Johns' Ametek 30 generator in beautiful North East England
Flying the Tri-Nado MM Rotor

Comments by John

Click on any image to view it full size.

Withstands gale-force winds on an exposed site

Here we see Regina admiring her work.

 
You can tell from the smile on Regina's face that she is having fun assembling the unit. With no instructions in site it is clear to see that she knows what she is doing.

Detailed Comments

Hello Terry
I have now installed your machine and send a couple of pictures taken at my country home in Northumberland (North East England). I have added a plastic cowling to prevent moisture getting inside the machine and also dripping down the pole.

It was a weekend of strong west winds so I cannot tell what is the lowest speed at which the machine starts to turn or to charge. However, at 7 meters / sec it was spinning merrily and charging well.

By the time I went to bed that day, I was sufficiently convinced that the blades were self-governing that I kept the machine running all night, even though I knew that the winds were likely to be even stronger during the hours of dark. This is an excellent feature since I think that furling mechanisms look ungainly and add more weight and complexity to the system.
During the night there was a very high wind with gusts probably over 60 mph. The tail held the machine rock steady with no vibration whatsoever, there was no electrical hum and the propeller emitted only a faint whisper.
I suspect that the blades are, to some extent, self governing because, over a certain speed, increased wind speed did not seem to make much difference to the output which steadied at 20 volts and just over 5 amps.

At first I was rather surprised that the tube on the yaw assembly was of such a substantial diameter but seeing how well it stood up to the strong wind I can now see the logic of this. I have fitted this tube onto a 2 meter length of aluminum scaffolding tube which is light enough to make it easily manageable.  The way you have designed the whole assembly is such that it can be dismantled easily and fitted into a small space for transport. 

Hope you sell a whole lot and make some money. I bet if you tot up all the time that you have spent developing the machine you will find that your valuable time mounts up to quite a sum.
Best wishes
John S
Newcastle upon Tyne
England

Return to Customer Images