cardboard savonius turbine

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http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Savonius-turbine/ Home Sign Up! Explore Community Submit All Art Craft Food Games Green Home Kids Life Music Offbeat Outdoors Pets Photo Ride Science Tech Cardboard Savonius Wind Turbine by rhackenb on February 14, 2008 Table of Contents License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Intro: Cardboard Savonius Wind Turbine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 step 1: Materials needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 step 2: Make the vertical paddles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 step 3: Cut the top and bottom disks of the turbine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 step 4: Draw angle lines on the disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 step 5: Attach the paddles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 step 6: Test the wind turbine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

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Page 1: Cardboard Savonius Turbine

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Savonius-turbine/

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Cardboard Savonius Wind Turbineby rhackenb on February 14, 2008

Table of Contents

License:   Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Intro:   Cardboard Savonius Wind Turbine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

step 1:   Materials needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

step 2:   Make the vertical paddles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

step 3:   Cut the top and bottom disks of the turbine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

step 4:   Draw angle lines on the disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

step 5:   Attach the paddles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

step 6:   Test the wind turbine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Page 2: Cardboard Savonius Turbine

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Savonius-turbine/

License:   Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa)

Intro:  Cardboard Savonius Wind TurbineGoal: build a Savonius wind turbine made out of cardboard to see whatworks. This is for the turbine only and not the generator itself. The main photo you see is the goal.

The need for a working model grew out of frustration trying tojury-rig various designs of a Savonius turbine that in the end wouldnot turn at all in the wind.

Some Initial Botched DesignsShown below are several botched designs. All four are attached to the drive shaft of a 24-volt DC battery-operated lawn mower. The vertical bar you see is an allthreadbar that is attached to the motor shaft. The galvanized metal is half of a dryer vent tube. The first design would turn half way and then stop because of the resistance ofthe back side of it coming into the wind. I then added a top disk and attached a number of 2-liter soda bottles and some 1-gallon milk jugs to a disk on top. With a stongwind I actually got the mill to spin if I gave it a start. It has to be the ugliest windmill ever.

The second design is all cardboard and looked really sharp. it didn't budge an inch in a very strong wind.

In the third one I added parts of the dryer vent tube to the cardboard mill and that worked a little bit but there was resistance on the back side coming into the wind.

At this point, I decided that I had to go back to the drawing board with a simple model to see what had a chance of working.

Image Notes1. This is the Savonius windmill that will be built here. it works!

Image Notes1. The concave side is supposed to catch the wind.2. The convex side is supposed to shed the wind. It was just presenting too muchof a broadside and the wind would stop it.3. This is working end of a Ryobi 24-volt DC lawn mower motor. On the mower itpoints down and the blade is attached to it.4. These are the negative and positive leads that would normally attach to thebattery. Hand-spinning the windmill would generate at least 1 volt. Never reallytested with a windmill that actually turned in the wind.

Page 3: Cardboard Savonius Turbine

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Image Notes1. 1 gallon milk jug with bottom half removed. The top part with the cap onpoints into the wind to eliminate some of the drag. Image Notes

1. This looks neat but the wings just do not catch any wind at all. They need to beflared out more.

Image Notes1. Garbage in, garbage out.

Page 4: Cardboard Savonius Turbine

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Savonius-turbine/

step 1: Materials neededThe following project took me one hour from conception to finish and Iwas making design decisions as I went along. I was amazed that itworked perfectly. I guess it should work perfectly because it is thedesign described in a number places. Of course, the coffee can andsoda bottle designs were said to work but didn't for me.

Materials:a. A large piece of heavy-duty cardboard boxb. 14-inch dowel (or knitting needle, or something similar) to serve as an axis rodc. 2 small rubber bandsd. Duct tape or electrical tapee. Hot glue (optional)

What you see in the photograph are the pieces you are going to cut out of the cardboard. You can also see the knitting needle with some rubber bands on it.

step 2: Make the vertical paddlesCut 4 strips of cardboard 4" x 10". These will be the verticalpaddles that catch the wind. Cut two rectangular notches in eachpaddle. Each notch should be 3 inches long and just wide enough thatthe disk will fit in snugly. These notches will be located 1 inch from either side of the ends of paddles.

