[RE-wrenches] guyed tilt up tower suggestions

[Dan Fink]

Chris; I would be kicking and screaming regarding installation of anything
provided by that company, including their turbines, controllers, and
diversion load heaters. They don't seem to have a grasp on even the basic
concepts of successful small wind installations. They don't provide power
curves or performance data, and don't seem to understand the physics behind
how the number of blades, tip speed ratios, etc. relate to output
performance. That "1.6 kW" turbine your customer wants has only a 5-foot
diameter rotor! 1.6 kW in a 60 mph wind maybe.

How tall does the tower need to be to get at least 30 feet above any
obstructions within 500 feet, and will the system need AHJ permits?
Anything under 40 feet is a waste of the homeowner's money.

You can get steel tower coupling sections fabricated and use standard steel
tubing (NOT pipe) for the tower sections. These are easy to work with, and
I have even seen them approved and wet stamped by engineers, up to ~80 feet
anyway. (photo attached)

SWWP used to sell metal couplers to fit standard pipe, which made for a
noodly tower, but it was OK, and engineered that way, and has engineering
drawings. Not sure if anyone still makes those, perhaps the Indian company
that bought out SWWP's designs? I'm guessing you have a DIY type homeowner
and that they won't want a tall tower (sigh).

Another option is surplus NRG towers, which have swaged ends that slide
together, and guy wire rings that slide over the joints. I've seen these
successfully fly fairly large turbines approaching 150 feet tower height.
Not engineer-stamped for that application though, they are MET towers. And
probably WAY more sturdy and expensive than what you need for that dinky
"1.6 kW" turbine.

If you can't decline the job, I'd go with couplers, either fabricated with
and for steel tubing, or those SWWP couplers if you can find them.

Dan Fink
Owner, Buckville Energy Consulting LLC
IREC Certified Instructor for PV and Small Wind Installation
NABCEP Certified PV System Inspector
NABCEP PV Associate
d <dan.fink at greendustrialtraining.com>anbob88 at gmail.com
970-672-4342




On Thu, Apr 1, 2021 at 12:43 PM Chris Schaefer <chris at solarandwindfx.com>
wrote:

> G'day All,
>
> We don't seem to see much on wind these days on the wrenches, so now is
> the time to blow out some of the cobwebs. Anyway, I'm getting dragged
> kicking and screaming into a Missouri Raptor 7 blade Freedom 1.6kw
> offgrid wind project and in search of a tilt up tower. Back in the day it
> would have come from SWWP but now I haven't a clue. The client already
> purchased the turbine but if you have any experience with this unit and
> things to be aware of that would be appreciated as well. System voltage is
> 48vdc.
>
> Stay healthy my friends,
> Christopher-
>
> Chris Schaefer’s
> <http:www.solarandwindfx.com>
>
> *Tel/Fax 585-229-2083 or Cell 585-748-1870 *
> *5115 South Hill Road ~ Canandaigua New York 14424**www.solarandwindfx.com
> <http://www.solarandwindfx.com> ~ E-mail: chris at solarandwindfx.com
> <chris at solarandwindfx.com>*
>
>
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