Category Archives: products/technical

MCS Certified wind turbines – a safe investment? Eoltec is back on the list.

Posted on 25/07/2012 by hugh

From time to time I comment on the list of approved wind turbines that qualify for the hefty Feed-in-Tariffs that are being dished out and that make small wind turbines a Money Earner (potentially) in the UK lately. I am … Continue reading →

Posted in products/technical, UK small wind scene | 13 Comments

Secondhand batteries

Posted on 24/07/2012 by hugh

If anyone needs cheap batteries for an off-grid system, try asking my neighbour Lawrence Buchan 077 37308766.  He has some nice Yuasa endurance batteries in 6-V blocks, 100Ah and 160 Ah sizes.

Posted in products/technical, UK small wind scene | 8 Comments

Power curve measurements from Comet-me

Posted on 14/04/2012 by hugh

Noam Dotan at Comet-me in Palestine (Community, Energy and Technology in the Middle East) has been sending me some interesting data from the 4.2 m diameter turbines that they  build.  The design is based on the recipe but they use … Continue reading →

Posted in CometME, products/technical, Scoraig | 1 Comment

Coleman wonder turbine gives 3x the Betz limit!

Posted on 11/04/2012 by hugh

Thanks to Doug Selsam for this helpful commentary on the Coleman 600W turbine that is only 2 feet in diameter and produces three times the notoriously obsolete “Betz limit“.

Posted in products/technical, Rooftop madness | 4 Comments

Helix Wind Asset Sale

Posted on 10/04/2012 by hugh

The company’s largest creditor is requiring that the assets of Helix Wind Corp and Helix Wind Inc, both Nevada Corporations, be sold via a public auction held at the company’s office on May 11, 2012 at 11 a.m. Pacific Time … Continue reading →

Posted in products/technical, Rooftop madness | 6 Comments

WindTracker – for Small Scale Wind Turbines

Posted on 07/04/2012 by hugh

Logic Energy have brought out a low cost but decent quality datalogger for wind. This logger simply gives you the basic info that you need which is the windspeed distribution – how many hours the wind has blown at each … Continue reading →

Posted in products/technical, UK small wind scene, wind systems tutorial | 5 Comments

48-volt heating controller

Posted on 06/03/2012 by hugh

Here is a diagram for a simple 48-volt heating control system for a 3 metre ‘recipe‘ turbine.  I did this design for Dr Francis Greaves in Ireland. Notes: There is no battery but the voltage is stabilised by the bank … Continue reading →

Posted in construction, products/technical, wind systems tutorial | 7 Comments

Servicing the 6kW Proven on Scoraig

Posted on 02/03/2012 by hugh

I have just done a service on our local Proven 6kW (aka Proven 11, aka Kingspan Wind KW6) at the Council’s School here on Scoraig.  First time it has been taken down since 2006.  Installed in 2003 by Sangsters. Nothing … Continue reading →

Posted in my own projects, products/technical, Scoraig, UK small wind scene | 59 Comments

Some new web pages for homebrew windpower

Posted on 11/02/2012 by hugh

Here are some pages that are new, or at least some are new to me.  There are a lot more links on my old scoraigwind.com page. Otherpower have a new page and a new web shop here.  Also buckville.com is … Continue reading →

Posted in construction, People, products/technical | Leave a comment

Inventor Doug Selsam

Posted on 27/01/2012 by hugh

This one is for inventors.  I mostly do not have time for them because they think they have got something new and I know they have just reinvented something old that never could work.  Doug’s inventions will probably never work … Continue reading →

Posted in People, products/technical, Video links | 1 Comment