Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

hahahahahheheh that has to be on the front page tomorrow

All I can say is, "Where's George"? Apparently he didn't get the message about the group picture.

Before I loose the pages again

http://www.bwsolar.com.au/tech_polymer.htm

http://www.windstuffnow.com/main/vawt.htm

The second is really neat with scale drawings and easy construction.

Yeah, you could get that from convection from the plains here. (I know, we have a lovely breeze from the plains up at our house during the day)

We have a howling gale most nights in summer.

Current thoughts for larger system are FT to header tank to GB's to FT. If I could use the VAWT to pump to the header using the solar pumps it would cut costs/power on the sump/FT pump.

I've found www.otherpower.com to be a very interesting site on wind power.

Does anyone know of any workshops in Oz on creating your own wind generator? That would be something I could get into I reckon.

Windmills are hard to build, I've made 2 so far for a friends property. Expensive to build and set up. Hopeless at pumping water, but reliable for electricity generation. They have been pulled down since and replaced with 5 x 3 metre high Savonius rotors that take up the same space. 100 times easier to build a a third the price. 3 x 44 gallon drums and an RHS frame concreted into the ground for each rotor. Here's a link for more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savonius_wind_turbine\

and for anyone who isn't mechanically inclined you can buy prefab windmills reasonably cheap from Jaycar electronics. there is one in every state and you can have it delivered if need be. they are a bit expensive but worth it in the long run.

here

AZ, what's your opinion of wind-powered electricity generation to run pumps compared to wind-powered mechanical pumping?

Of course mechanical stuff should be more efficient, but if it's more expensive then you can just over-design a wind generator.

What does "There is no point in 12V systems at this power level. If you require 12V, tap it from a 24V system" mean?

I vote wind powered generator over wind powered water pump. Because the force of the wind varies the flow of water won't always be constant. Using a wind generator to trickle charge a battery to power a pump is the best way I think, because your pump probably won't run as much at night time as it does during the day. Wind is a constant element, no mater how much is varies it will always be there(unlike solar power) so your battery can get the rest of the charge it needs during the night. Even attatching a solar panel to the battery to give a bit of extra charge during the day so your battery isn't run flat all the time. If you are getting too much charge you can incorporate a water heating element from the regulator to use the extra current instead of being wasted or having your batteries blow up on you. My friend has done this with his wind generators, the batteries power all the lighting in his house (LED's) and a few other 12v/24v appliances, they have a diesel generator for the rest. I just have to convince him to let me build an AP setup out there.

I plan on using 12v high torque motors connected to water pumps(ie - vehicle water pumps) and running the whole thing on gel batteries charged with wind/solar transducers. The motor is about $40 but an amazing 50Kg/cm torque@55RPM and runs from 450mA - 14A depending on the load it has to pull. Gel batteries are safer than lead acid batteries and last a lot longer, they do cost a little more though.

so, what about wind powered aerators against electricity generation or water movement?

Scottie, this is just a guess but I think that because the generator has a 28v output with an 8amp current a 12v battery would get really really hot really really fast. So I think they are just suggesting that a 24v system be used, 12v stuff is made for cars, I'd say 90% of home solar/wind systems would are 24v. More charge more current, houses are bigger than cars, that's why trucks run on 24v as well. They use more power.

Wind powered aerators would be fine, I'm making one for my pond. Pumping air doesn't require as much force as water. One thing I just thought of though, if the wind is blowing a gale your tank/pond might look a bit like a spa. So a pressure valve might be a good idea, even a manual release valve.

Good one AZ, I like it, looks like its easy to build.