A wind generator made from a car generator can help in a situation where a private home does not have the ability to connect to a power line. Or it will serve as an auxiliary source of alternative energy. Such a device can be made with your own hands from scrap materials, using the best practices of folk craftsmen. Photos and videos will demonstrate the process of creating a homemade wind turbine.

There is a huge variety of types of wind generators and drawings for their manufacture. But any design includes the following mandatory elements:

• generator;
• blades;
• storage battery;
• mast;
• the electronic unit.

With some skills, you can make a wind generator with your own hands

In addition, it is necessary to think through the control and distribution system of electricity in advance and draw an installation diagram.

Wind wheel

The blades are perhaps the most important part of a wind generator. The operation of the remaining components of the device will depend on the design. They are made from different materials. Even from a plastic sewer pipe. Pipe blades are easy to manufacture, inexpensive and not susceptible to moisture. The procedure for manufacturing a wind wheel is as follows:

1. It is necessary to calculate the length of the blade. The diameter of the pipe should be equal to 1/5 of the total footage. For example, if the blade is one meter long, then a pipe with a diameter of 20 cm will do.
2. Using a jigsaw, cut the pipe lengthwise into 4 pieces.
3. From one part we make a wing, which will serve as a template for cutting out subsequent blades.
4. We smooth out burrs on the edges with abrasive.
5. The blades are fixed to an aluminum disk with welded strips for fastening.
6. Next, the generator is screwed to this disk.

Blades for wind wheel

After assembly, the wind wheel needs balancing. It is mounted horizontally on a tripod. The operation is carried out in a room closed from the wind. If the balancing is carried out correctly, the wheel should not move. If the blades rotate on their own, then they need to be sharpened until the entire structure is balanced.

Only after successful completion of this procedure should you proceed to checking the accuracy of rotation of the blades; they should rotate in the same plane without distortion. Please allow 2mm error.

Generator assembly diagram

Mast

To make a mast, an old water pipe with a diameter of at least 15 cm and a length of about 7 m is suitable. If there are buildings within 30 m of the intended installation site, then the height of the structure is adjusted upward. For efficient operation of the wind turbine, the blade is raised above the obstacle by at least 1 m.

The base of the mast and the pegs for securing the guy wires are concreted. Clamps with bolts are welded to the stakes. For guy wires, galvanized 6 mm cable is used.

Advice. The assembled mast has considerable weight; if installed manually, you will need a counterweight made of a pipe with a load.

Generator conversion

To make a windmill generator, a generator from any car is suitable. Their designs are similar to each other, and the modification boils down to rewinding the stator wire and making a rotor with neodymium magnets. Holes are drilled in the rotor poles to fix the magnets. Install them alternating poles. The rotor is wrapped in paper, and the voids between the magnets are filled with epoxy resin.

Car generator

In the same way, you can remake the engine from an old washing machine. Only the magnets in this case are glued at an angle to avoid sticking.

The new winding is rewound along the reel onto the stator tooth. You can make a random winding, depending on who you are comfortable with. The greater the number of turns, the more efficient the generator will be. The coils are wound in one direction according to a three-phase circuit.

The finished generator is worth testing and measuring data. If at 300 rpm the generator produces about 30 volts, this is a good result.

Generator for a windmill from a car generator

Final assembly

The generator frame is welded from a profile pipe. The tail is made of galvanized sheet. The rotary axis is a tube with two bearings. The generator is attached to the mast in such a way that the distance from the blade to the mast is at least 25 cm. For safety reasons, it is worth choosing a calm day for the final assembly and installation of the mast. When exposed to strong winds, the blades can bend and break against the mast.

To use batteries to power equipment that operates on a 220 V network, you will need to install a voltage conversion inverter. The battery capacity is selected individually for the wind generator. This indicator depends on the wind speed in the area, the power of the connected equipment and the frequency of its use.

Wind generator device

To prevent the battery from being damaged by overcharging, you will need a voltage controller. You can make it yourself if you have sufficient knowledge in electronics, or buy a ready-made one. There are many controllers available for sale for alternative energy production mechanisms.

Advice. To prevent the blade from breaking in strong winds, install a simple device - a protective weather vane.

Wind generator maintenance

A wind generator, like any other device, requires technical monitoring and maintenance. To ensure uninterrupted operation of the windmill, the following work is periodically carried out.

