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Windmill generator for well pump

B

bc

Well-known Member
Got an idea from another topic. I have a windmill with a busted gear box on it. Well now has a submersible pump in it. Been thinking about putting a new rebuilt wheel up on pillow blocks for decoration. Now think maybe I should look at mounting a small generator on the windmill maybe from a generator with a bad engine.

Since I couldn't really control the wheel rotation speed, I would have to settle for one gear ratio and then have some kind of controller on the electric output where it would maintain steady voltage and hertz and also turn on and off with fluctuations in wheel speed and in no when conditions. I would still have a separate on/off switch for when I wanted to pump water.

Any ideas here.
 

Aint going to work that way .
Bear hope is to maybe charge a bank of batteries and use an inverter to operate the well pump .
What diameter of the wind turbine wheel , mean wind speed , pump HP and duty cycle ?
 

Come to think of it . If there is already 120V or 240V out to the pump . Couple the wind turbine to a DC generator and supply a grid tie inverter .
Need to know how many watts output the turbine wheel can produce .
 
My idea would be to use a large 12 volt automotive alternator, to charge 12 volt batteries, the run the submersible pump with an inverter.
But, it takes a big inverter to start a pump, it wouldn't be cheap. They do make 12 volt pumps for off the grid applications.
 
Units like that were popular to charge batteries when I was a kid in areas where the REA hadn't gotten yet.

They were called "Windchargers" and were popular for powering battery operated radios and small appliances.

It wouldn't be too hard to set up a system to keep one or more 12v batteries charged. I'm not sure what it would take to run an invertor for AC power.
 
(quoted from post at 07:52:39 02/18/21) My idea would be to use a large 12 volt automotive alternator, to charge 12 volt batteries, the run the submersible pump with an inverter.
But, it takes a big inverter to start a pump, it wouldn't be cheap. They do make 12 volt pumps for off the grid applications.
Click to expand...

Car alternators aren't really the way to go. They need to torn a couple of thousand rpms to charge good. If you like building stuff google homemade windpower generators, use a charge controller with batteries, and inverter to run pump.
 
Would take a pretty big windmill running
fairly fast to power a submersible pump,
even a small one. Short of doing the
research and math, you'll probably no
make it work. Lots of battery power and
a large inverter..lots of $$$.

Run this past a contractor who installs
these things. You'll be amazed.
 

It might be helpful to those replying if you told us how far you are lifting the water and the HP of the submersible pump.
 
After a brief search, I found info on this one which is a complete system but the website has a lot of info on the equipment and formulas to help decide how much power you would need to generate. I'm sure there are more websites that can be found with further info. I drive by one that looks just like this occasionally. This reminds me of a neighbor who, in about 1920, set up his own generating system utilizing an undershot water wheel over a stream and with a generator in a doghouse and wires strung up to his house. He had electric lights about 16 years before electric power became available. he was able to get all those parts, probably from Sears & roebuck?? I don't know. It was amusing to know the guy. He was the consummate tinkerer.

cvphoto78501.jpg


cvphoto78506.jpg
 
Your electric pump will not like the varied power coming purely from a windmill operation, and will quickly let the smoke out
of the motor. You'd need a sizeable battery bank to stabilize the power, and cut it off when the batteries are low, which will
not allow water to be pumped again till the wind blew again. It'll be an irregular water supply system, at best.

If a wind system was that easy, it'd be done by now by lots others.
 

OK. Guess it probably won't work or be worth it. It has a 1 hp pump run on 240v so maybe not workable. Windmill came with a 10' wheel. Of the ones I've seen running around here, they really get to spinning in this KS wind. Thought maybe it work to water the garden. Didn't think it was worth it to run a rod pump down to 160' either.

Just seems like it could be doing something other than decoration. So thanks anyway guys.
 
You would need to do some research on the best way to generate the electricity.

There are a lot of ways to do it, probably a 12vdc system batteries, and a 12v submersible pump.

It would do for a stock tank or watering a garden. Probably not so much for a whole house pressure system .

It could be done, but would you ever recover the cost?
 
I'm all for making things out of scrap.
The things I make have to be things I can't buy.
The alternators on my old tractors have to be turning fast enough to
generate power. The pulley on the crankshaft is many times the diameter
of the alternator. Good luck getting the Desired RPMs to excite
generator/alternator from a low speed windmill.
Where there is a will, there is a way.
Please keep us posted on your progress.
George
 

90 watts output if the wind is 15mph and a PM generator is used .
Used with a grid tie inverter the system would technically pump the water for 1/2 an hour a day .
 
I don't have backup power. I do have two
3500 watt champion RV generators. One has
electric start with a Key fob.

Both my wells are 120v AC. I wired them
with a short 10g cord so I can power them
with extension cord from generator or 120
v power from Duke energy.

That is my alternative solution to your power
outages

George
 
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