How to Build a Windmill (2012)

Discussed at the time:<p><i>How to build a windmill</i> - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=4579932">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=4579932</a> - Sept 2012 (53 comments)<p>also:<p><i>How to build a windmill part 2: Parts, nuts, bolts and blades (2012)</i> - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=10791461">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=10791461</a> - Dec 2015 (7 comments)<p><i>How to Build a Windmill, Part 2: Parts, Nuts, Bolts and Blades</i> - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=4584772">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=4584772</a> - Sept 2012 (10 comments)

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Was in the Netherlands recently and toured an old windmill. Highly recommended. The way they reuse the same core equipment to perform various jobs is awesome. Plus it just sounds cool.

So, at his site, 10+ years ago, his wind produced more frequent power than PV would have, at 3x the cost of a commercial solution.<p>Even then, PV would have been more cost-efficient. Now with storage probably even more so.<p>Small wind is a mug&#x27;s game except in very specific circumstances.

Especially enjoyed the part where they fabricate a custom 500 watt, 54-pole (if I counted right) out-runner alternator essentially from scratch. Sheet metal was cut!

But is this actually a wind<i>mill</i>? This is a turbine, a generator. A windmill does <i>milling</i>. It is connected to mechanical devices that do mechanical work such as milling flour, rather than a generator that creates electricity.<p>The inside of a working windmill are more complex and beautiful than any turbine.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;d1dqs20vqfxmh2.cloudfront.net&#x2F;wp-content&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;2016&#x2F;07&#x2F;Windmill-diagram.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;d1dqs20vqfxmh2.cloudfront.net&#x2F;wp-content&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;201...</a>