Wind generator operation diagram

1. The current collector requires the most attention. Generator brushes need to be cleaned, lubricated and preventatively adjusted every two months.
2. At the first sign of a malfunction of the blade (shaking and imbalance of the wheel), the wind generator is lowered to the ground and repaired.
3. Every three years, metal parts are coated with anti-corrosion paint.
4. Regularly check the fastenings and tension of the cables.

Now that the installation is complete, you can connect devices and use electricity. At least while it's windy.

Do-it-yourself generator for a windmill: video

So-called “wind” generators are commonly referred to as alternative energy sources that have been widely discussed in recent years. Compared to solar batteries, for example, the electricity generated with their help is quite cheap for the user (about 3 times cheaper than converting solar energy). You can see what a homemade windmill from a car generator looks like in the figure below.

Such a homemade generator is suitable only for residents of regions where there are natural conditions for the constant movement of air masses, which ensures its sufficient efficiency.

Choosing a suitable design

Before assembling a wind generator with your own hands from a car generator, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the known designs of these devices, which differ in the location of the working axis (horizontal or vertical). At home, preference is usually given to the horizontal option, which provides twice the efficiency (at the same total costs).

A generator for a windmill placed horizontally is shown in the photo below in the text.

When comparing horizontal and vertical versions of wind generators, the following points deserve special attention:

• Due to the large weight of the generator unit, a vertically mounted mechanism can be installed only at a low height, where the speed of wind flows and generation power are significantly reduced;
• On the other hand, the noise of such installations is noticeably lower than that of horizontal ones, which is necessarily taken into account when it is intended to make a homemade wind generator;
• And finally, a vertically placed model will not require a separate wind orientation unit, which will somewhat simplify its design;
• Let's add to all of the above that the engine in this design has a low starting torque and is easy to maintain.

Additional Information. If special guides are used that provide smooth adjustment of the height of the power unit, its performance can increase significantly.

At the same time, damage from gusts of wind is practically eliminated due to the introduction of protection elements into the design, as a result of which it turns out to be a little complex, but, nevertheless, cost-effective. All these advantages of the vertical model are compelling arguments in favor of its choice.

Blade design features

Regarding the design features of the blades of the future generator, it should be noted that they should not be too long, and their total number usually does not exceed three. This choice is explained by the fact that the weight of the rotating elements in this case will be less, and the risk of their destruction is sharply reduced.

Note! A number of industrial designs use long and relatively heavy blades, but their design provides for a variable angle of inclination of the plane of rotation.

This arrangement of the moving mechanism allows you to change the speed while simultaneously reducing the noise level.

The approximate cost of the most inexpensive example of an industrial wind turbine with a power of up to 1 kW is about 50 thousand rubles. and more. For most users, this amount turns out to be absolutely unaffordable. This explains the desire of many of them to try to make a wind turbine on their own, taking advantage of the capabilities of an old, but still working self-generator.

Windmill from a self-generator

Most car enthusiasts, among the spare parts in their garage, always have a spare generator or a generator removed from an old car that is not yet used for its intended purpose. Its presence in a personal household is an excellent reason to assemble a wind generator from a car generator.

At the moment, there is a lot of information on the network on the construction of such units, which allows you to choose a suitable model for assembly at home (one of such samples is in the photo below).

Separately, let us pay attention to the fact that the old mechanism from the car may even be faulty. This is not so important, since it will still require a thorough redesign, and some parts can be used as spare parts.

Important! The main condition for the feasibility of assembling such a model is the presence of strong winds in the area.

This requirement is explained by the fact that a car generator is a high-speed equipment, and in weak winds it is not always possible to achieve the required speed.

Accessories

In order to assemble a windmill with your own hands, in addition to the old generator, you will need a whole set of additional components and parts, the list of which is given below:

• Serviceable and well-charged battery;
• Set of connecting wires;
• The controller plus the converter inverter, together forming a power circuit from the wind generator (the figure below shows the complete set of the power plant).

It shows that such a design, even if manufactured independently, will still not be cheap. It should be added to this that during its operation the battery will have to be replaced periodically.

In addition, to excite the rotor winding you will need another electronic board, as well as a set of removable brushes with a commutator.

