Building a Wind Generator using a Car Alternator

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In this DIY project video we are going to built a wind generator using a car alternator.
This homemade wind turbine is made out of a car alternator. We have hacked the car alternator to generate power as a wind generator. It can generate renewable energy out of wind and can charge our battery. The blades are made out of PVC pipe and we tried to use common material for this project.
More information about the material and designs (links) will be provided soon.
Regards,
DIY King

[@lesimages3dclic]

Oh cool, it brings back memories of when I was around 10 years old. I didn't have much money, so I went to a car graveyard to purchase one from a nice guy who owned the place. I paid $5.00 in 1973, but it came with all the basic electronics. My dad gave me an old car battery. My mom was not aware of my project, but my dad did lol. I assembled the turbine with random pieces of aluminum sheets some workshop leftovers I got for free. Anyway, I was able to install it near our tree house as there was a wind corridor because of the path leading to the family cottage. It worked and we were able to power lights and a car radio. No inverter though, just 12 volts of DC power. The battery charged as the turbine turned. It worked for a couple of years until a storm with 100 Km/h wind destroyed it. Anyway, thanks for sharing your video showing your cool project.

[@wallaroo1295]

Great video, thank you! Also, if you have any personal concerns about your English - do not be concerned. I have hearing loss, and even without my hearing aids in - I can understand you, just fine. :) Your English is very good!

[@mohamedfazeel7941]

😂

[@ludlow7369]

Hi. I think like me that viewers come to learn how to convert the alternator to produce energy from the wind. Sorry but you spent way too much time showing your build of the frame which has nothing to do with the alternator to wind energy process so I'm looking for another vid.

[@ajjoueid7515]

10 out of 10 for effort and engineering skills. I thought this would work and was looking forward in making my own. I would imagine a gear system will allow RPM to increase enough.

[@TpoJioJio47]

wasted alternator, steel pieces and PVC pipe. it's 1\10 man

[@stevenwilliams2601]

I agree definitely 10/10 on engineering skills. Maybe this footnote will assist others and yourself while you look for a way to change the drive ratios. I haven't built my own turbine yet because I'm still working on other projects that are required to come first. Anyway refrigerators in general use 300 to 800 watts of electricity and between 3 and 6 amps at about 120 volts. A 1hp well pump uses 750 watts. If it operates on 220 volts Alternators need to spin about 2,400 rpm at idle, their maximum output is above 6,000 rpm but not to exceed 8000rpm. Best wishes and good luck!

[@kingdavidson7430]

​@@stevenwilliams2601Could it just charge a battery like Tesla wall then use it when there's an emergency?

[@Muhammad_Wahyudhi]

@@kingdavidson7430 So far the commercial home wind turbine only produces about 100-150 watts per hour per unit with average wind speed of 4-5 meter/s, and cost ranging $1500-5000 per unit (the good one, or famous one at least), break even twice than solar panel, ranging 15-25 year.

[@Muhammad_Wahyudhi]

@@stevenwilliams2601 Gear ratio of 27:1 with Planetary gears stacked in 3 could help. Might need to search other DC motor / electric generator in reverse that has 6 or 8 poles.

[@aaronsam.j7231]

I have been watching there video from 2years even though they have less subs and views there quality contant is way high .I hope they are recognised and respected because they have earned it.

[@DIYKingSaM]

You guys are the reason we love to share our work and learn new things.

[@aaronsam.j7231]

@@DIYKingSaM thanks man .

[@engshabbirahmedqureshi6151]

You must add a gearbox to increase rpm and also use the turbine with a flywheel to get power from air by increasing cross sectional area of blades however you have done a good job well done.

[@MrSummitville]

No.

[@AR-rf9hc]

It so much fun and knowledge seeing you guys working, keep it up

[@StopItRyan]

You could use the current turbine blades and gear up the alternator speed by having a simple two wheel pulley system. You could do a 15cm wheel on a 5 cm wheel with a belt connecting them with a 2cm gap and that would do about 700 rpm without taking up too much extra space.

[@MrSummitville]

No!

[@j.tin23]

Beautiful workmanship!!!👍👍👍

[@daviddececco8682]

Hey guys great project! Great try! Your skills are masterful! Be proud of what you accomplished! Can't wait to see 2.0 !

