Aermotor A702

[Roger in Iowa]

When I was building and repairing this old windmill I had a lot of problems with broken and missing parts, that's why it took so long.
When the wind blows steady, it pumps the water up and out with great force, basically a wind powered fountain on the prairie. The genius of the design and the simplicity make it 'timeless'. I made the tower extra sturdy because its a bit scary standing 30' up with those blades spinning beside you. Since its not coming down for at least 20years every thing had to be 'built to last', summer, winter, regardless.

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Really nice tower. What are the legs made of.

 

[stdsch40]

Really nice tower. What are the legs made of.

The legs are made from 4x4 structural steel tube all welded. The platform and ladder are mostly 1"sch 40 steel pipe, 1/2" rebar and some 1.5x1.5 square structural steel tube. Then 3/8" thick steel plate for the machine to sit on, bolted with 3/4" nuts and bolts.

 

[chcase]

Anyone interested in old windmills? It took me almost 30 years off and on to get this circa 1900 Aermotor windmill to actually pump water again.
I have a 2" dia well that was abandoned on my property, too small dia for a submersible pump, so from a salvaged windmill from my parents farm I rigged this set up.
I call it 'St. Agnes Fountain' in her honour of course, pumps water from 100 ft down up into a 1000l tote, basically a fountain, runs when the wind blows. No electricity involved at all, no solar, just wind power. The best water ever. The tower was hand crafted be me out of scrap steel and the windmill was rebuilt/modernized by me too. Installed a new plunger pump with new riser piping and stuffing box. Since I always liked the Christmas carol Good King Wenceslas, I imagined St. Agnes Fountain to look like this. 'Right against the forest fence, by St. Agnes fountain ...'

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Nice looking windmill. The nice thing is you can still get any part needed. Our club restored and put up a model 24 flint and walling at our show grounds in 2017. Alot of work. Ours just pumps from the bottom of the nearby cattle tank.

 

[miner09]

When I bought and assembled it the instructions said run automatic transmission oil in it. One quart and it been about fifteen years and not added any.

 

[stdsch40]

I ordered a vane spring from the Aermotor Windmill Company a year ago, got it no problem, works perfect. The old one was rusted out.

Aermotor Windmill Company - Wind-Powered Water Pumps

Aermotor Windmill manufactures the best windmill at the best price. The only windmill made in the USA and distributed worldwide. Ask for genuine Aermotor.

aermotorwindmill.com

 

[stdsch40]

When I bought and assembled it the instructions said run automatic transmission oil in it. One quart and it been about fifteen years and not added any.

When I bought and assembled it the instructions said run automatic transmission oil in it. One quart and it been about fifteen years and not added any.

Transmission fluid, depending on the viscosity, might be a bit too thin in my opinion, alot depends on the type of oil seal, bushing material and operating temp.. The Aermotor uses spur gears, motor oil or similar is a bit thicker. Maybe canola oil would work too, that stuff isn't much use for anything other than bio-diesel fuel and in theory, again just my opinion, maybe not completely toxic if spilled.

 

[chcase]

Nice looking windmill. The nice thing is you can still get any part needed. Our club restored and put up a model 24 flint and walling at our show grounds in 2017. Alot of work. Ours just pumps from the bottom of the nearby cattle tank.

Transmission fluid, depending on the viscosity, might be a bit too thin in my opinion, alot depends on the type of oil seal, bushing material and operating temp.. The Aermotor uses spur gears, motor oil or similar is a bit thicker. Maybe canola oil would work too, that stuff isn't much use for anything other than bio-diesel fuel and in theory, again just my opinion, maybe not completely toxic if spilled.

Most of the full time windmillers advise using atf oil or 10 weight non detergent

 

[Russ from MN]

That's really a nice windmill; it looks like you did a good job on it! You must be in a different part of Manitoba than my relatives, they farmed W of the Turtle mountains, and it is hard to get water. I asked my cousin once, if you go deep enough don't you get water? he said no, you get oil! So now they have a municipal water supply, it's piped in from 30 miles up north. So, there are water pipelines and oil pipelines all over in the ground, down deep.

 

[Buffalo Pete]

Traveling to Mexico for work, on the western side of Monterray is an Aeromotor factory. Always wanted to stop in there, but we were always in a rush. Had about a dozen various sized windmills in operation along the highway.