Self-production

When studying the question of how to make such a device simpler, it is recommended to replace the rotor with brushes and commutator with a simpler design based on permanent magnets fixed on the rotating generator assembly.

With such a modification, it will additionally be necessary to rewind the stator windings in order to slightly reduce the speed of the energy converter. All the details discussed above are clearly visible in the figure below.

Reworking the rotor and stator

The procedure for remaking the rotor can be presented as follows:

• First, a piece of pipe is installed on the aluminum non-magnetic nozzle of the rotor being converted, which is put on it with an interference fit;
• After marking it, several rectangular neodymium magnets (with alternating opposite poles) are glued to the base of the bandage using Moment glue;
• Epoxy resin is poured between the fragments, and after it hardens, the surface is carefully sanded.

When using the “original” stator of a car, in order to generate a sufficient amount of electricity, it is necessary for the rotor to rotate at a fairly high frequency (about 6000 rpm). In order to reduce this indicator to at least 600 rpm, it will be necessary to rewind the stator winding, increasing the number of turns in it by about five times.

At the same time, the cross-section of the wound wire will need to be slightly reduced.

Note! The relative disadvantages of generators using heavy-duty magnets include the sticking effect, which makes the initial start-up of the device difficult.

After disassembly, the individual elements of the plate stack are aligned on a small anvil or vice base using a rubber hammer. To assemble the stator, you will need special equipment that allows you to tighten them using small clamps.

Arranging a wind wheel

It is most convenient to use a duralumin pipe as windmill blades, the diameter of which is at least one fifth of the expected length. For example, take a meter-long pipe with a diameter of 20 cm, which is then cut along longitudinal lines into four equal strips.

One wing is made from each resulting blank, and the first of them can be used as a template for making the remaining three. The edges of the resulting blanks are rounded with a file and then carefully polished to perfection.

The blades are fixed on an old disk removed from a used circular saw, after grinding off all the existing teeth and drilling the installation holes. Blades made from a template must have a shape that is selected experimentally (after a number of experiments to achieve maximum performance).

In conclusion of the review, we note that only users who have some experience in carrying out relevant work can assemble a working mechanism that ensures the required generation efficiency. In this case, a well-made wind generator will be able to provide the consumer with electricity with a power of up to 1 kW.

Video

The base for the experiments was a 12V, 95A generator. In order to get rid of the excitation winding and the accompanying brushes and electronic control circuit, I tried to replace the winding with permanent magnets. He took out the winding and put 3 pieces in its place inside the “crabs”. ring ferromagnet measuring 85*35*15mm from loudspeakers. The “crabs” began to attract pieces of iron well. But when I put everything on the original steel shaft, the attraction disappeared. It turned out that the shaft had shunted the magnetic power lines through itself.

I had to order the turner a new shaft made of non-magnetic material. A piece of titanium rod was found, from which the shaft was machined. The rotor worked as it should. But at 600 rpm the generator produced only 4V without load. I had to hand over the stator for rewinding. I increased the number of turns by 5 times (from 7 to 35 per coil), correspondingly reducing the diameter of the wire. The generator was already producing 20V voltage at the same idle speed. Loaded it with an electric light bulb from a car headlight (60 candles). The voltmeter showed 12V and the ammeter 5A.
It seemed to me that it was not enough - from a 1.3 kilowatt generator I only got 60 watts!? But then I realized that 600 rpm is, of course, too low a rpm to compare with a car generator. Power increases in proportion to rpm. It is enough to charge a lead acid battery. To increase speed, you need a gearbox.
Soon I managed to purchase 12 pieces of neodymium magnets measuring 50*20*5mm. and I decided to make a new rotor.
To do this, I collected scrap aluminum (old pistons from internal combustion engines), made a steel mug with a handle, in which I melted scrap aluminum. From the resulting blank, the turner turned the base of the rotor, which was mounted on the old shaft from the first rotor. Leaving an 8mm wide bead on one side, the rest of the aluminum was removed with a cutter to the depth of the magnets and the steel bandage ring (5+5mm).
The bandage was machined from a piece of suitable steel pipe with a diameter of 100 mm and placed on the base until it stops at the side. I made markings on the top of the side, i.e. 12 sectors. I glued the magnets onto a steel band, following the markings, first with quick glue like “Second”, alternating their polarity. Then, wrapping wax paper around the magnets, I reinforced them with tape on top so that the tape would stick to the side. I prepared epoxy glue, put the rotor “on its butt” and carefully poured epoxy into the cracks between the magnets.

