Free
Electric
Y OUR vacation cottage or outlying farm
buildings can be lighted by electricity
even though you may be far from a power
line. The wind will gladly do this job for
you—if you know how to harness it. The
unit described will turn the trick for you
with little manual effort and even less
monetary expense.
Most people think of gales and hurri-
canes when the wind is mentioned as a
source of power. Nothing could be more
misleading, because there is vast energy
even from a gentle breeze.
Anyone with ordinary mechanical skill
can build this machine. And cutting the im-
peller blades will teach you more practical
aerodynamics than you could dig out of
an armful of books. (If the term "impeller"
confuses you, a propeller driven by the
wind becomes an impeller.)
Without digging too deeply into theory,
it is well to know a little about the giant
which we are about to harness. It is seldom
realized that the force which the wind ex-
erts is composed of two distinct parts: a
pressure and a suction. Thus a sailboat
which seems to be pushed along by the
wind is actually deriving most of its pro-
Power
Here the 10-ft, impeller described below
has been mounted for belt drive. Note
position of jackshaft on the baseboard.
pulsion from the suction on the lee side
of the sail. A roof in the path of a gale
is lifted up, not pushed down. Conse-
quently, the blades of the impeller must
be so shaped that this suction force can aid
them in turning.
For the baseboard get a piece of oak or
similar hardwood, 5-1/2 in wide, 50 in long
and 1-1/4 in thick. Draw a centerline on the
wide face of the board and do your layout
from this guide. From a point 9 in. from
the head and down to the end of the board
the sides are tapered down to a final width
of 1-1/2 in.
Drill a 3/4-in hole 26 in. from the tapered
end and saw a 1/2-in slot to meet this hole.
This slot is for the tail vane. For 'the gen-
erator cradle a piece of wood 6 in. long
and 1-1/4 in thick is fastened to the full end
width of the baseboard. Shape the cradle
to match contour of generator used.
The tail vane is a piece of exterior-grade
plywood 30 in. long, 20 in. wide and 1/2 in.
thick with the leading edge rounded and
the trailing edge notched as shown.
The commutator (or collector rings) used
to connect the swinging generator with feed
wires is essential [continued on next page]
 Free Electric Power
for proper operation. To make it, get a piece
of 2-in. brass pipe 3 in. long, a piece of wood
with 2-in.-square and 4 in. long, and an 18
in. length of 1 in. galvanized iron pipe threaded
at one end. Trim the wooden block into a
cylinder that fits snugly into the brass pipe.
Drill a 1-1/4-in. hole lengthwise through this
cylinder true to the centerline.
Soap the threaded end of the galvanized
pipe and drive it through the hole in the wood
until it extends far enough in the floor flange.
To engage the two insulated collector rings,
cut two 1/2-in. sections from the brass pipe
and connect these to encompass the wooden
cylinder. Fill the space with Plastic Wood and
trim flush. Drill holes through each brass ring
and the galvanized pipe to take the insulated
wires from the generator. Solder the ends of
these wires in the brass holes and file the out-
side surface smooth.
The brush holder is fastened to the edge
of the 1-1/4-in. galvanized floor flange. This
floor flange is the top end of the 1-1/4-in. gal-
vanized pipe which serves as the mast. Its
upper surface should be ground smooth to
ease the generator's swing into the wind.
The auto generator, available at any auto
graveyard, should preferably be one from any
of the large, older cars, since its output capa-
bilities will be higher and its price lower.
The jackshaft assembly and its strap iron
supports are now made. A bronze bearing is
soldered into each end of a 7-1/2-in. length of
3/4-in. brass pipe. Align the bearings with the
shaft before soldering. The brass pipe acts as
an oil reservoir and a small hole is drilled
so that it may be filled.
The hub plate to hold the three blades is an
11-in. circle of 1-3/4-in. exterior-grade ply-
wood, or maple. Center it accurately on the
end of the jackshaft and fasten securely with
a flange and stove bolts. Cut a vee for a belt
into the hub plate edge. Adjust the height of
the jackshaft above the base to take a standard
automobile fan belt connecting hub plate and
generator pulley.
The impeller of this generator is ten feet in
diameter and has three blades. It will make
about 200 revolutions per minute in an eight-
mile-per-hour wind.
To assemble the impeller, obtain three
pieces of straight, knot-free, well-seasoned
wood, each 60 in. long, 6 in. wide and 1-1/4 in.
thick. Lay them on the bench side by side,
with grain running away from you and mark
the top of each piece "face" and bottom
"back." Draw a squared line across each board
at six-inch intervals and mark each line with
its distance from the preceding line, as 6 in.,
12 in. and so on. To make your task easier, cut
cardboard templates corresponding to degrees
of slope that will fit the finished blades at the
proper points. "
Cut the face of the blade first. This is a flat
surface but of continuously changing angle
with respect to the original face of the board.
The trailing edge is always 1/16 in. thick. The
sloping face intersects the top of the board
up to the 30 in. line and new leading edge is
cut along this distance.
To cut the blades clamp the hub of the blade
flat to your bench with the tip extending
straight out. Stand to the right of the blade
and draw a sharp drawknife toward you until
the approximate contours are reached. Fasten
the three blades to the hub plate with carriage
bolts using three for each blade.
For the impeller to run without vibration
it must be carefully balanced and the jack-
shaft (if it runs true and free) can be used
as a balancing rig. Remove small shavings
from the heavy blade until the impeller comes
to rest at a different point each time it is given
a light spin.
With the entire wind-electric generator as-
sembled, including the impeller, find the
center of balance of the baseboard and attach
the 1-in. floor flange above the commutator at
this point. Center of balance is that point
about which the entire unit balances itself
fore and aft.
To protect all wooden parts against weather,
soak generously with linseed oil or coat with
outdoor paint.
The 1-1/4-in. pipe should be well braced.
If guy wires are used, make sure that they
do not hinder the rotating blades.
Mount the generator in place by slipping
the 18-in. length of 1 in. pipe below the com-
mutator into the mast. Brushes will then make
contact with rings of the commutator.
The feed wires to the unit are attached to
the two- spring brass brushes with the wiring
exactly like that in your car. The cutout (to
disconnect the generator from the battery
when it is not charging) is the standard auto-
mobile type and may be left mounted on the
generator or may be placed near the battery.
You will also need an ammeter and a pro-
tective fuse. Mount them on a plywood panel
6x8 in. A small six or eight-volt radio panel
bulb will show at a glance when the generator
is charging.
If you use a six-volt generator a standard
automobile storage battery will be enough to
store juice during calm periods. For higher
voltage systems several units of auto batteries
may be connected in series. [END]