Why did this 2kW Ista Breeze wind turbine fail !

[@nhikoid]

We had an incredible storm up here in North East Scotland a couple of weeks ago ("babet"). My Istabreeze i1500 ( on 25ft of 60.3mm tube ) held up just fine. I just use a single 60.3mm pole with 8mm wire rope attached to m20 turnbuckles at the top ( 1.2 m down from the hub ) and to the mid point of the tube. My dump loads are outside ( under shelter ) and they were all really hot and the I 1500 crawled almost to a stop which is what I wanted. Ran like that almost continuously for about 2 days and nights. But, nothing broke or came loose. I think the Istabreeze turbines are the best for the money right now. Maybe I'll think differently in a year or two but for now, they seem to be the only turbine that performs to specification. I see a lot of contributors on this video are clamouring for more concrete. But the problem is not the base or the turbine. It is the rigging. It is far far too light. Also, there is too much of that 48mm tube beyond the rigging attachment. That will bend like a noodle.

[@JonathanPorterfield]

Thanks for your comments, ive passed onto Chris 👍the next follow up video is in the works ! 💪

[@henryowens3611]

I've just brought the 60.3mm ist-breeze tower too, but this year no more rope wire no more turbuckles or u bolt or all four side (mowing around and around them), scaffold tube on two sides swivel wall plates with 12mm bolts and hoping to use it as a winch piont. Submerging my dump load in sand in a old gas bottle, The only trouble I'm going to have is my ladder is only 3.8meters, need some limbings lol

[@nhikoid]

​@@henryowens3611 6.5m 60.3mm tube galvanised is about £85. £40 amazon winch with 10m 1 ton tape.

[@nhikoid]

@henryowens3611 I don't think that will survive, no matter hiw much concrete you shove in the base. Without guy wires that 60.3 tube will bend.

[@nhikoid]

Indeed. It will sway lots and then bend to destruction regardless of the amount of concrete. Gauranteed epic fail. . You MUST have guy wires. I anchor my guys into 3ft deep, 8 inch holes each filled with 3 bags of postcrete. Full length of rebar in each hole. Survived many named storms without a quiver! If you want to avoid mowing round guy wires you'll need a 150mm to 200mm steel tube for a 6.5metre mast!

[@briangriffiths114]

For comparison, my former home had a Proven 2.5 KW turbine installed which had the smaller 6.5 metre mast. This required over 6 cubic metres of reinforced concrete weighing around 15 tonnes.

[@nhikoid]

Great video! Very professional!. Ista turbines are great but unless you can tilt the turbine down I'd recommend the windsafe version. Only about £150 extra but WILL protect the turbine in really violent storms, both from overcurrent and excessive forces. I use 8mm galv steel rope with a 60mm single pole. I also use way oversized shackles and turn buckles (m20 I think) with closed eyes so they cant shake out. My bro in law who was a marine engineer laughed at my ship-mooring type rigging! I only have a small concrete base (2ft x 2ft x 2ft) set in clay soil. Absolutely no problems. It's all about the rigging and that's relatively cheap. You don't need tons and tons of concrete or such an elaborate mast. Single pole, with tilt hinge, even in standard scaffold is fine as long as your rigging is bullet proof and you only have blade radius plus inch or two clearance from the highest rigging point. Your last rigging point is too far from the turbine. It will bend. People dont appreciate that wind power increases by the cube of wind speed. 50mph will put bending moments on your top section like it was wet spaghetti! Your turnbuckles were the Achilles heel. Ship sunk for a halfpenny of tar. Admire your attutude though!. Look forward to seeing it fly again soon.

[@eclecticcyclist]

As long as the guy wires are adequate the base could be an universal joint as the guy wires will take the tension while the base will be in compression. Trust me I'm a retired engineer.

[@andyjdhurley]

True, but each of the guy wires needs to be able to take the full load of the expected wind to allow for the wind being exactly in line with one of the wires as in this case. Or you could have more guy wires but that would be messy.