[@petercoutu4726]

Play with the gear ratio, and I would recommend using a small solar panel to charge a super capacitor to excite the rotor coils (field winding) then once the alternator is producing voltage it could charge the super capacitor to keep the field winding energized.

[@supriyadevidutta]

can you explain how will it increse the power

[@Ready4Rain]

A large gear (say 60 teeth) takes longer to do a full rotation than smaller gear (say 12 teeth) will. I have seen this work and will increase the rpm, unfortunately the way that this turbine is set up it would require a rework as the blades would me the large gear and there is no option to gear it like a mountain bike in configuration. If you can find an old series from the Discovery Channel called “The Colony” they do it in season one.

[@lockhughes]

wish I'd thought of that .. ;) .. " charge a super capacitor " ..

[@daveapplemotors]

At night?

[@petercoutu4726]

@daveapplemotors that is the reason behind the super capacitors, but the solar panels are primarily intended to provide energy to the system for the excitation current during the initial period from a dead stop to operating speed. Once the system is generating power it will keep the capacitors charged. Now assuming that the capacitors become depleted after sunset, you can either have an auxiliary battery or a connection to the primary storage batteries through all relevant circuitry.

[@DIYwithBatteries]

Well build Dude keep going... to work better than what we expect 👍

[@johng5295]

Thanks in a million. Great content. Awesome imagination. Grade: A++💥

[@chriswilliams8607]

Thank you guys, this is great stuff, wonderful information and very good and clear presentation. All the best, keep going !

[@LowetheTechGuy]

Awesome project! I am finally learning about permanent magnet brushless ac and dc motors. Even though I have raced rc cars, built and fly drones for years i just started learning about this and I love it!

[@jime5015]

Excellent job I want to see more of your work high tech a lot of work into it but you did what everybody else don't do you show the work and not talk about bs everybody else that has to say they're livelihood thank you for being real and thank you for being professional I want to see more of your videos I learned a lot thanks

[@silviowel]

saudações brasileiras aos amigos............um projeto muito bacana e a execução realmente ficou de primeira, parabens

[@hawkesworth1712]

What you need is some sort of device to stop it from swinging in the wind when you go up on the roof to do maintenance. One gust of wind in the wrong direction and someone loses their face.

[@mattrindle7485]

I’m working with alternators to build generators too. A thought I’m playing with is using an alternator as the rotor of a pulse motor.

[@electronic7979]

Excellent project 👍

[@delmarrey9077]

This is why in the older days we used car generators, not alternators. You don’t need a power source to get voltage. Just a regulator to control the output.

[@MrSummitville]

But the older days are long gone. So, today we use an AC alternator.

[@vijaychaudhary6102]

Nice to see utilising the basic idea of wind generation but for deep knowledge you should study further for optimum production with less power/ RPM of wind power.

[@mattharvey8712]

Bravo.........know balance....I see a shaker .... and variable pitch blades for high speed wind........ great job..........cheers

[@faisalrauf4136]

Don't ever think of getting disappointed, u people have done great , success is at your door step ,, keep the hopes up ,,

[@rubydoobstylie]

Wow! Both fabulous engineers. So inspiring. Thank you.

[@sathwikkumar1469]

Good idea, I'd suggest putting a Pulley system and adjusting the diameter ratios accordingly. And also instead of using pipes , you can do a diy of fiberglass and mould it yourself . This also reduces the weight and it's stronger than PVC pipes

[@legendpop2383]

How much effort is required is unmatcable great video

[@PhG1961]

Great ingenuity !

[@prasadrs89]

This is the video I have been looking for. I planned to construct an identical one for experimental purpose. Alas..now I have no idea to go ahead..thanks a lot..

[@chicky6939]

it is super satisfying watching you build

[@welsty2003]

This is a really great, informative and well put together video. Thanks. But please put a guard on your grinder!!! If that disc shatters it will send fragments all over the place and injure anyone nearby.

[@tontonperez3544]

Hope you have a next video for this experiment. Nice job.

[@werriewoepers]

If u use permanent magnets on the rotor u will get your required voltage at a much lower rpm. No need for gears. As long as it's a strong 🧲 like n52

[@DIYwithBatteries]

Well said mate 👍 and it's hard to rotate the blades if they add gears, better with Permanent magnets ;)

[@DIYKingSaM]

Yes we are looking for these magnets, hope to find the right ones soon and get the next part .