When the glue hardened, I balanced the rotor on two parallel steel rulers, clamped horizontally in a vice through a piece of board. The rotor rested on them with its shaft and rolled freely, as if on rails. There was no noticeable imbalance.
The diameter of the generator shaft is 20mm. At the end of the shaft there is a key and thread. Between the propeller and the generator bearing there is a two-stage spacer bushing; the outer diameter of this bushing is the maximum possible so that the propeller is pressed well against its end. Behind the bearing inside the generator there is also a spacer sleeve, which rests against the rotor blank.
When I assembled the generator, it turned out that the magnetic sticking was very significant; it was very difficult to turn the rotor by hand by the shaft, despite the fact that I glued the magnets with a slight distortion.
I tested the generator on a lathe. The results were encouraging. At 125 rpm it produced 15.5 volts and at 630 rpm it produced 85.7 volts without load. Under load on a piece of nichrome wire at 630 rpm, the voltmeter showed 31.2 volts and the ammeter showed 13.5 amperes. Those. The power output was 421.2 watts. It turns out that neodymium magnets are 7 times more effective than ferrite magnets.
Now we again had to rewind the stator with a larger wire diameter in order to reduce the resulting voltage. To reduce magnetic sticking between the rotor and stator, I decided to sort out the stator plates. The work is very painstaking. I removed the seams with a grinder, separated the plate by plate with a knife and hammer.

On a flat anvil I leveled them with light blows of a rubber hammer. When the plates were cut, I ordered a turner to turn out the equipment for their assembly. The equipment consists of a cylinder with a diameter equal to the internal diameter of the plates. A flange is welded at the bottom to support the plates. The second flange slides freely along the cylinder. Two opposite holes with a diameter of 6 mm were drilled in the flanges for guide rods. Having inserted rods with a diameter of 5 mm into the holes of the flanges, I began to assemble the plates on the equipment, putting them on the cylinder so that the rods went inside the opposite grooves. After assembly, I tilted the rods in different directions until they stopped, gradually compressing the plates with four clamps, and the grooves became oblique. The misalignment was 13mm with a plate set height of 36mm. The width of the groove inside turned out to be 5mm (according to the diameter of the rods).

After final crimping with clamps, I restored the seams using a semi-automatic welding machine. I used needle files to process all the burrs on the poles, especially carefully processing the inner surfaces of the grooves - after all, the walls there turned out to have ledges. I handed over the stator for winding. It turned out 15 turns per coil with wire with a diameter of 1.35 mm.
I excitedly assembled the generator. I tried to turn the shaft by hand - and was upset. The sticking remains, although it has become less. So much work, but little use!
While the stator was being rewound, the propeller was riveted together. I cut 3 blades from the same duralumin pipe, 1 m long. The width is 120mm at the beginning, 50mm at the end. The hub was made in the form of a three-layer, three-horned sandwich. Inside there is a steel disk with a diameter of 100 mm and a thickness of 2.5 mm, the same as the thickness of the body of the blades, on top and bottom there are solid wings cut from sheet steel 2 mm thick. and bulged on a mandrel made of steel pipe with a diameter of 220 mm. Drilled holes for rivets. Then, between the lower and upper swings, he inserted the blades, adjusted their ends so as to form an equilateral triangle, drilled through the body of the blades, and riveted them together. I did the balancing by hanging the propeller on a thread through the center. http://www.thebackshed.com/Windmill/Articles/DonBrown1.asp I removed excess weight with a grinder and Velcro sandpaper, sanding the blades.
I welded a frame from a steel angle to mount the generator, and welded the tail axle to it.
I attached paws to the generator body with which it is attached to the frame. I made a tail 1.5m long, the tail unit measures 60*40cm.
I riveted a spinner (fairing) from millimeter aluminum, cut out a shield-roof for the generator.
At the top of the mast I attached a swivel assembly that I made a couple of years ago. It turned out to be universal and reliable, on two radial and one support bearings. these two M8 bolts are short, they protrude slightly inside the glass under the lower bearing to hold the glass. A spacer sleeve is inserted between the upper and lower bearings, which is secured with the same bolts to the central pipe. A flange is welded to the central pipe. I developed the design of the rotary unit myself, having bearings, made drawings, and took it to a turner. He adjusted it a little for the better, turned it out, the welder welded it where needed, it turned out quite well.

