My VAWT (Vertical Axis Wind Turbine)

The vanes are (2) 5 gallon buckets cut in half, then at an angle to make 4 angled vanes. They're mounted to a board, then a bicycle hub and emt conduit. It rests on my balcony railing for now and is easily removable. I have not tested it in unobstructed, optimum wind conditions, but will as soon as I complete the tower. I will use a similar design to generate a few watts of power some day. I hope this inspires you to build your own vertical axis wind turbine!

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• vawt
• wind art
• wind power
• wind
• homemade
• bicycle
• bicycle wheel
• reuse
• recycle
• bike
• change
• outdoor
• solar
• green
• energy
• global
• warming
• environment
• garden
• free

[WindEarthWaterFire]

...not try'n to be "that guy"..but I think your gunna find that a bottom bearing point is a must..or at least a, would be better. Once the wind starts a blow'n. Atleast that's what I've found. A few magnets oppose'n each other in'a circle does wonders for drag.. I like the design.

[DanielJPowell1]

@WindEarthWaterFire Good point. My area doesn't get much wind. A windy day here is 10 to 20 mph, with gusts maybe up to 30. Bicycle hubs are plenty strong for this use. If I was in the midwest or somewhere with a lot more wind, I would certainly beef up my design. If I were generating power I would of course want to minimize drag as much as possible and the magnet idea would be a good route.

[Jacko49]

Fantastic mind and creative

[DanielJPowell1]

@Jacko49 Thanks Jack :)

[DanielJPowell1]

@Jacko49 Thanks Jack :)

[DanielJPowell1]

Thanks for the comments. I'm making a tower for it right now. I'll post a video for that when I get a round to it.  Does anyone know where I can get a "round to it" ? I think OSH carries them. ;)

[1wicked2008]

thanks for the ideal

[anythingrenovations]

Amazingly simple and ingenious...

[churchun]

Thanks, great video. Could you tell me the measures to cut the buckets? or any reference. What is the diameter wooden circle?

[SentientAlgorithm]

Nice and I like how you wrapped the conduit around the wheel and made it easy to remove with the hooks. Well done.