Aermotor towers.

[hedgerow]

Had a buddy call with a question I couldn't answer. Hopefully a expert on here has the answer. I don't have any pictures or measurements of the tower it is a 602 or 702 on somewhere around a sixty foot tower. No body likes to oil that tall windmill any more. The windmill hasn't been used in 20 plus years as they build a dam years ago. He wanted to know if the towers can be shorted by taking sections out. He would like to keep the windmill on the farm but lower the tower to maybe 30 feet or somewhere around that area as I have a lift that will do forty feet or so. All of my windmills are thirty feet or so and we do them with my towable lift I have but it only goes up 45 feet of so. I have never tried to shorten a tower.

[Windcatcher530 Dan]

Yes Martin you can shorten aermoter towers, start at the bottom taking off sections where the four corner legs bolt together.The section lengths are thirteen feet and around 10 inches each. The older towers were usually ten foot sections.

[Ron Stauffer]

The angle iron X braces in the lower section of an Aermotor tower have limited interchangeability. There is a set that has three sets of holes that work for 27, 33 and 40. The next set for tower height works for just 47 and 53. The set above that is for 60 and 67. Because of the changing angle of X braces in different tower heights, even the hole spacing varies between the different sets. We have adapted X braces from taller towers to shorter. The lower leg of the X brace is easy, just cut to length and drill the appropriate hole. The upper part of the X brace isn't as easy because of the twisted X and the top flattened ends. We used a pattern for the X brace we wanted to end up with matching the twist in the angle, cutting off each end, flattening the top end and then drilling appropriate holes. It takes time so if you can find angle X braces for the height you are going to that would be easier.

Do NOT just use the split end wire X braces at the bottom section instead of the angle iron X braces. I have encountered these in the field and they are very shaky towers. There is a reason Aermotor used angle iron in the bottom section.

The above info is applicable to post 1915 standardized Easy to Build Up towers. These towers gained 7' of height by alternating the top section from 7' to 13' 8 5/8" sections. Older Aer towers had less interchangeability.

If the tower is a 60, it will be 4 sections of 13'+ at the bottom and a 7' section on top.

Ron Stauffer
Montrose CO

[hedgerow]

Dan and Ron thanks for the information. I will have to take a drive and try to measure the tower. I do think its a 60 foot tower. I am sure it was made after 1915. I think he would like to just take it down and sell it but his wife wants to keep it on the farm. He talked to one wind mill service man about coming by and oiling it. Sounds like that guy is moving and might come by and service it while he is moving his operation back to the sand hills. Probably going to be pretty costly to get a crane out there take it down shorten it make new footing and get the crane back out to put it back up.

[LoTec]

The above info is applicable to post 1915 standardized Easy to Build Up towers. These towers gained 7' of height by alternating the top section from 7' to 13' 8 5/8" sections. Older Aer towers had less interchangeability.

If the tower is a 60, it will be 4 sections of 13'+ at the bottom and a 7' section on top.

Ron Stauffer
Montrose CO

Are you sure Aermotor started making ETBU towers in 1915? Here in western WI I see many Aermotor towers with 20' long leg sections that are NOT Easy to Build Up. The leg joints are about 4' above the nearest girt, and if you were standing on the girt trying to attach the next leg section, you'd be trying to balance something sticking up 20 feet. Not fun.

Most of these towers have 602 mills on 'em. Maybe they were all second generation Aermotors, installed after the original open gear mill crapped out, but I was assuming that Aermotor started making the ETBU towers sometime in the mid to late 1920s.

[Windcatcher530 Dan]

Loteck most likely they had open gear models on them at one time. Towers 1915 and earlier had 10 or 20 ft angle iron. Easy build towers came in around 1916.

[JBarker]

This is such an interesting thread and information on Aermotor towers. Thanks for sharing your knowledge everyone. Ron, Windy, Lo Tec and others amaze me how you remember all that information.

[Windcatcher530 Dan]

Aermoters first steel towers were made in 1891and had cast pegs on the corner for a ladder. Then in 1895 they were straight cast pieces with turned up ends on the corner for steps until 1899 when the first loop steps were used.

[Ron Stauffer]

LoTech

The transition from the 20/10-20 towers to the 13.5/7-13.5 (ETBU) did take place in 1915. Reference Gillis "Still Turning" p. 90-93. The tower was jointly introduced with the oil bath motors. The towers also were a transition of install methods from tilting up the 20' section old style towers to building up towers in place. The ETBU towers were 13' 8 5/8 sections and with girts at the top & middle of the sections. It would be awful hard to build up 20' sections.

However, Aermotor catalog #64 does reference that tower parts are for the 1918 ETBU towers. I think this is because there were variations in the development of the early 13'+ towers prior to 1918. I think I saw the patent for the ETBU towers somewhere that had a 1912 but not sure. Patents were done by Aermotor, Noyes and Scholes individually so they are hard to track. I have run across early 13+ tower sections that had girts above tower leg splice, twisted girt instead of twisted bottom X braces, lower x braces that extended to the anchors that had 3 holes, x braces similar to the old style, towers made all out of 7' sections, early towers having slightly different footprints from standard etc. Here are some examples:

twisted girt.JPG

early ETBU.JPG

Probably something else to consider is that someone posted an open gear catalog (1907?) that had the options of 3 different motor models. Evidently, Aermotor was not like car manufacturers in that they continued to offer earlier models even tho newer models were out.

Since you are from the M-W area, how many of the 602s tailbones have you seen are what I call the "Tucker" style? This seems to be a regional install method unique to that area that I have not seen elsewhere.

tucker tail bone.jpg

Ron Stauffer
Montrose CO

[Ron Stauffer]

Hedgerow

It is a small windmill world out there. I assume you must be talking about the windmiller, John S____n? He grew up north of Greely and then worked for a well guy in Burwell. Then he went down to Dunbar and just moved back to north of Burwell over Labor Day. Having known him for close 20 years, he is a good guy. I know he has a 44' mast rig because he extended his rig when I did two of mine to 44'. You can raise and lower 8 x 60 mill and tower together with a 44' mast because the balance point is around 40'.

Here are pics of setting 8 x 53 with when I had a 40' mast rig

8X53.jpg

8x53 2.JPG

John taught me a lot about windmills and I got to return the favor with biz advice when he went on his own and solar pumps. The running joke we have is that I offered him a job before he moved to Dunbar. Instead of taking it, he moved even farther away from me...

Ron Stauffer
Montrose CO