Entrants so far...

 

 

Well, I built one entirely out of scrap parts (no cost to me, but to buy the parts would probably cost less than $30) that completely MELTED two bridge rectifiers from computer power supplies (5A).

The construction involved cutting a length of 3 inch PVC drain hose into two 2 bladed props, each offset by 90 degrees to make a four bladed prop.  Yes, it had vibration issues due to the even numbered blade design, but it worked pretty good once hooked to the generator.  I then drilled a 3/8 inch hole for the mounting bolt.

The mounting bolt was held in the chuck of an 18V cordless drill motor/gearbox.  This became the generator (permanent magnet DC motor).

I then took some lamp cord, a rectifier out of an old computer power supply, and hooked it up to my Coleman Jumpstart pack (12V battery).

A 15-25 mph wind set it spinning and the LED's on the front of the jumpstart pack showed that power was going into the battery (it was fairly low on power as I had used it several times without recharging it).  When the wind gusted up to about 40mph, the generator screamed up and produced enough power that it blew the rectifier (5A).  So I figure it was producing AT LEAST 75W (6A).  I then scavenged another rectifier from another power supply to try again.  Another gust later and this rectifier actually SMOKED, so I figure it had produced about 100-120W (10A).

all in all, I would think that the parts I used bought second hand would have run around $30-$35 (20 UK pounds) maximum.  If I bought a good rectifier (25A) I would still be using it to recharge my little jumpstart pack instead of plugging it into the wall.

Thanks for looking,
Darrin Moore

Gotwind comment Not sure about this one? - If you are using a permanent magnet DC motor, why were you using a 5A rectifier?, surely this is only required with an AC generator, this was probably the cause of 'smoking' the rectifier and not the power you thought you were generating.

 

This one cost me about $2 (£1.40 UK pounds)  - for the rectifiers.
Around 30W.Its a 3 phase PM motor that I got free from NTL, maybe from a sewing machine?
Cut blades from a 6 gallon laundry detergent pail.
Screwed them on the hub, a hunk of particle board.
Drilled a hole in the hub a tad smaller than the shaft. Beat the hub on.
Added 2 bridges.

Put it on a piece of 2x4", added a piece of panelling and a furing strip, balanced it then drilled a hole there, set it on a 1" copper pipe, that is in a hole drilled in a stump.

The wood and screws came from when I remodelled the kitchen.
NTL bought the motor scrap, maybe $3?  So I guess it should count as $5 total.
Ed's microwave windmill cost a lot more, I think he figured $8 (60% more!), but it has nice plans.  Looks a lot nicer too.
I'm sure others have $0 in much nicer, more powerful machines.

 

I've got about $7.00 (4.80 U.K Pounds) in nuts and bolts in these two. All the rest came from dumpster diving (including the test stands).
48v DC motors, flat plastic panels for blades and tails, scrap plywood for hubs, left over spray paint from a refurbish of my tractor.

No power rating indicated !

 

Here is our entry into the competition. It is factory-produced, but we would like to put forward this entry for two reasons

1. Our main goal is to make renewable energy as affordable as possible - even less expensive than DIY where possible. 

2. We will benefit from some free advertising - which reduces our costs in getting the products to market.

 
Wind turbine kit
We can offer this kit for (£99 UK Pounds)
 
The kit will NOT include a pole, guy lines inverter, charge controller, rectifier - as normally included with our wind turbine kits, and shipping time would be 12weeks, as we will need time to make up these skeletal kits.
 
What we would like to do is to compile a list of anyone that would like to take advantage of this offer, so that we can make up one batch of kits all together.

http://www.navitron.org.uk/wind_turbine.htm

 

Our Wind Generator was designed to be simple and efficient with fast and easy construction. Chispito is a 100 watt machine and can be

built for under $30 USD (12 UK Pounds). utilising a 260 VDC, 5 A continuous duty Treadmill Motor and 24" length PVC Pipe blades.

We do offer Bare-Bones kits on our web site for some of the harder to find parts.

Most of the tools and materials in this manual can be found in your local hardware shop or junk pile. For more

information and inspiration on wind generator construction, please visit http://www.velacreations.com/chispito.html <

 

Machine made from scrap steel and wood. Magnets and winding wire donated 700 watts @ 12 volts

Rotor diameter 3.6 metre made from Douglas Fir . 3 phase alternator uses 16 magnets and 48 slot stator, old trailer bearings for the drum and yaw shaft ,fence post for boom with a ply wood tail.

No price indicated!

Peter Cottrell - Australia

One day I was walking to town and came across these moving signs. First I didn't think much of them until I realized that these could be used to generate power. The great thing about these is that they spin at very low wind speeds with a lot of torque. I believe that this design could easily produce the 20 Watts required to charge a 12V battery, Of course the sign could also be made larger for more power output.

Unfortunately I don't have the time to build it myself but hopefully it will inspire other wind generator designers

Samuel Schlatter - New Zealand

 

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