Life goes on - Winter 2020

taitgarry00 · February 18, 2021, 11:06pm

What Steve said. I missed seeing your post earlier. If you look online there are companies dealing with the Amish making wind powered air compressors. I think it’s a good combo. Wind is a relatively poor source for most offgrid. Either there’s no wind, or too much, and probably not when you need it. So the rated power of a turbine, especially back yard scale, is rarely met. The old high torque water pumpers would be perfect for compressing air. High start up torque would be the thing there. The big advantage of compressing air is wind gusts and over power situations which wouldn’t be useful for electric generation or charging batteries will nicely be converted to compressed air. Same on the low end of the scale. And though compressed air is relatively inefficient given the thermal losses of compression, this is free energy with indefinite storage, no discharge losses.

As for vertical axis vs horizontal, from what I read that was settled decades ago. 3 blade horizontal axis is the most efficient. Any vertical axis machine has to push wind to get the blades back into power producing position. A vertical axis machine does have the attractive feature of most of the maintenance requiring parts can be at ground level. Harder to design good shaft support for a vertical axis machine too, probably needing guy wires.

As for inefficiencies from thermal losses with air, why not reheat the air with a charcoal burner inline? Sounds like an appealing combo of renewable energy hobbies…

JocundJake · February 18, 2021, 11:32pm

Calf doing well. i build a larger fence for it and she has been up and grazing for two days. she doesn’t like the barn i closed in partially but she has access if the weather gets rough.

DanNH · February 18, 2021, 11:34pm

You still probably need some overspeed braking on the wind to compressed air generator. The speed limiting on the electric wind turbines is mostly based on the max bearing and blade speed. A runaway wind turbine or mill is pretty ugly those blades regardless of what they are made of have a maximum centripetal force they can handle at the mounting bolts and the blade tip. I spent some serious time thinking about mounting a wind turbine of some type on the ridgeline of my barns as the wind is crazy up there at times and finally decided between winter ice and snow and the breaking issue I wouldn’t feel comfortable walking around under anything I built myself. And as you said most of the commercial ones just never pay back the rated power. Lord knows my 3 barns and old farm house get plenty of wind at times though it is an attractive idea.

DanNH · February 18, 2021, 11:38pm

Thanks for the update. Honestly I am not too surprised she doesn’t like the barn. My cows like the outdoors unless it gets desperately hot (probably what you would call nice ) or if it gets windy and cold.
If she is steady on her feet she would enjoy having a companion animal with her cows are definitely herd animals and dont like being alone. Even if she has a fence between here and the horse it will make her feel safer to have the horse watching for predators.

taitgarry00 · February 19, 2021, 1:45am

For sure, every wind system needs some sort of over speed protection. I like the offset spring loaded tail that will turn the blades out of the wind in an unsafe gust. Hugh Pigott first designed that, I believe. Simple and fail safe.

But within material limits compressing air is one of the more efficient wind energy applications, same as pumping water, and other wide energy range jobs.

Edit: As for the use of big propane tanks, they are excellent for the application. If you look into the design specs, they are engineered for a burst strength around 900lbs. You could store a wicked amount of energy in such a tank with a 2 stage compressor at say 300 lbs

tcholton717 · February 19, 2021, 11:30am

The thing I never understood about the wind driven water pumps was what happened when the storage tank was full. The wind keep blowing. Was there a return line to the well for overflow?
When I was doing automotive paint systems we used a lot of air motors for skimmers and things like that. No sparks. I have played around with running small two stroke engines on air, so rigging up something like a table saw would not be that hard.

k_vanlooken · February 19, 2021, 11:59am

Hi Tom,
in many cases, if not all, the excess water pumped goes to a garden, a little pond or irrigation system
Many examples out their, they look like oasis in the desert with the windmills running…

zardoz86 · February 19, 2021, 12:34pm

https://www.cottagecraftworks.com/wind-compressor-wind-driven-air-compressor-alt-energy

I am sure someone tried to make one of these from auto power steering pump .

tcholton717 · February 19, 2021, 3:52pm

Good links Henry. This is one of those things I was very interested in and which then disconnected from my brain because it got overwhelmed with other things. I’m going to put some time into this.

JO_Olsson · February 19, 2021, 3:59pm

Finally our summer weather arrived after months of cold temps. One full degree above freezing - and rain. Wonderful!

