Energy College: Charge Your Knowledge!
All Welcome!
Contact: 07791246022 / 07947367463
Energy College: Charge Your Knowledge!
Wind Turbine & Solar Hot Water: Collective Experiment!
Would you like to build a wind turbine? Or make a solar hot water heater?
Join us on Tuesday 10th March at 12.00pm when we will begin designing and building a vertical axis wind turbine and a solar water heater with David Herbert. The ad hoc designs will depend on the materials we can gather…check the list below and if you find anything please bring it with you!
All Welcome!
Possible Design for a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
Turbine Parts:
Hard Disks (magnets, wire, bearings) – as many as possible or at least 8
Microwave Oven – I’ve heard they contain magnets and wire, I can’t think of why, other people have said it so could be interesting to take one apart.
Plastic pipe, waste pipe or down pipe for rain water, 4″ stuff and possible something smaller like sink waste pipe (approx 30-50mm). Idea is to cut it along the length to make semi circular tubes for the front of the wings.
Bendable sheets of something: oil drums we could cut up, thin perspex, copper (eg. from old hot water tanks).
Thicker sheets of something: ply-wood
Diodes, possibly from the microwave, other sources would be any power electronics, like audio amplifiers, car alternators.
Stuff that could be useful if we can get it: steel plate 3-6mm thick and 30cm or more wide. Reasonably powerful permanent magnet motors eg. car radiator fan motors.
Bearings: perhaps from a bicycle (wheel, headset or bottom bracket) or small car/trailer bearing.
Stuff I imagine we’ll have to buy: fiber glass and resin, glue, screws, etc.
Hugh Piggott’s Home Built Wind Power News and Links
Solar Hot Water Heater
For a solar hot water heater (size will be between 1 and 2 sq meters although not important, 1 sq meter is plenty for a sunny day, bigger gives it a better chance of working on more overcast days), there’s two designs which I think could work, for either design we’ll need:
Wood, eg from a pallet or anything similar.
Fibre glass, polystyrene (could be sheet or those balls in packaging), etc for insulation. Bubble wrap would probably work too.
Glass, preferably double glazed, the most common source I’ve seen is old shop bear fridges being thrown out, Actually they could be a source for the insulation too.
Hot water tank (they are thrown out all the time as people move over to combie boilers).
28mm copper pipe, 3 meters or rubber pipe (the kind of stuff that you find on cars radiators) if that is easier to find.
Various copper fittings, eg 15-28mm adapters, elbows, etc. (I already have most of them)
A candle.
Then for one design we will also need:
A radiator, size and shape to approximately match the size and shape of the glass. It needs to be the modern(ish) ugly type, flat(ish) sides, single panel.
Or for the other design we need:
One or two extra hot water tanks to cut up to use as copper sheet or any other source of copper sheet. Whether we need 1 or 2 depends on the glass size
Smaller copper pipe, microbore (8-12mm) or 15mm pipe.
Energy College: Charge your Knowledge!
Coming Up! – ABAKE and students from the Royal College of Art will:
Design With Labour
Tuesday 3rd March – 11.00am start
The brief is to identify what you think the energy café needs re-using the “raw” material listed below and construct it on site next Tuesday. Your proposal should take the whole idea of Energy Cafe in consideration.
All Welcome!!!
18th Wednesday & Tuesday 24th February
Energy Cafe goes wireless!
Over the past months we have relied on the Field Station for internet facilities…
Now thanks to Siraj and David who offered to install a wireless mesh, this facility has been extended to the Energy Cafe site.
They’ve been using these boxes to set up wireless mesh networks -
that extends existing access to a wider network.
An antenna picks up the signal.
Waves are finding it difficult to get through the concrete walls of the Field Station,
so David tests it on the roof…
A few hours (of technical modifications, testing frequencies, wiring cables and climbing ladders) later….
the laptop is taken for a test walk, through the field – it works! full online signal – an on site resource for all.
Thanks David for sharing your technical wizardry!
Saturday 21st February
Energy College ‘Charge your knowledge!”
Bike Power Workshop with Magnificent Revolution
Full update coming soon!
Saturday 21st February
Swirl Stove Demonstration by Andrew: Part 2
Andrew is back to set up his hand-made Swirl Stove invention! This time with a new addition…
…a custom made regulator. Comprising of plastic container with circuit board and LED light…
…connecting the battery to the fan and making ignition easier.
Fueled by small pieces of kindling,
sawdust and dry wood chippings,
the flaming devise was a hit with today’s visitors,
and kept Energy Cafe in constant supply of boiling water…
right into the night.
Check out review by Hackney Permaculture
Bonfire Basket
After a hard day’s work, the ’staff’ of the day gather around the millstones to relax, make a bonfire and cook.
So far we’ve put pans straight onto the flames…but it hasn’t been so easy to regulate the heat for different types of cooking. How to do a stir-fry?
Andrew comes up with a simple but sophisticated solution: planks across the millstones, a grill balanced on top, above the fire – an instant ‘hob’.
Hmmm – oil not quite up to temperature for frying.
Tan solves the problem with a bit of wire mesh. A hanging basket that gets the pan closer to the heat. Brilliant.
The millstone bonfire has evolved into a multi-functional stove: potatoes in the oven, stir fry on the hob and toast on the grill. Who needs gas?!
Tuesday 17th February
Barry returns to fit the the frame he’s constructed.
Wow. Its slots in perfectly without any fixings to the trailer walls or roof! Ingenious. The next job is to fix boards (preferably ply wood) to the frame, making a cupboard. We’re looking out for the material…
…until then, Barry’s design is already helping the mobile kitchen to feel more sorted.
Wednesday 18th February
The Energy Cafe roadside banner is ready for collection from Martin Dannell, Waltham Abbey
A huge thanks to Kate!!! www,About My Area.co.uk/E9 who generously sponsored it.
Thanks!
to Lee Valley Wildlife photographer, David, for donating a set of Le Creuset saucepans!
