C32—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 19,1981
LANCASTER Have you
looked at your electric bill lately?
If you find there's been a drastic
increase in what you’re paying
over recent months, you may want
to look into an alternate energy
source, says Robert Bartlett, a
wind power specialist from North
East.
If you have a high hill on your
property that’s not obstructed by
trees with a good wind location—
that is, where there is a constant
wind of over 10 miles per hour—a
wind mill might be just the answer
to your energy needs.
“A windmill should be located 35.
feet above any trees or other ob
stacles,” according to Bartlett.
“This footage should be measured
from the top of the lowest point of
the prop travel.”
With the help of an anemometer
to measure the wind, an individual
can check wind speed over a period
of time in both the summer and
winter to determine working wind
speeds and figure out what a mill
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Consider windmills to harness energy
can produce.
“Do this long before you buy,”
recommends Bartlett, “because
you’ll be spending a lot of money
for your machine. If you’re figures
show it won’t pay because of low
wind, don’t buy.”
In order to emphasize the need to
study the many factors deter
mining whether or not to install a
windmill, Bartlett shares his own
experiences:
“In search for a mill for my
needs I uncovered many, many
flaws in the mills on the market
today.
“1 visited the government
testing grounds in Rocky Flats,
Colorado and saw many machines
in operation—upwind, downwind,
single-blade, multi-blade, and
three-blade machines.
“In all the machines I saw the
day I was there, two had reached
turning speed; Only one was up to
operating speed, and that was
Jacob’s, manufactured in Min
neapolis, Minnesota. This com
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pany is the Cadillac of the wind
industry with 50 to 60 years ex
perience and 75,000 machines.
“Considering all the information
Icould get, I decided to go with this
old reliable firm and purchase a
small used Model 18 and Model 25
machine. The generators are a low
RPM (250), high output machines
weighing about 400 pounds. The
brushes are large and last from 5
to 8 years before needing
replacement. The bearings are
tapered rollers lasting 20 to 40
years depending on the locality,
with dust and sand being their
worst enemy.
“I rewound the generators and
put in compound shunt fields to
increase their output. Also, I added
another Model 18 to the small mill
and increased its total output to
5400 watts at 25 MPH winds.
“I designed a curved surface on
a new prop for the twin mill to
increase its power. The governor
on the prop controls the mill from
running away in high winds, much
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the same as the prop governor on
an aircraft. This type bf control
turns each blade equally to cause
the blades to get less bite of tbe
wind as the speed increases,
therefore holding the speed con
stant. Other nulls use brakes or
partial blade turning or even ex
treme heavy loads, none of which
control as effectively as tbe
Jacobs-type governor.
“Tbe prop is constructed of Sitka
spruce which is ideal for windmill
operation. It has high resistance to
warping and yet will bend in very
high winds and not break.
“Fiberglass blades do not work
as well because of the chance of
their cracking in severe cold.
Metal blades are heavier (even
aluminum) and will frost up
quickly in cold weather' thus
causing the prop to be off balance,
causing strain and stress on the
tower.
“The tail is constructed of angle
iron and galvanized metal and is
light in weight. It is durable and
keeps the prop headed into the
wind. „
“To hoist the mill into place we
used a winch and gin pole. This can
be easily made out of extra heavy
pipe, a couple of pulleys, and about
200 feet of cable.”
Bartlett points out the Jacobs
.company added a new 10 KW
machine to their line last August.
He claims this machine out
produces its competitors by as
much as \Vz to 2 KW at the normal
working winds of 8 to 15 MPH
winds.
This windmill uses a 23-foot Sitka
spruce prop with a light weight
centrifugal governor. The power
unit is a 220-volt brushless alter
nator with fields energized by
utility power lines. With this unit, it
needs to batteries for storage.
The power line and the windmill
couple together, and power goes
into a main fuse panel. Power
comes from the windmill first;
then if the wind speed is low, the
balance of electricity comes from
the power line. If the null produces
too much electricity, it puts power
on the line and the excess is pur
chased at wholesale cost. This is
all done automatically.
As a safety precaution, the mill
will not produce power during a
line breakdown, thus eliminating
possible injury to repairman from
the power company. This is ac
complished by the fields being
energized by the power line. With
no field excitation, the alternator is
powerless, Bartlett explains.
Barfiett offers the following
advice for erecting a windmill:
“The mill should be tilted back
into the-wind by 8 to 14 degrees. It
has been proven the wind comes
slightly downward as it blows
regardless of direction. This
makes the prop more per
pendicular to the wind and in
creases power while at the same
time reducing vibrations.
“The tower for the early mills as
well as the new ones should be at
least J 5 feet above all -obstacle?
and should be free standing. Guyed
towers run into vibration
problems. /
“The legs of each tower should
be buried 5 to 10 feet in the ground.
The depth depends on whether you
- use a 60,80,100, 120 foot tower. On
the bottom of/each leg is a square
pad and above this is poured
concrete. Thus each leg is highly
grounded resting deep into the
ground and standing directly on
the ground. This is for high
lightning protection.
“The lead in cable to the house
should be buried at least 2 feet all
the way to help ground it from
lightning. If using overhead wires,
a lightning arrester must be used
at the house. Zig-zagging the cable
down the tower also helps because
lightning likes to follow a straight
line, not a curved one.
An incentive for installing
windmills in ideal locations, adds
Bartlett, is the new federal law
which requires power companies
to Jmy all excess power produced
by a mill. The best part of the new
tax laws, he claims, is the tax
credit deduction which allows a
person to deduct up to 40 percent of
the mills cost with a maximum of
$4,000. “This is right off the top
(tax money), not another
deduction,” he says.
“If you don’t like your high
electric bills and you are in a good,
windy location, take a look at a
windmill, about 10 KW,” concludes
Bartlett. “Compare windmills to
match your working winds.”
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