Product Review: Wind Hog Wind Turbine
85The Original Selection
In early autumn, 2009, I came across the Wind Hog wind turbine at beawindhog.com while spending hours upon hours searching the Internet for the best possible wind turbine to meet our needs. Pam and I had moved onto four bare-land acres just a mile from the Mexican border in southeastern Arizona the previous April, and it was up to us to make of our new homestead what we would. New Moon Ranch, as we rather grandly named the place, is off grid by a fair distance. We like it that way. For the moment, we were relying entirely on portable generators for electrical power, but those are (a) expensive and (b) noisy.
So we needed an alternative energy source.
Since the wind blows rather wickedly around here, at least some of the time, we opted to tackle wind power as the first choice. If that didn't help enough, then we'd reluctantly consider solar, but solar panels are so u-u-ug-lee!!! Hideous things, they are they are.
The Wind Hog (Series 100) in its 2000 watt production version looked like a good bet. For $750, we ended up with a complete system except for the inverter and battery bank. The package included:
1. The wind turbine system consisting of the alternator, propellor blades, tail assembly, and mount-on-a-pipe assembly complete with a mount bearing that could actually be greased with a standard grease gun.
2. A slip ring. I had previously never heard of such a thing, but that's what keeps the wires from getting tangled!
3. 100 feet of heavy duty cable so that you can connect the in-the-air alternator and slip ring feed to the on-the-ground controller at any reasonable distance.
That much potential production for $750, produced in Sarah Palin's home town of Wasilla, Alaska, with testimonials swearing it could withstand Alaska's powerful winds without disintegrating, Made in America, solid steel.
I was hooked. We placed the order.
Where Scott Was Helpful
The owner of the Wind Hog facility in Wasilla is a gentleman named Scott who invites questions via either telephone or email. We found him to be enormously helpful in the beginning, though a bit less so after I had graduated from "eager novice" to "persistent pest" on his Caller I.D. display. First, how he helped:
1. Although he does sell batteries you can use to build your battery bank, he was up front and absolutely ethical when I asked about those. Rather than consider the enormous freight charges required to get his batteries down to the lower 48, he highly recommended purchasing golf cart batteries from Sam's Club to get started. As a result of his advice, our battery bank ended up with 840 amp hours of capacity in our 12 volt system for a battery cost total of just $638. Any other way to tackle that much reserve capacity would have required a cash outlay of thousands of dollars. Thank you, Scott.
2. He was able to get across the general idea of how a wind turbine system works, some of the details of which I'd had trouble figuring out prior to consulting with him via telephone.
3. When I got confused about the controller, he was able to reassure me that the 3 incoming wires could be attached to the terminals labeled "L1, L2, L3" in any order--it was impossible to hook them up incorrectly. Whew!
Weak Points That Could Use Improvement
By the time you (the potential buyer of a wind turbine) read this, the material may already be out of date. Others may have brought up these issues--and yes, I'll be emailing Scott a link to this page so that he can take a looksee, maybe upgrade his units quietly...or just cuss me out as an ingrate, which of course would also be entirely within his rights. Be that as it may, here are a few points to consider:
1. Our turbine came via the U.S. Postal Service. The friendly postal workers had handled the box with no great delicacy--in fact, the heavy (and I do mean heavy) cardboard had been pierced by one of the mounting arms for the propellor blades. The arm was noticeably bent as well. Without a question, the box had been dropped on that corner from a bit of height. Scott has already fixed that one; when I called and told him about it, he told me he'd had it with the Post Office and would use other means for delivery from that time forward. As for the bent arm, I was able to quickly straighten that with the use of an oversized set of Channellock pliers, no big.
2. Not the greatest tech manual. In fact, there wasn't one included in the package--an oversight when it was shipped from Wasilla. That was not a huge problem, because the entire manual is available online. Now, the thing is this: What the manual has to say is important, every word of it. But it doesn't say enough, nor does it include photos that would make clear what is being discussed. I note as I'm writing this that the website is currently under construction--let's hope that's part of what is being upgraded. One example of its inefficiency: There is no discussion of the need to keep the long, heavy power cable from dragging the lighter wires (that exit the alternator) down, down, down...and--obviously--no explanation of just how the heck you accomplish that!
(Note: I did it by setting up an open pipe tee just a bit down from the turbine, then grabbing the top of the heavy cable with a long wire tie, pulling that out of the open tee, wrapping it around the pipe to hold it in place, and tying it off. Crude but so far effective. But it would have been nice to see photos and a clear explanation of a better way.)
3. The set screw arrangement. The heavy turbine sets down over the mast pipe. Set screws are then cinched down to hold the arrangement firmly in place. Unfortunately, our unit has set screws placed at angles that make it clear the design intended to use three set screws--but only two set screws are included. It looks to me like the factory forgot to tap-and-die a threaded third hole, and with our wind blasts around here--rivalling Alaska's at times--that's not a good thing. (More about that later.)
4. The shallow mounting hole depth. For a few more bucks worth of steel, that mounting recess (something like three inches deep) could have easily been made six inches deep. Here, just yesterday, the wind was blowing super-nasty. Generating great power, but we watched that turbine TIP on the pole at a noticeable angle. Having just a bit deeper mounting recess would have been reassuring beyond words, would have made it obvious we weren't going to see the whole fifty pound steel monster come flying off the end of the pipe and down through the windshield of our Subaru. That would have been a great fear reducer!
5. The alternator mounting bolt system. This part of the design sucks terribly. Two lousy 5/16" bolts holding all that weight, bucking around in a windstorm like a world champion saddle bronc at the National Finals Rodeo. If you buy one of these, and it's feasible, I would suggest at least replacing those two bolts with two longer bolts--though they must be high-tensile-strength types that can withstand the strain, remember--so that you can add lock washers and maybe even locknuts in addition to the supposed locknuts that come with the unit. You'll be glad you did (and I may have to do it, too, though I haven't yet).
6. The mounting bolts for the big steel thingie. Technical talk right there, right? There's a super-sold piece of thick steel that is bent in an "L" shape. The tail is welded to the bottom back edge of that, the turbine is bolted to the front, and the mounting assembly for the mast pipe is bolted to the bottom portion. This requires four big, strong, bolts...but the company--presumably to save a few cents per bolt--made ours with bolts that are just too %&!! short!! It's not so noticeable on the two positioned at the "outside" edge, but where the "L" makes that right angle at the "inside" edge, the curve wouldn't let the nuts seat down squarely against the bottom steel plate. As a result--since the bolts are so short--they're only held on there with half the thickness of the nuts, about three full threads...at best!! What, they couldn't spring for half-inch-longer bolts?
