Simple & Easy to Make Homemade Wind Generator

Wind turbines convert kinetic energy into electrical power.

Harness the wind with a homemade generator to save on energy costs and reduce your carbon footprint at the same time. Wind generators produce electricity through the conversion of kinetic energy. They take energy from the movement of air particles and transform it into the movement of electrons inside a generator via electromagnetic induction. This generator then transfers electricity to a battery, either for later use or for immediate transference to an electronic device.

Things You'll Need

• 24 inch long ABS pipe with 6 inch diameter
• Ruler
• Chalk
• Craft knife
• Sandpaper
• 3 inch diameter toothed pulley wheel
• 5 inch diameter metal disk, 0.25 inch thick
• Drill
• 33-by-4-by-2 inch piece of wood
• 30 volt DC permanent magnet motor
• 2 adjustable hose clips
• 14-by-9 inch plastic sheet
• Hammer
• Nails
• 2 copper wires
• 12 volt deep cycle battery

Instructions

Building The Blade Hub

1. Cut the ABS pipe into quarters lengthwise, creating four curved strips 24 inches in length. Measure and cut a rectangle from one end of the strips with the craft knife, leaving a rectangle 1-1/2 inches by 2-1/2 inches on the end of the strips. Draw a diagonal line in chalk from the outermost point on the cut end of the strips to a point 1-1/2 inches from the bottom of the strip on the other side.

2. Cut the strips along the chalk line, so they look like a triangle with a small rectangle attached. Smooth off the sharp edges of each strip using a piece of sandpaper, to form four blades. Drill two holes, 1/4 inch apart, in the rectangle on each blade. Divide the 5-inch diameter disk into thirds using the ruler and chalk. Drill a hole in the center of the 5-inch disk and the toothed pulley wheel.

3. Line up a blade with the chalk lines you drew and mark where the holes in the rectangle portion are. Drill holes in the disk where you have marked, so the blades can be bolted to the disk. Drill three holes equal distances between the three inner holes drilled for the blades. Line up the holes in the centers of the pulley wheel and the disk.

4. Drill holes in the pulley wheel that match the last three holes drilled in the 5-inch disk. Attach the pulley wheel to the 5-inch disk using three nuts and bolts. Bolt the blades to the 5-inch disk to three of the blades (the fourth is a spare) using six nuts and bolts.

Building The Turbine

1. Fasten the 30-volt motor to one end of the 33-inch piece of wood using the two adjustable hose clips. Measure 1/2 inch from the base of the 9-inch side of the 9-inch by 14-inch plastic sheet and mark this line on the sheet with chalk. Bend the sheet at this point so the sheet has a 1/2-inch wide foot perpendicular to the main body. Nail the foot of the sheet to the opposite end of the wood to the motor.

2. Screw the 1-foot pipe into the floor flange. Fasten the floor flange to the underside of the 33-inch wooden block, 7-1/2 inches from the motor end of the block. The block will now spin freely on top of the pipe. Attach the pulley wheel to the load wheel on the motor with a nut, to complete the turbine. When the wind blows, the blades will spin, causing the motor to turn and generate electricity.

3. Drill a hole through the 33-inch wooden block over the middle of the point where the floor flange is mounted. Connect one insulated wire to the positive terminal on the motor and another to the negative terminal. The length of the wires will depend on the distance from the turbine to the battery it will be charging. Feed the insulated wires into the hole you drilled above the flange, and down through the pipe.

4. Connect the positive wire leading out of the pipe to the positive terminal on the 12-volt deep cycle battery. Connect the negative wire leading out of the pipe to the negative terminal on the deep cycle battery. Your turbine is now complete. When the wind blows, the blades will spin and the battery will be charged.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider adding a voltmeter between the deep cycle battery and the wind turbine. When wired onto the battery, the voltmeter will display the current level of charge in the battery.

• Both the 30-volt DC motor and the 12-volt deep cycle battery will degrade in inclement weather. Consider enclosing the batteries in a plastic tube to insulate it from the elements and cap the tube at either end.

References

• The Kev Dog: My Homemade Wind Generator DIY Tutorial
• Michael Davis Publishing: How I Built an Electricity Producing Wind Turbine