Our Wind Turbine is Standing Tall!
Monday was a momentous occasion at our house. Roy and his dad, Big Roy, erected our wind turbine with Roy's grandma, mom, wife (myself), and daughter all watching. After all the hubbub of getting the foundation and wiring done, this was a quiet affair.
Over the last few weeks, Roy has been preparing for this day by assembling the turbine. First, they had to put together the two tower pieces that weigh about 2600 lbs combined. You can see here that their method involved a tractor, some barrels and a lot of muscle.
To get the two pieces to slide together, they used a come-along, which locks as you lever it tighter so it can't slip backward.
Next, they assembled the rotor and the blades.
Then we had a wind turbine all ready to go . . . except that it was laying on its side.
Are you wondering yet how this thing was erected? Well, that skinny little pole standing up perpendicular to the wind turbine is a gin-pole. You can see that there is a cable connected from the top of the gin-pole to the turbine pole. Another cable is later attached from the gin-pole to a winch (like a large reel) on the back of a pick-up to pull the top of the gin-pole towards the ground, which acts to lever the turbine into a standing position.
The base of the tower has a hinge on it to aid in the erection process and to help line it up with the bolts in the foundation.
After it's up, they screw the bolts down and ensure that it is perfectly upright.
Okay, you probably noticed that I skipped right over the actual moment that our tower was erected . . . that's because I don't have pictures of it . . . I have video! Only I haven't formatted it yet, so you'll have to wait a day or two. Till then you can admire the finished product!
We're not allowed to run the turbine until an electrical inspector signs off on it. We will let you know as soon as that happens!
By the way, my husband sells these turbines (and many other designs, too), just check out his website at www.ColoradoWindTurbines.com . He also does solar arrays and energy audits!
Over the last few weeks, Roy has been preparing for this day by assembling the turbine. First, they had to put together the two tower pieces that weigh about 2600 lbs combined. You can see here that their method involved a tractor, some barrels and a lot of muscle.
To get the two pieces to slide together, they used a come-along, which locks as you lever it tighter so it can't slip backward.
Next, they assembled the rotor and the blades.
Then we had a wind turbine all ready to go . . . except that it was laying on its side.
Are you wondering yet how this thing was erected? Well, that skinny little pole standing up perpendicular to the wind turbine is a gin-pole. You can see that there is a cable connected from the top of the gin-pole to the turbine pole. Another cable is later attached from the gin-pole to a winch (like a large reel) on the back of a pick-up to pull the top of the gin-pole towards the ground, which acts to lever the turbine into a standing position.
The base of the tower has a hinge on it to aid in the erection process and to help line it up with the bolts in the foundation.
After it's up, they screw the bolts down and ensure that it is perfectly upright.
Okay, you probably noticed that I skipped right over the actual moment that our tower was erected . . . that's because I don't have pictures of it . . . I have video! Only I haven't formatted it yet, so you'll have to wait a day or two. Till then you can admire the finished product!
We're not allowed to run the turbine until an electrical inspector signs off on it. We will let you know as soon as that happens!
By the way, my husband sells these turbines (and many other designs, too), just check out his website at www.ColoradoWindTurbines.com . He also does solar arrays and energy audits!
Posted by Susan at July 8, 2010 
Categories: Rural Living
Tags: raum electricity 3.5 chinook energy wind turbine residential colorado energy phillips county renewable
Categories: Rural Living
Tags: raum electricity 3.5 chinook energy wind turbine residential colorado energy phillips county renewable
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