Went to TGI Friday on Newport road in Cardiff last night to celebrate Liz' 22nd birthday, as usual we were rushing around like headless chickens, getting the kids ready picking our frineds and family up and that was all before getting ready ourselves.
The table was booked for 8:30pm, and we didn't start getting ready until 6:00pm and we still had to get there. Of course it only took me half an hour to get a bath, have a shave, get dressed and do my hair, while liz was still getting ready right up until we left at 7:30pm and was still complaining lol.
I managed to get 3 pints of Stella in before leaving the house, and i took two in my bag for the road, Matt was driving as he was on call so i could affor a few pints, and i did... we then had to go and pick up Liz nan from Maesglas before heading towards Cardiff, it took a little longer getting from her nanna Mary's as Liz wanted to add a bit more hairspray 
We got to the door at 8:00pm and booked ourselves in, and then headed straight for the bar, i knew i wou,d be drinking stella so that was me sorted, Liz and Sophie had Woo Woo's (Peach Shnapps, Vodka adn somthing else, lots of ice), which they decided to drink all night, Matt stuck to the old coke , LiZ mum had a Stella, and Liz nan had bicardi and coke.
Our table was sorted before 8:30pm and we were seated. we all ordered starters, Liz and Myself had the platter to share, Matt and Sophie has Sesame Chicken and Liz Nan had Jack Daniels wings, Liz mum didn't have anything as she was starting to feel the effects of the bottle of wine she drank prior to leaving the house. We had a further round of drinks at this point, Liz and Sophie electing to go Ultimate on their Woo Woo's, and Liz mum was demoted to half of Stella lol.
Soon after our main courses came, Liz, Sophie, Liz Mum and myself had Ultimate Monterey Burgers which consisted two large burgers bacon, cheese and onion rings, with fries, Liz nan had Jack Daniels Solmon (i wish i woud have had that it looked delicious), Matt had a Bacon burger. Needless to say none not one of us ate all of our burgers as they were massive, so i brought 5 whole burgers home with me in a box. Another round of drinks, plus 1 more for me as i was getting in the swing by now.
Liz had been saying all night niot to mentino that it was her birthday so i thought it only fitting that we should mention it, so in TGI Friday tradition they all came over and sang happy birthday and gave Liz a huge slab of chocolate fudge cake... all in all a good night, and what you expect form a TGI Friday restaurant.
I have been working on a new website for a printing company in Newport called Jojo Print & Promotions, their old domain name www.jojoprintandpromotions.co.uk was a bit of a mouthful and had expired, leaving them without a website and more critically email and so i decided to hunt for a shorter version, and hey presto www.jojoprint.com .
The site is basic currently and by that i mean it just consists of html pages, with very little in the way of asp.net coding, spare controls for creating accounts and logging in. There are pages for each of the printing process that can be undertaken by the company including: printing, embroidery, banners, stickers, screen printing, engraving, sublimation, canvas, vinyl and colour print vinyl. There is also a portfolio page which will be used to house jobs that have been created for large companies, charities and events.
Each printing page has a section at the bottom for images related to the printing process, which can be added though a coded page, which allows you to select the page you want the image to appear on, enter some title text to describe the image and browse and upload the required image file.
Once the basic sections of the site are complete, i will be adding:
COST ESTIMATORS - Each printing page will have a small section of code located before the gallery section which will allow members to work out the cost of their print jobs.
ORDER SYSTEM - will be an extension of the inhouse order system, and allows users to login specify object to be printed, select locations to be printed, upload images to printed, and track the progress of their jobs.
SPECIAL OFFERS - this will allow a special offer to be upload to the site and will generate a banner on all pages with information about the special offer and linking to a page containing the full special offer. All uploaded offers will be available for rotation.
CLOTHING - Fashion lines and clothing ranges will be able to be uploaded to the site, with images, descriptions, princing and shipping costs, paypal button code will automatically be generated, and inserted along with a pop up details page for each design. Lines will be added to filter drop down lists, and links to new lines will be generated automatically.