[@werriewoepers]

If I'm not mistaken the hoverboard motors u used in previous vids have n52 mags in.. try removing them. Or. Being a diy channel old hard drives.. they each got 1 in. . And they should be wide enough for that stator

[@iamarxalan]

Decrease the number of blades to 3 from 5 you currently use and then you will get required output.

[@90FF1]

Very good presentation. Your fast paced video has done exactly as it should. Just enough information to stimulate others into thinking and sharing. Look into old wind driven well pumps to solve the over-speed issues. Thanks for posting.

[@Muhammad_Wahyudhi]

What type of motor you wanna use? Liam F1 Archimedes blade is dope. Gear ratio of 27:1 with Planetary Gearbox stacked in 3 would be great. How about vertical wind turbine?

[@jabersaeed2731]

you can use step up voltage circuit with 14v dc regulator , it will charge the battery at any wind speed

[@julioLtrailero]

Hello from mexico 🇲🇽 Thanks for sharing this video guys !!👍🏼👍🏼

[@christosvolikakis1523]

Great video for educational purposes but is there a part two to see if you nail down the blade design and got enough RPMs to charge batteries. Saw some solar panels so wondering if this works in conjunction with solar panels as well

[@beastman.330]

Brother always have a first aid kit in your work place .great work.

[@ssikarim]

Great job. Thanks

[@dougselsam5393]

This is good for a first try. I'm interested to know what brand and model that alternator is - looks like a pretty beefy car alternator with a good-sized stator for a small wind turbine. Most car alternators are too small for a wind turbine of this size. As others have pointed out, supermagnets can be added to establish a strong magnetic field, then you would be able to make better power at your relatively low RPM. That is how most small wind turbines are built these days. Forget the many suggestions to add ratio gearing - no successful small turbine uses gears, belt-drive, or chain-drive. That is just what people with no experience always try, but leanr the hard way it just introduces moe failure points. They are noisy and do not last, and are not necessary if you just use strong magnets in the alternator. I've built many wind turbines and I would say those blades might "work", but some better blades would help. And that disc, and the steel strips the blades are attached to, are too wimpy to handle strong winds. This thing would be "blown to smithereens" in a strong wind. But very good for a first effort! Most people by far underestimate the strength required for high winds. The furling tail looks like it works well. Overspeed protection is essential, and it looks like you realize that. I am pretty impressed with a nice, clean build, and you at least got it working. A few minor, and one or two major, adjustments, and you will have a nice, power-producing machine! :)

[@bacilluscereus1299]

Could you give some idea/details of these strong magnets? The ones i found in computer HDDs do not last due to rust. Thnx

[@timotevaiomounga1652]

Q²9³

[@Pdfflyer1]

Great job. Please develop a part 2 of this video and please advise the Brand name of the Alternator, and the part no. Or the motorized application ( which vehicle you “borrowed” it from ). Thanks !!

[@sforshoaib]

Hello bro, you are doing just amazing. You are much appreciated. English is just language, not the knowledge. You already got knowledge, so keep it up. Only loosers will exploit you. The way you are editing videos is awsome. Thumbs up, keep it up.

[@fraserconnell21]

Enjoyed that,good luck refining your design. And hello from 🇬🇧👍

[@mayhunk084]

Great job done!

[@Lesfac]

Would a stepper motor used as a generator give more power? I would think whatever you use it will be necessary to gear up the windmill rpm. Very good video.

[@tomwebster7845]

Power is the cube of wind speed guys , if it's possible get it on a 6m pole with guy wires to support and a swivel with counterweight so you can bring it down easy. Well done on your efforts ;-)))))

[@edward9862]

I need to see how this guy generates wind, with this!

[@drnpsingh6038]

👍👍 First time I am seeing a video, which truly says that the expected voltage is not achieved so more (research & trials) are needed. Truly appreciate it. Dr NPSingh ONGC Dehradun

[@bernied9415]

Your English is fine ! Don't worry.....your doing great!

[@DIYKingSaM]

Thanks bro

[@furkantokac]

You can use smaller propeller and increase the RPM since the torque should be more than enough and you need more RPM.