I bolted the frame to the rotating unit, ran the reduction cable - two stranded copper insulated wires with a cross-section of 10 mm2, screwed the generator and shield to the frame, the propeller to the generator, and the spinner to the propeller.
I winched the mast with this stuff into a vertical position. The diameter of the cable on the winch is 6.5 mm. I checked with a dynamometer the force that the cable experiences at the beginning of lifting the mast, this force is 450 kg. It will hold up.
It starts to work when there is operating wind (there is nothing to measure the speed with), but when it starts to work, the ammeter immediately rises to 3-4 amperes.
In strong winds, the tail protection works reliably, the current reaches 20-25 amperes, the voltage at the terminals is 16-18 volts. With the windows closed, the propeller noise is inaudible. When open, moderate noise and whistling are heard when the protection is activated.
In a strong wind, you can hear a rumble, as if a tractor was driving somewhere far away. I couldn’t immediately understand where this roar was coming from, but when, with a very sharp gust of wind, I heard the blades briefly scratching along the mast in time with the roar, I realized: In the non-working position, the distance of the ends of the blades from the mast is only 10-12 cm. I thought it would be enough, because the centrifugal force will not allow the blades to sag. But when I began to observe from the side, I saw that the ends of the blades were approaching the mast, depending on the wind force, at a distance of up to 2-3 cm. When the end of the blade passes at a short distance from the mast and at a high linear speed, a sound like a clap appears, and these clap merge into a rumble.

- useful thing. It helps to generate electrical energy using only natural phenomena, in this case this phenomenon is the wind. The stronger the wind, the more energy you can get using a wind generator.

They are divided into two categories:

1. industrial;
2. domestic;

Industrial ones are installed by the state or large energy corporations and most often they are integrated into networks. Using a wind generator at home, you receive, first of all, not electricity, but direct alternating current.

They are classified:

• in count ;
• the material from which it is made;
• along the axes of rotation;
• by screw pitch;

There are 2 main types of wind turbines:

1. The axis of rotation is vertical.
2. The axis of rotation is horizontal.

Principle of operation

When the lifting force begins to act, the generator rotor begins to rotate. This force occurs when wind flow begins to flow around the blades. Under these circumstances, the generator begins to produce alternating and unstable current flows, which are rectified in the controller.

This current is intended for charging batteries. At the same time, a second device is connected to the batteries - this is an inverter, which converts the direct voltage of the battery equipment into single-phase or three-phase alternating voltage, which is used by the consumer.

The wind generator in normal cases does its work with the controller and inverter, but there are other ways to use it:

1. Automatic battery operation.
2. Automatic operation with battery and solar battery.
3. Automatic operation with battery and diesel backup generator.
4. A wind turbine that does its work in parallel with the network.

The benefits of wind energy are certainly good. Wind energy is abundant, environmentally friendly, and completely safe and reliable as a resource for generating electricity.

Components that a wind generator cannot do without:

• foundation base;
• electrical cabinet;
• towers;
• stairs;
• rotating mechanism;
• gondolas;
• electric generator;
• anemometer;
• brake system;
• transmissions;
• blades;
• systems for changing blade angles of attack;

Required tools:

• electric drill with drills (5.5 – 7.5 mm);
• gas and adjustable wrench;
• jigsaw with metal file;
• screwdriver;
• roulette;
• protractor;
• compass;
• marker;
• tap ¼ ×20;

Windmill manufacturing procedure

Before you begin building a windmill, you should select a suitable generator that will provide energy at low rotations. A good generator is a car one, but before using it it is necessary to rewind the stator and implant neodymium magnets.

If you don’t have a self-generator, you can weld a housing for the stator.

The action plan is:

1. Take a sheet of steel whose thickness is 2 mm.
2. Using a grinder, cut out 2 octagons that will exceed the outer diameter of the stator by 2 centimeters.
3. Cut 2 strips, the width of which will be 1.5 centimeters.
4. Compress the strips along the stator and weld them to the octagons.
5. Make 2 flanges from 2 mm steel.
6. Drill holes for the 201st bearings to attach the flanges with bearings.

