Types of windmills, their design, practicality, step-by-step instructions for assembling decorative structures, design features for generating electricity. A windmill is a building on a backyard area that carries ancient greatness and wisdom, which has been used since ancient times to grind grain crops, and today it can become an excellent decoration for a site and a playroom for children. In addition, the building can be adapted for household needs: it can be used as a storage room for garden tools, and, if desired, also as a wind generator to generate electricity. If you set out to build a mill on your site, you will find a lot of useful information in the article.
Features of the construction of windmills
Today, in the adjoining territory, you can see structures that do not have a functional purpose. Such buildings include a windmill that copies old buildings.
The standard design is in the shape of an isosceles trapezoid, with blades fixed to one wall. The blades can be fixed or rotate. For ease of installation, it is made of several parts that are assembled in a given place.
The layout of the windmill is simple - it consists of three main parts:
- Frame … It is made four- or pentagonal. The dimensions are chosen by the owner, they mainly depend on the purpose of the structure. For example, if children are to play in it, the platform must be massive, and the structure itself must be securely fixed so that it does not tip over. The base is often made of concrete.
- Blades … In decorative mills, the shape and configuration of the blades is irrelevant. If they rotate mechanisms, they are made large, according to certain rules.
- Power plant … Used only in case of power generation. It is difficult to make it yourself, so all parts of the electrical system are bought. Nodes are installed in the internal cavity of the structure.
Windmills in the country are built in two cases. Decorations distract from everyday worries, decorate the territory and delight the eyes. Built in an old rural style. In this case, its practical value is very limited, since the mill is used only in certain cases:
- For masking places that are not intended for prying eyes, for example, sewer hatches.
- Constructed from lightweight material, the structure can act as a protective cap for engineering structures.
- The sturdy large structure becomes a playroom for children.
- Garden tools are often kept in the building.
- Stone mills are combined with barbecue facilities.
- The design is sometimes used to scare away moles. The rotation of the blades creates vibration, which is transmitted through the legs to the ground and scares the animals away.
By connecting the appropriate equipment to the blades, electricity can be generated. The power of the installation depends on the size of the mill; very small buildings produce no more than 100 watts.
Preparatory work
Before making a windmill, draw a sketch of it to scale with all the dimensions by which you can determine the amount of consumables. In our case, the dimensions of the structural units will be as follows: large base - 1.5-2 m; the height of the building from the lower base to the roof - 2 m; roof - 1, 2-1, 3 m.
For the manufacture of parts, you will need the following materials:
- Thick plywood or board 15-20 cm wide and 2 cm thick - to create the base of the mill;
- Wooden lining - for lining the body, you can use low quality material;
- Thin slats 20-40 mm - for the formation of the frame;
- Reiki-layouts - for the manufacture of blades;
- Corners - for sealing gaps in the joints of parts;
- Nails and screws;
- Drying oil or varnish - to create a protective layer on lumber;
- Long bolt with nuts and washers - for blade attachment;
- Long hairpins - to rotate the top.
Finish all wooden blanks with a sandpaper or on a machine. Glass and silicon skins are best suited for this purpose. Do not use corundum or similar materials, they create a lot of dust that settles on the surface and contaminates it.
To extend the service life, cover lumber with special wood impregnations (Aquatex, Pinotex, Belinka, etc.). They will reliably protect the tree from atmospheric precipitation, fungus, and insect pests. Apply the liquid in 2 layers, after the previous one has dried. Before the procedure, make sure that the equipment is safe and, if necessary, protect yourself with personal protective equipment.
To speed up the work, you will need a saw, drill and screwdrivers, an electric plane and a sander.
How to make a windmill in the country
Consider the sequence of operations in the construction of the simplest structure. It consists of 3 parts - lower, middle and upper. You can make each unit separately, and then transport them to a predetermined location and assemble there. Below is the sequence for assembling the structure.
Instructions for building a decorative windmill
Consider an example of making a structure with rotating blades and a pivoting top. The structure is intended only for decorating a summer cottage, it has no other practical value. Perform the operations in the following sequence:
- Determine where the structure will be located. A rotating blade mill is built in an open area where it is always windy, which will ensure that the blades are constantly rotating. The ideal option is a lawn with mixborders, against which it looks very good.
- Clear the area from vegetation, level the surface. Compact the site for the mill - concrete, lay it out with stone or paving slabs.
- Make a build base. To do this, cut 2 squares from thick plywood, which will serve as platforms for the platform. In our case, blanks of 30x30 and 40x40 cm are used.
- Determine the centers of the squares and drill holes through them.
