# windmills



## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

We are considering a windmill for our well but as I was looking at the literature I started wondering. Would it be possible to connect a chain/bike to the windmill in case of damage to the blades until they could be replaced? Just thinkin out loud, kind of...


----------



## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

yeah,im sure it's been done.im thinking.include a sprocket at the base of the windmill,some how.then place the bike where the sprocket(s) on it,lines up with the one on the windmill..then anchor the bike in place some how.then run the bike chain from a bike sprocket,to the one on the windmill..


----------



## azrancher (Jan 30, 2014)

Ummm *NO*

Windmills go round and round, but that's where the similarity to a bicycle stop.

Windmills pump up & down, think of the old hand pump action in your great grandmothers house, or out in the yard, it pulls a rod up, weight of the pump cylinder in the pipe causes it to go back down, but it has a check valve so all the water that you pulled up stays up, or has run out the spicket.










You could fashion a handle, pivot point to uses the same pump rod if you disconnect the windmill.

The windmill has blades that go round and round, but the gearbox (the call it a motor) that the blades/fan is attached to convert the rotation of the fan to an up/down stroke of the pump rod, you've heard of pump rod, you make corrals out of used pump rod.

*Rancher*


----------



## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

azrancher said:


> Ummm *NO*
> 
> Windmills go round and round, but that's where the similarity to a bicycle stop.
> 
> ...


I know how they work. What is the reason a belt or chain couldn't be connected to that same gear box?


----------



## azrancher (Jan 30, 2014)

terri9630 said:


> I know how they work. What is the reason a belt or chain couldn't be connected to that same gear box?


OK terri, sorry, I did re-read your first entry again, and you didn't mention in a SHTF time of year, so what most of us do for when a windmill goes down, is we mount a submersible pump below it, no electricity, use a generator.

A bicycle and chain to reach the fan is really impracticable.










You don't need that strainer section in the middle, the windmill pump will just pull up through the submersible pump.

*Rancher*


----------



## Tweto (Nov 26, 2011)

Do any of your neighbors have a windmill for their well?

How deep is your well in New Mexico?

What volume of water do you need?

Here's the point, if there's no well windmills in your area maybe the power needed to pump water at the desired volume and height you need is too great for a windmill in your area. Then the third point, if you want to use something like a stationary bike to pump water in an emergency, the average adult human can only generate maybe 1/3 of a horse power and only for a limited time.

I have 2 wells both are about 60 feet deep one has a 1/2 horse pump and the other a 3/4 horse submersible pump to get water out at a rate of 7-9 gallons/min.

The question can a human even pump water out of a well designed for mechanized power? I don't know the answer to this I'm more curious then knowledgeable.


----------



## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

Teri, Tweto is correct about humans just not powerful enough. That is why the windmills have such big fans.
Sorry but think of plan B.


----------



## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

Oh well. It was just a thought. There are many windmills in the area. The avg well is 400ft. Static levels vary from between 80-300ft.


----------



## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

A bicycle could work if you though just a tiny bit outside the box. see the water well boys hand pump thread, if you can power something by human arms, you can power it by human legs with far less strain on the heart.
Yes you nee 1/2 hp submersible to pump a deep well, but the output line is usually at pressure so the horsepower need may be a lot less.

Back to the pedal powered pump system, this would require a disconnect on the pump shaft at near ground level and a counterweighted pump jack to help overcome the head pressure.


----------



## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

I fail to see how the "counterweighted pump jack to help overcome the head pressure" would work because at some point the human power would have to overcome the head pressure no matter what.


----------



## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

hiwall said:


> I fail to see how the "counterweighted pump jack to help overcome the head pressure" would work because at some point the human power would have to overcome the head pressure no matter what.


Yes, that gave me some pause also. Here is a little free thinking that may or may not work.

The pump rod needs to move up and down in order to pump water. If there was a disconnect just above ground level a line could be run from the pump rod, up the tower and through a pulley, then back down to someone that would pull rod up and then let gravity pull the gear back down. A multi-part block and tackle could also be used.

A bicycle might be incorporated into the system by fixing the bike to the ground, removing the rear tire, running a line through the valve stem hole in the rim, and using a cable clamp to adjust the proper length. The gearing system on the bike could be adjusted for ease of labor and speed. The brakes could be used to slow decent of the pump rod if necessary.

Another line with a counter balance weight or series of weights could be uses to further reduce the labor used to lift the pump and water.


----------



## azrancher (Jan 30, 2014)

hiwall said:


> I fail to see how the "counterweighted pump jack to help overcome the head pressure" would work because at some point the human power would have to overcome the head pressure no matter what.


There you go trying to explain the first law of thermodynamics, however I believe that he is referring to a typical oil well pump jack, sometimes used for water, where you have a counterweight to use gravity to help pull the water up, then on the down stroke the same amount of energy is used to return the counterweight to the "up" position. Evens out the energy needed, i.e. if you had an old fashion garden pump, you exert energy pushing the handle down and almost none returning it to push down again.

*Rancher*


----------



## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

this is a thread on the development of a hand pump to replace a wind mill.
some of the links are cold, but with a little research........http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f20/pumping-windmill-pump-assembly-hand-16102/


----------



## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

I know they used windmills years ago here in Florida for wells especially in pastures. I don't know how but they did.

We used a rope and bucket when the pump went out. And got a few clays dug in laying on concrete floor if I moved the flash light while mama was resetting the points with a matchbook.


----------