[@ourkilkennyhomestead2006]

Hello, would you happen to know a mathematical formula to calculate the potential wind force on a mast and turbine of a known weight and known height? I'm currently building a mast for a turbine and would love if I could have it over engineered before finding out the expensive way. Thanks.

[@eclecticcyclist]

@@ourkilkennyhomestead2006 it's not as simple as a mathematical formula, it depends on the aerodynamic forces on the tower which will vary greatly depending on whether it a single column or a multi tubed design as well as the forces on the turbine itself. You need a professional wind turbine designer.

[@ourkilkennyhomestead2006]

@@eclecticcyclist thanks all the same, its a multi tube BTW, I'm a mechanic with 20+yrs experience so don't need a professional turbine designer, just wondered if you knew a handy formula to calculate potential load but it's OK I'll look it up. Thanks anyway.

[@Themachinewon]

The same thing over and over… they use the cheapest and lightest stuff and expect it to hold up. Stupid is as stupid does… I laugh at the cable side 😂

[@jonbaszkiewicz]

Tower was oversized, and foundation was undersized

[@Refertech101]

tower seemed good, could been higher but rest holds true!

[@johnbeattie9561]

Your guide wires and turnbuckles are way to flimsy for that size turbine. I'd also say you need to attach them higher up to stop that pole bending like that. Dig them in deep as these take all the weight and get one for each corner. I'd up the resister bank as well one is just not enough to take that kind of power.

[@Themachinewon]

Funny to watch these guys use such light weight equipment and wonder in awe ! why did it fail….

[@SeanMoore2008]

I've had these here a few years ago, they simply aren't robust enough - they don't furl, they can't be stopped using the manufacturers method (which is to short the stator coils) - I modified one adding a rising/furling tail and it worked well untill the bearings gave up. Shorting the output far closer to the tower base works slightly better - and the tower really doesn't need to be that tall. Given the length of the tower you'll need closer to 5 ton of base.

[@nhikoid]

There are furling versions for a little more that work really well. Theyre called "windsafe" versions. The prop turns out of wind as it reaches a little beyond rated power. Protects mast, bearings, pma and dump loads.

[@kevintewey1157]

​@@nhikoid links?

[@command7772]

Its Ista-Breeze Windsafe 2kW

[@gryzman]

nice. We need folks like this. Undefeated

[@JonathanPorterfield]

He won't give up , ever !

[@henryowens3611]

Idea ! Build the tower separately to the turbine, put the wind turbine on a double pole, hinged the pole on the top of the concrete and a hand winch on the opposite site, your gid wires, so when your dump load starts to glow you can safely wind the turbine down to the ground locking it, alot of work and engineering, but peace of mind. I have an ista breeze 700w 12v on a hinge 6meters hight, 3 way pulley on south west side, which is the Atlantic

[@fenners1290]

This really useful to know. Many thanks and I hope the mark 5 works well.

[@JonathanPorterfield]

Mk 5 is in and so far after 3 weeks , it's still up ! Updated video soon 😉👍

[@mastweiler22]

Good luck, all my research for wanting one where I am says "It's complicated" Maybe one day... 🙂

[@matthewseymour8972]

Presumably as the brake tries to slow down the turbine, more strain is being placed on the tower. If there were a way to turn the turbine out of the wind or adjust the angle of the blades that would be a better approach, but add complexity and cost.

[@spankeyfish]

Proven (the brand name) wind turbines try to solve this by having the blades downwind and spring-loaded so they can pivot away from the wind when the load is too much. That has the effect of reducing the diameter of the blade disc and reducing the drag load. Istabreeze's low-budget version of this is a turbine where the genny and blades are on a spring-loaded hinge so it'll pivot towards the sky once the drag load exceeds whatever the spring limits it to.

