Vintage Windmill and Wind Generator Forum

My uncle installed a windmill when I was maybe 10 years old. That's when I caught the bug. Fast forward to about 8 years ago and my wife and I found a windmill on craigslist. We checked it out, low-balled him, and brought home a Fairbanks Morse Model 45 and a 17 foot tall tower. Best I can tell from the seller it had already been moved twice (at least) which would explain how short the tower was (and damage to the legs at the bottom) as well as some damage and repair to the motor. Nothing was locked up, most of the parts seemed to be in place, and windmills are rare around here. I can think of 5 in the area, and none of them are for sale.

So the motor went in the shed, and the tower got modified and extended out to ~32 feet. I actually need to put a tape on it to see what my actual height ended up being. The steel was free and the labor was cheap so the lower two sections are all 2" x 2" x 3/16" angle. Everything is welded. The trouble with that is that the tower isn't exactly square. Or straight. I guess that's what happens when you cut the legs and push it over twice.

Fast forward again to 2020 and I've finally gotten around to installing a 4" well, and setting my tower. The tower is level, and centered, and I have some flexibility to move it an inch or two in any direction, plus I have leveling nuts so I should be good. Took me several days of measuring, checking, moving, checking, etc. before I felt comfortable bolting it down. But on a calm day, the plumb-bob was sitting dead-center on the well.

Now I get to dig the motor out of the shed and see about getting it cleaned up, repaired, and installed. I've purchased a parts list and assembly instructions off eBay, but I've yet to find an exploded view of the motor anywhere. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places. I do know I'm missing the vane spring assembly, and part of the brake mechanism. I need to go through the parts list a piece at a time to see if I can identify what else I might be lacking. Any suggestions on sources for parts?

Welcome! Looks good so far. The Model 45 is actually made by Woodmanse Co. Might even say Eclipse on the tail. Fairbanks stopped making mills by this time, so they started selling mills by other makers. They usually put the name ECLIPSE on them because it was the name that set the standard for F/M in the early times.

Welcome. How far do your tower legs extend into the ground? 4 to 5 feet is recomenned by Aermotor and generally concrete around the foot at the bottom. The foot with concrete around it at the bottom is what keeps the legs from pulling loose in high winds.

Welcome to the forum.

Hi FlJet, I'm glad that you've found us. Congratulations on getting your tower up. Looks good. Post pics of your mill when you have time.

rockingjl wrote: Tue Aug 11, 2020 7:15 am Welcome. How far do your tower legs extend into the ground? 4 to 5 feet is recomenned by Aermotor and generally concrete around the foot at the bottom. The foot with concrete around it at the bottom is what keeps the legs from pulling loose in high winds.

I hunted high and low for a recommendation on the amount of concrete per leg before I did mine. I found everything from 1 bag of sack-crete to 1-1/3 yard of concrete per leg. I settled on somewhere in the middle. 12" PVC pipe, with rebar inside and out (and through). I've got about somewhere between half a yard and 3/4 of a yard of concrete per leg. One yard of concrete is about 4,000 pounds so I've got a least 1 ton of weight per leg.

I talked with my uncle about his tower before I set my up hoping for some direction. When he took it down to move it he dug up the legs and found they had welded a piece of angle-iron to the bottom of each leg like a T, and then bolted each of those to a giant fat-lighter stump. Each one was 3-4 feet deep best he could remember. When he reinstalled his he had a contractor for the power company come out and use their auger to drill him 4 holes. Each of those 4 holes had a different soil type. Sand in one, Clay in the second, Limestone in the 3rd, and his 4th hole was short because they hit flint-rock (chert?) about 30" down.

windybob wrote: Mon Aug 10, 2020 5:42 pm Welcome! Looks good so far. The Model 45 is actually made by Woodmanse Co. Might even say Eclipse on the tail. Fairbanks stopped making mills by this time, so they started selling mills by other makers. They usually put the name ECLIPSE on them because it was the name that set the standard for F/M in the early times.

She's been repainted so all I have to go on is the tag on the motor. Can't decide whether I want to track down a stencil and go back with FM or ECLIPSE, or personalize the tail with something more close to home.

I'l broaden my search to include "Eclipse" and "Woodmanse" when I'm looking for information and parts though. Thanks for that tip!