Wind Generator
(Page 5 of 6)
A Sound Investment
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Has Marshall Price's investment—of both dollars and
time—been reasonably rewarded? Interestingly enough,
he admits that, at first, his main objective was simply to
have one wind-powered light source over his reading chair.
Then, as he made improvements in his plant and added more
lights, he boosted his storage capacity as well.
Eventually, seeing that the generator easily kept abreast
of his power usage, he installed the inverter and then tied
other appliances into the line. Today, everything in his
household is powered by the wind, save for the dishwasher,
the washing machine, and the refrigerator . . . and the
cost of operating (and enjoying) those
induction-motor-equipped conveniences usually doesn't
exceed $20 per month.
In summary, Marshall Price is an example of someone
who—with the help of his welding and metal-shop
skills—turned several hundred dollars' worth of
scrapyard parts into the equivalent of a
several-thousand- dollar investment . . . one that
demands little more than an annual checkup and a
batteryrecruiting effort every so many years. It doesn't
take a very sharp pencil to make sense of economics like
that . . . because this Price is right!
One Step at a Time
It's not difficult to imagine that many stand in awe of
Marshall Price for taking on such a formidable project and
seeing it through to completion. But even Mr. Price, as a
veteran tinkerer, approached his goal systematically, using
the most basic means at his disposal. If Marshall's success
story has you itching to try your hand at a wind energy
project of your own—but you don't know where to
begin—here are three approaches. The one you choose
will depend upon how comfortable you are with your shop
skills.
The simplest' and least expensive project is MOTHER's Red
Baron trainer—a 70-watt wind machine which our
staffers developed as an entry-level undertaking that would
cost less than $100 to build. It'll provide its builder
with some valuable experience and usable electric energy,
and can also serve as a monitor for a proposed wind site.
Six pages of detailed, step-by-step plans and photos are
published in the article beginning on page 96 of MOTHER N0.
92.
A more sophisticated windplant (but one that's not much
more difficult to build) was featured in issue 93. Dubbed
the Blue Max, the 350-watt wind generator is a reliable
power producer that can be built for as little as $200. It,
like the trainer model, uses off-the-shelf plumbing
fittings as frame components, so assembly is almost a
cut-and-paste operation. Because there's more detail work
involved with this machine, we put together a set of
construction plans (in addition to providing information in
the five-page published article). They're available at a
cost of $10.00, plus $1.50 shipping and handling, by
writing to Blue Max, THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS PLANS, P.O. Box
70, Hendersonville, NC 28793.
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