Well i have been so busy lately i have not had a spare second to post any new blogs, but it's getting to the point now where i need to catch up a bit. The foum has taken off a bit and i have been inundated with users requesting custom groups, and a large number of moderation jobs, this has tied my hands, but today is a little more relaxed so i thought i should spend the time on some DIY Wind Turbine updates.
During testing of the Better Blades from part 4 i noticed that the output of my 180V DC motor was not as expected, the blades worked a treat, and the turbine spins well in very low wind, producing between 4-8V, in high winds this exceeds 15V but how often do we get those high winds, this is simply not suitable, the battery will never get recharged. I decided to focus my attention on boosting the output voltage of the turbine with a voltage doubler, so i purchased a 6-12V DC voltage doubler (input range 4-11V, with over 90% efficiency), this should do the trick as the average output of the turbine is 6V .
I eagerly awaited delivery of the voltage doubler, and when it came i was straight on the case, it was wired into the system in about 5 minutes... again typically when your trying to test a wind turbine, no wind, not even a nats fart. I waited for 2 days and then, a slight breeze, the turbine spinning away, and for once a green charge light on my battery charge controller, yay, the doubler output voltage was around 12.5V.
Impatiently i had used the inverter and battery to charge my mobile phone and laptop a couple of times so the battery voltage was slightly depleted, i measured the voltage from the battery terminals which was 11.36V, i left the sytem for 45 minutes and returned to measure again, i waited until the turbine had stopped spinning as this might affect the results, the new measurement was 11.52V.
Ok so it seems that the voltage doubler is working but over the next few days the voltage barely increased, and the charge light was on more or less 50% of the time, i then decided that the initial increase in voltage was due to stabilisation after i had finished charing my phone and not from the wind turbine. So what is the problem, the voltage doubler uses a circuit that halves the current in the system in order to double the voltage, and with losses in the components the output current from the system was quite low even though the voltage was high enough to turn on the charge controller. I noticed that this was the case when i tried to turn the turbine by hand, it was a lot harder to turn compared to before the voltage doubler was installed, this means that there is more load in the system introduced by the voltage doubler components.
So most of the energy produced by the turbine was being wasted in the doubler components. This situation is not suitable, and currently the system cannot produce a sustainable electricity supply, so since discovering that a voltage doubler circuit does not do what i had expected i am now looking for an alternative DC motor, a motor that will hapily develop 12V in low wind speds. This is also the reason why i had not posted about the mountings, a different motor will require a different mounting as my original motor already had a bracket that was modified to suite the purpose.
Once i get my new motor, mount the blades and test its output i will move on to the mounting.
I know this part was supposed to describe building the mounting and tail of the turbine but i had a problem with the design of the first set of blades, so this part now contains details of a revised set of blades... i do think though that the design would be ok if a stiffer plastic is used, like the proposed waste pipe, but i wanted to used the scavenged piece of guttering.
...So, the first set of blades were too flexible as i had thought, how do i know??? read on... I had mounted them to the generator and fixed the whole rig to my washing line, it was quite a windy day which made this process very difficult. Wow, it works, i got the multi-meter out and measured the output voltage, it was averaging 25V in moderate wind, and the rotor began spinning gently in very low wind giving about 3V, but when there were large gusts there was a strange noise???
I looked at the spinning turbine from the side and noticed that the tips (about 3 inches) were bending backwards under the force of the wind, and when experiencing a large gust the tips of the blades were clipping the washing line pole. Ooops, thats not good, it wouldn't take much more for the blade to get damaged... so i popped in to the house to get some tools to bring the rig back to earth, i lifted the blind for a better view of the turbine which was spinning very rapidy, and seemed to be getting quicker (damn, if only i still had the multi-meter connected). While searching for my tools and periodically checking on the turbine the clipping noise was getting louder, i could hear the wind down the chimney, an indication that the wind was indeed picking up...