Okay. That's the gripe list. Now, the next section of this page is the most important, so do keep reading!
The Windstorm Summary
When I said we had high winds around here yesterday, I wasn't kidding. Dunno about the actual mph windspeed; let's just say "plenty".
On the good side, the Wind Hog worked as advertised. I messed up on the battery bank, let the batteries sit through the winter without sufficient charge, and they're definitely sulfated--won't take a charge as fast as they should, and won't hold it, either. But despite that, an occasional check with the voltmeter allowed me to use "turbine power only" to run the camp trailer appliances (including electric fridge) and power tools (Skilsaw and drill) for 9 1/2 hours, giving the generator a definite rest. That's the best part.
The downside? How about stark, raving terror? Mm, well, maybe not quite that, but in addition to the wild howl of the beast under heavy wind conditions, the shudder-rock-and-roll made it abundantly clear things were not exactly as they should be. The wind was so bad that I had to grab a coil of clothesline rope and use it to stretch the most-stressed guywire cable tighter. This was done by tying off a rope to the middle of the cable, running the other end around part of the axle assembly on the semi trailer we use for storage (and to anchor the turbine mast), pull as hard as I could, tie it off, and...do it again at another angle. So bad that the set screws were obviously not doing their job up there at the top: The propeller was angling up into the wind, pushing the tail down sharply--which meant the mounting recess was cocked against the pipe at a noticeable angle. But I didn't dare go up there until the wind died down unless it was life and death--because then it could be death.
This morning, the wind had died down. Time for inspection and evaluation:
1. That most important guyline? One of the two cable clamps at the upper end was gone. I found it hanging on the cable, but down against one of those clotheslines I'd added yesterday. One nut had fallen off entirely; the other was extremely loose. That's why you always use two cable clamps at each location! Without that second clamp, the wind would have bent the 1 1/2" galvanized steel mast pipe severely. There would have been no way to rescue the situation and no way to avoid seeing that heavy turbine assembly falling out of the pipe altogether. Not a pretty possibility.
2. The two set screws were indeed loose. The turbine wobbled sloppily until I cinched those screws down once more. They're tightened with an allen wrench, and after you've pulled hard enough with two fingers on that little wrench to cuve it like an archer's bow, there's not much more you can do. We'll see if it does better during the next windstorm. It may not; I doubt those screws were much less tight the first time I snugged 'em down.
3. The two alternator mounting bolts were loose. Very loose. In other words, the big heavy-magnet umpty-pound heart of everything was jumping around like a puppy when the master comes home. I could "lift" it a good half inch, move it back and forth. Yeah, I wrenched 'em down as hard as possible, but was it any tighter, when I was done, than had already been done at the factory in Wasilla?
4. Fortunately, every one of the five propellor blades were still nice and tight. Each of these is secured by three small bolts with locknuts. I'd like to say they're still A-OK because I'm just that good--since I'm the one who assembled them a month ago--but my personal magic didn't do one bit of good with those set screws the first time around, did it?
5. The thick-but-short bolts holding the "L" frame to the mounting recess bracket were also still nice and tight. Since those definitely have no "threads to spare", that was a good thing.
Overall Summary
At this point, our "Arizona Evaluation" of the Wind Hog 2000 watt (100 Series) turbine is as follows:
1. In its price range, the Wind Hog is cost effective, durable, and seriously worth considering. I love the fact that it's a genuinely American product and--since I'm seriously supporting Sarah Palin for President in 2012--that it comes from Wasilla. How cool is that? Politics aside, though, let's give it a B+.
2. Some of the design defects make it imperative to perform a full inspection after every windstorm. Loose nuts are not a good thing on a fifty pound chunk of steel that lives high in the air.
3. A few upgrades (the manual, plus various fasteners and deepening the mounting recess)--whether incorporated at the factory or done aftermarket by the purchaser--could easily turn this into an A+ unit.
One Way To Remember Mother's Day
05/09/10 UPDATE: At about 2:00 p.m. today, Mother's Day, the tail assembly literally fell off of the wind turbine. Pam and her son, Zach, had noticed the tail drooping. Before they could notify me, the thing plunged to Earth from its 21-foot height, bouncing off the top step that goes into the semi trailer we use for storage before finally coming to rest on the gravel driveway surface. Where it hit the step, it sliced through the fiberglass covering and did noticeable damage to the underlying wooden framing.
Had one of us been standing on the step, right where we do stand when opening or closing the doors to the trailer, a fatality could easily have resulted.
Our first thought was that the weld holding the half-inch box-tube steel arm to the heavy duty "L" shaped steel frame had broken, but it had not. The weld was still in one piece. But the box-tube arm had flexed repeatedly and violently under high wind conditions so many times that it had finally crystallized and broken right next to the weld.
Can you spell "major design flaw"?
For now--i.e., for however many days it takes for me to decide whether to repair this turbine assembly or scrap it in favor of something else entirely--it was necessary to tie down the propellor blades. Without a tail, the propellor automatically turns its back to the wind and runs backward, steadily discharging the battery bank! Not good. So I climbed up there, stopped the blades by hand, and wrapped up the whole dysfunctional mess with 40 feet of clothesline rope. Then it was a simple matter of disconnecting the battery bank from both the incoming and outgoing goodies (controller = in; inverter = out), and that was it.
A design flaw like that--which could literally kill the customer--would be enough to keep any fully informed person from buying this unit. BUT the owner of the Wind Hog outlet has upgraded this unit so that current models have been greatly strengthened. So much so that, as long as we're talking about the Rev B super-beefy chassis and using Schedule 80 four-inch pipe (necked down to 1 15/16" outside diameter right at the turbine itself) for the mounting tower mast, I'm upgrading my evaluation of the Wind Hog from "B+" to "A-". That rating indicates that, while it's not "perfect", it's definitely competitive in its price range and worth considering if you're on any sort of budget.
Note: My installation does not currently use the heavier pipe being currently recommended, but the recommendation does make sense for a wind turbine packing as much weight as the Wind Hog.
