The tail of a wind generator is necessary to maintain the blade assembly oriented with the prevailing wind direction.

After some experimentation, we have found that a tail length about 2 to 3 feet is quite adequate.

The tail can be made from any sturdy metal. We often have used the metal from old washing machines or electric stoves with success.

Just drill a couple holes in the tail assembly pipe and connect the tail. Remember the tail should be about 1 square foot of material at least.

The Pilot Vane (recommended over tip up method)

Another great way to achieve safe results in severe weather is by using a pilot vane. This is very similar to the tail of your homemade wind generator. The only difference is that it is mounted on the side of the body, ahead of the tail. It must be located at 90 degrees or right angles to the tail.

The pilot vane should be between 50 and 70 percent of the total area of the tail. If for example your tail is 2 square feet, then your pilot vane would be between 1 and 1.4 square feet.

The object of mounting a pilot vane is that, in severe weather, it turns your homemade wind generator assembly away from the prevailing wind. Thus, your wind blades are not catching the full force of the wind which increases dramatically as wind speed increases. You want to preserve your wind generator blades in gale force winds. A tilt-up and a pilot vane are a great way to do this.

In our next post: How to Make a Charge Controller.

Want the full scoop on how to build a wind generator? Check this site: www.fuel-water-energy.com/windgenerator.html

Filed Under: Alternative Energy Sources , Wind Power Tagged with 3 Feet, Charge Controller, Couple Holes, Electric Stoves, Force Of The Wind, Fuel Water, Full Force, Gale Force, Prevailing Wind Direction, Right Angles, Severe Weather, Speed Increases, Square Feet, Sturdy Metal, Tail Assembly, Vane, Washing Machines, Water Energy, Wind Blades, Wind Generator Blades

This post is the third of a series of posts describing how to build a home made wind generator.

Check the first post on How To Build The Blades

Check the second post on What Materials To Use To Build The Blades

OK, Let’s get into how to cut the blades

Using a 4” to 12” sewer PVC pipe, you will cut it quartering the pipe, and then you will cut out one blade, and use it as a template for cutting out the others. That will leave you with 4 blades (3 plus one spare).We are going to build a 3 blade assembly. You can use a jigsaw to cut the pipe. See the figure below

Cutting the line with a jigsaw

The first step in cutting out the blades is to mark the pattern on the pipe with a marker. A tape measure and a large piece of project cardboard or Bristol board works great for transferring your pattern.

Notice that the centerline is slightly offset when cutting the first blade. This is to catch the wind more effectively. This first blade will be used as a template for the two other blades. See the figure below.

Notice that this example design pattern is set for a 10 inch pipe; in this way a 4 feet long blade will be on one side 7” wide and on the other 5”. If you use smaller or larger pipe diameter, just add or subtract one half inch of width for every 2 inches of pipe diameter as in the table below.

Pipe Diameter	Blade width at hub	Blade width at tip
4″	5.5″	3.5″
6″	6″	4″
8″	6.5″	4.5″
10″	7″	5″
12″	7.5″	5.5″

You can then do a little extra smoothing and shaping using a belt sander, palm sander or just sand paper on the cut edges to try to make them smoother. Smooth the sharp corners at the tip of the blades as well. This will serve to make the air flow better, thereby creating a better airfoil.

Wooden blades

Wood is also a recommended material to make blades and cedar is a nice wood. The Eastern White Cedar and Western Red Cedar have the same characteristics of lightness, super strength, flexibility and superb outdoor weathering capabilities.

For the building of your homemade wind generator blades you will want to find planed, finished lumber as thin as you can, preferably only one inch in thickness.

If you can’t find one inch lumber, ask at the lumber yard if they will cut it down to that size for you. The lumber piece should be 6 inches wide and 4 feet long for a single blade.

Use a jigsaw with a wood blade of fine teeth. Make each blade the same by copying the pattern 3 times.

Just put a small spacer piece on the leading side of each blade to tilt the blade in the direction of the wind. A slight tilt of 10 degrees is fine. Use a small piece of wood or angled metal to achieve the results you want to make that blade spin.

In our next post we will be discussing on how to build de hub that holds the blades together.

If you need a complete blueprint on how to build a home made wind generator CLICK HERE

If not, that´s Ok, just keep on checking our series of posts to get the whole picture to start your own project.

Filed Under: Alternative Energy Sources , Wind Power Tagged with Air Flow, Belt Sander, Blade Width, Bristol Board, Building A Home, Capabilities, Cardboard, Centerline, Cutting Blade, Flexibility, Hub, Inch Pipe, Jigsaw, Lumber, Marker, Outdoor Weathering, Palm Sander, Pipe Diameter, Pvc Pipe, Sand Paper, Sharp, Style Text, Table Style, Tape Measure, Wind Generator, Wind Generator Blades

We recommend using two different blade materials. You can use the one that fits your budget or the one that is most readily available.

First off, we recommend PVC plastic sewer pipe in the 8 to 12 inch range to make the blades. The great part about using this large sewer pipe is that it is usually available at large city construction sites for free. Simple ABS pipe works well too.

Look for pieces in the 4 to 5 foot range if possible. You will want to build a wind generator with blade diameter of around 8 feet if possible to produce the most power you can with your DC motor and you will need at least 4 feet long blades to do that.

The PVC sewer pipe, if you had to buy it, comes in 16 feet length and costs about $183 per section. Kind of expensive, so those pieces you have in your hands are very valuable.

Why use PVC?

We have tried many types of pipe, from ABS to thin wall PVC, but nothing seems to hold up like this green or blue sewer pipe does. It is thicker and stronger than other pipe and all it requires is a coat of UV (ultra violet) resistant paint to keep going for years.

One note of caution, if you use this kind of pipe you will not achieve the kind of efficiencies of design inherent in using wooden blades. The main reason for this is because the pipe is rounded. The wind does not flow nearly as well off of a rounded blade as it will from a flat wooden blade. You can, of course use ABS or the thinner PVC if it is available. Try to find free sources if you can.

You will have to paint those blades. The only drawback to using PVC sewer pipe, or any pipe for that matter, is that it was intended for use below ground or inside. Thus, you will need to paint the pipe sections of your blades with a tough UV resistant paint to combat the nasty effects of the sun over time. The PVC pipe will get brittle and crack over time. This can be a very dangerous situation when your wind generator is spinning at high RPM and little (or large) pieces of the blades start flying off. Be careful.

So, paint the blades with a UV inhibitor. The main ingredient in most of these paints is Titanium Dioxide. Just look for that in the can. Ask at your paint store or hardware store and tell them what you are painting, and what you are looking for. This is not a hard to find product, even though at first glance it may seem that is the case.

You can check the recommended ebook Build a Home Made Wind Generator

In our next post we will discuss how to cut the PVC blades. Stay tuned

Filed Under: Alternative Energy Sources , Wind Power Tagged with Abs Pipe, Caution, City Construction, Construction Sites, Dangerous Situation, Dc Motor, Diameter, Drawback, Efficiencies, Free Sources, Nasty Effects, Pipe Sections, Pvc Pipe, Pvc Sewer Pipe, Resistant Paint, Rpm, That Fits Your Budget, Thin Wall, Wind Generator Blades, Wooden Blade