... one last look before taking the tools out, BANG, failure, one of the blades hit the pole that little bit too hard, and snapped from the rotor, hurtling through the air towards the neighbours garden like a javelin. Was quite sad that the blades had failed but at the same time i was glad as the strong winds had identified a flaw in the design/material and i knew now that they would not be good enough to last as part of a permanent turbine, but i had also demonstrated that the shape of the blades was efficient enought to get the generator spinning enough to charge the 12V battery. I went out to pull the rig down to find the blade sticking vertically out of the neighbours grass... if only the cat was in the way, im fed up of it spraing on my car 
I decided to revise the design slightly in order to give the tips of the blade a little more rigidity, this would be achieved using the curvature of the guttering, the more of the curve that is used the stronger the blade. So i made the tip of the blade 75mm wide rather than the original 50mm, i also decided to extend the length of the blade by a further 50mm (to get a little bit more torque out of them). This time i produced four blades, i made the first blade and then labelled it as a template, and used this to mark out the three blades that would be required, make sure you label your template as using the wrong blade will mean each blade will get progressively larger this will seriously effect your turbines efficiency and stability. I did a quick test of the rigidity by trying to bend the blade in my hand, it was much stiffer, great... so i mounted the blades to see if they would suffer the same, problem, but alas, the wind was very low.
I did notice though that in low wind the output of the generator was around 6V not enough to charge the battery, but twice that from the old blades, so efficiency has increased, i won't be able to test any further until somone turns the wind back on. Unless these blades fail also (fingers crossed that they don't), the next part will describe the tail and mounting system... i will however make updates to this page if i am satisfied with the blades, and the output, i do need a better way of quantifying the wind speed though
If you have been following this blog from the beginning you will know that my plan was to fabricate the turbine blades from a length of waste guttering, and a second set from waste pipe which is thicker, the secondary pair will be used if the guttering blades are too flexible. I have completed the first set of blades, what follows is the procedure for producing the blades:
TOOLS AND MATERIALS:
You will require the following tools and materials in order to make your guttering turbine blades:
1. Electric saw - for cutting out the blade profile (hand saw will do but i found the guttering bends too much when you try and cut)
2. A flat boot lace - for tracing out the blade profile, must be longer than your blade.
3. A suitable permanent marker - for marking out the blade profile.
4. A tape measure or rule - for marking out your dimensions.
5. A length of plastic guttering / waste pipe - turbine blade material.
6. A sharp knife - for smoothing the cut edges of your blades.
7. A drill - for creating your mounting holes.
PROCEDURE:
Use the Blade Template image to better visualise the procedure, i have not dimensioned the image as you may want to play around with them on your own design. Looking back i should have taken pictures as i was making the blades as this would have made the procedure a little easier to follow, so next time i make a set i will do just that and update the blog...
1. Cut the guttering into 3 lengths (for a three blade turbine) of 660mm.
2. Measure 12cm around the circumference of the guttering at the one end and mark - this will be slot B.
3. Measure 5cm around the circumference of the guttering at the opposite end from the same edge and mark - this will be slot A.
4. Cut a very short slot at each of the marks just big enough for the lace to fit.
5. Tie a knot in one end of the boot lace and insert into one of the slots from the underside of the guttering, pull the lace tight along the length of the guttering and tie a knot at the next slot, insert the lace into the slot. You should now have a piece of guttering with the boot lace running tight along the underside of it from slot A to slot B.
6. Use your marker to trace along the edge of the boot lace, and then remove the lace.
7. Using your saw cut carefully along the marked line from slot A to slot B, keep the section that measures 5cm at the tip, this will become the blade.
8. Using your tape or rule mark half way between Slot B and the straight edge, and 10cm down along the cut edge which becomes point 2.
