Bierp
Everett, WA
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Joined: 05/14/2007
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We own some land in the boonies of Eastern Washington. My family and I enjoy dry camping in our TT there. We use a propane generator, a pair of 55 gallon water drums that I can put in the back of my pickup and a 45 gallon tote with a macerator pump for waste hauling to a dump site.
It's not bad for our 2nd season and we can leave the TT on site all season.
Someday we'll probably build a cabin and later maybe a retirement home out here. We love the isloation and we have enough land to be sure we won't ever be too close to neighbors.
The issue here is that we're pretty far from the nearest power lines and it'll surely cost arms and legs to get county power out here.
We are on the crest of a hill with 360 degree visibility. There is a nearly constant breeze here, usually from the west (coming down off the Cascade Mountains presumably).
We're wondering about the viability of a windmill for powering our TT and maybe one day a cabin.
I haven't done any research into this yet, and on a marginal cell connection right now, I'm best limited to posting here for others input. When I get back to my high-speed connection I can investigate further.
I'm not aware of any height restrictions on our land. We're fairly isolated and I think we're zoned as farming land, which may open some other doors. (no, we aren't farming it.)
Does anyone have any experience in this? Any ideas on what I'd need to look for and what kind of costs I'd expect?
Any input or direction here would be most appreciated.
Thanks,
Jeremy
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Dshultz50
Oregon
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Joined: 06/23/2006
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I don't know much....however, have read something on this recently in our area. Even though we live "way out"....the county has restrictions on height and claim we couldn't build a windmill high enough to be beneficial. The second...our neighbor bought a wind indicator (records the speed) and finds that a shorter windmill would work. It looks like there may be a way around the "height restrictions". I'd start by calling the county and asking about the restrictions......and then go from there.
good luck!
Dee & Bob
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Serena
US
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Joined: 01/12/2008
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I'd suggest when you get back to your highspeed, have a look around YouTube. There are lots of people there who have uploaded examples of what they did, and they give links to whole groups of enthusiasts who know how to build for various uses.
If you have running water on your property, you might want to search on that as well. I don't have the links, but saw a couple of really neat set-ups that appear to be even less trouble than wind.
Serena
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pondputz
Hwy 7 Colorado
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Joined: 08/17/2006
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A couple of links with a wealth of info
Southwest Power
Otherpower.com
Wind resources map
Putz
blog spot
roosterpheasant web site
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fordsooperdootydieselsmoker
OrangeCountyCalifornia
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Joined: 08/13/2004
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Look here for "utility free power for remote home sites."
Here too!
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trnfla
Tampa
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Joined: 06/17/2006
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Solar Power could be an option
Have a great time camping,
Terry
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wa8yxm
Wherever I happen to park
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http://www.windside.com/ is yet another place to visit
And then there is http://www.siliconsolar.com/flexible-solar-panels.html
And a host of competitors as well
Nothin adds excitment like something that is none of your business
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adondo
Pasco, Washington
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Joined: 07/28/2004
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We used to have wind and solar power on a few radio sites. Now, we’ve trenched in miles of high voltage line and installed transformers.
We built our own generators with 90 volt DC motors. We had 5 foot long props made from wood, although a smallish prop such as for a Piper Cub would work good too.
The tail boom was just a hinged aluminum pipe held in place with a heavy spring. The tail plane was aluminum sheeting about 1/8’’ thick and a foot square. High winds will just ‘’turn out’’ the running generator by stretching the spring and allowing the tail to swing away, and that turns the spinning prop at an angle to the wind. It’ll get to a certain RPM and self regulate.
A good wind would put about 35 ~ 40 amps into a 12 volt battery bank. We had a dozen golf cart batteries for our system. The reason for a 90 Volt DC motor is because it doesn’t have to spin at 5,000 RPM to make usable current to the batteries. W.W. Grainger has the motors. They’re about a foot long and 5’’ in diameter. Here's a link to one: 90 VDC 3/4 HP motor
The solar panels were 2x4 feet each, and stacked up in a double row to 12 feet long and 8 feet tall. (12 panels) It would do 60 amps in a good sun, 30 to 40 in overcast skies. We built the panels on a latticework of 6x6 timbers to withstand 100 MPH+ winds on top of Rattlesnake Mountain. The angle was fixed at about 60 degrees. The sun’s altitude varies here from 19 to 67 degrees between winter and summer.
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Deen
Vancouver, WA
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Joined: 12/07/2000
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trnfla wrote:Solar Power could be an option
Here in the great NorthWet solar really isn't a viable option in lots of areas. Just too many clouds, wind is turning out to be far more dependable. The Port of Vancouver (the REAL one here in WA) just bought another giant crane to handle all the wind turbines that are coming in.
Deen - Vancouver, WA
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