Page 5: Cardboard Savonius Turbine

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Savonius-turbine/

step 3: Cut the top and bottom disks of the turbineYou will need to cut two disks 10 inches in diameter. Since I flunked kindergarten, I found this somewhat of a challenge. Trying to draw a true circle without a decentcompass is tricky. Then after you have drawn it and cut it, finding the true center is also difficult. Here's an easy way to do it.

1. Cut a 10x10 inch square of cardboard.

2. On all four sides make a mark half way between the edges. That mark will be 5 inches from the corners on each side.

3. Use a ruler to draw lines that connect opposing 5 inch marks through the center of the square. Where these lines intersect, that's will be the center of the circle.

4. Use a compass if you have one and jab it into the center and expand it out to end of one of the radius lines. Now draw a full circle with the compass. I'm not sureschool compasses are big enough to do this. An alternative might be to get a ten-inch bowl or something like that and lay it over the square and trace the lines. You canalso simply eye-ball it and make an arc from the center of one side the the center of the next. You may not get a perfect circle but I don't think this is too critical for themodel we are making. In the real thing it may throw off the ballance.

5. Now cut the circle.

Page 6: Cardboard Savonius Turbine

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Savonius-turbine/

step 4: Draw angle lines on the disksNow for a little geometry. Take a look at the first image. Notice that there is an Angle A and sides a , b , and c . Side c is the line that we want the paddle to line upwith. Where we draw it depends on angle a . To do a little geometry on this let's cheat and use a web-based right triangle calculator.

Make use of the following url: http://www.csgnetwork.com/righttricalc.html My side b is 5 inches (the radius of the circle) and I chose to make side a 2.25 inches.Accoding to the calculator, this makes angle A 24 degrees. You can play with this calculator by either entering side a or angle A as you experiment with differentconfigurations.

Going with my 24 degrees configuration, make a mark along side a 2.25 inches from the center of the circle and then draw side c . Now do that with the other threeradius lines.

After that is done, do the same thing with the other disk.

Notice that there are short cuts in the disk at angle A on each radius line. The pupose of these cuts is dock the paddle to the disks. The cuts should be about a half inchand should follow the path of line c .

Image Notes1. Side a is 2.25 inches. This makes Angle A 24 degrees.

Image Notes1. This is a docking notch for the paddle to fit into. It's cut at angle to generallypoint the paddle in the right direction and to keep it from sliding around.

step 5: Attach the paddles1. Double or triple up one of the rubber bands and push it up the axis rod to within about 2 inch from the top. The purpose of this and the other rubber band is to anchorthe rod to the disk via friction. The also help to keep the turbine from slipping up and down.

2. Push the axis rod down through the center of one of the disks. I suggest that you keep the side of the disk with the angles drawn facing up for easlier alignment of thepaddles.

3. Push the rod through the center of the second disk with the side of the disk with the drawn angles facing down. Slid the disk up the rod to within about 8 inches of thetop disk.

4. Slide the second rubber band up the rod to within an inch of the lower disk.

5. Push one of the paddles onto upper and lower disks so that the notches on the paddle dock into the angled notches on the upper and lower disks. You might want totemporarily tape the paddle into place from the top and bottom.

6. Mount the other three paddles in same way.

7. Push the rubber band on the bottom up the rod so that it sits firmly up against the lower disk.

8. Now you can tape the paddles more firmly to the lower sides of the disks (the lower sides if you don't want the tape to show. As an alternative, you could use a gluegun to glue the paddles in place. Only do this after you have finished testing the turbine in the wind and are happy with the angles of the paddles.

Page 7: Cardboard Savonius Turbine

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Savonius-turbine/

Page 8: Cardboard Savonius Turbine

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Savonius-turbine/

step 6: Test the wind turbineNow you can test the wind turbine. Inside the house you can hold up lightly with both hands in front of a fan and watch it turn. You can see that the fan makes the turbinevery easily. The outside video, unfortunately, was taken when wind was variable and blowing only about 3 mph.