Manufacturing of the rotor:

1. Find a metal rod whose thickness is 12 mm.
2. Cut threads on the stud to secure the screw.
3. Take out a metal sleeve, the thickness of which will be 76 mm.
4. Take a piece of the 72nd pipe and make a 2 mm ring.
5. Fry with clamps and cook.
6. Fill the sleeve with epoxy resin onto the stud.
7. Weld plates onto the stud so that it does not spin.
8. Cut 2 circles from tin along the outer diameter of the sleeve.
9. Insert the pin into the holes and fill with epoxy.
10. Sand the rotor to a shine.

This rotor will help save a certain amount of money.

When the housing has acquired a normal appearance, it is necessary to move on to the stator. First you need to remove the old winding and scrape off the old varnish from the grooves. Then you should purchase 200 enamel wire with 200 turns of 0.56 mm.

The stator must be wound onto each coil directly onto a tooth so that it turns out tightly and evenly, and many turns can fit in. Notebook cardboard can be used as an insulating material. The wire must be wound in phases, stepping over every 2 teeth. Then you should check the phases to see if they are shortened and coat them with varnish. You should get 12 coils of 3 phases.

It is necessary to create 24 poles on the rotor, since the ratio of magnet to coils is 2/3. Next, you should stick 24 magnets onto the rotor at equal distances and fill them with epoxy.

After all the steps taken, you need to assemble the generator, connect the phases into a star and turn it over. It will turn out to be about 2000 rpm with 13 volts.

Manufacturing of blades:

1. Take the barrel.
2. Divide with a marker and tape measure into 4 equal parts.
3. Cut out the blades.
4. Bolt them to the bottom and pulley.
5. Bend the blades, doing this carefully to avoid a sharp gust of wind.

After this, you need to mount the wheel and balance it. Balancing the wind wheel should be done in a closed and spacious room. An important part will be the stillness of the air.

Balancing:

1. Suspend the wheel in working position at a height so that there are no obstacles to free rotation.
2. Stop the wheel until it is completely motionless and release.
3. Rotate the wheel manually through an angle of 360/3.
4. Stop and release.
5. Repeat the observation again until the wheel rotates completely around its axis.

If a wheel that has stopped and is released begins to rotate spontaneously, it means that the part of the wheel that rushes down has a heavier weight. It is necessary to make this part lighter by grinding the edge of one of the blades.

Similar tests on the same stand will show whether all parts of the blade “fit” into the plane of rotation of the wheel. To do this, you need to completely stop the wheel and place two bars on both sides of the blade, which will not interfere with the rotation of the bar at a distance of 2 mm from the blades. When the wheel rotates, the blade should not touch the bar.

Assembly

In order to assemble a windmill, it is necessary to make a rotating axis. It can be made from bearings and a 15th pipe bend with threads and nuts. It is necessary to fill the tube with epoxy inside the bearing, and pour it on a piece of plastic pipe, the diameter of which will be 50 mm. Thus a rotary axis appeared.

Windshield installation procedure:

1. Make a beam 60 centimeters long from a 50*25 mm profile.
2. Attach it to the generator beam.
3. Secure the tail.
4. Cut holes to secure the rotary axis.
5. Install the blades.
6. Attach the finished wind generator to the mast.
7. Connect the small battery pack.
8. Connect the multimeter.

The wind generator is installed and ready for use. In low-wind weather, this windmill can easily provide LED lighting, a TV with a laptop and other small things. But this is only in low windy weather. In strong winds, energy production increases several times.

At the present time, the greatest problem that prevents the development of industrial small wind installations is their too high cost, and based on this, their acquisition in order to fully provide the house and nearby electrical energy will be financially beneficial with an average annual wind gust that reaches more than 6 m /With.

If a weak wind is blowing, then it is quite enough for the replacement energy to be able to help provide electricity to some small structures, then it is necessary to make a wind structure for the dacha manually - the cost will be several times cheaper than buying a ready-made one.

However, it should be remembered that wind energy is an industry that is developing rapidly, and therefore, if you always watch for new products, it will not be difficult to find the best option to solve the difficulty in building wind turbines for private homes.