Bottom line: Future customers have nothing to fear from chunks of steel sailing from the sky. And it really was a Happy Mother's Day! Pam and Zach were about 40 feet from the flying tail assembly when it fell from the sky. No harm, no foul.
CommentsLoading...
Excellent review on a product I have absolutely no interest in using, but felt compelled to read every word because you made the telling so interesting and humorous...
Re the Allen set screws, I use my power drill, variable speed, with attachment, to tighten firmly...The short bolts for your support plate is a serious flaw which should have been caught early on by quality control...personally, I would have designed a much more efficient and secure system using u-bolts at both ends...this is a critical juncture that needs to be fail-safe...
Do your long range power plans include eventually tying in with a solar display..?... Larry
BillyAustinDillon, I'm not exactly certain just how robust our solution might be...but today, once again, the WINDS are most certainly robust!
Larry, appreciate your hint about the variable speed drill. Unfortunately, that won't help here--unless, maybe, I bought a HALF INCH drill. My 3/8 variable speed, which I use constantly as a power screwdriver during our house construction project, is NOT as powerful as the torque I put on that little Allen wrench with my two bare hands. You've made me think, though....
At any rate, the wind is up and at 'em again this morning as I'm writing this. So far the set screws (after my super-finger-torque job) are holding tight. It's easy to tell: I can see the turbine spinning away by simply leaning forward and turning my head to look out the window. The guylines are dancing, the steel pipe is flexing, but as of now there's no "wobble" going on at the top end. Which is, of course, a good thing--how long it will last, only time will tell.
We do have plans to add solar to the mix eventually. The operative term here is "eventually", though. Don't want to do it until (a) the house itself is fully habitable with appliances and plumbing, (b) there's some remaining money left to use safely, and (c) the battery bank is in A-1 condition.
Which means it could be a couple of years yet before I tackle that.
Anyway, thanks for commenting. What you have to say is always worth serious study.
So would you say this was a great benefit? I have started writing about going green, and mention the option of using wind turbines in a few of my blogs. I just write one today http://hubpages.com/hub/-Who-Should-Go-Green
I am still learning about this type of technology and would like to learn what I can about it.
It will be interesting to know how it is in a year or so. Probably not until then will you have an idea of whether this is practical.
Great Product review!! Glad you were able to hoist it up there....are you able to use locknut screws maybe wrong terminology, but I know you know what I mean for the the ones which are too short. It is a shame that when packing new items that sometimes they mess up.
As far as it being practical???? ROFL Who wants to pay the high price of electricity??? You guys got it goin on out there....even as it is taking some time due to the expense of "stuff" "You've come a long way baby" since you got started on all of it...the house, the drainage, it's been an extended haul....Looks great, and I know you both are more comfortable now than you were last year. Kudos to you for all your knowledge on "how to" ....
The only thing that concerns me now is that I didn't know you were so close to the border...only a mile?? With an ignoramus in gvt not doing anything to close that border off. I hope that situation gets a lot better and soon.
Have an awesome day!!!
Green Time, the wind turbine is not producing a huge amount of financial benefit yet...due to the battery bank needing replacement. My fault for letting the batteries sit too long without a full charge. So they charge slowly and don't hold charge well at all. At the current rate, which gets us maybe 10 hours of "free" electricity per week, it would take approximately "forever" to pay off the investment we've already made.
However, replacing the batteries should improve the situation to the point of providing about half of our electrical needs on an ongoing basis. And even now, it's reassuring to know that if we have an emergency, such as one of the gasoline powered generators breaking down, we do have enough standby reserve in the battery bank to power the fridge for several days--guaranteeing our food won't spoil. So in that sense it's absoultely worth it, even now.
Sheila, you're right about that year. That is, as long as I do eventually get around to "fixing" the battery bank problem.
WMH, the way Pam & I see it, we're better off BECAUSE we're so close to the border. This close to the fence, BP is always highly active. The border crossers tend not to give us problems; they're much more interested in putting some miles behind them to enhance their chances of escaping detection by law enforcement. Kind of like being in the eye of the hurricane.
Sort of, anyway.
Nice article. Nowadays, we are struggling to produce electricity from wind in Pakistan. The success has been marginal.
You hub has given me an in-sight to the problem.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Hafeezrm. We're obviously learning as we go, too.
I have the same turbine you do. The manufacturer beawindhog.com that I bought it from sent a nice unit packed very well. I mounted it on a 4" schedule 80 pipe reduced down to a 1.5" schedule 80 12" pipe that Scott at beawindhog.com kindly recommended to me for winds in excess of 30mph. He mentioned to me that the turbine can not move back and forth more than 2 inches at the most or it pushes harder at the top or bottom of the spinning rotor and not straight on to the turbine. I notice this when i tilted my tower a little the other day and the turbine tail was vibrating horribly I think it's turbulence or something. But when it's straight into the wind there is no vibration it sings along well. I have over a full year of use on it now. It's not the most powerful turbine however but it's stronger than the whisper watt and a few other turbines I've owned in the past that didn't even make it a year here in Montana. Especially with winds exceeding 70mph last week. I have noticed though that the bolts and nuts needed a little thread glue after the 70mph winds. I talked to Scott about the bolts coming loose he said the rev b chassis has locking washers and a bunch of upgrades over it's predecessors. I just got it in the mail the other day and the chassis alone weighs 38lbs. It's a beefy bugger. If I was you I'd buy the new chassis from him the Rev B model and get a new set of blades up on that thing. It would definitely be worth your time. Prolly cheaper than sending that broken thing back.
Great information Ghost 32; It has all ways been a dream of mine to own a wind generator. I actually like wind power better than solar for energy production. Just wish we had more wind here in Southern Oregon. On the coast it would be a much better application for wind generation. Someday, hopefully they will make wind generators more efficient and require less mph winds for marginal locations. Really enjoyed reading this ~ Thanks.
Bill, those Rev B upgrades definitely sound worth considering. Also, using 4" Schedule 80 pipe and simply necking it down right at the turbine base itself--excellent system. That ought to laugh at some pretty stiff winds!
Dgicre, Pam and I agree with you in that we like--at least in concept--wind power far better than solar. For two basic reasons: The cost per watt of current solar panels does border on the ridiculous (so far), and most solar installations we've seen are, to us at least, somewhat hideous.
