Asking for trouble

[PurpleDragon]

Wind energy.

Sorry.

Okay, I have a chicken house right next door to the kids playhouse.
Kids dont use the playhouse in the winter - rabbits overwinter in there and I store the winter feed in there.

There is a lightbulb in the chicken house, and the cable runs neatly outside, into the ground, and upon digging it up to see where the power comes from, you find a cut off cable. Proper industrial stuff - none of this kettle-cable.

So - there is a smallholding or something nearby here, and they have a small homemade windmill thingy. It appears to power something. I don't know what.

My question:

is it possible to make your own wind powered something that will recharge something like a car battery, thereby enabling me to visit both hens and rabbits in the light, instead of fumbling with a tempremental torch in a force 10 gale?

My idea is to have it on a timer so that the lights come up in the evening, I can go and snuggle them all up in their respective beds, and then the timer will switch said lights off shortly afterwards, with some sort of override switch if I need to keep them on longer.

I could (perhaps) also use it to power the coop hatch to let the girlies out in the morning in the summer as they always seem to be up before me.

And I could also attach a heated something underneath the water trough (which is cast iron) so that their water doesn't freeze over 20 minutes after I've refilled it.

Pie in the sky? or chocolate teapot?

[Stonehead]

Pie in the sky? or chocolate teapot?

Very do-able and one of my numerous plans for this place. But....

Anyway, must dash as I've more jobs to do - will try to put more details later.

[PurpleDragon]

I shall look forward to your input :)

[cir3ngirl]

Have always thought my gerbils could produce a few watts running in their wheel.

[PurpleDragon]

I tell you what, if I could wire up my three kids - the oldest one in particular - add a few e-numbers, then I reckon I could power Aberdeenshire, or at least my corner of it.

[Muddypause]

There were plans and instructions on the web for making a wind generator based on the wheel hub of a Ford Transit (actually adapted from an American plan that use some other vehicle). I can't find the page now, but it may still be up somewhere. It was quite complicated and involved winding your own armature inside the brake drum, IIRC.

There are probably other devices that can be rigged up by a DIYer, perhaps using an existing electric motor of some sort as the generator (a motor and a generator are essentially the same thing).

On the other hand, a road near us recently acquired a solar powered sign that would flash at you to tell you to slow down. Had a big solar panel on the top of it. Suddenly the whole sign has gone missing. I can't help thinking someone has helped themselves to the panel. I've also seen similar with a solar panel, and a small wind generator on it. Not trying to give anyone ideas, here, of course...

[PurpleDragon]

Hmm, actually, we've got loads of those round here, Muddy ......

[Stonehead]

If you just want a simple system with only one light/appliance, then you can make do with one of the numerous kits that are out there. These include specialist lighting kits for chicken owners so that you can artificially extend the length of the day.

But, if you want to power from a couple of sources, store it in batteries and then use it to power lights and appliances, then it becomes rather more complex. And as I've found, there are few books or websites on 12v domestic or light industrial electrical systems.

However, don't despair because there is one obvious source of 12v expertise - the boating fraternity and particularly people who build, own or operate narrow boats. That's where I've picked up most of what little I know!

To have an internal light on a timer, possibly an exterior light, a powered pophole and a heated trough means you're going to have to properly plan the system.

You'll need to work out the peak load on the system and the sustained load, then work out the size of the battery bank you need - it needs to be able to handle the peak load and the sustained load (eg you might want the batteries to have three day's sustained power stored in them).

You then need to work out the amount of power generation needed (so one hour's use of the interior light alone may require three hours battery charging), before deciding how you're going to generate the power (solar, wind, generator etc). This all depends on how much load each light/appliance draws.

You then need a charge controller to stop your generation system over-charging the batteries, plus a 12v distribution board (because you have more than one light/appliance) with circuit breakers or fuses. After that, you need your 12v lights and 12v sockets (for the pop hole etc).

Now, I have left out one thing - the heating for the water. To prevent the batteries being overcharged, the charge controller will divert the load to a "dump load" when the batteries are charged. These are basically air heaters, so it should be possible to duct the heated air from these under or around the water trough and supply to prevent it freezing.

But, if the system is not charging in mid-winter (no wind, no sun), then you'll need some other form of heating - possibly a 12v heating pad like the ones that go under fermentation vats.

Note: I am not an electrician or wind turbine/solar expert. This is just summing up what I've managed to learn so far, is not a technical how-to and may not use the correct techno jargon!

[Martin]

-sounds good to me! - bear in mind, you can get some very good 12v energy-saving lightbulbs - they are around a tenner, but obviate the need for a mains inverter - things like lighting and timed catches don't take a lot of current, but heating unfortunately does. There are some suitable immersion heaters around for putting in the side of something like a cattle trough - the supplies are irregular, last time I saw them, they were about fifty quid.
As for what to use to feed the batteries, there are several plans on the net to "make your own" turbines, often based on bike dynamos, or old computer motors - they do work, and if you have the time, would be great fun - there are also plans available to go the whole hog, and make your own windings, rotors etc - but do be very careful to work out how much they'll cost - and make sure they'll give you enough power for your needs.
I'm pragmatic - if you're near the coast, go to boat jumble sales, and try to pick up a used Rutland cheap - they're good reliable little things that go on forever - or wait a month or two and the bootsales will be full of teapots - bung one on a proper tower, it might just do the job!

[nathanbriggs]

hurray Martin and I agree on something

Off grid low power, better off 12V system and lights, I've seen designs with car alternators that work quite well, but you need to be good with your hands to build your own.

In my experience, its cheaper/easier to well insulate the chicken hut and put some form of frost stat in to keep the water from freezing, depends on chicken density/size of hut wether it will come on. There's a guy in the states who makes methane from his chicken dung and burns that to warm the huts over the winter, but he has hundreds of chickens

[pskipper]

If you have the time you can cobble one together from a Sturmey Archer Dynohub (there's a few on e-bay at the moment, please don't bid against me :) ), a car radiator fan and some bits and bobs. The advantage of the dynohub is that it starts generating at 60rpm (or so I am told). I'm planning on trying this and using a Morris Minor regulator (scrap yard trip) to regulate the voltage.

[Stonehead]

Never mentioned an inverter! I suggested 12v lights...