wind powered ceiling fan

[mr. fix-it]

looked on net everywere to find out if anyone built this. i seem to be the only one crazy enough to do this. i will try to explain how i did it. i first found an old antenna stand, mounted it to my roof ,put a bearing on top then ran a 1" shaft through the roof were i installed another bearing . i then mounted a cieling fan(54") on the shaft. on the top of the shaft i mounted a squirrel cage fan . the fan went really fast but spun out of control, and had no power. i then mounted an old sprocket on the shaft. the sprocket is heavy(about 10lbs), the effect was it slowed the fan down and it was much more consistent . if you have wind this works unbelievably well. this fan has been in service for 2 yrs. and has had no issues. the fan starts up at 3 mph and works well at 7 mph . i built this out of throw away parts. i believe a roof turbine will do the same thing as long as you have some type of flywheel on it. i should put some type of speed control on it because sometimes it is just to much. it blows things off my counter at high wind speeds. to keep noise and vibration to a minimum make sure shaft is true,but even if its not it will just be a little loud. because i had all of the parts this only took a little over an hour to build. everyone who sees this work is thourghaly amazed. some actualy step back because they are afraid it will come apart, but it never does.

[Foxfur]

Wow, damn skippy!
Far more efficient than solar / wind generated electricity.
Keep that shit up and you're gonna save the planet and stuff.

[EspressoDude]

how about a duct pipe that captures the wind and directs it into the space you are trying to cool? only moving part would be the inlet with a directional wind vane.

[mr. fix-it]

how about a duct pipe that captures the wind and directs it into the space you are trying to cool? only moving part would be the inlet with a directional wind vane.

i never thought of that. that is a good idea. i think what you would have to do is replace the fan blade on the inside with acold air return like you would find on a furnace. thank you thats a really good idea. i will use that thought for future projects

[oneeyeddick]

I have a feeling this is not the same Mr Fixit that we all know and love.

[theCryptofishist]

Is this one of those "pod people" deals?

[mr. fix-it]

Is this one of those "pod people" deals?

i would answer that question, but i dont know what a pod people is. i dont even understand this web sight. will somebody explain. maybe you shouldnt i think i like it this way

[theCryptofishist]

There is another Mr. Fixit on this board. Dick was saying that you are not that Mr. Fixit and I made a reference to a science fiction movie (can I use "kino" here? nah, too pretentious) in which humans are replaced by "pod people". All in all, just a bit of the froth that eplaya is so renowned for.

[tea lady]

I first have to say that I have never been compelled to comment on a random post of info while surfing the web, but I saw an amazingly simple version of this in the Caribbean once and I've been a bit obsessed with finding it ever since. The one there seemed to be two fans connected through the ceiling (the one outside was short bladed and about a foot high off the roof) by a gear looking thing that spun the inside fan in the opposite direction of the outside fan, which was spun by the wind. It was like they mounted two fans on either end of a broom handle (a bit bigger around then that) but there was absolutely nothing else to it, and in the Caribbean of course is always a breeze and always one welcomed. I am personally no mechanic or engineer, but it reminded me of the little rooster/whatever wind wheels you see on peoples lawns, just bigger, and the rooster is a fan instead. The inside fan was a wheel of big palm leaves - very effective and perhaps slowed it a bit? super cool. I so appreciate the technical info you provided and am going to see if my sweetie can make it for me - he hasn't quite understood what I mean when I describe it, but I think this will help, thank you!

[XPTom]

I took this pic a few minutes after washing up and putting on a clean shirt. ..... inside of my camper looked worse ... have a plan to turn it off when a haboob kicks up.

xptom.jpg