How to make a small backyard wind power generator

There is still more than a month left in the Instructables Green Design Contest and there are already over 100 entries. We're loving the creativity and crafty spirit that is going into each project, the goal of which is to keep the environment in mind when designing and crafting something new. That's why this project for making a small wind power generator stood out to us. The project is by user out-of-the-box, and walks you through how to make a small upright wind turbine to sit in your yard and gather a bit of power from the breeze.

Step 1: things needed

In this you will need common tools normally used by a fan of electronics such as a soldering iron, wire strippers and so on. For the wind generator you are going to need 8 empty pop bottles (2liter), 8 pop bottle caps, epoxy, super glue, thin light pieces of metal.

Step 2: making the "wind catchers"

In this part you will be making the wind catchers, its the part that catches the wind and turns the motor. 

first cut the tops off 8 pop bottles like so. I cut where the lable ended and i later painted them red (that part is optional). once you have 8 all cut off move on to the next step

Step 3: making the wind catcher "couplers"

I like to call this part the coupler because to connects two pop bottle tops, alls you do is simple use epoxy to combine pop bottle caps together. combine two caps back by back like this, in the end you will have four pop bottle couplers. for added security i wrapped electrical tape around each set.

Step 4: making the fan part (cant think of a better name for it)

This step is fairly easy all you do is make an X shape using two pieces of thin light metal (about a foot and a half long  and one inch wide) then after that part is done you secure the couplers at the end using epoxy. I havent figured out what to call this piece so for now the "fan part" will have to do. let the epoxy harden then move on. 

Step 5: adding the wind catchers to the fan part.

This step is very easy, alls you do is screw the pop bottle tops into the couplers. 

Step 6: adding the stepper motor (generator)

After the "fan part" is completed you have to attach the stepper motor to it. what i did was i combined the two using epoxy and secured the edges with hot glue. 

Step 7: the stand.

After the stepper motor is attached you have to make a stand for it. the way you make your stand is based on how your motor works, i had to make mine in a weird way due to the way the motor works but the stand is fairly easy, i used a piece of wood (close to a 2x4) and a rectangle piece of wood as the base. after the stand is done you have to attach the fan part with the motor to the stand, to do that you simply use epoxy to combine the two. as i said my motor is weird so i had to add a piece of wood and drill a hole through it and let the motor rest through there and i used epoxy to secure it. after all that is done and all the epoxy has set go out on a windy day and test the output with a multimeter, I would recommend testing your motor before you start this just to get an idea of how much power it outputs. 

Step 8: all done!

This is as far as i will take you, it is up to you to figure out what you want to power with the electricity. I will be making a circuit for it real soon so if you would like to see that just follow me other than that the wind generator is complete! :) please vote for me if you liked this project i would really appreciate it :) also i will be adding small solar powered motors to help spin the generator but again that will happen in the near future so subscribe to see that add on aswell.

Here's a demo video of the newest version of the project, which also includes solar panels:

Source: treehugger.com

from Home Improvementer //
How to make a small backyard wind power generator