[@pratyushkiranmisra]

Hi it's a great video with great technical work can you please come forward to put these superb hand to hand technology ideas in schools

[@floydbertagnolli944]

Good effort. 😀 Hi learned several useful things

[@gomezaloysius]

Thanks for your effort.

[@munwar077]

Good job keep on striving for for better results

[@valentinobeghelli960]

bravissimi ragazzi avete fatto un ottimo lavoro

[@THET1916]

Great Video! You are right to worry about RPM, a car alternator needs to turn at 3500-5000 RPM to achieve its full field amperage. If you are not looking for peak amperage but instead voltage, use an overdrive mechanism through a planetary gear box and ensure you are using a WYE type stator in the alternator. I daydream about making a wind powered alternator generator and appreciate that you did the work to see it through to the end.

[@DIYKingSaM]

Indeed, your thoughts are worth reading. I hope you will soon get your hands dirty building one. We love to get such comments and that's why we together with you all bring this channel to the best possible projects that we can

[@Santhoshp84]

Hi guys it is of very good job but I do not know what is the wind turbine, if you have any good of generating more power you can become a new company to sell your product on a lower price so that every Indian can purchase.

[@wombatg0]

Use one from a diesel - these run at half the rpm :)

[@PH_INFO_101]

@@wombatg0 Really???? I would love to see you try to back up your comment. Just for comparison, the alternator pulley ratio on a Cummins Diesel is 3.22 which equates to an alternator RPM of 8,050 with an engine RPM of 3,000. Typically, The standard automotive gasoline engine alternators have their full output rated at 6000 RPM but can continue to spin up to 12,000 RPM or more without any additional increase in output.

[@PercyJackson93]

@@PH_INFO_101 I believe 3000rpm for my motorbike

[@joseloera6791]

Saludos desde Monterrey muy bien el vídeo estoy empezando a ver éste tipo de vídeos y trataré de entender poco a poco los datos técnico 🙏👌👍🤠

[@nadeemanjum1739]

guys u r doing so good. best of luck

[@tahirbintariq8934]

Use permanent magnets and gear multiplier with bigger Propellors .It will help alot. Even commercial wind generator don't use electromagnet.. Hope for your best

[@vic-wo7hb]

Wow! Great job on the turbine, I love it!!!

[@johnnz4375]

Normally an car alternator needs to spin at 2000 rpm to achieve full power.

[@Justwhynot101]

It needs to spin 2200 rpm to function normally, and for full power it needs to spin more than 6000rpm but not above 8000rpm for too long because it will shorten its lifespan if it will not damage it, so in conclusion car alternators are pain in the ass if there are used for another purpose than in cars

[@_sh_a_non_]

Great work bro.

[@ilyastahir4285]

Very very helpful knowledge great generation

[@ajittiwari5203]

Impressive work. 👌

[@ronaldmcdickass5479]

One thing about this video is the nice, quiet background music / you need to get a low-friction transfer case onto the hub of the alternator to step up the RPMs of the alternator. Even doubling the RPMs would give you some output.

[@kazibademakalim2158]

good video! keep up the good work.

[@jonathanperezbernaldez8807]

Guys you bring a lot of motivations for create! Thanks from México.. Why this time did you choose 5 blades in the design??

[@quadcoptervision]

OK buddy you got my respect - I detest what our politicians and global corporates are doing to our economies - via so called renewable energy....... For they are breaking what already works.... However we can counter their madness with vids like this...... And empower oursleves at least to some extent against their corporate madness....................

[@vrssrv12]

Here you need to design a new generater with maximum number of poles , say 12 or more, could achieve high power output in low RPM.

[@Noneofyourbusiness99999]

Very clever gents - enjoyed that

[@philliprobinson7724]

Hi. The windmill was almost certainly too small to turn alternator fast enough. A car alternator needs several horsepower to deliver the watts. Alternators give about 350 watts, and assuming 30% efficiency that means a one-two h.p. propeller at least. Very skilled video performance, well done. Cheers, P.R.

