Preferable a flat metal sheet that can be bolted or welded to a section of rohn20/25 that a car hub or true yaw bearing can be bolted to ..The future Gen will be a 200lb 10kw gen with 13 ft blades and geared 2:1. Pipes will be placed inside the tower when concrete is poured so that there will be 3 1" spines inside and secured to the tower itself. That will give the strenth of 6 1" pipes.One strurdy skeleton! There isnt anything on the market for swivel bearings and we need something easy but sturdy for bigger generators
I was thinking of using a large trailer hub from Tractor Supply or where ever you can find a good deal. Then bolting it to a plate. Then drilling a hole down thru the middle to run the wire. Just to let you know that it will take time. So keep it cool and turning slow to get thru. I have used nitride coated blades to do this before. High speed steel can be used but will take longer to get thru.
Yea I was thinking a front car hub bearing but have not held one in my hands to see about a wire thru it.. This Big daddy turbine will be a reality(already have the 13ft blades,they were not cheap! ) but it will be a slow build. I still have a few norm geared units to go up this summer..The dream will become real some day... :ugeek:
Hi, I'm new to this, but if your looking for something to use for your pivot in top of tower, that you can run wires down through, try a free floating pickup rearend. I cut 1 side of one of these off and mounted it in the top of my old windmill tower. When you unbolt the axle from the hub, you have about 1 1/2" hole down the center. I fabbed a water deflector out of the end plate of the axle. Cut the axle off from the end flange, blue a 1" hole through the center and welded a 1" pipe nipple on the inner side. When bolted back on to the hub, this directs any water right on down through the center tube past the bearings. Also drilled the hub and installed a grease zert to pack the bearings with grease. Oh yah, I stripped the brake drum, brake backing plate, and all the brakes off, which eliminated a lot of weight. This should handle as much as you want to put up there. Of course, I could be all wrong about what you're looking for. mowindpower
Yes, here is the tower that I'm working on putting a generator on. The treadmill motor is mounted in the middle of the tower under the covers I made to keep it out of the weather. There is a screen and a fan at the bottom of the platform to cool it. The motor has the shaft sticking out both ends of the motor, with the fan on the lower shaft. I'm just about finished with the drive system, which is another rear end with the 8' prop mounted where the wheel would mount. It gears it up 3 to 1.