 

[stdsch40]

I'm in area called the 'Manitoba Interlake', meaning between the two huge lakes, Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba. There is an aquifer , an under ground river 100' down, in the limestone rock bed beneath, that is a vast source of pristine ground water. I really can't describe how pristine that water is other than to say, blessed. That water is so pristine it must be ancient as in millions of years old and untouched by man until recent times. I'm in absolute awe of how pure, cold and clean that water is. An absolute marvel. Hence the name 'St Agnes' fountain. When you drink that water right out of the ground you just might get what I mean, pure unadulterated clean pure water, blessed. Other areas of Manitoba have a salt water aquifer, so not suitable for drinking. I just live here. In the final analyis, the windmill was a consequence of the location I chose to live at. Why buy a piece of land where there is no water or you can't drink the water from it? that's crazy and stupid. Have a merry Christmas.

 

[stdsch40]

Pristine, meaning in case you are unsure:

 

[shaun wallace]

Still made in San Angelo Texas

 

[stdsch40]

I am aware of that. I even bought a part from them recently. I even applied for a job with them, but no luck, go figure?
Texas, I was once registered as a professional engineer there. I wrote the engineering exam in Austin, and passed their test.
So what? The Aermotor is at least a 100 year old design, most of it is okay, 25% needs to be modernized. Perhaps the Aermotor sales rep can give me a call...or reply to this thread.

 

[Southern Ray]

Here is my windmill. Handmade and homemade. Yard art. It cycles water from the tank underground and into the top.
It has a five inch stroke and will pump 3 oz of water per stroke.
I am still having a time perfecting and tweeking the pump cylinder as the leathers keep failing.

 

[stdsch40]

Here is my windmill. Handmade and homemade. Yard art. It cycles water from the tank underground and into the top.
It has a five inch stroke and will pump 3 oz of water per stroke.
I am still having a time perfecting and tweeking the pump cylinder as the leathers keep failing.

Nice looking yard art, looks like you put a lot of effort into that project. When you get your pump working right have a little fountain or bird bath. Merry Christmas.

 

[chcase]

Here is my windmill. Handmade and homemade. Yard art. It cycles water from the tank underground and into the top.
It has a five inch stroke and will pump 3 oz of water per stroke.
I am still having a time perfecting and tweeking the pump cylinder as the leathers keep failing.

Is your cylinder a factory cylinder or is it a pipe you adapted. If the bore is not smooth on inside than the cup leather will wear quicker and rip.

 

[Southern Ray]

Is your cylinder a factory cylinder or is it a pipe you adapted. If the bore is not smooth on inside than the cup leather will wear quicker and rip.

The check valve is a 1 1/4" factory made valve from Lowes. The pipe is 1 1/4" PVC.
The pump valve is a cobbled up combination of 3/4" X 1/2" copper bell reducer with a salvaged computer mouse ball.
I wrapped leather strips around the bell reducer. It works but I need to experiment to get the right thickness of leather.

 

[Southern Ray]

Nice looking yard art, looks like you put a lot of effort into that project. When you get your pump working right have a little fountain or bird bath. Merry Christmas.

Thanks, This is about a twenty year on and off project coming up with various ways to make it work and look right.
Making the bull gears and building the closing mechanism took me the longest.
I would work on it for a while, start making mistakes, quit, and then later pick it up again.

 

[stdsch40]

The check valve is a 1 1/4" factory made valve from Lowes. The pipe is 1 1/4" PVC.
The pump valve is a cobbled up combination of 3/4" X 1/2" copper bell reducer with a salvaged computer mouse ball.
I wrapped leather strips around the bell reducer. It works but I need to experiment to get the right thickness of leather.

I had a lot of stop and go while working on my Aermotor too. I ended up buying the plunger pump from a fellow in Ohio, Obrock windmills. I think he retired or died a few years ago. I was quite concerned about the pump fitting down my 2" diameter well casing, in the end there was barely 1/16" clearance, but it worked. My parents bought a property back in the 1970's and the windmill had fallen down and broke, someone took the original tower and left the gear box and blades as garbage, no 'rudder'/vane either. I had to repair/make those parts. At some point I plan on having a small pond where water can go.

 

[Southern Ray]

Want to know more about windmills, on youtube check out Oki Windmiller.

Another place to see windmills is in Lubbock, Texas.
There is a windmill museum with a plethora of windmills.
Much history is also presented in how the windmill assisted the railroad expansion to the west.