Your evaluation of Southern Oregon sounds highly accurate. I've never lived in that area, though I have an uncle in Medford and drove the I-5 corridor regularly during my long haul trucking days. But my Mom's family did have a small acreage farther north, somewhere outside of Waldport, and that coastal area definitely seemed breezier!
If the turbine turns backwards with the tail missing. why not designe the blades, swep back, oppiset pitch, and eliminate the tail . I need a unit for costal bend, north of corpus Christi TX.
El Mickey, I never thought of that as a possibilty. That's really food for thought! (As in, "Why didn't I think of that?!")
It wouldn't work out that well, though, now that I think about it. It DOES turn backward, but NOT at nearly the speed it does when running forward--so it would seldom be turning fast enough to produce a really useful amount of electricity.
I've mentally redesigned a tail but won't be tackling the remount challenge for a while yet. There are a few priorities in the pipeline that have to be handled first, such as the interior work for the north half of the house (my office, and the kitchen/living room combo).
It may be winter again before I get to it, but yeah, it'll happen.
just wanted to add that tying the blades together to stop the turbine from rotating is not necessary. Rather than bring the turbine down and deal with this headache, simply remove the leads from the machine (L1, L2, L3) and connect them together. This will short the generator, creating a "locked" magnetic field within the machine, effectively stopping all rotation. You can do this from the ground!
Good luck in your off-grid endeavors!
Soarservant, that's a great tip--thanks! Had you not provided that bit of wisdom, I'd have been more than hesitant to do anything like that, figuring it might provide a "blows up like a small bomb" magnetic field...or some such.
I presume shorting the generator like that will not cause any damage to the generator, in case I want to fire it up again at some future date?
Nice reveiw, bur I must comment on the turbine draining the batteries when the tail fell off....how is this possible? A magnet will generate electricity independant of Which way it goes, so how can it flatten the batteris when it is still charging?
Barry, all I can tell you is that repeated (and very careful) battery bank voltage readings definitely did show the drain. Maybe we have a Twilight Zone mystery?
i just purchased 1 and now am worried. i live in cape vincent ny. we pretty much live in a wind storm. i have a flat roof and have intentions of mounting a 20 foot light pole on top whitch i will moont the wind mill to i will also put guy wires on it now because of you guys. thanks! i know you dont like solar but i think you should reconsider.i currently have a combo system and see on a regular basis how one compliments the other.i also bet you get much more sun thanus. gets pretty dark here in the winter.again thanks for the tips
Mr. Fix-it, thanks for commenting. I'm not certain exactly what you mean by a "light pole" but am guessing it's a stronger mast than the one I used (which would be good). This would be like the poles we see hoisting street lights in cities?? 20 feet above your rooftop sounds good--as long as you have a mighty strong chunk of roof sitting directly below the pole's base plate. (Duh.)
About your guy wires: When you install those, I have a couple of recommendations along the lines of "Do as I say, not as I did!" Those are:
1. A four-guy system is best. I used only 3 and made it work...sort of. But the angles between guy cables were very tricky to adjust and less that half as effective would have been the case with one more line cutting those 120 degree angles down to 90 degrees. The only reason I tried to get by with 3 was because of the location I'd chosen for the turbine--with four, at least one of the lines would have been a "foot traffic" hazard.
2. The wires should be fastened as high on the mast (i.e. as close to the turbine) as you can get 'em without hitting the prop blades. Just gives you the best leverage/control that way.
3. My anchors, for attaching the guy wires to the ground, were simply four-foot pieces of rebar I happened to have on hand. The Wind Hog went to our son; he intends to make a new tail (sometime) and put it up at his place. If we ever do another, similar installation, however, I'll use serious eyebolt anchors made for the purpose. The oilpatch uses those on every active location to keep those monster drilling rigs from tipping over in a hurricane. Home wind turbine systems like the Wind Hog do NOT need eyebolts quite THAT stout (those are one-inch hardened steel, driven 6 feet or more into the earth)--but a lighter version of that type of anchor would be worth serious consideration.
About solar: Yeah, we've come around to that way of thinking. Right now, we're back to scraping by month to month, no money in the kitty for upgrading the place. But we have reason to hope that situation will improve before year's end. When it does, we've got our eye on a portable solar generator that's pretty weather resistant and almost zero maintenance.
Spendy, though--close to $20,000 for the unit that has us in "want".
im confident i can make the light pole stand. i have a good heavy structure.you are right though i will use 4 guy wires,and the hardware will be extra heavy.we get constistant winds for sure. i wonder how much noise and or vibration i will get.i would put it on the ground but have the same issue as you, cash,that dirty word. i am now in the process of connecting the batterys,am concerned about my connections. i bought solderable crimp connectors ,cut all the cables to length,and tried to solder like copper pipe. i did tin the wire first. i was sucessful on one connection,failed on the second one and stopped.im going tomorrow to buy a crimp tool.imgoing to try to crimp and then solder.i really could use advice on this. got any thoughts? i bought some leds cause they take nothing to run, only thing is they dont throw good light and its very focused.what kind of lighting do you use? thanks for your responce ghost i apreciate the advice
It sounds like you're right on track, all the way around.
We do use leds in the rechargeable flashlights but are sticking to incandescent 40W bulbs for room lighting. In fact, every time I can remember to do it, I'm stocking up on those against the "outlawing" of their sale that's coming at us from Those Who Oppose (I've got one hub griping about that, too.).
If you get the level of vibration we did, you're not going to leave it attached directly to the house very long. Ours ran pretty smoothly at low speeds but really "rocked and rolled" with any serious blow. Wishing you luck on that one, though. You might actually luck out, and cash (or lack of it) is definitely king.
hi ghost. still havent gotten windmill,but did finally get a tracking#. according to scott an order of 20 mills came in just before mine.not sure i believe that but none the less its in the mail now. since i talked to you lasti bought 4 leds with 180 leds in each light.left them on all of the time. every one of them have since blown.now i think they are to expensive for what you get out of them. think ill try cfl.just worried about drawing to much battery.i didnt tell you the building is going to be a store,so the noise shouldnt be a big deal,though i was on the roof today.suprised to see the vibration in my 400 airx windmill on a 6 foot pole.will definatly put guy wires on it when i raise it to 12 foot. i feel good about the light pole for the wind hog. it is very heavy and has a 2 inch pipe mounted at the factory to handle the original light. after seeing the 400 airx vibrate i am concerned abou the set screw mount on the windhog. the airx definatly has a better mount system.already thinking of a way to modify the setscrew mount.they dont call me mr fix it for nothing. i also saw another review and they also were talking about bolt lengths and undersized bolts. they also said the bolts for the blades were to short,and they used longer ones with self locking threads.for the price of a few bolts ill do what it takes.again thanks for the input. ive only been on computer for a few months. seems to stop some mistakes before they happen.hope all is well good talkin to ya. dennis
Hey, Dennis. Sounds like you're on top of your game. At least, everything you're set on doing makes sense to me.
