From the straight line that you just marked, take your tape measure and wrap it around the end of the pipe. Make the marks 5 ¼ inches apart. Grab your metal ruler and draw cutting guide lines down the length of the pipe at each mark. -
2
Cut out your windmill blade blanks. Take your saber saw and cut the lines on the pipe. Make sure to wear safety glasses and respirator for protection from dust and debris. Each blade blank will make two blades. Use your pencil and draw a line that runs from opposing perpendicular corners, then cut at the line using a band saw or saber saw.
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3
Sand the edges of the PVC pipe to form a wing blade shape. One edge should be rounded, while the other edge should be tapered. This will create a blade that will capture the most wind for energy transfer.
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4
Drill two ¼-inch holes at the end of each blade. Measure out where you want the blades to be mounted on the motor fly wheel. Drill and tap holes for ¼-inch screws in fly wheel of motor. Attach blades to fly wheel.
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5
Cut a tail out of sheet metal in your desired shape using tin snips, then mount it to a piece of channel aluminum. This tail and tail frame made from channel aluminum will need to be able to move in the direction of the wind so it will be attached to a pipe flange with two bolts.
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6
Attach pipe flange to 1 ½-inch diameter steel pipe of desired length. If it is not going to be mounted onto a house, a freestanding base can be purchased. Attach the pipe flange to a pipe union. Attach the pipe flange that is mounted onto the tail and frame to a pipe nipple.
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7
Use hose clamps to attach the motor to the frame of the tail, pipe and base. Tighten the hose clamps using a screwdriver. Connect the fly wheel to a motor.
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8
Use a bridge rectifier between the windmill and batteries to be charged to keep the electricity flowing to the battery instead of having the batteries power the motor to turn the windmill. Connect the windmill motor to a bridge rectifier and connect the bridge rectifier to the battery or batteries.
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