- Assemble the mill frame. First, cut a rail 50-60 cm long. Fix it to the center of the 30x30 and 40x40 cm platforms by screwing in self-tapping screws through the holes made. Measure the distance between the top and bottom pads and cut four strips according to the obtained dimensions.
- Secure them to the corners of the workpiece. Remove the middle auxiliary part. Check the correctness of the assembly by measuring the diagonals of the structure, which must remain the same. This will give you a mill base frame that looks like a stool.
- Nail to the base of the leg to raise it off the soil and protect it from wet soil or grass. They are attached to the inner corners of the structure.
- Place the frame vertically and check the horizontal position of the pads. Correct the distortion by changing the length of the legs.
- To prevent them from rotting from touching wet soil, they must be insulated. A good solution is to use PVC pipes of suitable dimensions. Cut 4 pieces of 20 cm long from it. Press wooden blocks into them. Attach the legs to the mill frame.
- Drill ventilation holes in the bottom platform. Water will also flow through them after rain.
- Craft the top of the mill. To do this, cut out two triangular blanks 30x30x35 cm from plywood. Fix the lower part to a wide board, and at the top, connect the parts with slats.
- To make the upper part of the roof pivotable, you need a 1.5 m long stud with threads along its entire length.
- Increase the holes already made in the center of the frame pads and in the base of the roof to the diameter of the stud. Place the rod in them vertically and secure with nuts.
- Place the top of the mill on the pin and secure with nuts in a position where the top will rotate on the rod.
- To attach the blades, you need 2 identical ball bearings. Make through holes in the triangular roof walls, the diameter of which is equal to the diameter of the bearings. The hole pivots should be horizontal and pass over the vertical stud in the housing. Install the bearings in these holes, and in them the long pin. Secure them against falling out of the walls with nuts and washers of large diameter, which are screwed onto the pin on both sides of the wall.
- Make blades from spacers or other material. They can be made from a plastic pipe by cutting it lengthwise into two halves. The requirements for the shape and size of these parts are minimal - so that they are more or less stringent. Connect the blades together with small studs.
- Find the midpoint of the intersection of the blades and drill a hole in it.
- Place the assembled blades on the horizontal pin at the top of the mill and secure with nuts on both sides. It is not necessary to clamp the fasteners, the blades should deflect and capture the wind.
- To the roof, on the opposite side of the blades, attach a rudder-sail, which will catch the wind. To do this, cut two trapezoids out of plywood and connect them with boards at the top and bottom.
- Nail the sail wheel to the top of the rotating mill. If the blades are heavy, he will balance them.
- Sheathe the frame, roof, and rudder with wood forcing. The work consists in cutting the workpieces of the required length and fixing them to the frame with self-tapping screws. Cover irregularities in the corners with corners.
- Use a jigsaw to cut out door and window openings. It is not necessary to do them, instead of them you can install decorative windows, balconies, doors.
- Cover the roof of the mill with decorative tiles.
- Paint the walls in different colors to make the building pleasing to the eye. Sometimes images of flowers, butterflies, insects are applied to the surface.
- Install the structure on the platform and fix it to the base in any way.
Additionally, you can decorate the mill with live plants that are planted around it. Low flowers and a green lawn can serve as a background. Ground cover plants look good.
The structure is often decorated with lighting. To do this, install spotlights around the perimeter of the door and window openings. Thus, the problem of lighting the site is solved.
Features of the construction of a windmill-electric generator
Windmills can be a source of clean and free electricity. Such buildings differ from traditional or decorative ones by the presence of a power plant.
It consists of 3 main elements: a generator, a shaft that connects the blades to the generator, and an inverter - a device that converts direct current into alternating current. You can also introduce batteries into the circuit, which will become infected when the mill is running and give the accumulated amount to the network in the absence of wind.
All these items will have to be purchased. To assemble an electrical circuit, it is quite elementary to understand electricity.
The mill is usually built from wooden planks, massive buildings from brick and stone.
Nodes of such structures, in comparison with decorative ones, have their own characteristics:
- The housing must be strong and secured so that it does not vibrate.
- The blades are made taking into account the power of the connected equipment. The more effort is required, the longer they are.
- For a windmill-generator, the accuracy of the manufacture of parts and assemblies is of great importance, which will ensure a long service life of the existing building.
How to make a windmill with your own hands - watch the video:
When erecting a decorative windmill, everyone can test their strengths in design and construction, because the structure does not require special precision and it is allowed to make it from scrap materials. With the necessary experience, the design will be beneficial - it will become a source of free electricity, but you will have to spend money on mechanical equipment.
