Rutland 913 redesign/build

[Brilliant Sea]

Hi all, I have this wind generator a friend gave to me that I'd like to rebuild in a different way. I would like some thoughts if it would work and any fresh ideas you might have.

Ok, the 913 spun its blades off in Sandy, I have tested it, it produces voltage and spins quite freely so the bearings are still good. It will cost about 140 bucks to get new blades or this idea I came up with.

I want to turn it up vertical and attach a cone spiral to catch the wind. Will that be ok on the bearings? Pics down below of the 913 and a model of what I will put on it.

I was thinking an aluminum plate cut into a circle and thinner aluminum sheet for the spiral. I suppose I could use a plastic of some type as well, maybe 1/8" thick? Perhaps a 2" pipe for the center that I will rivet the sheets to. I have a brake so i can just bend a long tab and on the bottom I will cut slits in the tab to allow it to curve.

I think this will be quiet and will catch wind at any angle.

What do you think?

[sparrowhawk1]

Hate to be a naysayer but I cant imagine that doing more than a small trickle charge. Rutlands are very quiet long lasting generators that put about 2 amps out at 12 knots of wind. Startup in almost no wind. spend the 140 get the right blades

[Brilliant Sea]

Thanks for the input!
I forgot to mention the size of it, I was thinking 24" diameter and 24" tall so it will actually have some good surface area . There is a nice flat area to attach it as I do not have the nose cone. Was also thinking to add four strips of polycarbonate three inches wide bowed out from the top to bottom kind of like a helix to catch more wind. As easy as it is to get spinning I would think it would achieve the same if not more rpm's as blades. I will make a prototype out of scrap less durable material to test it out and see what it will produce. It might look funny but I dare to be different!

[s/v 'Faith']

There is a large egg beater style wind generator that was tried up on the UP of Michigan. It was a complete and utter failure......

There a a good reason Rutland designed the generator like they did.... Might be a good idea to just go with it.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do....

[Brilliant Sea]

Yeah, I know it was designed the way it was but one of my passions is to experiment on things, ya never know right? My biggest Q right now is if I turn it vertical will the bearings suffer, I'll find out. Gathering material now and will post pics of the progress/results!

And yes I think the egg beater idea prolly won't work but I'll try anyway, hehehe.

Anymore thoughts?

[sparrowhawk1]

There are lots of cool videos on YouTube. check them out and good luck and have fun with your project

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Pwdrskr

Anymore thoughts?

Yes. It's going to be dramatically less efficient. Basically, only @ 40% of the surface area is going to catch the wind while @ 40% of it is providing turning resistance.

And yes, I would imagine that the bearings will suffer. I doubt they are designed to wear well with that lateral force.

There is a reason you don't see any wind generators with this sort of blade. If it were comparably efficient you wouldn't see these everywhere. Trust me, this have been well engineered:



That said, if you want to give it a whirl so to speak and see how it stacks up, go for it.