Every year people search for alternative sources. A homemade power station from an old car generator will come in handy in remote areas where there is no connection to the general network. It will be able to freely charge batteries, and will also ensure the operation of several household appliances and lighting. You decide where to use the energy that will be generated, as well as collect it yourself or purchase it from manufacturers, of whom there are plenty on the market. In this article, we will help you figure out how to assemble a wind generator with your own hands from the materials that any owner always has.

Let's consider the operating principle of a wind power plant. Under a fast wind flow, the rotor and propellers are activated, after which the main shaft begins to move, rotating the gearbox, and then generation occurs. At the output we get electricity. Therefore, the higher the rotation speed of the mechanism, the greater the productivity. Accordingly, when locating structures, take into account the terrain, relief, and know the areas of the territories where the vortex speed is high.

Assembly instructions from a car generator

To do this, you will need to prepare all the components in advance. The most important element is the generator. It is best to take a tractor or bus, it can generate much more energy. But if this is not possible, then it is more likely to make do with weaker units. To assemble the device you will need:
voltmeter
battery charging relay
steel for making blades
12 volt battery
wire box
4 bolts with nuts and washers
clamps for fastening

Assembling a device for 220V home

When everything you need is ready, proceed to assembly. Each option may have additional details, but they are clearly stated directly in the manual.
First of all, assemble the wind wheel - the main structural element, because it is this part that will transform wind energy into mechanical energy. It is best if it has 4 blades. Remember that the smaller their number, the more mechanical vibration and the more difficult it will be to balance it. They are made from sheet steel or an iron barrel. They should not be shaped like you saw in old mills, but rather reminiscent of the wing type. They have much lower aerodynamic drag and higher efficiency. After you use a grinder to cut out a windmill with blades with a diameter of 1.2-1.8 meters, you need to attach it together with the rotor to the generator axis by drilling holes and connecting with bolts.

Assembling the electrical circuit

We secure the wires and connect them directly to the battery and voltage converter. You need to use everything that you were taught to make in school physics lessons when assembling an electrical circuit. Before you start designing, think about what kW you need. It is important to note that without subsequent alteration and rewinding, the stator is not at all suitable; the operating speed is 1.2 thousand-6 thousand rpm, and this is not enough to produce energy. It is for this reason that it is necessary to get rid of the excitation coil. To increase the voltage level, rewind the stator with a thin wire. As a rule, the resulting power at 10 m/s will be 150-300 watts. After assembly, the rotor will magnetize well, as if power was connected to it.

Homemade rotary wind generators are very reliable in operation and cost-effective; their only imperfection is the fear of strong gusts of wind. The principle of operation is simple - a vortex through the blades causes the mechanism to spin. In the process of these intense rotations, energy is generated, the tension you need. Such a power plant is a very successful way to provide electricity to a small house; of course, its power will not be enough to pump water from a well, but it is possible to watch TV or turn on the lights in all rooms with its help.

From a home fan

The fan itself may not be working, but only a few parts are required - a stand and the screw itself. For the design you will need a small stepper motor soldered with a diode bridge so that it produces a constant voltage, a shampoo bottle, a plastic water pipe approximately 50 cm long, a plug for it and a lid from a plastic bucket.

A sleeve is made on a machine and fixed in the connector from the wings of the disassembled fan. The generator will be attached to this bushing. After fastening, you need to start making the body. Cut off the bottom of a shampoo bottle using a machine or manually. During cutting, it is also necessary to leave a hole at 10 in order to insert an axis machined from an aluminum rod into it. Attach it to the bottle with a bolt and nut. After all the wires have been soldered, another hole is made in the body of the bottle to output these same wires. We stretch them out and secure them in a bottle on top of the generator. They must match in shape and the body of the bottle must reliably hide all its parts.

Shank for our device

So that in the future it will catch wind flows from different directions, assemble the shank using a pre-prepared tube. The tail section will be attached using a screw-on shampoo cap. They also make a hole in it and, having first put a plug on one end of the tube, pull it through and attach it to the main body of the bottle. On the other hand, the tube is sawed through with a hacksaw and the wing of the shank is cut out with scissors from the lid of the plastic bucket; it should have a round shape. All you need to do is simply cut off the edges of the bucket that attach it to the main container.

We attach a USB output to the back panel of the stand and put all the resulting parts into one. You can attach the radio or recharge your phone through this built-in USB port. Of course, it does not have the strong power of a household fan, but it can still provide illumination from one light bulb.

