Vintage Windmill and Wind Generator Forum

I am new to this site, so I am just learning about it now. If there has been a previous discussion that anybody knows about, I would be interested in reading about it. Here’s what I’d like to do; we have a Dempster number 12 that we installed last year. For now, It is simply for decoration. It works well and was restored by a vintage windmill repair man. I would be interested in creating electricity with it and storing the electricity in a battery bank. Anybody out there have any idea on how to do that? Where to start? Thanks.

I believe that would be a lesson in futility. My neighbor did that, and by the time he got done, all that remained of the windmill was the wheel. They are just not made for that.

He put an alternator on it, and the wheel wouldn't turn it properly. Belt drive would slip. Then he put a chain drive on it, but he had to watch out for the gearing ratio. Either too slow, but geared up, wouldn't turn for lack of torque.

After he finally got it working, a storm took it down. lol ( That's the futility of it) And it never worked very good anyway. But he is a tinkerer, and likes to mess with that stuff. He has nothing but time.

I agree Windy a lesson in futility. After much trail and error you will probably have spent as much money as to buy one built to make electricity

I did see for sale under Smokstak a Delco light plant with the old glass jar batteries. Said batteries would need to be restored. Up north somewhere.

I was going to buy an entire bank of batteries one time, but the guy backed out. I was going to sandblast a nice logo on the outside, clean them up really nice and make cookie jars out of them.

He-He.

Windybob! Don't ruin those jars making something for some lady's kitchen! LOL They are darn hard to find a whole set up, I want to put the real deal in the cellar with a Delco light plant and a 32 Volt Wincharger above like it was when I grew up and a whole set is near impossible to find!

I won't even get those. The guy backed out.

As I reported rust buster there was one listed the past week in Smokstak. Engine and a whole set of batteries. He said the batteries would have to be redone.