can I use the generator head from a gas powered generator to make a wind generator?
August 17, 2009 by Power Generator and Backup Power Tips
Filed under More Generators Answers
Can you answer pete g’s question about Generators?:
I have a generator and want to take the generator off the motor and hook up to wind power. Can it work?
Generator Automatic Transfer Switch
I have a generator and want to take the generator off the motor and hook up to wind power. Can it work?
Generator Automatic Transfer Switch
Generators Feedback: absolutely it will work! you just need to get the right gearing ratio to get your motor spinning at the right RPM’s. Also, you will need to make sure your wind turbine is properly designed (right sized blades, correct pitch angles, proper shape). . Generally speaking, you want to have your windmill spinning at around 20RPM, and your electric generator at 2000RPM.
oh, and here are some handy equations:
double the wind speed = 8 times the power from your generator!
double the length of your blades = 4 times the power from your generator
and here’s the one that confuses most people: double the number of blades = NO EFFECT ON POWER OUTPUT!!!
Generators Feedback: maybe. See below.
One problem may lie with rotational speed. The gas engine ran at thousands of RPM. The wind turbine will be running much slower, so you need to use gears or pulleys to change the speed to match that of the generator. Now the question is do you have enough power from the wind turbine to drive the gears and the generator?
Depends on the size of the turbine and the size of the generator.
One additional point, the generator, I suspect, is a 60hz 120 volts AC generator. Running it slower than designed for will produce lower voltages and lower frequency output, which will not be able to be used for anything except light bulbs. Even if you get to output the correct voltage and frequency, as soon as the wind changes slightly, the voltage and frequency will change again.
Generators Feedback: No. Wind generated power is done by generating variable frequency AC , frequency dependant on wind speed, coverting it to DC, and then converting it back to fixed frequency AC, 50Hz or 60Hz. It’s a completely different concept.
Generators Feedback: This isn’t going to work because the generator designed to make, for example, 60 Hz AC for the US market must spin at a specific rate.
However, you may do better with a car alternator.