The two videos that are attached I jury-rigged a setup so that the turbine could stand up by itself without being held. You can use your imagination as to how mount theturbine a little more permanently.

Experiment with different angles for the paddles to see what is the most efficient. I chose 24 degrees. Would 45 degrees work better? How about 10 degrees? You willnotice that the smaller the angle, the better the paddle catches the wind on the left side. However, you notices that it also catches it too well on the right side. If you madethe paddles 0 degrees, the turbine would sit idle in a strong breeze.

Where to go from here

The turbine, as is, probably could be used to generate a small amount of electricity in a school setting. The trick will be figuring out how to hook a small motor to it. Youcould also glue magnets to the bottom of the lower disk and then making coils of wire that remain stationary below the turbine.

What I want to do is make this turbine out of plywood and scale it up by double. I will use some of the material shown in the into to this instructable. Specifically, I will usethe DC motor, the vertical allthreads bar that will serve as the axis rod, and the clamp I made to mate the motor and axis rod.

It will be interesting what kind of power I get out of the scaled up version. I would like to see if I could light up a series of LED's when the wind is blowing. That would lookgreat at night. I might also try to use the power to pump water up over a waterwheel.

If you build this cardboard turbine, please post lessons learned and additional suggestions.

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Page 9: Cardboard Savonius Turbine

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Comments50 comments Add Comment view all 74 comments

 rockerape says:  Feb 23, 2010. 12:29 PM  REPLYYou missed 4 toes  :-)

 foxwoodfarm says:  Feb 7, 2010. 8:57 AM  REPLYI used form board that can be purchased at Walmart of craft stores. It is about 1.4" thick and is more rigid than cardboard. It can be cut with a box cutter, scissors or exacto knife. The foam board is also weather proof for a long time. I made a PVC pipe frame for mine. Sorry I didn't take pictures 

 MattM4773 says:  Nov 16, 2009. 10:36 PM  REPLYthis is my last commenti would like to know how u mounted the turbine cos in the steps i didnt see anything about a mount and im not sure how i can present it without oneplz reply soon because its due this friday

 rhackenb says:  Nov 17, 2009. 4:49 AM  REPLYYou can see from the two videos that the mounting is jury-rigged.  First of all, the bottom of the knitting needle is sitting in a large nut that has been tapeddown to the platform the whole thing is on.  The diameter of the nut is large enough to so as not to impede the spinning.  The nut was used to keep theneedle from walking off to the side.

For the top I used a wooden paint stirrer stick.  It had a large hole in it and the needle was passed through it before it was inserted through the axis of theturbine.  This stick was sitting on a surface that was as high as the top of the turbine and had a weight on it to keep it steady. 

If you want to make this more professional, take a long strip of light metal such as aluminum.  Bend it in two places so that the top part reaches to the topof the axis and that bottom part reaches to the bottom of the axis.  You are going to have to use your imagination and creativity on this. 

 MattM4773 says:  Nov 12, 2009. 1:11 AM  REPLYhello agn lolumm if i were tp halve or third the dimensions on teh paddles and teh discswould i be able to instead of teh knitting needle use something like a satay/kebab skewer or would i have to use something different

 rhackenb says:  Nov 12, 2009. 4:36 AM  REPLYThe shorter you make the paddles, the less  the surface will be to catch the wind.  If you don't hook the turbine up to a load (generator), it will still spin.  Iused a knitting needle because I found one around the house.  You might want to go to a place like Lowes or Home Depot and pick up a thin woodendowel. I think they sell them in lenghts up to 36 inches and aren't expensive. 

The whole idea of a wind turbine is to do something useful with it, like generate electricity.  A wooden dowel might be more appropriate for adapting it tosome sort of small hobby motor.  Also, cardboard is great for prototyping but you might consider something a little more durable such as the kind ofmaterial that they use for political campaign signs.  If you are in the US, there are plenty of these left standing long after the election unclaimed.