[@bobbobovich4356]

You must be 127yrs old, you can remember the output of the first alternator installed on a production model vehicle and the phase out of generators in auto use. Tell me, was that soon after -ve earthing became the standard and 6V was phased out haha. Meant in jest, but seriously your figures are way off. Electrical load demand on modern vehicles now with bluetooth this, sync that, infotainment, screens, high power audio, heated everything from glass, arse, to mirrors, 2 billion times the computational capabilities of the Apollo moon lander and more ECU's than the space shuttle means alternators in standard 12V vehicle regularly approach and exceed 100A rated capability. I'm sure you probably don't need a maths lesson so I no need to throw power figures around except to say that's significantly more than 350W. That alternator was commercial 24V (not my area, light motor vehicle for me) so current rating would be inversely proportional for the same power, handy for that type of project working with less current . The vehicles generally have high electrical demand also (did you see the size of that sucker?) starting a high cc diesel and feeding a couple of 25kg+ 200Ah or so batteries, so I reckon if they shared the spec that thing is easy good for 75A, at a charging voltage of say 27V, so 350W?? Oh, and by the way, I think you underestimate the power of wind and fluid/aero dynamics. Yes is was rudimentary, but the spinny thing was plenty huge enough to drive it (with some gearing). Nearly 30yrs ago a friend used an old steel bladed radiator fan (adjusted pitch I assume) no bigger than 18" with a scrapyard alternator driven by belt mounted on the roof of his garage (come man cave), and a standard 12V starting battery as storage/smoothing/capacitance to run a CB radio and car stereo (maybe some lights, I cant remember) and in a mild wind it would power everything without draining the battery ;)

[@philliprobinson7724]

@@bobbobovich4356 Hi Bob. Well done, I'm 128 next birthday. It's all candles and a ruined cake for me. Too much irrelevant stuff in your post, mate. F.Y.I. the power available from any windmill is proportional to the CUBE of the airspeed passing through it. It's the VOLUME of air that does the work, volume being a cubic measurement. The one in the video would run the alternator nicely in a category five hurricane (about 256 kph), but quickly self destruct. At normal wind speeds it wouldn't rip the skin off a rice pudding, there's not enough kinetic energy in the small volume of air passing through it per second. Gearing it up won't help. Try pedaling a bike up a steep hill in high gear if you don't believe me. Before eager beavers spend their hard earned money on a dodgy project, they should understand the cube law importance in windspeed, because it limits the maximum energy available. Commercial wind generators only work because they have huge volumes of air passing through. Now excuse me, I'm off to finish a homework project. Cheers, P.R.

[@daveapplemotors]

A 100 watt car alternator is heavy duty, right. 350 watts?

[@philliprobinson7724]

@@daveapplemotors Hi Dave. Good point. Wattage varies with requirements of the vehicle. My "ballpark" figure of 350 watts probably applies more to a bus or long-haul truck generator running extra lights and air conditioning. My point that you can't get any more power out of an electric generator than its power input (vee belt, windmill) puts in is correct however. Inserting gearing between the drive and the generator will not increase the amount of power that can be extracted. If it was possible, perpetual motion machines would be exist. Cheers, P.R.

[@hartleyhubbard3827]

great work, brothers... keep up the DIY power supply for those of us who don't have an engineering cell in our brain! When you perfect a source, I hope you'll post it for us to replicate. Greg (garden grove, CA)

[@sinceretrustme]

Amazing and intelligent and outstanding knowledge

[@sohaibalam4168]

This is brilliant!!!! Great work my desi friend :)

[@kikogarza6310]

Hagan un video en 2 o 3 partes bien explicado despacio las medidas que sea de motor de patineta y alternador por favor buen trabajo

[@W1RMD]

That is a vacuum pump in the back of that alternator. It is what Isuzu (and others) use for their hydraulic brake boost system, in their small/ medium cab over trucks as the diesel engine produces no vacuum to assist in braking.

[@omairzamir1246]

Guys Your doing a Great Work..! Extremely Happy to see Such skillfull work. But please wear safety gloves while working...! Safety is First Priority...!

[@krusty1974]

Amazing job. If i may say it really looks like your blades have the wrong pitch and are spinning trailing edge first therefore in the wrong direction.

[@jaketemporary2060]

Subscribing to this. Wanting to build one. 😊

[@juanramirezmaruny6975]

Habéis hecho un gran video y un gran trabajo que selo habéis curado, creo que lo único que os ha faltado es montarle en el rotor de 4 a 5 imanes de deodimio , en una posición de norte sur norte sur y hubiera aumentado el voltaje y el amperaje, enhorabuena por el trabajo realizado, un abrazo

[@johnsmithfakename8422]

Personally I think using a gear box of some sort is probably the best option. Though I have no experience doing something like this.

