Look what I woke up to today..

[tomw]

I look up my driveway and saw this:



In case you are unfamiliar with the expected view  there is supposed to be another turbine up there.



More photos:

http://pics.ww.com/v/TomW/Renewables/WindFarm/12footer/TowerFail/


Just the teaser. I need coffee to deal with this.

Tom

[dang]

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, we bear witness of that which we have seen; and ye receive our sympathy & condolences...

Sorry, Easter preaching seemed appropriate... Will it rise again in three days?

Holler if you want a days help, its still just $40 gas.

[A of J]

Looking on the bright side, at least your outside dunny is still in tact.

[tomw]

I don't think I have the energy, drive or funds to make it live again. Certainly not in any reasonable time frame.

If the tower is tweaked, and it looks to be bent that alone took me 2 years to put together.  I never carved any blades so that is another issue. I think the head is fine. It landed on the heavy steel stator support which probably was further cushioned by the blades hitting first.

Further analysis makes me think the middle guy on the pulling side let go when the bolt on the saddle came out or broke I haven't found it to know which but the turnbuckle is hanging on the cable with no damage just no bolt! That must have let it work the upper guy on the lifting side. And that pulled the cable loose of or broke the clips at the tower top?  No clips on the cable so they either flew off after it all started or they broke.

I was up there and checked the cable tension a couple three days ago and all seemed fine. I did not go in depth on items just the tension and watched it flying looking for issues.

Anyway, it sucks at least now. I need to get up there and clean it up and see what really happened. Sadly, it is our best time of year for wind

I will chalk it up to some kind of tower installer error. And I installed all the tower rigging. 

Tom

[bj]

   No matter which way you cut it Tom, that just plain sucks.  Wish I could be of help.

[Watt]

Tom

     I really hate to see your loss.  I know how frustrating we become when something you care about and devote so much time into fails for any reason.  To see such damage and hear of your obstacles you will be having to overcome is troubling to me and a lot of other folk.  No good deed is done without notice. 

     When it comes time for you to rebuild, I would very much like to help you.  You pick the blades and the person/company you wish to build those blades and I will pick up the tab.  You have given years of dedication for this cause and I for one would feel honored to congratulate you for your time.  Please accept this gift you have earned. 

Mike

[birdhouse]

total bummer tom! 

the upside to you posting this, is now i'm gonna check my tower this weekend, as i've been slacking on it! 

between this community of folks, i'm sure we can get your turbine fixed up! 

i'd be willing to make blade blanks from laminated clear douglas fir.  it's SUPER cheap here in the PNW.  i could even rough them out chainsaw style to make shipping much cheaper.  it wouldn't be quick though...  the cheap clear fir are pond boards, so it's good to let em sit in the shop for a few months before glue-up. 

who else is gonna join the tomW cause?

adam

[bj]

  I'm in Adam.  Because of distance, may only be $, but I'm in.

[tomw]

Guys;

I really appreciate the thoughts and offers of help. Truly nice of you. For now I am just assessing my options. I was just so happy to get the excess power heating water and then this. You take the good with the bad, get up, dust off and move on.

I think my original failure assessment was wrong.

I now think that the turnbuckle bolt failed or came out and even with a safety loop of cable around the connection it got loose and pulled the safety cable through its clips? I know there was a safety loop but it is nowhere to be found but high dry weeds make that no big deal you could hide in there yourself fairly well 

I am not skilled in forensics and this analysis may change.

I confirmed that the tower is bent 3 or 4 degrees out of straight near the first (welded) joint but the joint is not cracked or anything just has a bend below it. I can't seem to find enough wood to create 3 blades. I found enough to see 2 were likely whole on impact with the ground which might mean one failed, blew away and it went shaker from massive imbalance and then failure is just a matter of time even on a massively strong tower. I drove all over up there and walked around in the nearby brush and found no blade debris other than what was on the ground at the point the head landed.

I got the blade pieces collected, removed the hub and slid the head off the yaw stub. I checked the rotors / hub for tweaks and it seems 100% no runout on the mag plates visible to a finger "gage", no tail damage, stub looks straight and stator seems undamaged. This thing is built like an anvil, nice heavy steel took the brunt of the impact cushioned by blades hitting first.

Thanks again, folks.

Tom

[WooferHound]

What was the real problem, Did you have a storm ?

[bj]

   Not being there, but listening, I think your second assessment might be closer.  If it hit the ground
spinning, all the blade debris should be fairly close, and more or less equal in carnage.
   If one let go while in full flight, the imbalance would have destroyed anything quickly.
   When you get things sorted out, let us know.  The offers weren't hollow.

[ghurd]

Dam Tom... that sux.
G-

[tomw]

After a lot of pondering and consideration I have decided I should just man up here and get this thing back in the air. Going into summer it will not contribute much but it just seems silly to completely give up on  it because of a minor failure like a bolt coming out of a turnbuckle. The damage is a bit more but with everything else in good shape including the mast being an easy fix once I got at it I think I should just put it back up when I can afford the replacement blades. And a few lock nuts for the turnbuckles.

Anyway, I have contacted Dave at http://www.royalwindandsolar.com/ Royal Fabrication and have a quote for 3 of his 6 foot custom blades that should drive it fine. I just need to divert some funds to get it back in the air.

I don't think I can carve my own so I will have to bite the bullet and buy a set.  There goes that Rock River CAR-15 A4 I had my eye on  . The curse of maturity strikes again. Damned Priorities. 

Hopefully the Mayans were wrong and I won't need another weapon to defend the place against marauders. Maybe I can lure Glen and his arsenal over for a long term visit if the Mayans were right.    Time will tell.


Just an update on the status of the turbine.

Tom

[bj]

   "The curse of maturity" IS always getting in the way.  Guess that means when it gets in the way we've grown up.
    Wish I could help Tom, two less than young'uns can do more than one.
    Good luck though, and hope you don't need the luck.

[Volvo farmer]

Do you know if the prices on that site are for a single blade or a set?  It says "bade" on the 10 footers, "blade" on the 8 foot, and "blades" on the 6 foot.