Potential Power
New Tower (part 2)
To see Part 1, click Here
To see Part 3, click Here
Before finishing the whole bottom
part, I'm going to pour the concrete pad, and bolt this triangle to it.
This frame will define the shape of the concrete pad.
These bolts will be cast in the concrete.
Here is the beginning of the rebar structure that will increase strenght and
grip.
This should do it.
And this is the beginning of the
hole for the concrete pad.
The frame should keep the top part in the proper shape.
Fortunately, other people were doing
the hard work for me.
The finished hole is 40x40 inches
wide and about 30 inches deep.
Hopefully it will be sufficient to keep the tower upright.
Oh boy. I just calculated the amount
of concrete needed.
It will need 60 bags of 60lbs concrete. Oops.
All in all, it wasn't all that bad.
I started setting up a little after sunset.
After getting all the worklights and equipment ready, I started mixing cement
one bag at a time.
Getting the frame to be sturdy and level was a little bit of a challenge,
but it turned out fine.
The drizzle had a welcome cooling effect (Florida), but I could have done
without the downpour.
I was a little worried about finishing the top layer smooth enough, but the
tapping and swirling
with a piece of wood made it fairly simple.
43 bags ended up in the hole, together with several blocks of concrete.
Here is a late night picture of the finished product. Not bad for an amateur.
And this is what it looked like the
next day, without artificial light and with a rested body.
Another major part finished, and
almost immediately another majo part starts.
It's time to create the bottom part of the tower.
The idea was simple. To connect two triangles with 3 pieces of angle iron.
But how do you handle 5 pieces of metal that can move at 6 joints, while trying
to make sure that the top triangle
is level, that the two triangles are orientated the same, and that the top
triangle is well centered above the bottom triangle?
The solution was an old ladder. I positioned it in the tower, and tied all
three legs of the tower securely to the ladder.
I was then able to manipulate the tower by repositioning the ladder.
All that was left was welding one corner at the time until it was a solid
piece.
I should have taken the next picture with the rope still attached, but I was
a little to eager to move on.
The bottom needs some more reinforcement,
and then the two pieces need to be hinged
together so that the turbine can be lowered by breaking the tower in halve.
Some reinforcement added. It is getting
quite heavy.
I set up the bottom part with the
intent to put the top piece on too, and then weld the joint.
But it was too heavy (and windy). I could not do it by myself.
I had to lay it down and clamp it
together.
It was a new welding experience. The difference in material and thickness
made it tricky to weld properly.
The first weld looked good, but was not adhering to the pipe at all.
By playing around with varying amounts of time spent on each piece of metal,
it improved dramatically.
Now I need to grind some of the weld off in order for the pieces to fit smoothly.
Some of the tower is already covered with primer.
I've been thinking about how to connect
the lever-arm.
Should it be permanent, or detachable?
I settled on detachable. It turned into a 9 foot arm that can be hooked up
easily.
Then weights can be added to balance the load.
A close-up of the contraption.
The arm rests on this part and will
be held by gravity.
This end of the arm hooks to a welded
part that's added to the tower frame.
A sideview to get a better look at
it.
To see Part 1, click Here
To see Part 3, click Here