[@livingoffgridinscotland]

Not enough concrete in that base Minimum 1 cubic meters of concrete for just a 1kw turbine….

[@MrSummitville]

He said, he used 200 kilograms of concrete. I bet that chunk of concrete on the tower, broke off. No rebar. No engineering.

[@EricZuber-z6l]

Several things. First the concrete base should be about 18" square, 4 feet in the ground with a large bell at the bottom. This way a huge amount of soil would have to be picked up in order for the tower to uproot the base. Second, only cast turnbuckles should be used. Also, the tower should have Pratt Truss, or similar, bracing. I would suggest using a Rohn tower section as a template. GL

[@tippyzuk1]

We were hired to install a very large video display suspended from a ceiling, engineer specked the cable size and numbers. When I researched any extra details required, there was a lot of additional info required. Just some of these were cable clamp nut torque, distance between clamps, not placing the saddle on the dead end of cable.... As a retired installer of large signs, I know that any movement in the object your fastening greatly increases the fastening compared to dead loads. Turn buckles can also be tied of to prevent loosening, just saw another turbine video where this happened. My advise, do lots of research.

[@solarandwindinsouthtexasda1473]

I had a g45 tower and 1270 kilo base and a 90 milles storm Buckle antenna and put it on the ground my 1kw wind turbine was making 2.5 at 90 miles

[@Themachinewon]

Good to see he was using his spare shoelaces as guidewires. How cheap can one get

[@JonathanPorterfield]

I know , now my boots keep falling off as well .....

[@cawfeedawg]

Great stuff Jonathan.

[@JonathanPorterfield]

Thanks i enjoyed filming this with chris 😊

[@davefroman4700]

They do have a new self furling model that tilts out of the wind.

[@JonathanPorterfield]

Yes , and chris' new turbine does this , video update soon 👍

[@noahriding5780]

I found your video by accident and wanted to comment on it. First, i wish you guys the best and hope your situation works out. I've been looking at many of the wind turbines on the market on amazon and on other places. MOST Of them DO NOT state a max speed for which the safety of the turbines hardware can be damaged, etc. This is a concern. Especially for places where you guys are at. Many of the specifications state the calculation they used for the rated wind speed (which is an average to get the power they describe), and they state an initial wind speed for when the unit starts to work to produce power. Typically they state 2.5 m/s for this and 12.5 m/s for their rated speed. They do NOT state at what speed the hardware reaches its top max speed for hardware safety. They also don't state clearly if they have a brake in them or not. Both of those seem to be trouble areas that could use attention. Some people say theirs came with a brake. But not all of them do that and most people don't state this clearly if it has or has not. Another concern for some people... if the wind turbines can be damaged and fail then they probably shouldn't be installed near where your other power cables go into your house at. But people don't talk about this. They also don't state clearly if cities, municaplities will bother or allow people have wind turbines without trouble. I'm curious on this also. (Not that its their business anyway...) ... You guys in high wind places like Orkneys and Shetlands might do better with the helix style vertical wind turbines instead. This may help you to recover on this. We live in trying times. Good luck to you.

[@JonathanPorterfield]

Thanks for watching, and great comments 👍 😀

[@noahriding5780]

Thank you also.

[@geniusmarcsays2434]

he cannot blame the brand. the pole he made fell off

[@Meglenger]

To be fair to istabreeze their turbines will handle some serious wind. I think it takes up to 40mph to even hit their max output of 2KW but with higher winds these will just put out more power.... I seen one video of a I2000 hitting 2500 watts. That resistor is supposed to glow also, it's normal for your dump load to glow that's why they say to install it onto a metal panel and not directly to your wall. You can also hook the load up to an electric water heater element and heat water for free. It could be his dump load was too small for that turbine. The higher the rating the higher the resistance it will put on the turbine (more stopping power)

[@426superbee4]

Higher you go up, the stronger the wind is. More tension on the cables and pole

[@1961kickboxer]