Never tried LEDs in the constant-on situation. Didn't know they'd blow like that. Ya learn something new every day!
The light pole sounds awesome.
At this end, 7 degree temps in a cold snap literally exploded every length of PVC pipe I had running between the Earth and the water storage tank sitting atop its little tower. The Sierra Vista Home Depot even ran out of purple primer--which doesn't concern me; I've got plenty of THAT on hand here at home.
Plumbing time tomorrow.
hi ghosr. had no ideal it got that cold down there.tell me more about your water system am going to put one up come nice weather.i have a 300 gal tank.curious how high you have it and what size pipe you used.would you change anything.looking for good presure.back to wind. i have a big squirrel cage fan. have had it on the roof for 1 month.it spins most of the time.i thought i would try to make a windmill out of it,but realize that there is not enough power to spin a generator,but i got to thinkin maybe it wont generate power but it does spin well.brainstorm. i decided i will make a cieling fan out of it. my intention is to take it out of its case and turn it virticle.now the shaft can be extended through the roof(remember its flat)were i can attatch a set of fan blades.thinkin this would be great in the winter to push heat from cieling. the wind blows pretty good most of the time in the winter.still waiting for windhog running totaly on solar.everything is working good but feel like i have to be careful though cause you cant count on the sun much in the winter here. not a computer guy.what does URL mean?talk later. bye
URL is techically "Uniform Resource Locator". In simpler terms, it's that http:// whatever .com thingie you see in the address bar at the top of the page. That is, it's "how to find the page on the Internet".
Our tank's bottom only sits 9 feet off the ground. Not much pressure from that; just did it that way because money was tight and the local building supply stores didn't stock any treated posts longer than 12 feet at the time I built the tower (3 feet in the ground plus 9 feet in the air = 12 feet).
I just plumbed it with one inch PVC pipe.
If I were to do it now, I'd probably go with 16 foot posts--because the same stores do stock those now--and get 13 feet of "lift". That extra 4 feet makes a noticeable difference in water pressure.
However, we're not done yet; what we have is "just for now". When the money improves once again (which it will...eventually), I'll build an insulated little "pump house" with maybe a solar panel powering a light bulb or two for winter heat, just enough to keep off the chill. In that building will go the booster pump...but probably not until we can afford an actual solar generator to power it. That's what will eventually give us "good pressure".
Being more northerly than we are, you've got to really deal with any tower-mounted water tank you decide to put up. That is, the supply line to the tank and the outlet line to your dwelling are both going to burst on you unless you do some serious setup to prevent that. You may need to put an underground type drain for the supply side; those can be found at any Ranch Supply place.
On the outlet side, you really only have two options (that I know of). One is to leave the water running throughout every subfreezing night (which eats water in a hurry), and the other is to heat tape wrap the entire length of the pipe. Ordinary foam insulation won't help one bit--unless it's installed over the heat tape, that is. But alone, it doesn't help a bit over time.
When we can REALLY afford it, though, I'll put in an underground tank, 7,000 gallons minimum, plumb it so that the supply inlet never approaches the surface and so that the outlet comes up right inside the heated pump house.
Hope that helps.
Your ceiling fan idea sounds awesome.
If you'd like to see our latest "water adventure", here's the (ahem!) URL:
thanks ghost. i definatly understand the cold aspect of it.guess i should have thought of that first.because of the extreme cold here(as much as -40)i wuold have to have a completly enclosed,heated water tower with heat tape on every thing.just not practicle.i guess i will bury the tank and use a pump.i have a 12 volt pump in my old camper.so you know my system only has 4 golf cart batteries on it now.im sure i will need alot more,but cash is tight right now.i am lucky though i do have an old backhoe.i can bury the tank easily.wouldnt it be nice to have enough money to do things not just for now? talk at ya later.
It certainly would (be nice to have the cash)! We understand completely about dumping out the change bucket to get throught the month sort of thing....
Glad to hear you've got the backhoe, though, old or otherwise.
Thanks for the Great post
You're welcome--thanks for reading!
I bought the beawindhog turbine system as well. I think you are being way too generous with your evaluation. The guy that owns the company is a childish 26 year old named Clarence Scott Stevens (Don't ever do business with any company he owns)out of Wasilla, Alaska.
I spent the better part of a year trying to get him (on his own forum...look up customdesigner if he hasn't deleted the threads yet)to make my two turbine system work properly (a $1787.00 investment), and all I got was broken parts, and Scott Stevens hanging up on me when I tried to get warranty service. Within eight months of mounting it, the alternator bearing went out, the slip ring snapped open, and the vane began to rust.
This company produces a very poor product. Their goal isn't green energy, its green in their pockets from gullible people like me. Terrible Product, and Scott Stevens idea of customer support is laughable! Try windynation or Missouri Wind and Solar in the future.
I have used many beawindhog turbines especially there w650's and have been very happy with them. I purchased the 5 year warranty's though and have had no problems when 1 of the turbines had a stator go bad. They even paid for shipping. Do you mind me asking when you bought the system from him? I know you only get 1 year from the date it arrives. That's why I paid extra for the 5 year warranty.
Okay, guys, this is interesting.
Customdesigner: I had no clue Scott was 26 years of age. Which would have made him 24 or 25 when I bought my (now defunct) system. Thanks for the post.
texas solar guy: Double hmmmm....I'm going to leave your post in place, at least for now, but the "feel" of is that you could possibly be...Scott himself? No, not accusation, merely speculation. It just seems awfully coincidental that your post "just happened" to hit 100 MINUTES after Customdesigner's smackdown AND included a recommendation to send Scott MORE MONEY (for an extended warranty).
Just saying.
Funny, In my numerous coorespondences with Clarence Scott Stevens, he frequently misunderstood the use of the word 'their' and 'there'. You may be onto something Ghost32!