 MattM4773 says:  Nov 3, 2009. 1:20 AM  REPLYif i were to connect this to a motor (dc motor) to produce electricity how would i do this and how big does the motor have to be? cos im doing this for a schoolproject and have to make electricity

 rhackenb says:  Nov 3, 2009. 3:51 AM  REPLYThat's the tricky part.  Basically, you have to get a low rpm DC that has a shaft long enough and accessible enough that you can connect your turbine to.It doesn't have to be very big just to demonstrate the generation of electricity.  You only need 2-3 volts DC to light an LED.  Some people are strippingdrive motors from things like scanners, printers or old floppy drives.  I've not had much success with these things.  That's why I was waiting to see whatyou come up with.  BTW, you don't really have to actually hook up the motot to the wind turbine to see if will produce electricity.  Just attach a multimeterto the negative and positive leads of the motor and spin the shaft.

 94 says:  Nov 10, 2009. 3:02 PM  REPLYHello rhackenb,For a school science fair I've built your cardboard design. The problems I've had were minor, like drawing the angles from the center, and not theedge, but all in all the turbine is a success. I will be posting more after experimentation, and will even inform you if a regularwindmill, your Instructable, or a design of my own is more efficient for producing energy. 

Signed, 94 

 rhackenb says:  Nov 10, 2009. 3:17 PM  REPLYGood job.  Will you be trying to hook it up to a generator?

Page 10: Cardboard Savonius Turbine

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 94 says:  Nov 11, 2009. 9:12 AM  REPLYI'm working on that part, but it's harder then sounds...

 MattM4773 says:  Nov 10, 2009. 10:23 PM  REPLYhey i just noticed in the pic with the snow ur turbine has one of teh paddles like not fitting properly it is sort of ripping th cardboardis that because the measure ments are wrong or did u just make a mistake that caused that ?

 rhackenb says:  Nov 11, 2009. 3:53 AM  REPLYI attribute that to poor execution in cutting the slot in the paddle.  I failed kindergarten. :-)

 defiant1 says:  Nov 2, 2009. 8:42 AM  REPLYLove all the cheap prototyping. It's cool to see the different effects of different designs, without spending a ton of money.

 Electro Nerd says:  Oct 26, 2009. 11:33 AM  REPLYYay!!! I made it finnally. But I used a tiny motor from a cd player.(The one that moves the little laser).  I get about 1volt max though in 10-15MPH winds.I am experimenting with a stepper motor from a scanner printer.

I'll post a pic of it soon.

 rhackenb says:  Oct 26, 2009. 2:59 PM  REPLYPlease show us how you hook the motor up.  It doesn't really matter how much power you get out of it.  This is all a process, anyway. Every cd player motor I have tried to use had so small a shaft that it would be a pain to figure out how to connect it. 

 forthewindgen says:  Dec 7, 2008. 6:47 PM  REPLYTHIS IS A GOOD LESSON IN PROTOTYPING SEVERAL DESIGNS TRIED WITHOUT MUCH TIME OR MONEY INVOLVED. I DID THIS SAME THINGUSING JUNK CD'S AND PVC PLASTIC PIPE CUT IN HALVES AND GLUED WITH SUPER GLUE TOTAL COST $1.00 I USED A 1/4 METAL ROD ANDPAN WASHER EPOXIED TO CREATE THE AXEL SHAFT. I SUSPENDED THE SPINNER FROM THE CEILING AND IT WOULD SPINN IN THESLIGHEST BREEZE OR WHEN THE FORCED AIR HEATING TURNED ON IN THE WINTER. PROTOTYPE BY ALL MEANS

 blackbeardlion says:  Jun 11, 2009. 8:07 AM  REPLYyou must be using one of those early 1980's terminals that can't process lower case letters. :P

 forgoten says:  Apr 20, 2009. 6:34 PM  REPLYplease don't use caps. thanks a lot,its an internet term for yelling

 Gamer917 says:  Aug 10, 2009. 6:44 PM  REPLYhes yelling over the noise of his wind turbine

 rhackenb says:  Dec 8, 2008. 7:56 AM  REPLYIt would be nice if you could publish some links, plans, photos of what you did. Is there anything available for me to see?

