Article: A wind turbine built from scrap.

I started out trying to find a way to have lights in an outbuilding which was several hundred feet from the local utility and running a long extension cord was a pain. I thought of using a car alternator, which would work, however they are made to charge at around 1000 rpm and due to the fact that they are open for cooling reasons, I didn't think they would make a good wind turbine. I then looked at an industrial electric motor and although they are not made for generating power, the basics for building a generator are there; after all, we have a case and bearings, etc.

I started out by stripping the motor windings and manufacturing a rotor and rewinding the ...

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