PICO turbine wind generators

[adam666]

[adam666]

[Chris]

[Chris]

[johnh]

Hi Chris

I must say I am a bit sceptical.

Not needing a tower is purely semantics - the wind disturbance at ground level makes this impossible - other vertical axis generators attest to this. agreed you can keep the generator on the ground - as you can with horizontal axis plants with a simple angle drive.

look at the cross sectional area of the blade supports which do return into the wind and also the support structure - absolutley massive compared to a HAxis tower which only goes to half the height of the swept area.

How many bearings (and only rotating quarter turn and back - hard on them)

As there is no model I would say they haven't built one yet!

No actual performance data (well there would not be if they aren't built.)
quote The cutting-edge horizontal axis generators have a power coefficient close to 0.4, which is still far from Betz’s limit of 0.59.

Our wind generator design has power coefficients that are very close to the theoretical limit laid down by the laws of physics. The conversion of the kinetic energy of the wind into the mechanical energy in the rotor is therefore at its maximum level


Periferal protection is a bunch of crap - metal mesh will impede air flow whether on a VA or HA machine

I'll believe when I see some actual performance data on the site.

Bloody hard being an inventor without the funds to actually build the thing.

Regards
John

[Chris]

Hi John,

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I'll have to do some more reading but I do believe these things are up and operational in a number of sizes somewhere. I will have to check my links again.

Regarding your statements about height; of course you're correct with regard to poor directionality at low elevations. But the advantage here is that these can be built to whithstand extremely high wind velocities. Velocities that force HAxis turbines to go into "safe" mode and waste all of the power they could have generated.

Also no pivot mechanism is required here so I'd think that would be a huge win.

I fully plan on building a few of these when I get my shop, but would love to see someone give it a try now if they have the means.

[kww]

Go to otherpower.com, it's got everything you want to know on wind turbines and much more. You can find pictures of my two HA turbines there. Both are down wind machines and the rotor swings up and "turns" into a VA machine in high winds. Btw, when this happens the output does not drop, it just quits increasing, which is good because something would break/blow if it didn't. The only reason the VA machines can take such high winds is because they're so inefficient. I've seen my machines take 60+mph winds with no problem, except for the time the pole bent to the ground. lol That was my fault, I'm using poles that are way too small according to the experts. The pole that bent flexed every time a gust hit the rotor. Also, I've got my 10 foot diam. rotor turbine just high enough that the blade doesn't hit anyone, makes things much easier, cheaper, and less apt to be totally destroyed if it falls. In 10mph wind it'll spin several hundred rpms and maybe give 100watts. Wind over 20mph gives around 750watts. It was a very fun project, but not a huge bang for the buck like the solar collectors, which are also there to see I think.
Kevin

[adam666]

[kww]

[adam666]

[kww]

[adam666]

[kww]

im a little worried about overall reaction but aim to have them fairly low and secluded, certainly not positioned for efficiency or anything.

just been pondering making a 'small' version using the neo magnets Ive been collecting from scrap hard drives.[/quote]

Just make sure it can furl(turn away from being directly blasted by high wind). Although I doubt a 4' rotor would ever brake the pole turbine rpm's can go WAY up and are much more likely to fly apart without furling. Not to mention the wear on the leading edges of the rotor will be very bad/fast.

Nearby obstructions is a big problem for a low mounted turbine. Pay attention to the directions your winds mostly blow(if any) and pick a spot most likely to receive unblocked wind. Also, the higher the ground the better, unless something's blocking...

[adam666]

[kww]