Aermotor A702

[stdsch40]

Some day I'll got to Texas and have a look see. Thanks for the invite. Not happening too soon I'm sure. Texas and Manitoba, go figure?
As they say, liars sure figure, but figures don't lie. Bless you and have a Merry Christmas.

 

[flying belgian]

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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I thought you stopped the blades spinning when you climbed up for service.

 

[Steve in VA]

I thought you stopped the blades spinning when you climbed up for service.

Should. The furling lever turns the orientation of blade to be parallel to the vane and sets the brake. With age the brake becomes less and less effective.

 

[stdsch40]

Should. The furling lever turns the orientation of blade to be parallel to the vane and sets the brake. With age the brake becomes less and less effective.

Actually how the furling,vane/rudder, blade brake work is: if the wind is too strong it pushes the blade out of the wind a bit, then the rudder pushes on the brake band, slowing and turning/pivoting the windmill out of direct wind path. The blade and rudder are on opposite sides of the pivot point counteracting each other. The brake can be manually applied too, when manual operating the brake the rudder is forced to pivot out of the wind and also applies pressure to the brake band. And the whole thing minimizes its face to the wind. Very clever design. However if oil drips on the brake band well then you are Sh!t out of luck and it won't stop, and that's bad, very bad. I put a rope on the rudder just in case so if needs be I can move the rudder out of the wind.

 

[Steve in VA]

Actually how the furling,vane/rudder, blade brake work is: if the wind is too strong it pushes the blade out of the wind a bit, then the rudder pushes on the brake band, slowing and turning/pivoting the windmill out of direct wind path. The blade and rudder are on opposite sides of the pivot point counteracting each other. The brake can be manually applied too, when manual operating the brake the rudder is forced to pivot out of the wind and also applies pressure to the brake band. And the whole thing minimizes its face to the wind. Very clever design. However if oil drips on the brake band well then you are Sh!t out of luck and it won't stop, and that's bad, very bad. I put a rope on the rudder just in case so if needs be I can move the rudder out of the wind.

Yes, I thought that's what I was saying. I think we're on the same page.

 

[flying belgian]

Actually how the furling,vane/rudder, blade brake work is: if the wind is too strong it pushes the blade out of the wind a bit, then the rudder pushes on the brake band, slowing and turning/pivoting the windmill out of direct wind path. The blade and rudder are on opposite sides of the pivot point counteracting each other. The brake can be manually applied too, when manual operating the brake the rudder is forced to pivot out of the wind and also applies pressure to the brake band. And the whole thing minimizes its face to the wind. Very clever design. However if oil drips on the brake band well then you are Sh!t out of luck and it won't stop, and that's bad, very bad. I put a rope on the rudder just in case so if needs be I can move the rudder out of the wind.

So did you have to manually turn it out of the wind on a Day with 30 mph winds gusting to 40? What kept it from flying apart?

Today's generating wind towers have automatic governors to hold them at one speed right?

 

[Steve in VA]

So did you have to manually turn it out of the wind on a Day with 30 mph winds gusting to 40? What kept it from flying apart?

Today's generating wind towers have automatic governors to hold them at one speed right?

No on manual intervention. As srdsch40 says, this will self regulated. Basically, there is a spring which can be position to provide variable resistance. As the wind speed increases, the blades are pushed out of alignment with the vane. At maximum the plane of the blade rotation is parallel to the vane and the brake increases friction.
That said, the furling lever can be used to preemptively act.

 

[stdsch40]

So did you have to manually turn it out of the wind on a Day with 30 mph winds gusting to 40? What kept it from flying apart?

Today's generating wind towers have automatic governors to hold them at one speed right?

I should have mentioned that there is a spring on the tail of the vane/rudder. The spring tries to hold the rudder perpendicular to the blade, but when the wind force is too strong and pushes the blade out of the wind, the rudder spring tries to bring the blade back into the wind. The two forces try to balance so the windmill doesn't go crazy fast. Aermotor figured this all out a long time ago and it works remarkably well. The flaw if you want to call it that, is the antique shaft sealing/oiling system that Aermotor have or had. Modern bronze bushings and a proper rubber oil seal fixes the probabilty of oil on the brake band from a leaking shaft seal. BTW, I am not a salesman for Aermotor just a mechanical engineer fooling around with antique equipment for fun.

 

[Steve in VA]

I should have mentioned that there is a spring on the tail of the vane/rudder. The spring tries to hold the rudder perpendicular to the blade, but when the wind force is too strong and pushes the blade out of the wind, the rudder spring tries to bring the blade back into the wind. The two forces try to balance so the windmill doesn't go crazy fast. Aermotor figured this all out a long time ago and it works remarkably well. The flaw if you want to call it that, is the antique shaft sealing/oiling system that Aermotor have or had. Modern bronze bushings and a proper rubber oil seal fixes the probabilty of oil on the brake band from a leaking shaft seal. BTW, I am not a salesman for Aermotor just a mechanical engineer fooling around with antique equipment for fun.

I would love to meet the folks that figured all that out. Truly impressive engineering.

 

[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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The windmill company's of the time kept trying to improve their designs. I think the flint and walling company made a wind tunnel to test their later model 37. I learned alot more about windmills than I wanted to know when I took on restoring and putting up the windmill for our local club. When we put the base in we put it on hinges so we can lay it down for repairs. Anybody who wants to know about windmills need to go to their local library and read a book called The field guide of American windmills. My kids bought me that book after I read it.

 

[wahayes]

I know this thread is a little old but if you’re into windmills and find yourself in or around Lubbock Texas , the American Windmill museum is worth checking out . My mom used to work there and I actually did maintenance on some of them on the grounds when I was in high school

https://windmill.com/

 

[shaun wallace]

I know this thread is a little old but if you’re into windmills and find yourself in or around Lubbock Texas , the American Windmill museum is worth checking out . My mom used to work there and I actually did maintenance on some of them on the grounds when I was in high school

https://windmill.com/

Went years ago. Have a 20 ft fan hanging up and Dutch style windmill. Have lots of other mills and history for 80 John. Down the hill is a ag museum and while there check out Ranching Heritage museum.

 

[wahayes]

Went years ago. Have a 20 ft fan hanging up and Dutch style windmill. Have lots of other mills and history for 80 John. Down the hill is a ag museum and while there check out Ranching Heritage museum.

Lol yep, my mom worked at both of those too haha. She always worked in museums

 

[Mark-Ia]

You missed The 37th International Windmiller's Trade Fair (vintage windmills) will be held March 12-14, 2026, in Pleasanton, TX, hosted by the Longhorn Museum. For modern wind energy, WindEnergy Hamburg 2026 takes place September 22-25, 2026, and China Wind Power 2026 is scheduled for October 14-16, 2026.

 

[37chief]

There is still one standing about a block from my place. Probably the only one left over from days past. Dad had one I think it ended up in the iron pile years ago.. I never see one maybe 10 ft off the ground. Is there more air the extra 20 ft higher? Stan

 

[shaun wallace]

Sometimes is more wind up higher. The bigger the fan the taller tower needs to be and bigger the fan the deeper the well is.