Joni · February 19, 2021, 5:04pm

JO_Olsson · February 19, 2021, 6:08pm

Joni, makes you longing for summer, doesn’t it?
Summer is my favorite day of the year

Dualfuel · February 19, 2021, 11:34pm

46f9bf4142f4f465e64ab013b99f8113--aquaponics-diy-hydroponics
This is the way to pump water with air.
No freezing. No worrys when the tank is full.

SteveUnruh · February 20, 2021, 7:46pm

Well. Winter of 2020/21 effects makes for winter of 2021/22 fuelwood.

Base of trees snow/ice pull downs should give me a bit over one cord (4 cubic meters) of large limb wood.

And life does abound:

Eight 3-4 year old Douglas Fir trees in this now southern exposure opened up meadow.
Four blue flagged I planted. Four are Nature sprouted in place.
S.U.

Matt · February 20, 2021, 11:47pm

Well winter came late again this year. The storm that came here a week or so ago laid about 3 foot of snow here. I hate snow!!! Cant wait for next week should be in the 30’s most of the week so T shirt weather is coming!!

20210220_1836071

Grand Haven pier

Not my pics taken from FB friends.

SteveUnruh · February 21, 2021, 5:52pm

Well back to wetside winter normal here.
100% ground saturation since the beginning of December so any raining open spaces puddles. Drainages ditches and creeks fill and flow.
Cold rains i n the 40’sF (4-8C)
Real test of the 12" insulated rubber boots. In and out of water splish and splash. Squish, squish, squish.
Two more months to go of this.

Winter warming wood discoveries this year.
The Beech, true Birch and Shaggy Elm yard trees I had early on were wonderful. I expect not to have these again. Just like the bits of apple, pear and cherry I’ve had.

Now been using the dry, dry Douglas Fir. New realizations. I am restricted air burning this now. Keeps it from over flaming burning up from over drafting; drawing up and out heats by the chimney. And then lets it go into charcoal glow burning as long as possible.
Here is my discovery applicable to woodgasing.
I am now able to do this at a fixed 15% air-in from opened up refueling; thru “flaming pyrolysis” (sticks surface burning off), to formed in-place charcoal burn down.
In other words fix-nozzle opening like in a gasifier.

Here is why it works. The actual air allowed in varies depending on the dynamics of heats an induced burning types occurring. THIS is changing the internal velocity and flow volumes. Higher volumes of air sucked in for the clean burning of the outgasses volatiles. Lower air sucked in for the controlled burning of the then produced wood charcoal.

As my stove pictures have shown I hope that this shows I do this visually from my stoves all glass open front. And flow sounds. Flow whooshing.

Ha! I had palmed off on me just as much old, old power poles creosote wood rounds-splits as I had the good hardwoods.
Now trying to burn this up cleanly, stove safely, has become the next challenge.
It just wants to flame flare violently. Just like fir pitch wood.
But actually is wood too once you burn off the dino-petrol heavies.

4000 hours a year staring into my wood stove hells teaches much.
I finally asked BenP how he had come to his own spin modification on his woodgasfier hearth guts. Years later now he told me he used E-bay/internet bought glass cooking pot covers. He’d watch down inside, and video until the glass would overheat and shatter. Cover, after cover.

Data numbers are just so cold and deceptive. And you miss out on the hot hearts of the beasts. Good welders know to watch their puddle melts, and sizzle’n pop, listen carefully. Same-same.

Steve Unruh

JO_Olsson · February 22, 2021, 1:02pm

After months of cold temps, lots of free heat is pumped across the pond from Wayne’s neck of the woods. Still cold snaps to come but these temps sure make you itchy and daydreaming of sunny, golden woodpiles. Isn’t that right @Matt?

Yesterday, skiing down the mountain, I probably chased a gray legged fellow. Tracks showed he had been in a hurry most of the time.

Handy_Andy · February 22, 2021, 5:23pm

My early anniversary gift.

kmrland · February 22, 2021, 7:53pm

looks good andy,i got a 70 amp plazma cutter by lotos,Working good, used it heavy last three years, cut up several car bodys for scrap, built trailer, and two wood gasifier systems,and two heavy steel 1/4" and 5/8" plate cutting for wood boiler systems. Seems fairly durable, i bought extra big amper, and seldom cutt over 50 amps. I think i can cut 1/8" no problem 20 amps.

kmrland · February 22, 2021, 7:54pm

Hi Andy , is this mig welder or plazma cutter.