9. Mark a line parallel to the straight edge of your blade 5cm long, the end of this line will be point 1.
10. Join points 1 and 2 together.
11. Cut along the drawn line, and there you have your basic blade profile.
12. Tidy up the cut edges of the blade using your knive, by scraping off the burs, you can also smooth of any corners.
13. You can drill your holes to suite your turbine mounting, i recommend a minimum of 2 holes for fixing ( i only had enough room for two).
Blade Template - click for larger image
NOTE: For my first attempt at making the rest of the blades i used the first blade as a template, but due to the curvature of the plastic each blade when cutout became progressively wider. So i would advise that you mark out and cut each blade individually.
I used the procedure above to create the secondary set of blades, after cutting the length of the pipe i quartered it, and made a blade of 3 of the 4 quarters, hold on to the the fourth quarter in case you need to replace a damaged blade. For testing i will use the first set of blades though they do seem very flexible, for a permanent system i would not recommend using the guttering blades unless you can get guttering that is thicker than standard.
Here are some images of the finished blades, the fabrication time was approximately 1.5 hours:
DIY Wind Turbine Blades - 1
DIY Wind Turbine Blades - 2
DIY Wind Turbine Blades - 3
Part 4 will describe mounting the blades and building the rest of the turbine, including the mounting and tail.
And so, the search was on to find some components to build the wind turbine and services to store the electricity generated by the turbine and convert it to 240V AC, a more house hold appliance friendly voltage. Although there are a lot of online sites dedicated to wind turbines, most of the parts required to build the full system are very expensive, so i started looking for alternatives, i had already decided that i was going to build the turbine myself, but what about the battery charge regulator and 12V DC to 240V AC inverter? These are parts i need to buy, if i am to get the system up and running quickly.
GENERATOR:
As described in 'Part 1' of this blog the genorator that i am going to use will be a DC Permanent Magnet motor, salvaged from some other device, it has to be high voltage at low rpm, so i set about trauling t'internet for such a motor...
Hours later i had stumbled across a site that sells new and used exercise machines, and parts. One of their parts interested me the most, it was a 4000RPM @ 180V DC PM motor, for use in running machines, it even had a pre balanced fly wheel that i could use to attach my turbine blades. A quick linear calculation (with 100% efficiency) gives 12V @ 266RPM (the minimum voltage required to charge the battery). I am not sure what wind speed will be required to turn the turbine at 266RPM but i am hoping the ambient wind speed where i live will do the trick, i also don't know what that wind speed is at the moment, this will also depend of cousre on my blades.
I ordered the motor and it was delivered the next day, surprisingly heavy at 7KG but did have the mounting bracket still attached, a quick measurement of the output voltage gave 5-7V DC simply twisting the rotor between my fingers, seems like it may do the trick.
BLADES:
I had read some interesting blogs describing fabrication of the turbine blades from sections of plastic pipe. Although these blade would be very crude and not as efficient as commercially available blades, the cost to make them would be next to nothing, especially since as i have some guttering lying about in the garden. The guttering is not very thick and i am wondering if blades made from this material will stand up to a strong gust. So i will make two sets of blades, one from the scrap guttering and one from waste pipe, which is substantially thicker. All of these parts can be found in your local DI|Y store.
BATTERY:
Lead acid batteries are typically not very good for this application unless the discharge of the battery is closely regulated, they are easily damaged by regular deep discharging, and as i wanted to use a 12V car battery using one is not ideal, the plus side is a small battery will only set you back about £60. I went to my local battery store to find that they also sold lesuire batteries, a bit more expensive than a car battery but with higher capacity, and the added benefit of being able to withstand deep discharging. I opted for the larger 110AH battery as it would store more charge and mean i would require a smaller number of batteries to supply the power i need. If the turbine produces surplus i can always purchase another later on.
