Customer Reviews

Solar Powered Wind Turbine Kit

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Do not purchase this product in an attempt to go "green" or to demonstrate the possibility of solar power.

Product comes in a cheap cardboard box. Inside you are asked to cut the plastic parts yourself!! You are supplied a tube of glue to stick together the ill fitting parts!! And you guessed it, my wind turbine also did not work. This product is the worst item I have ever seen associated with a German manufacturer, if I were Amazon I would be ashamed to have this item for sale on my website.

I bought this product thinking it would not really require gluing, and would easily snap together. This was not the case, however, and I ended up having to use a lot of the included tube of super glue to put it together. After the annoying construction, though, the windmill worked pretty well. It is more like a desk toy so I wouldn't really recommend it for $40. It is amusing, the windmill turns when the solar battery on the top of the structure is exposed to a light bulb, but $40 was a little much. I wouldn't buy this unless I needed it for some sort of experiment (the reason i bought it), or if i really needed a model of a modern windmill for some reason.

We have purchased many of these small model wind turbines, many of which have run flawlessly for over 5 years. They are available in kit form that require you to assemble and glue, as with many models. We have had no trouble with our young children putting them together, although the glue is strong and proper ventilation is required. As with many models you need to trim the plastic pieces. Using twist ties helps hold the tower together during assembly. They can also be purchased completely assembled from some suppliers, if you are not a model builder. If they are not in direct sunlight, or if you push the propellers on too tightly they will not spin. The propeller hub will then need to be pulled out slightly to allow for free movement. They are great for model train setups and are a great introduction to wind and solar energy. Don't expect them to power your house; they are just models.

The kit went together fairly easily. It doesn't exactly snap together, but with the glue and some rubber bands to hold the pieces tightly in position, everything came out looking well and the blades could freely spin. You'll have to study the instructions closely to make sense of the pictures.

Under the product description, it states the turbine will also work under desk light, but I could not get the blades to turn until the solar chip was about 6 inches away from a bright incandescent light bulb. We don't have that kind of desk lighting at work, so I was a little disappointed that I will not be able to use the turbine at my desk as I had intended.

The product was what it said it would be and my fellow workers and I enjoy it. However, I had to make some adjustments for it to turn out so well. The pieces have a lot of molding left-over's on them. You need to take the time with a sharp knife to remove these. Dry fit the pieces until you are comfortable that they will go together well. Also it is very top heavy. I solved this by gluing two large washer to the underside of the base. Now it is far more stable. One last thing, the price high for what you get, but where are you going to find it otherwise. The fact that it rotates inside on its own is cool.

We use this in a desert terarium in a library. It's easy to assemble, and looks great. Varying the intensity of the light regulates the speed of rotation. It takes a bit more light to start it than it requires to keep the blades moving but that just provides an opportunity to give a quick illustration of momentum (and on electric motors and solar power if kids eyes don't glaze over too fast).

The price is a bit higher than I wanted to pay but there seems to be nothing else like it available.

We like it, but then we are geekier than most people.