 AJC894 says:  Jun 1, 2009. 8:47 AM  REPLYI could use some help.

 rhackenb says:  Jun 1, 2009. 9:20 AM  REPLYWith regard to what?

 nutsandbolts_64 says:  Apr 27, 2009. 6:38 AM  REPLYgood idea, ill try it!

Page 11: Cardboard Savonius Turbine

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 mollyeato says:  Mar 19, 2009. 6:46 AM  REPLYhow and where do you attach a lightbulb to generate electricity?

 forgoten says:  Apr 20, 2009. 6:43 PM  REPLYumm I think you mean to take the electricity from the generator to run the light bulb in which case you attach it to the generator.

 mennogravemaker says:  Mar 31, 2009. 12:14 PM  REPLYp.s you cannot generate electricity throw a lightbulb

 mennogravemaker says:  Mar 31, 2009. 12:13 PM  REPLYyou have to put a electric motor on the (spinning) axel to generate electricity. then you have to connect the two wires of your motor to the lightbulb. youcannot put any lightbulb on the output of your motor. you have to use a small electric moter mabye a bicycle dynamo and a little lightbulb, mabye also fromthe bicycle aswel. i am sorry if I don't write nice, thats because I live in Holland :P

 GorillazMiko says:  Feb 16, 2008. 8:52 PM  REPLYGreat Instructable! Very nicely done, description is good, pictures are nice too. I like the snow in the back--very lovely!

 thejrb says:  Feb 17, 2008. 1:43 PM  REPLYIf you want snow you can have mine. I just want spring to come. The snow is getting annoying.

 AndyHope says:  Feb 20, 2008. 5:43 PM  REPLYsame here

 btop says:  Feb 24, 2008. 2:30 PM  REPLYWhat I would give for a little bit of snow...

 mjcole82 says:  Feb 24, 2009. 3:53 PM  REPLYI'll gladly sell you some. i've got about 3 feet of it in my back yard. :)

 technodude92 says:  May 3, 2008. 2:00 PM  REPLY*begin daydream sequence* ...yeah being from florida i've never seen snow.

 MattM4773 says:  Nov 8, 2009. 10:32 PM  REPLYi have the same i live in northern aus never seen a drop of snow in my life lots of rain tho^^

 mollyeato says:  Mar 19, 2009. 6:45 AM  REPLYhey yall im down in yo gangstir country

 nickademuss says:  Feb 24, 2009. 5:44 AM  REPLYInstead of card board use coroplast, or corrugated plastic, just as easy to cut but wont fall apart if it gets wet! I would use epoxy to hold it together andbalance it with lead. Cheers!

 nickademuss says:  Feb 24, 2009. 2:00 PM  REPLYI got mine from a local sign maker, 6'x8' sheets of 4mm in any color for $10.00 a sheet.

you can also use old election signs or the web at:http://www.beacongraphics.com/supplies/coroplast.html

It glues well with super glue or epoxy, you just have to get the oil residue off of it before you glue it. I used a torch as noted in my instructable:http://www.instructables.com/id/8_Ft_Wingspan_Coroplast_RC_Piper_Cub_flown_by_25cc/

Im thinking of making a very large one of these to supplement battery charging, You can build big with corplast and it would last a long time.You could even have the sign make print a swirl on it so it would look like a barbers pole when it spun!

Page 12: Cardboard Savonius Turbine

http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Savonius-turbine/

 rhackenb says:  Feb 24, 2009. 2:16 PM  REPLYHey, that's great information. Thanks.

 rhackenb says:  Feb 24, 2009. 6:14 AM  REPLYWhere do you get such a product?

 madflower says:  Jan 6, 2009. 10:35 AM  REPLYYou MIGHT try getting some 3/8" bendable plywood (menards carries it now like 35 bucks a sheet.) that you can make your blades in more of a J-shape pairof blades which is supposedly the more efficient savonious design. To get the J-shape, you need to wrap it around like pvc and probably steam it to get it tohold in place. It is probably easier to proto then using metal, using you have a machine shop handy.