But Texas, I am more interested in how you managed to use 'many' wind 'fraud' turbines? Did they break so frequently that you had to keep replacing them monthly?!
Seriously though, I told Scott that my alternator had seized up and my slip ring was broken around eight months after they were mounted (I bought my system in July 2010). I then asked him (on his own forum) if a broken slip ring could cause resistance to the alternator and he said it could, and to send it in. I further stated I wanted to make sure that was the only problem, because I couldn't have my system down for a long period (I'm off-grid). He said to send it in, and he'd have it back out within 24 hours.
Nearly three months later I finally got the part back. Just as the alternator warranty expired! Nice timing on his behalf....clever, very clever!
Worst part is, when he first shipped it to me, I didn't sweat him on forgetting the very important stainless bolts which hold the blades on, or the 100' of wire he forgot to ship. I was a loyal customer willing to accept that minor mistakes happen. The only thing I called him on was the fact that he shipped me the wrong charge controller. I guess i'm lucky I didn't get a toaster instead of a turbine, nothing else was right with the order!
So, much like you ghost, I now have a defunct system, because he is holding my turbine hostage until I pay him to repair a part which is under warranty.
Email me at brentolsen.com if you want to be included in my lawsuit against his company.
Notice that he calls himself 'Scott' and his title is 'Manager'. Strange, as the company is actually a sole proprietorship under Clarence Scott Stevens. He also owns another dubious company name CSS Solutions. Do you suppose those are his initials. He is definitely a clever 26 year old!
Interesting.
I wish you well on your lawsuit, Brent, but I'll pass. Not that I think you're off base with what you're doing; we're also off grid and understand the bite of significant turbine downtime.
My reasons for not joining the suit (just FYI) are as follows:
1. It seems doubtful that Scott's sole proprietorship is likely to have on hand either enough cash to take care of legal business (paying damages) OR adequate Product Liability Insurance to do it for him. Blood from turnips and all that.
2. This page (my article here) has become an easy to find product evaluation with the major search engines. As such, I consider maintaining the information to be something of a public service. But if I move to take legal action, so that I then have a financial interest in seeing Scott's operation besmirched, it could potentially taint my credibility with some readers.
Judging by what you've uncovered to date, I'd have to agree that Scott does appear to be clever--but perhaps lacking a bit in the wisdom department.
While I appreciate your integrity, ghost, I am baffled by your positive rating of the beawindhog product. I understand that your initial impression was positive, I had the same mistaken impression. However, after yours basically fell apart (with possible fatal consequences), shouldn't you post an updated rating?!
I am not your normal run of the mill consumer crusader (and I never voted for Ralph Nader!), but after researching Scott Stevens' operation, I was incensed by his blatant attempt to rip people off. One web review called him 'wind fraud' instead of 'wind hog'(I wish I had thought of that alliteration first)!
I believe a company should not be measured by how they treat their customers when things are perfect (like during your initial honeymoon phase with their product), but should be measured by how they handle customer relations when things aren't perfect (like when flaws are found after the initial purchase). Everything looks great when its new, but after a little field service, it should at least not fall apart!
When I initially found your review, I was surprised by your positive review (which is the first thing people see), until I spent the time to read into your forum thread (which most people don't do) and learned that your turbine had fallen apart as well.
I think a fair rating of this company (including everything that you learned post coitus) should be more easily visible near the beginning of your review.
Just an idea to keep your reviews relevent and maintain your integrity as a consumer crusader extradonaire!
As far as any legal proceedings, I am not litigious by nature, but I am seriously considering it this time. There's always a first for everything!
Incidentally, soon after I posted to your forum, I received an email from Scott Stevens telling me that he is now (suddenly) going to fix my turbine and ship it back. Perhaps you should take that as a victory for your forum, and consumer power everywhere!
While it still doesn't address his fraudulent products and practices, I suppose it is a step in the right direction.
I have upgraded the evaluation more than once: From A to F to B+, the most recent "upgrade" happening after Scott (a) beefed up the tail assembly on the product and (b) began recommding much stronger pipe for the mast.
It's good that Scott's (finally) fixing your turbine. Perhaps ten years from now, beawindhog will be a huge company applauded everywhere...simply because he actually figured out how the Law of Cause and Effect (or karma if you will) really works. Who knows? Stranger things have happened. And I for one have no wish to see a young, hardworking entrepeneur put out of business. We have enough ignorant politicians in Washington for that. :)
Interesting. My wind hog also blew apart due to wind.
Seriously though, Scott blamed the catastrophe on everybody/thing besides owning up to his own flawed product. Refused to warranty it, until the word "court" came up. The "new and improved" version is now up and spinning, needless to say it does not produce the claimed wattage, not even close. My son on a pedal bike can produce more power than this dangerous yard ornament.
Interesting back atcha. Maybe we could rent your son and his pedal bike....
A wind turbine that blows apart in the wind doesn't sound particularly workable, does it?
I'm concerned about your broken turbine 'steadily discharging the battery'. That shouldn't be possible. Remember how the three wires can be hooked up in any order? That's because they're AC and are rectified to DC. The turbine can turn any direction it wants to and it makes no difference. It should be able to operate in reverse without any problem at all though somewhat less efficiently.
I agree; that shouldn't be possible (the steady discharge). But that's what the voltmeter readings showed me every time I tested the beast. And the meter is a Tenma brand, not the top of the line but absolutely reliable.
Whatever the mystery, though, it's no longer my concern. The turbine itself was given to my stepson to sell for scrap, which he did. Having figured out that this area really ISN'T a good place for wind (too intermittent--sometimes days on end with not much blow), we're going to solar next.
It might help that I'm (sometimes) a science fiction writer. Might be able to use the "discharging turbine" in a novel plot. Stephen King type material if nothing else.
Okay Ghost, time for an update!
Six months ago, my buddy Scott Stevens (or his alter online posting ego texas solar guy, or clarence1984) at Be A Wind Hog (Windhog) finally offered to do the right thing and return my defective turbine. No mention of fixing the inherent deficiencies in his product, but he was finally going to return my hostage turbine.
However, he never did! Maybe that's because he was arrested on 12/04/2011. Perhaps life has a funny way of paying people back for ripping people off!