Nice video I’ve got a vawt turbine and a i500 but don’t get as much wind as you chaps ,nice tower btw

[@randylenart9674]

Need some big, heavy-duty turn buckles with the ends welded. I've got a 5000watt, never had it blow over, but I've lost blades

[@judebrown4103]

54kWh of battery storage...that's considerably more than my ev!😂 Would a very wide base like the Eiffel tower be a good idea? Or maybe that's too expensive to execute? Good luck with the next iteration whatever you do.👍👏

[@stevenlouis1024]

that concrete stump is wayyyyy too small. That needs to be at least 4 to 5 feet deep or about 2 meters deep and have a wide base at the bottom reinforced with rebar and mesh wire and below the frost line. That is why that collapsed.

[@JonathanPorterfield]

The next video will show a MUCH BIGGER hole and huge concrete base !

[@AvocaSingleTrack]

The base wasn't your problem. Just need the next size larger turnbuckles , and CLOSED end turnbuckles, NOT hook end. If that base was 3 times as big, the tower is still coming down if a turnbuckle or cable breaks.

[@luckydubeinrc5165]

Nope, the upright can handle the force, the little concrete blob is way under engineered, my towers are free standing, with 32sq feet of wind catch at the top, 25 m...no cables needed, its simple, was an mistake to add a small blob of concrete, accept it , correct it and move on..mistakes were made, he'll fixx it..

[@nhikoid]

Should add; for a given wind speed, power absorbed max is .5 x swept area x air density x ( air velocity cubed).

[@Meglenger]

You need an S40 pipe up top also. That pipe should never be bending like that. I know Istabreeze doesn't help with the strange diameter thickness their necks are. I still haven't found the correct size for that. I think 1 1/4 conduit was the closest I found so far?

[@JonathanPorterfield]

Part 2 coming soon ....

[@nhikoid]

To get from 60.3mm I slice the 60.3mm into 4 "tails" and use exhaust clamps to bind these onto 48mm tube. Then do the same to squeeze the 48mm onto the istabreeze.

[@kevintewey1157]

When sailing you can let the Sail Out you need to designed a wind generator that can let the Sail Out So for the traditional vertical wind turbine this would be blades that could turn And probably same for the horizontal

[@patmlaftr959]

Only takes 1 guy to break and it all comes down had a couple of radio towers come down in hard winds And with putting turbines up they really take some wind pressure I found out As long as your guys don't fail the tower should stay Good luck 👍

[@SeanMoore2008]

You'll need maybe 5 cube of concrete for a base.

[@guygillmore2970]

I think it is the guy wires not the base that failed

[@nhikoid]

Agree with Gilmore. Just needs much much thicker cables...... and heavy closed eye turnbuckles.

[@michaelvanallen6400]

*All practical tests of ground-based small wind turbines show: 1) They hardly produce any electricity! 2) They do not last long! (here too)* *With solar panels you can generate at least 10 times more green electricity with the same investment & time expenditure!* Reliable and almost maintenance-free for at least 25 years! On the other hand, 9 out of 10 small wind turbines stop working after just a few years due to the extremely gusty winds.

[@slipperyslope3912]

This is why you don't let electricians build stuff. 🤣

[@normanboyes4983]

Jonathan - if you can maybe give Chris a heads up on this: Have you had a look at what Kris Harbour is doing with a wind turbine on his homestead - here is the latest video kzbin.info/www/bejne/o3KyZnVooLKdfqM but his channel has a few videos specifically onwind turbines, He is not using commercial and has also fabricated his own generator together with hand carved blades - enjoy.!😀

[@truthleaker222]

You need a much larger base. Like 1.5 meters round with steel diving 2/3 meter deep in the middle. 10 cm thick everywhere else.

[@antoninoromeo4015]

Hi, very interesting video, could you punt all togheter the turbine 3 phases to brake it without dumb load in emergency? many thanks

[@JonathanPorterfield]

The emergency brake does fuse all 3 phases but didn’t stop it.😂

[@blikjensen]

300 kg concrete for that tower, asking for trouble....