I performed a quick calculation on my iPod Touch to see how long my laptop would last if running soley from the battery (no turbine), the power required for my laptop as stated by the power supply is 65W (not bad for a dual core machine, but then its and AMD processor :)), the inverter will use 12V so the current required is: 65/12 = 5.4A, so if the battery can supply 110A for an hour the laptop sould last approximately 110/5.4 = 20 Hours
The alternative way of calculating this would be to convert the battery to Watts 110*12 = 1320W (for 1 hour), so 1320/65 = 20 Hours.
My mind was made up, i bought the battery and a set of double ended (for battery expansion) battery terminals for £160.
INVERTER:
The inverter will probably be one of the most expensive parts in your system, however, i found a very nice inverter for use in caravans and cars at my local camping centre. They had a wide range, from 100W to 1000W, all of which are ideal for this application, but if i am to connect more than one device at a time to the system i would require a larger unit, so i opted for the 1000W version, it connects directly to your battery, and it also has low voltage warning when the battery drops to 10.V and shutoff at 10V, so although i have a deep discharge capable battery it will never drop below 10V. I had to order the inverter, but at £130 i dint mind, waiting.
CHARGE CONTROLLER:
While i was looking through the catalog at the camping centre for inverters i noticed that they also sold a range of 12V battery charge controllers. These units prevent your battery being over charged by your turbine or solar cells, and give you an indication as to the charge rate and current battery status. Some controllers can shitch the power generated by your system to another load or battery once the first battery is fully charged, but the unit i purchased just disconnects the battery. If the turbine ever does produce surplus i will just add another battery and connect it in parallel to the existing battery, so any disconnecting of the battery will occur less frequently, minimising wasted power. The charge controller was £100 and was ordered with the inverters.
VOLTAGE DOUBLER:
To boost the charging performance of the turbine in low wind speeds i have also ordered some 6-12V voltage doublers, the input voltage range of this unit is 4-11V, they have not been delivered yet and i may not even need them but i go them just in case. I could also use them to boost output of smaller motors.
MISC:
With some of the parts on order i have some time to concentrate on fabricating the blades and building the turbine mountings and tail. These will utilise the bracket that came fixed to the motor and some other bits of scrap. i may need to get a tail made as i have yet been unable to find a suitable piece of metal or plastic to use. Thats it for now, but part 3 will describe fabrication of the blades, once i have worked out how to do it...
Jesus Christ (don't take that the wrong way, i am an athiest), had my electricity bill for the month, £78 (WTF)... and most of this must be from the use of my computers and 'Always On' broadband (i have started turning this off when not in use which will get me in the habbit). There has to be a cheaper way to generate at least a portion of my electricity requirements, even if i offset my computer requirements this would be a large portion of my expenditure and carbon foot print?
I must say that the green issue also plays a lot on my mind but having to fork out thousands of pounds on a commercially available system is not justification enough, especially when you could fabricate your own system for a fraction of the cost and be doubly green by building it from recycled components.
So i started researching wind turbines, as there is always a prevailing wind where i live, our house is located on an exposed valley wall that heads to the sea. I was shocked to find that systems for purchase were very expensive, with basic systems, around £1500, not even having battery storage or quantification of generated electricity so it can be sold back to your energy supplier. With this initial expense and the fact that any generated electricity that is not used would be lost, does not make this a very efficient system that would take years to pay itself back.
Much of the information that i found favoured constructing the wind turbine yourself from high voltage permanent magnet DC motors, and self made turbine blades. The higher the voltage, and the lower the RPM of the motor, the better for this application as you want to generate as high a voltage as possible at a low RPM, this enables your turbine to start generating power at lower wind speeds... so i started looking around for a motor with these characteristics. Athough your home mode system will be a little less efficient than a purpose built system, it will cost next to nothing in comparison to build.
I decided that with the saving in building the system myself i could afford to buy some batteries for storage and a suitable inverter for converting my 12V DC battery into usable 240V AC, this will make it very easy to connect most of my computer equipment.