Doable

Blades, (length, area, root, chord) hubs, gear ratio, rotor diameter, generator size, amps and volts, and most importantly, "what is the annual average wind speed at your location"? I can't tell you what size rotor diameter without knowing this, along with the generator type, (optimum rpm, volts of at least 14, and amps of 90 or above is recommended). These is your most important criteria. The success of any wind project is dependent upon all these factors. Sure, you can bolt some plywood and 2x6's to an auto hub and make a little electricity but for what? What are your power requirements? What are your plans? What do you have to work with? What are your skills? Will it still be operational in 2 years?

If you don't possess all the skills required, don't despair! A machine shop work is way too expensive for most of us. If we need a specialty item fabricated, we go to our local high school shop teachers. If you let them know what you want to do, they are usually tickled pink to help. Why? Because it's educational, and getting involved with young people is also a civic duty that we should all take seriously. If you have good drawings some young enterprising students will most likely jump at the opportunity to work on a wind generator. It's Great! You furnish the materials and they do the work. You might offer to have them over for a good barbecue when your project is up and running, so that they can enjoy watching their labors at work.

Yes, it's true! You can build a very reliable, and fairly efficient wind generator from used auto parts. We do it quite often. For a reliable 1250 watt machine (modest but useful) using used auto parts plan on spending from $150 to $250, that's bolts, nuts, belts, pulleys, bearings, generator, or alternator, tower, just about everything. Even here there will be places that you can cut some of your cost. This is why only 8-10% of the people that contact us continue a dialog. In today's society everyone wants instant gratification, if you want reliability and efficiency you have to work for it. It's not that hard, but for some reason people seem to get scared off.

Offered by Jay.