How to Build a Small-Scale Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
13 July 2010 | Wind Power | 2 Comments
There are many ways to produce free electricity, but one of the most inexpensive ways is to build a vertical axis wind turbine. In this post I will show you how to build a vertical axis wind turbine. After building this small wind turbine you can try to build a large scale wind turbine using same principles. So, let’s stop talking and start working! 
Tools and Materials
Tools: Glue gun, Volt meter, Ruler, Scissors, Screw driver, Compass, Utility knife, Pencil, Electrical tape. Materials: 1 clear plastic bottle (1,5 L), enameled magnet wire (120m), Base 14cm-25cm (lumber or particle board), disk magnets (2-2.5cm dia.), wood screw, square dowels, Fender washers, corrugated cardboard or foam-board, glue. Looking at this small-scale wind turbine in the picture, you will decide exactly what kind of material you will use. I say this because there are multiple possibilities for replacement of the materials listed above.
Templates, Base and Frame
To fix the two halves of the plastic bottle just like in the picture you have to use two templates made of light materials such as cardboard or foam-board (Picture A).
Use a compass and a pencil to mark the base as it the picture. Then you need to fix the screw into the center point of the base (Picture B).
The frame should be build using 30 cm long square dowels, but I think you can also use other materials (the fitting of the frame can be adapted / improvised depending on your preference). Fix the axis at the top of the frame and for that you will need a special screw (question mark-shaped), because the axis must spin once with the plastic bottle (Picture C).
The coils, the rotor, the stator
In order to produce electricity, your vertical axis wind turbine will use 4 magnets, 4 coils, a rotor and a stator (an electricity generator). To create the coils easier, use a cardboard winding jig (fold a small piece of cardboard over itself 3 times). Then you will make 4 coils, each with 200 turns of wire and with 20cm of wire between each coil (for each coil – 20m of wire). The finished coils should look like in (Picture D).
The stator construction will involve attaching the coils on the base, just like in (Picture E).
The rotor can be made of cardboard and will have a circle-shape, exactly like the stator. On one side of the stator you will attach first 4 washers and then, above the washers, you will attach the four magnets oriented with north up (Picture F).
The turbine
Your wind turbine will use two halves of plastic bottle to spin. Cut your plastic bottle with precision in two pieces. Then fix together the halves using the two templates made of cardboard or foam-board.
Your wind turbine is ready to assembly so, on need to attach on the axis the rotor and the turbine. First, fix the rotor on the axis, 1mm (max. 2mm) above the stator. Then attach the turbine to the axis (5-6 cm above the rotor). You need to fix them well, and be sure that when the turbine spins, the rotor will spin too (Picture G).
That’s it! Now, you test it! Connect the free ends of the coil wires to a LED and move your vertical wind turbine in an area where the wind blows. Good luck!
Tags: diy vawt, diy wind turbine, home made vawt, home made wind turbine, small scale wind turbine, vawt, vertical axis wind turbine, wind generator, wind power, wind turbine
Hey man i really like what you have hear and would love to build one myself for a project in school.
some questions though:
where did you get your supplies from?
is most of the materials found in home depot?
can i see a more clear picture of the turbine, one that shows it stationary?
thanks!
i’d love if we could talk more about it!
tlipshutz@gmail.com
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