Hi, Jimmy and Miriam here, we are the people that run the workshops on building wind turbines as posted by summersun.
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Originally Posted by summersun
Hi John and Fries.... here is the info on the course... unfortunately i failed to notice that the course is now over but others will be run .... this is word for word...
BUILD YOUR OWN WIND TURBINE
A workshop on the famous Hugh Piggott design ...
Summersun
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And just to reply to Fries
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Originally Posted by Fries-With-That
R.O.T.F.L.M.A.O @ Summersun.
I would hope for €350 you'd at least get to take home a small turbine.
Some of the links I posted including the one to a complete book will show people exactly what they need to do without having to spend €350.
Fries.
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Yes, we would love it if we could have ten people come to do a course and each one go away with a finished turbine at the end however it is just not feasible.
Not everyone who comes on the course has workshop skills, some may never have had the chance to work with hand tools before and for many people this is part of the fun - learning how to use the tools, learning how to read the instructions and apply them to the materials. Some people may have worked with metal before, or worked with wood, however we tend to find that most people have not done both to any great degree.
The cost of materials to build a 3m turbine is around €500 and it can take 4 or five people the full week to build just one turbine on a week long workshop. Sometimes the turbine does go home with one of the participants.
People learn more than just how to build the turbine, questions are being asked (and answered) everyday about how much energy you get from the wind and small turbine, best way to site a turbine, how to safely erect a mast, what sort of guy and anchor system to use, how to connect your system up, how battery banks work, system size, grid connecting etc.
People who have done a course with us sometimes come back when another course is on or by arrangement, to have us check out their blades, to do some welding or to wind coils using the workshop wire instead of having a full roll delivered to their house and having to sell on the remainder.
We always welcome back anyone who wants to do a repeat visit and don't charge for this, we believe in creating a community feeling and supporting people who are keen to do things for themselves.
Location Location, not everyone has a suitable turbine site and we have seen turbines installed by so called experts surrounded by trees or buildings so please research well before you buy or build.
Two of the most respected wind turbine gurus are
Hugh Piggott
http://www.scoraigwind.com/
and Paul Gipe
http://www.wind-works.org/