As for me, I have invested $2400 in eight canadian solar 240 watt panels. With the price per watt pegged nearly at $1 a watt, they were a steal. I built myself a nice 2 kilowatt system on the cheap. For about the price I paid Scott Stevens, I now harvest 150-160 amp hours a day. That's a considerable jump from the 15-20 amp hours I used to get from my 'windjunk' products.
I also wired in a combiner box, so that all seven of my battery banks are equalized: quite a feat when you are working with 28 batteries!
Once I abandoned the wind turbine idea, things really took off. Now I am totally off the grid, and don't write a check to the utility company anymore!
Good work, customdesigner.
About Scott: Any clue WHY he was arrested? As in, the actual charges?
I agree; equalizing 28 batteries is an impressive feat.
With our finances finally better than the were, I've been able to start "finishing out" our place. Got just a bit to do with the clawfoot bathtub to have it all properly plumbed. After which I'll be building a monster passive solar hot water heater, then adding a small mobile solar generator and the booster pump. Following which, it'll be time to look seriously at something similar to what you've done with your solar.
Ghost32 I am confused not only did Beawindhog send you multiple emails offering to send you a free wind turbine but this review blog has gone very far off track of the original 2009 first generation wind turbine review. We are going to seek slander charges now for Brent Olsen @ 28130 Avenue Crocker #305 Valencia, CA 91355. AKA CustomDesigner Not one time have we offered to return this wind turbine in the last 6 months to the customer but Scott the Officer of CSS Solutions LLC has been attacked by this person and his family has been attacked which should never happen over a 30 dollar dispute. We are contacting our lawyer now as it is time to seek a lawsuit for slander to C. Scott Stevens from Brent Olsen AKA Custom Designer. We have not made contact with Brent Olsen since September of 2011. His warranty expired on 7.25.2011 with us. We sent him parts to repair his turbine. We follow a policy here that we follow on warranties. We will cover manufacturer defects of the product but it must be returned to us for repair or replacement. More than 9 million small businesses also follow this same standard rule in there warranty policies.
Mr. Olsen contacted Beawindhog in 2011 stating he thinks his slip ring was bad on one of his windhog 350 machines he purchased from us July of 2010. We mentioned to him to return the slip ring and we will follow up when we receive it. After 30 days the slip ring never came. We gave some time for it to arrive as we are in Wasilla, Alaska. The customer emailed us over and over saying where is my new slip ring why have you not replaced it etc. We stated that we had not received it yet and asked if he had added the standard tracking number or any tracking information so we could call USPS. But he said I don't have any shipping information. Then he went on to demand a free new slip ring. So out of the goodness of our company we wrote off a brand new slip ring and postage and sent it to this customer. 2 months went by it was now the end of August the customer emailed us and said I think it wasn't the slip ring after all (however we had still not received the old slip ring) I'm sending the alternator back for warranty repair. Even though it was now august and the warranty was up. So we received the alternator back and it appeared that the bearing in the front of the unit was bad. We told the customer that there warranty was up but for 30 dollars for the part we will cover labor and pay for postage back to him. We talked to Mr. Olsen on the phone. After 5 minutes of foul language and Mr. Olsen Screaming we disconnected our phone call. A sales person does not have to stay on the phone while a person becomes irate using extremely foul language. Most businesses also do not tolerate this behavior and usually exercise there right to disconnect the phone call at that point. This over 30 dollars.
We received an email from the customer shortly after stating to give all his money back for both turbines Which he had used for over a year now. We replied back saying We're sorry we can not offer a full refund for used wind turbines of this age. But we will have the company cover the 30 dollars and postage back to you on the alternator if that is alright. He wrote back an email and said (and if we have to we will post the email on here but that should not be necessary). The customer wrote that if we do not give him a full refund or give him two of our new w650 wind turbines he will continue to post what ever he wants where he wants about our company. If our products were so bad why would he ask for two of our larger ones? From that point forward Mr. Olsen has been banned from doing business with Beawindhog or CSS solutions LLC We have now contacted an attorney to seek criminal charges against Mr. Olsen for slander and posting untrue information about Mr. Stevens and CSS Solutions LLC. We have not been in contact with Mr. Olsen since 2011. We do not take extortion lightly. There has been posting on many other sites that are simply attacking Mr. Stevens regardless of the fact that he is the manager at CSS Solutions LLC. If there was a problem with the company the customer can always call and we do our best to work or solve problems with any product that may have one. We now have over 40 dealers in our broad network of sales. We are opening a second facility in Nevada Shortly to help distribute our turbines all over the U.S. In 2012 we have passed many wind turbine tests across the world from Poland, Russia, UK, Australia, Mexico, Canada, and the U.S now. This blog seems to become very far off target of the original Product Review of the winghog 2k which was manufactured in 2008 - 2009. Ghost32. Out of the over 1000 turbines we have built and have been successfully installed. Please tell me where any certified installer in the U.S would use guy wires that to not guy off (meaning hold the tower from any movement) the tower and hope the turbine performs properly for years? Any turbine on the market would fall apart if hooked up on a tower this unsecured.
Beawindhog: I'm leaving your lengthy comment in place, at least for now--in part because your opening statement is patently false. Obviously, I have no way of knowing the truth of how matters lie between you and your other customers.
However, you did not send me "multiple emails" offering to send me a free wind turbine. You did not send me even one. And since emails live forever on the Internet, you might want to rethink that statement.
Now: You've had your say (at length) and I've responded (briefly). That being the case, I do not care to publish anything further you might have to add--and will simply Delete on Sight any comment you leave from this point forward.
Quite frankly, I seriously considered deleting THIS last comment of yours, but in the end decided it was worthwhile to leave it in place so that future readers could check out your position and judge for themselves.
P.S. Accusing me of allowing the page to "become very off target" was not a good tactical move on your part when addressing the author. Neither was lying about the emails.
Well Ghost, now you have seen firsthand my issues with “Beawindhog”. Patently false statements and product claims, and exceedingly poor customer service!
Fortunately, I keep every email and web posting. I welcome any and all legal action from this disreputable company.
Normally, I wouldn’t waste time responding to such patently untrue staements, but some of these really need to be addressed. Namely because they are untrue, but more importantly, because I have hardcopy proof of just how false they are. So just briefly:
- Not once did I curse or use foul language on the phone with Scott Stevens. I merely disagreed with him. Nor did I scream, which makes communication very difficult. Apparently, he believes that when a customer disagrees with him, it is grounds for hanging up on them.