DIY wind generator from a stepper motor

A stepper motor device produces about 3 W even at low rotation speed. The voltage can rise above 12 V, and this allows you to charge a small battery. You can use a stepper motor from the printer as a generator. In this mode, the stepper motor produces alternating current, and it can be easily converted to direct current using several diode bridges and capacitors. You can assemble the circuit yourself. The stabilizer is installed behind the bridges, as a result we get a constant output voltage. To monitor visual tension, you can install an LED. In order to reduce the loss of 220 V, Schottky diodes are used to rectify it.

The blades will be made of PVC pipe. The blank is drawn on the pipe and then cut out with a cutting disc. The screw span should be about 50 cm, and the width should be 10 cm. It is necessary to machine a sleeve with a flange to the size of the motor shaft. It is mounted on the motor shaft and secured with screws; plastic “screws” will be attached directly to the flanges. Also carry out balancing - pieces of plastic are cut off from the ends of the wings, and the angle of inclination is changed by heating and bending. A piece of pipe is inserted into the device itself, to which it is also bolted. As for the electrical board, it is better to place it at the bottom and connect power to it. There are up to 6 wires coming out of the stepper motor, which correspond to two coils. They will require slip rings to transfer electricity from the moving part. Having connected all the parts together, we proceed to testing the design, which will begin to rotate at 1 m/s.

Windmill made from motor-wheel and magnets

Not everyone knows that a wind generator from a motor-wheel can be assembled with your own hands in a short time; the main thing is to stock up on the necessary materials in advance. The Savonius rotor is best suited for it; you can purchase it ready-made or do it yourself. It consists of two semi-cylindrical blades and an overlap, from which the axes of rotation of the rotor are obtained. Choose the material for their product yourself: wood, fiberglass or PVC pipe, which is the simplest and best option. We make a place for connecting the parts, where you need to make holes for fastening in accordance with the number of blades. A steel swivel mechanism will be required to ensure the unit can withstand any weather.

Made from ferrite magnets

A magnetic wind generator will be difficult for inexperienced craftsmen to master, but you can still try. So, there should be four poles, each containing two ferrite magnets. They will be covered with metal linings slightly less than a millimeter thick to distribute a more uniform flow. There should be 6 main coils, rewound with a thick wire and should be located through each magnet, occupying a space corresponding to the length of the field. The winding circuits can be fastened to a hub from a grinder, in the middle of which a pre-machined bolt is installed.

The flow of energy supply is regulated by the height of the stator mounting above the rotor; the higher it is, the less sticking, and accordingly the power decreases. For a windmill, you need to weld a support-stand, and attach 4 large blades to the stator disk, which you can cut from an old metal barrel or a lid from a plastic bucket. At average rotation speed it produces up to about 20 watts.

Windmill design using neodymium magnets

If you want to learn about the creation, you need to make the base of a car hub with brake discs; this choice is quite justified, because it is powerful, reliable and well balanced. After you have cleaned the hub of paint and dirt, proceed to arranging the neodymium magnets. You will need 20 of them on a disk, the size should be 25x8 millimeters.

Magnets must be placed taking into account the alternation of poles; before gluing, it is better to create a paper template or draw lines dividing the disk into sectors so as not to confuse the poles. It is very important that they, standing opposite each other, have different poles, that is, they attract. Glue them with super glue. Raise the borders along the edges of the disks, and wrap tape or seal with plasticine in the center to prevent spreading. In order for the product to work at maximum efficiency, the stator coils must be calculated correctly. An increase in the number of poles leads to an increase in the frequency of the current in the coils, due to this, the device produces more power even at a low rotation frequency. The coils are wound with thicker wires in order to reduce the resistance in them.

When the main part is ready, the blades are made as in the previous case and secured to the mast, which can be made from an ordinary plastic pipe with a diameter of 160 mm. After all, our generator, operating on the principle of magnetic levitation, with a diameter of one and a half meters and six wings, at 8 m/s, is capable of providing up to 300 W.

The price of disappointment or an expensive weather vane

Today there are many options for making a device for converting wind energy, each method is effective in its own way. If you are familiar with the method of manufacturing energy-generating equipment, then it will not matter on what basis it is made, the main thing is that it meets the intended circuit and produces good power at the output.