[@MrSummitville]

No!

[@albertvanee4972]

Very cool work.

[@merlepatterson]

A 4 to 1 reduction ratio would have probably worked just fine. Though I didn't notice whether or not you had slip rings installed on the mast head so the turbine could freely rotate 360 degrees without worrying about wire binding the turning radius? You could probably fashion a set of mast head slip rings off of another car alternator.

[@MrSummitville]

No, do not use gears.

[@pieterbezuidenhout2741]

Love your channel but I was waiting for the end result. Why not try a 24 Volt ALTERNATOR and see the difference ? Respect from South Africa.

[@SuvoHossain]

watching from Bangladesh. You guys are very talented.

[@satishimca]

I tried this once and was able to get a decent amount of power from a similiar setup. Gear ratio is definitely a game changer. I winder if there is a way to have variable gear ratio depending on the wind speed… i dont have an answer for this yet 🙂

[@petercoutu4726]

A cvt transmission is the best option, the simple version that uses no control circuitry, is commonly found in snowmobiles while there are automotive versions. But with the right application of a snowmobile clutch/ cvt pulley is the easiest option that i can think of.

[@tomkeegan3782]

Put on a heavy flywheel , use some external power to get it going first. That's my theory anyway!!

[@Muhammad_Wahyudhi]

What's your gear ratio? Acquiring Planetary Gearbox seems tricky. Check out Archimedes blade of Liam F1

[@kpeeks]

Add a fan clutch between the alternator & the fan.

[@5nowChain5]

get a scrapped treadmill and use the 1kw+ 180v motor on a vertical or horizontal turbine.

[@vincentoflynn6996]

Fantastic effort 👌 💪 🙂 👏 👍

[@novedadessamy5926]

Excelente informacion bendiciones

[@sultanrayder]

Very beautiful project bro, I've tried this once with my bicycle 🚲 Dynamo 😂 Good job Pakistan 🇵🇰

[@seudockchannel]

Estupendo pero una pregunta, ¿Tiene la capacidad de girar 360 grados o le pusiste algun tope?..... para que no se enrede el cableado????

[@mpty2022]

you can use gears to get optimal rpm and momentum, just like a large wind turbines

[@jackyjames1066]

Hi there There ist a German man, Christian kuhtz, that is building exactly this Kind of Generator for decades.... He rewound the stator to be able to generate electricity at lower RPM.. Check Out His books called "einfälle statt abfälle" (ideas instead of Trash), dont know If this is a proper Translation.. Keep Up your Work dudes

[@codexrat]

13:40 the blade seems to move on the opposite direction of the angle of attack. And also I don't see that much wind gushing since the nearby objects are pretty much stationary. Don't get me wrong, it's a doubt. Will be happy if you cleared it out. Btw love your workshop, wanna build one myself. 👍🏻

[@Rafaeljotiar]

The easiest way is changing the rotor to a permanent magnet rotor instead

[@m.nasirjawaidkhanazeemi8034]

On rotor, by grinding /make space for magnets we can do.. . But question can we put magnet (in two parts) from magnetron of microwave.. Do u reply for experience

[@MrSummitville]

@Raga - No, that is not easy.

[@biplabnayak452]

Nice Idea, and you worked hard to get perfect Rpm to get sufficient voltage, I must suggest you that do not put the alternator directly on rotor blades, instead you must try a gear ratio. You should get the power from the turbine through a bigger pulley, than by gradually use smaller pulley upto 4 times. Than you can get the sufficient Rpm. You can use also the teeth pinions instead of pulleies..

[@MrSummitville]

No, do not use gears.

[@israrhaq73]

Amazing great job

[@oscar27ization]

Great job

[@victorpiedra6742]

It would be easier, and even economical, to take advantage of the brushless motor of an electric scooter wheel, of which they are an integral part of the wheel, it would generate three-phase voltage, so you put a regulator-rectifier of the kind used by motorcycles with large displacement, and you would have regulated DC voltage ready to charge a 12 volt battery