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oz_sprog
Starting Member
USA
10 Posts |
 Posted - 04/05/2008 : 05:34:59
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So I'm building my first turbine and my wife has some concerns of the overall safety of homemade PVC blades, the blade are about 6mm thick and 70cm long (each). My question is how safe are these types of blades, has anyone had any problems with or heard horror stories of them becoming super projectiles? We live at about 9,000ft up in Rockies of CO, so it gets pretty windy at times (like 100mph + sometimes).
www.perspective-images.com
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windymiller
New Member
United Kingdom
57 Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2008 : 15:49:30
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Hi oz sprog.....Looks like you,ve got a windy location.
Dont get me wrong,im pro active when considering wind turbines as alternative energy,but it hits 100 mph+ winds id have real concerns about safety.
If in doubt ,go for the safer option.....solar panels......reduces the anxiety levels in the middle of the night when the wind turns up unexpected!!!.
Accidents?......prevention is better than cure.
Cheers WM. |
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gotwind
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
762 Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2008 : 16:26:17
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Agreed.
I would be a little concerned at very high wind speeds - your design should have a furling tail and start to furl at about 30 m.p.h
The PVC blades weakest point would be where the blades bolt onto the hub, I'd use some steel reinforcing strips on that section.
Safety first is always my main concern, so maybe a solar set up or commercial wind generator may be better for you than a DIY turbine.
Ben. |
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Capt Slog
Starting Member
United Kingdom
29 Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2008 : 18:07:58
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At 100mph, I'd be worried too.
My PVC blades stood up to a couple hurricanes that did a bit of local damage, but it was a nervous night wondering if the turbine would still be there the next day AND what I was going to say to my neighbours if I had to collect bits of blade from their gardens.
If you have so much wind, could you use smaller blades?
And as Ben said, furling is not optional, it's a must.
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oz_sprog
Starting Member
USA
10 Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2008 : 21:28:27
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Anyone know where to get or how to make a furling mount?
I think I just needed to hear that, and I'm taking the advice seriously. So I just invested in a set of commercial carbon fiber blades and scraped the PVC ones also decided to move the turbine to a more remote location, away from where anyone goes, neighbors and is slightly more obscured by trees (we're on 1.5 acres so neighbors aren't that big a problem). Also might add a wind sensor to keep track of storms. Thanks for the kick I needed :)
www.perspective-images.com |
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Victor
Junior Member
United Kingdom
357 Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2008 : 22:10:42
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http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=58oAXvL61io <---- showning a 20 mile gust in video and what reaction it had on the dynohub turbine.
I have some pvc blades made to bens design and I would rate them as very good. They took a 42 mile an hour wind nicely ,but in a 72 mile and hour wind they tended to bend and hit the metal pole and scattered everywhere!!
This was during a windstorm in Scotland earlier this year.
Another thing to watch with turbines is turbulance as your blades take a right bashing if they have to turn round 90 to 180 degrees fastly..
The PVC blade design is good for winds up to 40 miles an hour ,but from my experience I`d not use them for your own turbine in excessive winds.
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steevo777
New Member
58 Posts |
Posted - 04/05/2008 : 23:07:55
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| I havent yet made a wind turbine but if it was spinning very fast and you wanted to stop it from spinning in an emergency, is there any special way of doing it that is not dangerous ? |
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oz_sprog
Starting Member
USA
10 Posts |
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MattM
New Member
USA
84 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2008 : 02:08:46
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quote:
Originally posted by steevo777
I havent yet made a wind turbine but if it was spinning very fast and you wanted to stop it from spinning in an emergency, is there any special way of doing it that is not dangerous?
Look up the term furling. It drops the rotation speed by around 75%.
Go Huskers! |
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Capt Slog
Starting Member
United Kingdom
29 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2008 : 09:33:28
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quote:
Originally posted by oz_sprog
Anyone know where to get or how to make a furling mount?
I think I just needed to hear that, and I'm taking the advice seriously. So I just invested in a set of commercial carbon fiber blades and scraped the PVC ones also decided to move the turbine to a more remote location, away from where anyone goes, neighbors and is slightly more obscured by trees (we're on 1.5 acres so neighbors aren't that big a problem). Also might add a wind sensor to keep track of storms. Thanks for the kick I needed :)
www.perspective-images.com
You're going to have to read up on furling. There's an excellent animation here...
http://www.anotherpower.com/albums/dinges/animation_yaw_assembly.avi
Furling is easy to make if you have access to welding kit, or just as easy if you don't  .......
http://gotwind.forumco.com/topic~TOPIC_ID~665.asp |
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Turbine Safety
