Homebrew Wind Power (Paperback)

~ (Author), Dan Fink (Author)
Key Phrases: stator bracket, single magnet rotor, stator mold, Hugh Piggott, Mike Nixon, Alternator Design (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A well-crafted blend of theory and practical information for all who want to build a quiet, efficient, and economical wind turbine to achieve greater energy independence and reduce their carbon footprint. These guys know their stuff and know how to convey it in a clear, concise, understandable, and humorous fashion." --Dan Chiras, PhD, author of Power from the Wind, The Homeowner's Guide to Renewable Energy, The Solar House, Green Home Improvement, and more.

"If you've ever thought the wind could be as productive as it is annoying, get this remarkable book, apply its clear-cut principles and procedures, and brew up a wind turbine. In their clever and amusing way, Dan and Dan show you how to power your house with the same forces that rattle the windowpanes. Buy it--it's the only book of its kind on planet Earth!" --Rex Ewing, author of Power with Nature, Got Sun? Go Solar, Hydrogen-Hot Stuff, Cool Science, and more.

"The Otherpower Dans and their crew learn more in their sleep about building good wind generators than the rest of us learn in the daylight. If you want to be able to build simple, robust, and productive wind turbines awake or asleep, buy this book!" --Ian Woofenden, Senior Editor, Home Power Magazine; NW and Costa Rica coordinator, Solar Energy International, wind energy abuser.

"If you've ever thought the wind could be as productive as it is annoying, get this remarkable book, apply its clear-cut principles and procedures, and brew up a wind turbine. In their clever and amusing way, Dan and Dan show you how to power your house with the same forces that rattle the windowpanes. Buy it--it's the only book of its kind on planet Earth!" --Rex Ewing, author of Power with Nature, Got Sun? Go Solar, Hydrogen-Hot Stuff, Cool Science, and more.

"The Otherpower Dans and their crew learn more in their sleep about building good wind generators than the rest of us learn in the daylight. If you want to be able to build simple, robust, and productive wind turbines awake or asleep, buy this book!" --Ian Woofenden, Senior Editor, Home Power Magazine; NW and Costa Rica coordinator, Solar Energy International, wind energy abuser.

"If you've ever thought the wind could be as productive as it is annoying, get this remarkable book, apply its clear-cut principles and procedures, and brew up a wind turbine. In their clever and amusing way, Dan and Dan show you how to power your house with the same forces that rattle the windowpanes. Buy it--it's the only book of its kind on planet Earth!" --Rex Ewing, author of Power with Nature, Got Sun? Go Solar, Hydrogen-Hot Stuff, Cool Science, and more.

"The Otherpower Dans and their crew learn more in their sleep about building good wind generators than the rest of us learn in the daylight. If you want to be able to build simple, robust, and productive wind turbines awake or asleep, buy this book!" --Ian Woofenden, Senior Editor, Home Power Magazine; NW and Costa Rica coordinator, Solar Energy International, wind energy abuser.

Product Description

A Hands-on Guide to Harnessing the Wind

Have you ever wondered how wind turbines work and why they look like they do? Are you interested in adding wind power to your off-grid electric system, but have been put off by the high cost of equipment and installation? Well, now you can build and install your own wind turbine!

Harnessing the wind can be a tricky business, but in this groundbreaking book the authors provide step-by-step, illustrated instructions for building a wind generator in a home workshop. Even if you don't plan on building your own turbine, this book is packed with valuable information for anyone considering wind energy. It covers the basic physics of how the energy in moving air is turned into electricity, and most importantly, will give you a realistic idea of what wind energy can do for you--and what it can't.

Full-scale, actual size blueprints for the 10-foot diameter wind turbine featured in this book are also available from Amazon to help you along in the construction process. Search Amazon books for "Homebrew Wind Power Blueprints" by Tyrone Banderet!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Buckville Publications LLC; First edition (November 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0981920101
• ISBN-13: 978-0981920108
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #119,236 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #5 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Energy > Wind
  #36 in	Books > Home & Garden > How-to & Home Improvements > Electrical
  #62 in	Books > Science > Technology > Renewable Energy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor Engineering -- High Risk, July 19, 2009

By	John Bass "Senior Engineer" (Masonville, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The DanB "heavy duty" 48V stator from his web site says "This stator is wound with #15 gage wire. It has 9 coils and each coil has 105 turns in it. [...] The coils are wired in 3 phase star configuration [...] In our tests we believe this stator will be about 50% efficient at 1000 Watts. Sustained output above about 1000 Watts may overheat this stator".

There are easy ways to get generator and rectification efficiency up above 97%, so that almost all of the harvested wind power available from the prop ends up in the batteries. Burning more than half of it in the generator and rectification is simply poor engineering.

The down side of 50% efficient as the author notes, is that this becomes an unsafe heater that violates NEC and UL standards in high winds ... creating a high fire risk ... and a risk that your insurance will not cover the damage or loss of life since the product is not UL rated.

A good efficient UL listed design would never get warm. We need NEC/UL safe products for use in forest and wild land areas to keep from starting fires that place people at risk, or worse yet kill.

Missing completely are accurate auditable specifications, performance data, and efficiency data to be able to calculate Return-On-Investment and production estimates. They need to specify critical prop data, like efficiency (Cp) and Tip Speed Ratios as a series of curves over various wind and load. They need to do the same for the generator designs. There is a lot of bashing of VAWT and micro-turbine HAWT designs based on performance claims, yet this product completely fails to accurately present it's auditable performance numbers for comparison. With the author recongnizing 50% generator efficiency, and highly mixed Cp claims, this product is very likely to only produce 25-45% of Betz.

They published this themselves, and it lacks the editorial review and facts checking that a major publisher would invest to protect their brand.

We need "responsible" advocacy in this market, that includes looking well past what is accepted practice. Everybody in the homebrew market has been doing it this way for a long time ... and it's just flat wrong.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars the book pretty good...the author...not so much, June 3, 2009

By	S. Schisler "esully1" (Rockledge, Fl) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I wasn't for sure if the author wanted me to build a wind turbine or if he was just bragging about how smart he was, how dumb I was and why I evan decided to read a book on building wind turbines. Just an example he starts the book off with, "My initial response whenever questioned about what's involved in building a wind generator from scratch is, "Don't go there!"." Then he launches into everything that makes him qualified to build one and you, not so much. Not surprising this is a running theme througout the book. So much so that I got depressed and just stopped reading cause I obviously knew nothing and anything that I built, if I built anything, would not be as efficient as his work of art. I was able to ignore the pyhcological abuse enough to get the gist of the parts needed to build one. Though it obviously is not as efficient.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Book to Own if You're Interested in Home Built Wind Turbines, January 28, 2009

By	Bryan Birch - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Dan Bartmann and Dan Fink, as well as the other '[...]' crew have put together a complete, comprehensive, hands-on manual for those interested in home-built residential wind power. I have seen first-hand their machines humming (get it...humming quietly!) along in the Colorado wind producing the very power they use in their workshop. I strongly recommend Homebrew Wind Power and will continue to use it in my classes on sustainable living. - Bryan Birch, Workshop Director, The Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living Association