Mechanical Windmills

Calliban · 2025-09-09 16:28:20

My recent experience building a mechanical windmill has led me to the realisation that this is a technology that anyone can build from very basic materials. Indeed, many individuals on the american frontier produced mechanical windmills from the 16th century onwards. By the 19th century, home built wind mills were a common addition to many homesteads, as detailed in the reference below.
https://core.ac.uk/download/17270953.pdf

In the drive to achieve decarbonisation (reduced dependance on fossil fuels) there is a strong case to be made for mechanical windmills, both for individual homes and larger units serving community and commercial interests. Such mills can provide mechanical power relatively cheaply and can be constructed from brick, stone, wood and iron, with substantial use of recycled materials.

So far, the majority of interest in wind power has been in the development of large units, with the intention of generating electrical power for the grid. However, there is a growing realisation on this board and beyond, that this strategy is not generating value for money for consumers and does not appear to be sustainable from a resource perspective. In addition to the resource requirements for electric wind turbines themselves, the need for inverters, transmission, battery storage (for frequency control) and backup, all contribute to a high cost of delivered energy and unsustainable resource commitments in infrastructure.

Direct mechanical power from wind, largely avoids these problems, as the energy capture systems are simple and no specialised materials are required.

...to be continued.

Last edited by Calliban (2025-09-09 16:50:42)

SpaceNut · 2025-09-09 17:00:56

I am reminded of those old westerns that I saw as a kid with the praire covered with them.

A western water pump windmill is a device powered by wind to draw water from a well and pump it to the surface, typically used on farms and ranches in the American West to provide water for homes, livestock, and crops. Key features include a tower, a rotatable tail for facing the wind, a self-governing mechanism to adjust sail area in high winds, and a pump rod connecting to a piston in a cylinder at the bottom of the well. Daniel Halladay's 1854 invention was the first commercially successful American model, revolutionizing settlement of the Plains by making water independence possible.
How it Works
1. Wind Capture:
The wind spins the mill's blades, which are designed to catch the wind and rotate the mechanism.
2. Self-Regulation:
A tail vane turns the mill into the wind. In strong winds, the mechanism automatically turns the blades partially out of the wind to prevent damage.
3. Pump Operation:
The rotational energy is transferred down the tower by a connecting rod to a pump.
4. Water Lift:
A piston on the end of this rod moves up and down, drawing water from the well to a storage tank or another location.
Historical Significance
Settlement:
Water pump windmills made settlement on the Great Plains and other parts of the West possible by providing a reliable, independent water source.
Agricultural Expansion:
They allowed farmers and ranchers to expand operations by watering large numbers of livestock and irrigating crops without being tied to natural water sources.
Iconic Status:
Windmills became a symbol of the American West, reflecting the ingenuity and hard work of homesteaders.
Key Innovations
Daniel Halladay (1854):
.
Invented the American-type windmill, which was smaller, cheaper, and self-governing, making it practical for settlers.
Materials:
.
Early models were primarily wood, but later versions incorporated metal blades and components, leading to increased durability and use.
Self-Governing Mechanism:
.
This feature allowed the windmill to function reliably in a wide range of wind speeds by automatically adjusting the sail's angle or size

tahanson43206 · 2025-09-09 18:47:02

For SpaceNut re #2

Nice images!

For Calliban re topic ...

A drawback of trying to use a wind mill in the arctic (or in winter in lower latitudes) is the tendency of water to adhere to the surface of the airfoil. Something similar occurs when aircraft fly through weather with just the right conditions.

An antidote sometimes used in aircraft (I understand) is heating surfaces that might collect a layer of ice.

It occurred to me to wonder if there might be a positive return on investment, if some energy generated by a wind mill is used to heat the blades.

Mount Washington in New Hampshire is famous for high winds and severe weather. I wonder if a wind mill might do well there if it were fitted with electric heaters inside the air foils, to fling off ice as it tries to form.