I’m not certain where I attacked Scott Steven’s family. I certainly was within my rights as a consumer to warn potential victims about the poor business practices at Beawindhog and from Scott Stevens, but I would never attack a person’s family. I am very curious where they came up with that one.
Yes, Scott Stevens did finally offer to return my turbine on August 25th 2011...
Mr. Olsen,
CSS Solutions would like to repair your alternator at no cost as I have approved the replacement of the alternator today. I am doing this because you are very un happy with this situation and even though this unit is not under warranty I would like to extend an effort to “resolve this situation.” I will be repairing your alternator today and shipping it out tomorrow via priority mail. After this replacement alternator is sent we will no longer be conducting business with one another.
Scott Stevens
Manager
Beawindhog
1-907-232-6705
It’s a good thing I have copies of all these inaccuracies from Beawindhog. If not I might start believing they are telling the truth.
I sent Beawindhog my postal receipt from the slip-ring shipment, which was an exact copy of the receipt I received from my turbine shipment, but they claim they never received the slip-ring.
After being hung up on, I did demand we unravel the entire purchase of my system, because I realized I suddenly had a system which I couldn’t fix or purchase replacement parts for, because I was dealing with a company that hangs up on their customers, when their customers disagree with them.
By the time I was ready to give up on my Beawindhog investment, and Scott Stevens, I did finally give them an offer to mitigate the entire affair. I told them I had given up on their wind turbines, but if their cash situation was so poor that they couldn’t offer a cash refund, I would take one of their new turbine motors (just the motor, as I wanted to see what I could do with it), and we would call it even. I also included the codicil that I would remove my negative reviews of their products, with the expectations that they were going to improve them. My two complete turbines, for part of one of theirs; that’s called a compromise. I don’t think they understand what that is.
Oddly enough, In their posting, Beawindhog states they have produced and sold 1000 turbines, but I found a web posting from Scott Stevens that states;
Hello, My company manufactures wind turbines in Wasilla, Alaska.
We build over 200 units a month ….”
Comment on January 20th, 2011 on solarpowerrocks.com
I guess they have only been in business for five months then. More importantly, I believe their own website says they have sold over 2000 turbines. It kind of makes me wonder when they are actually telling the truth.
All that over a $30 repair. Now that’s customer service for you.
And incidentally, here is a copy of the arrest report of Clarence Scott Stevens. Unless he thinks he lives in a vacuum, Scott should realize that all the information on the web is public record. And much like his interactions with you, can be printed and recalled…
Location: Wasilla
Case Number: 11-120397
Type: Assault IV, Criminal Mischief IV
Text: On 12/04/2011, at approximately 1546 hours, Alaska State Troopers responded to a report of a disturbance at a residence on West Clydesdale Drive near Wasilla. Investigation revealed Clarence Scott Stevens, age 27 of Wasilla, assaulted a family member and damaged approximately $60 in property inside the residence. Stevens was subsequently arrested for the DV crimes of Assault IV and Criminal Mischief IV. Stevens was transported and remanded to the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility where he was held without bail.
Author: WSK0
Received Sunday, December 04, 2011 7:04 PM and posted Sunday, December 04, 2011 7:43 PM
C Detachment
There you go.
I will admit I sometimes marvel at Beawindhog's approach to this page. Seems to me, if I had a business (and I've had some, over the years), and there were product or business reviews out there with which I disagreed, I'd be taking the simple approach:
1. The most likely and also most effective: Ignore the page(s) until or unless such time as a customer (or potential customer) asked me about them, at which time I'd have a prepared response for them.
You know, something simple like, "We are aware of XYZ review. While the First Amendment to the Constitution gives them the right to print their opinion as they see fit, we do disagree with what they have to say as follows:"
A.
B.
C.
And...go from there.
But hey. Each to his own. :)
The funny part is, I laid all this information (including scanned receipts), out to Scott Stevens in my final attempt at mitigation. For some reason, I believed there was simply a failure in communication. I had never dealt with a company that treated their customers so badly, or misrepresented their product so thoroughly.
I firmly believed that after seeing all the proof in black and white, Mr Stevens would finally see his culpability, and fix the issue.
That didn't happen.
I even left the issue alone for several months, opting to take the entire ordeal as a learning experience ("let the buyer beware"). Even going so far as giving up on ever getting my $725 turbine back from Scott Stevens.
But now, after seeing his company continue to toe an intransigent line against fair customer service, even going so far as to threaten to sue me over extremely accurate product reviews, I am now going to pursue this issue as far as possible.
Incidentally, to all my fellow consumers out there. Slander is 'a malicious, false, and defamatory statement'. Thus if the statements are true, there is no slander. Never allow any company that provides less than fair customer service, or poor products, to dissuade you from expressing your opinion. It is perfectly legal to review either positively, or negatively, a product you have purchased. More importantly it is the one way the consumer can stand up to a company, once that company has the consumers money.
In light of that, I would request that anyone who has dealt with this company, and has had the same level of poor customer service, and even worse product performance, send me an email (brentolsen@hotmail.com). I would like to incorporate as many consumer complaints as I can in my legal action.
It is fortunate that I know quite a bit more about the law than this company. They actually believe that my attempt at mitigation is extortion.
From the start, my goal was only to hold Scott Stevens and windhog responsible for fixing my turbine. My new goal is to ensure that no more consumers are taken advantage of by this company.
Thanks for the forum (and soapbox) ghost. I think I will be starting my own though, that way my blog doesn't go 'far off track'. I want it abundantly clear that my blog exists solely to warn consumers away from doing business with either Clarence Scott Stevens (CSS Solutions) or beawindhog.
Starting your own sounds like a really good idea.
To our other readers: As Brent states above, truth is the ultimate defense regarding slander (or, for that matter, libel). If what you have to say is true and can be demonstrated to be true, it will never qualify as either libel or slander in a court of law.
Just a quick retraction. While rereading my emails (and preparing to post my own product review) to Scott, I did actually demand two of the newer turbines, for my two ineffective ones.
Just making sure I have been making a fair representation of the facts surrounding my displeasure with his idea of customer service.
Thanks; keeping the record straight is always a good thing. :)
billyaustindillon Level 2 Commenter 2 years ago
Thanks for sharing an excellent review of a most robust solution.