I have access to this decorative windmill. It’s been in place for decades, spins freely in the wind, and has made millions of revolutions in its lifetime. Its RPM’s are impressive even in relatively low wind.
What are your thoughts on how I should harness this energy?
Step 1) Wire it up
Step 2) Wait for lightning
Do you have a bike with a dynamo powered light somewhere? You could try hooking that up somehow.
And bike around the neighbourhood playing Snap! - Power.
I’ve got a power! 🎵✨🤭
I think that mechanical generator could be hook to it as it
Beat me by 2 hours, 59 minutes and 45 seconds!
Probably need to increase the size of the base, the length of the pole, and the area covered by the blades.
After that, strap on a dynamo and find a battery to capture the energy. Probably need a transformer to regulate how much power you’re putting in and taking out, so you have a steady AC flow that doesn’t wear out or blow up any of the parts.
https://windturbinehome.com/news/how-to-build-1000w-wind-turbine-at-home
Replace the base with a solar panel. You won’t get any meaningful power out of that tiny blade setup from wind.
Simple answer: making it do meaningful work will make it harder to rotate (kind of like increasing the setting on a stationary bike) and something this size won’t be enough to power anything useful.
Maybe one of those solar garden lights? But those already run fine on solar.
I’d say leave it and enjoy the free spins in the wind, those are more valuable than the tiny bit of energy this can give you.
Start over from scratch
Removed by mod
Been looking for a preassembled working one and found this at home depot, $195.39. I am more thab a little surprised.
Use the clone tool to increase the size by at least 1000%
You can try just hooking on a chain and a dynamo.
But that entire blade mechanism looks way too heavy for its size. You won’t get much out of it without replacing it with something a lot lighter.
Won’t generate much electricity, but for fun, you could just direct mount a bike dynamo on to it and connect to a simple led. You could probably get it to work if you oil it up well. Can also buy a battery management board and connect to a battery so the light can work when there’s no wind!
Alternatively, bore a hole down to the aquifer and let it pump water slowly with mechanical power. That would cost more though.
magnets and copper wire?
and a slip ring.
and maybe a sand battery?
or maybe a corkscrew to lift water, as a secondary store of power potential, that could then be toggled on to flow in low wind to keep a turbine going.