I understand the theme of your topic is NOT generation of electricity, but even a mill intended to grind corn would work better if it were not encrusted in ice.

(th)

SpaceNut · 2025-09-10 14:14:45

it could also be made to drive pistons for air compressing as well.

Calliban · Yesterday 05:12:06

There are many applications for mechanical power. Historically, wind mills have been used for water pumping, grinding, sawing and polishing. But these machines could be used wherever there is need for stationary mechanical power. My thoughts return to Terraformer's topic about Redoubts, which are all about building infrastructure that is intended to make communities resiliant to failure of the grid and general breakdown of the economy and social functions. At a town level, I can see wind mills being used to do all sorts of things. A few examples.

1. Pumping water from wells, as per SpaceNut's post.
2. Operating a heat pump, providing hot water for various applications and also cold.
3. Compressing air for air tools and for vehicles. Air compression can also generate high heat for cooking and expansion can generate cold.
4. Generating mechanical power - for things like machine shops, laundries, grinding of grains, rocks for rock dust fertiliser.

With hydraulic power transmission, a single windmill could power multiple applications. Applications for generating heat can be treated as dump loads, as heat can be stored in tanks of hot water, solid thermal mass and cold can be stored in ice.

Last edited by Calliban (Yesterday 05:25:40)

Calliban · Yesterday 07:15:34

Electricity offers the benefit of being easily transmissible. On the demand side, electrical machinery is also very compact and allows high power density. In factory environments, electrical machines have the advantage that changing factory layout is easy and machinery can be positioned for maximum productivity.

The disadvantages of electricity are inherent complexity in generation, transmission and use. Electrical systems are complex, not suitable for local manufacture and typically require exotic materials and programmable controls. Electric grids are also demand driven. This makes them unsuitable for energy sources that have naturally intermittent supply. Energy storage and backup power tend to be counterproductive, as both impose substantial additional capital and operational costs that makes delivered power very expensive. This problem is clearly evident in European countries that have embraced wind and solar power.

Rolling blackouts have sometimes been suggested as solutions to these problems. Unfortunately, this introduces problems of its own. Firstly, businesses dependant on electrical power lose all productivity when it is cut off. In some cases, loss of power can actually cause damage. Secondly, when power is shut off and breakers fail open, these must be manually reset. This is costly and time consuming.

A potential solution to these problems is to remove certain applications from dependance on the electric grid. Hydraulic and compressed air power systems, are somewhat more cumbersome to install than electrical systems. But they have the advantage of being simpler, similar in terms of efficiency and offering the same benefits of flexibility and power density as does electrical power. Hydraulic systems do not need exotic materials or complexity inmthe ways that electrical systems do. Most components can be made from steel, with limited use of polymers for seals and flexible couplings. This makes hydraulics more suitable for local manufacturing. It is somewhat less practical to use hydraulics to transmit power over long distances. But for local power networks it is straightforward. Power can be switched on and off by opening and closing valves.

In a small hydraulic network surrounding a mechanical windmill, intermittency is easier to manage. With only a handful of different users for the power in close proximity, it is possible to switch off certain loads quickly, by closing valves. Hydraulically powered heat pumps and air compressors can serve as dump loads that will not be active unless wind power is above certain thresholds. Swimming pool heating, heat for cooking, warm water for district heating, cooling for large underground freezers, are all systems that can be engineered with large thermal inertia through thermal mass and insulation. Other more direct mechanical applications, like a laundry and power to a machine shop, need power to be more reliable. Grinding is an application that can be switched on and off, provided that aggregate productivity is maintained across a whole year.

In this way, I can see applications for mechanical windmills providing services for a town. Intermittency is a problem that we can work around at a small scale in ways that is not practical in a large scale electric grid. Hydraulic power transmission allows flexibility and local manufacture of machines in ways that are not possible with electricity.

Last edited by Calliban (Yesterday 07:37:57)

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#1 2025-09-09 16:28:20

Mechanical Windmills

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