[@ed-jf3xh]

Why are you using a square tower vs triangular?

[@unionse7en]

mph readings at what height above the ground?

[@TomaszPragski]

Where is that "massive concrete base"? It's quick frame, but I see ground, dirt You can call it, no concrete base... at all 😅. 2:38.

[@JonathanPorterfield]

👍👍🤣

[@wirebrigade4306]

It now has a 9 tonne concrete base and a folding lamp post as a tower.

[@pascalbudin2983]

Pour info, mon éolienne de 24v et 1000w a 1 000 kg de béton pour tenir debout, pas de cable de maintient pour une hauteur de 12m

[@mohammedmurad3787]

remember it is a moveing object !!

[@Meglenger]

Nowhere near enough concrete! Nice tower design tho... I planned on using a TV antenna tower for my I2000 until I seen this lol. But with more concrete it should be fine. I think for every 10 feet in height you need 2 feet of concrete minimum? I was gonna do 4' deep by 4' wide for a 35 foot tower. Hmmm now I'm thinking lol perhaps I need more.

[@JonathanPorterfield]

You should see the new 'hole' part 2 soon !

[@kevintewey1157]

It just looks like fixed wind generator blades are something that needs dire Improvement.

[@alanjenkinson7812]

That’s a lot of batteries

[@ElectricMikeEV]

Base is/ was way too small 😁

[@ON8EI]

I was about to say that. He should have done his calculations, lesson learned hopefully. Cheers.

[@eclecticcyclist]

Rubbish

[@seaeagle8458]

Use a 1000mm pole with at least 3 12mm steel wires next time. Make the depth of the hole in the ground at least 15% of the length of the pole.

[@7Thunders777]

Heavy springs on the guy wires/ cables may help to prevent them from breaking. Eh ?

[@ericdelevinquiere9902]

A turbine is just a sail, same forces apply. You definitely would not use those tiny cables on a boat! Spread the load to avoid having to use a massive mast.

[@luckydubeinrc5165]

massive concrete base, where??? that tiny blob of concrete you mean?

[@JonathanPorterfield]

New updated 'hole' video coming soon 🤣🤣

[@Themachinewon]

“Massive Concrete base”. Now we know why they never win wars. I have a similar tower, the counter weight required was 1.2 yards of concrete. (12,000 lbs reactionary force ) These two amateurs need to get help.

[@JonathanPorterfield]

Oh we definitely need help 😅 🙂

[@plasticosazteca4623]

THE FAIL WAS IN THE STRUCTURE, AND PART OF THE STRUCTURE IS THE FOUNDATION, I DO NOT SEE ANY PROBLEM WITH THE TURBINE.

[@mihaimoro4418]

Hello, can you please help me. I have bought an Instabreeze 2kw 48v and I have a chinese Hybrid Controller 2kw 48v but it seems that it doesn't charge at all. When i connect only two wires it starts spinning and It shows that is charging but when i connect all 3 it slows down (no brake) and only charge up to 50w when outside are strong winds, no matter how strong they are the turbine is not spinning fast enough. The brake works fine and I had winds where it came active. I've tried to disconnect two wires, it starts spinning very fast when i connect the other two it still charging good for another minute then it slows down again for no reason, no break active. Thank you in advance. I have struggling for 1 month and still can't fix the issue.

[@JonathanPorterfield]

Ive forwarded to chris , so look out for his reply

[@wirebrigade4306]

What charge controller are you using? I am charging 48v Pylontech Lithium batteries so need to set up the controller very carefully. I have reprogrammed an Istabreeze controller and they work great. A few things to try. 1. With a multimeter check you have continuity between all phases in pairs on the turbine itself. 2. With a multimeter check you have continuity between all phases in pairs on the controller. 3. Check you have connected to the correct terminals on your controller. 4. Check output with batteries disconnected (don't let the turbine overspeed) and with batteries connected - you may find you charge controller shuts down turbine at a set voltage. if using lithium batteries make sure you do not overcharge them as it will blow the BMS up.

