As you may recall, back in early April my 12 footer fell to earth and totalled the prop, bent the mast and generally depressed me.
Today a mere 2 and a half months later I can report it is flying and has already kicked out a few hundred watts since I finished tilting it up.
It has a shimmy just below cut in but once it gets cranking it seems to smooth out. I just could not catch a break on a dead calm day to balance it but this AM at 6 it was just a light breeze to contend with. I got it pretty close but the low speed shimmy means I didn't get it "dead nuts on" so when we get a true calm day I will lower it and try again.
Here is a photo essay of a good bit of the process:
Crashed:
Missing turbine observed:
It should have looked something like this like it does today:
Nosedive:
Another angle on the nosedive:
I could only find enough wood to piece together the 2 lower blades in this pile and I figure the top one sheared off in wind and she went shaker and vibrated the turnbuckle bolt out?
Firewood:
Top guys still attached properly:
Hard to make out in the brush but that tube is bent about 10 feet from the base hinge:
Pulling side rigging still intact (turnbuckle bolt that attached to that shackle was missing and never found):
Gin pole with no pulling side attachments intact. You can see the turnbuckle hanging from the end of it with no bolt in the yoke:
More of the nosedive:
Debris field:
All the wood from the prop I could find:
Prop hub and all the pieces I could find of the prop:
Bent mast:
Recovery & repair:
Head on test stand for paint touch up and inspection:
Dry lift after straightening mast using pickup and floor jack:
New blades from Chris Olson
http://dairylandwindpower.us and assembly:
Blades in delivery crate:
Uncrated:
Mockup of hubs and blades to mark holes:
Holes bored and test fitted with bolts:
Its up and actually kicking out some watts right away:
So, there you have it in photos.
I straightened the mast bend by placing a floor jack under the bend with a block of wood to spread the pressure, parking the Dakota so the upper end of the bent section (just below that collar) so it came up under the leaf spring shackle. I then jacked up the bend until the truck rear wheels were off the ground, let it sit until it settled and repeated several times until it was straight.
There was no damage beyond cosmetics to the head itself so nothing done there but to touch up paint and clean the brass power studs. I also repainted the tail but never thought to take photos. It had polyurethane on it that was weathered off. Never believe the can when it says indoor / outdoor polyurethane, there ain't no such thing in my experience. I slapped several coats of white porch and deck enamel on it after a vigorous going over with #80 paper in the belt sander.