 GPVIRGIN says:  Feb 22, 2009. 5:51 PM  REPLYAnother way to keep the curved blades in place would be to carve a groove into the top and bottom of the circle. If you made sure that everything linedup, they would stay as long as they they circles supports didnt fail. It would also allow you to use a much thinner blade, keep down the spinning weight.

 Mark Regan says:  Nov 19, 2008. 12:50 AM  REPLYWhy not use one of those aluminum vents found on rooftops that vent the heat from your attic. They are light, cheap, respond easily to the wind, last yearsdespite rain, sleet, snow, and are easily available. And they should turn faster and more efficiently.

 bobkat46 says:  Feb 15, 2009. 5:08 PM  REPLYI've thought about the "whirlybird" idea for sometime now. They spin easily with a small amount of wind. Adding some sort of stator/armature orsomething to generate the electricity. Having four or five on your roof might not only run your heat pump or other electrical chores but keep your atticmuch cooler. Just thinking out loud...

 rhackenb says:  Feb 16, 2009. 3:50 AM  REPLYYeah, I thought about that as well. We used to have two of them on our roof when we lived in Texas. Their purpose was to ventilate a hot attic. I thinkthe problem is that when you start to put a load on them, they won't turn as easily. It would be great if someone came up with rotor/stator design thatcould be easily replicated. Not sure how much electricity they would produce but it might be enough to charge emergency backup batteries during anice storm power outage like they just had in Kentucky. Sounds like a commercial produce waiting to be invented.

 xsportmd says:  Jan 26, 2009. 1:35 PM  REPLYI would like to make real big savonius turbine but i dont have schemes.http://bluetooth-portal.com http://bluetooth-portal.com/?savonius here is some bad schemes

 rhackenb says:  Jan 26, 2009. 2:10 PM  REPLYSorry, I don't read Russian. I suggest that you look at a Lenz2 design. Ed Lenz had made a fairly large one.

 forthewindgen says:  Dec 7, 2008. 6:58 PM  REPLYTHERE IS A INSTRUCTION TO BUILD BREEZY IN THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS YOU CAN GET ALL ISSUES EVER WRITTEN ON CD ROM FORTWENTY BUCKS NOW. THE UNIT USED GREY ELECTRICAL CONDUIT THAT COMES IN A S CURVE TO FOR THE VANES THE AXIAL SHAFT WAS1/2 INCH DRIVEN INTO THE GROUND COVERED BY PVC PLASTIC SOME TEE FITTING AND ELBOES TO FORM A TURBINE THAT CAN BEESSENTIALLY GLUED TOGETHER JUST THINK IF YOUR DESIGN COULD BE PUT TOGETHER WITH ADHESIVES. i THOUGHT OF USINGSTYROFOAN CIRCLES AND PLASTIC PIPE FOR THE VANES ROUTE THE GROVES FOR THE VANES AND ASSEMBLE WITH SILICON. ALL CHEAPLIGHTWEIGHT MATERIALS AND EASY TECHNIQUES COVER FINISHED TURBINE WITH WEATHER PROOFING LIKE THEY APPLY TO LAWNFURNITURE. UNDER 100 LBS WEATHER PROOF BALANCED RIDGID STRONG AND STURDY. NEXT BUILD A METAL FRAME HAVE YOUR UNCLEJOHN WELD IT UP ONE WEEKEND KEEP BUGGING THEM TILL THEY MAKE THE TIME.

 tomohern says:  Nov 29, 2008. 6:40 PM  REPLYuse old campaign signs or real estate signs and it will be weather proof too.

 itsnotthenetwork says:  Oct 10, 2008. 8:25 AM  REPLYAn easier way to get a good circle is to put a tumbtack in the center and tie a small string (dental floss would work good) and stretch it out to the end of thecardboard and tie a pencil to it.

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