[@xXJusTMichelxX]

Thank you very much ! I'll let you know a soon as I get back to it. Kind regards

[@talusranch990]

Mast bent back, blade hit mast.

[@Kiltoonie]

Build back better!

[@geniusmarcsays2434]

change the title. you cannot blame the brand for badly made structure

[@closertothetruth9209]

kinda tiny guy wires , a proper furling tail might help

[@BardofLaketown]

Significantly under-engineered. Be careful.

[@tryingtosucceed]

My ista i2000 came down due to weak cables, I have beefed up the rigging, it was stupid of me to build it next to my greenhouse. Its inevitable to fall over if installed by a tight fisted diyer, which is the only people who buy 'em. Save yourself the hassle, instead buy more panels and batteries, or simply hope the taxpayer continue to pay for your leccy.

[@kevintewey1157]

Thank you for getting me to reconsider putting it right next to the propane tank I'm not kidding I was going to use Maybe One meter pole so I didn't have to spend money in that was probably long enough to fall on the tank how could I have been so stupid

[@nhikoid]

Next to a greenhouse? The ista 2000 is a great way to avoid having to pinch out those tomato side shoots.

[@surplusdoctor]

this is way too funny.

[@nickieredshaw7835]

Nice. Stuff !

[@toddstanley7804]

Turbine did not fail, your tower did

[@JonathanPorterfield]

Correct , but these ista turbines are failing up here as well, due to wind speeds and salt air 😳

[@MrSummitville]

The Wind Turbine did not fail ... You failed.

[@Refertech101]

Sadly you used very poor hard ware for your tower support, you never use any open loop style turnbuckle, either welded loop or some other form of tensioner, sorry for your loss of a turbine, hope next round you select more capable hard ware!

[@orlandosanchez520]

I really wish you would reconsider the pipe size at the end and also reinforced concrete for the base at least 4 feet wide by 2 feet deep I know what it's like to have a huge turbine that high up also the turnbuckle close loop not open. the winds can hit on one side and lossen the guy wire on the other and can come loose. i build these axial flux turbines capable of 4kw continues. take a look at the turbines i make. this is a 24v the 48v will do just about double the power. i do have an actual video of one of my turbines coming down while i was filming. good luck buddy. kzbin.info/www/bejne/epyyf4iwjsyseK8

[@JonathanPorterfield]

Hi 👋 chris has just pours a new MASSIVE concrete hole , and new update video soon ! Thanks for your comments and observations . I've passed onto Chris 👍

[@sudosu4133]

If the guys work as designed the force on the base is only downwards. Addin mass or volume to the base doesn't help at all.

[@orlandosanchez520]

@@sudosu4133 You are right at 52 LBS it's not that heavy. but with the winds I had up in Barstow CA, they used to go as high as 70 MPH plus my turbine weighed close to 200 LBS so I decided to err on the side of caution plus it was a tilt-down tower with a pneumatic hydraulic cylinder. but I also noticed the very top guide wire was a bit low it should have been as close as possible to the blades. IMO

[@dustinfrost5214]

What was the point in building a strong tower to then just have a piddly inch scaffold at the top that was pretty stupid in design 😂😂😂

[@unionse7en]

Do at least rough calculations of forces then use a safety factor.......

[@MrSummitville]

Clearly, he did no calculations and he added no safety factor. You are suppose to design for 100 mph winds.

[@Zaisini]

Jungs - dieser Fundament für den Mast ist wohl ein Witz, das ist mehr als Dumm.😄😄😄😄😄😄

[@margarita8442]

was a crappy turbine and instilattion

[@adamhudson9853]

🏃 Promo-SM