I live in a rural area and we have two blue Harvestor grain silos. One has a 25 foot diameter and is 90 feet tall and the other is 4 feet from it with a 20 foot diameter and is 70 feet tall. I was wondering if it would be possible to mount a wind turbine on top of the taller one. I don't know much about turbulence though, if there would be too much? Or how high it would have to be off to clear the turbulence? this is my first try at it, I was going to try a treadmill motor, something small.
Hi Matthew. I have actually seen two silos with turbines on top. The main concern about turbulence is not with the silo, it has more to do with the terrain around it. Are there any trees or other structures that extend above the top of the silo that are within 200 feet of the silo? If the top of the silo has good exposure to winds, then it is probably a good place for the turbine. The other question to answer is whether or not the silo is in good structural condition. A home sized turbine will not put much force on the silo when it is operating, but there will be some force, and vibration. If the silo is masonry, meaning made from stone and mortar, are most of the mortar joints still good, or are there lots of missing spaces between the bricks? I don't know where you live, but if you want to learn more about this, I would suggest two things first. First, get a subscription to Home Power Magazine, the only periodical that really gets into the nuts and bolts of this technology. It is only about $25 a year, but they have articles explaining wind turbines, solar panels, inverters, batteries, and so on. Some issues even take all he commercially made turbines and list them with all the specs and other features, making it easy to select the one you want. If you subscribe, you can go to their website online and use their search engine to look for articles in the past that might help you out. Also go to the websites below, and check out the library for books. I'll list one, if you can't find it, just look for other books by that author, or on that subject matter. The second thing to do is get to one of the energy fairs listed in the calendar section of Home Power, they are held all over the globe. The best and biggest one is in Wisconsin each June, but almost every state hosts one each year now. We went to one 12 years ago, and now our home is completely powered by the wind and sun, it was very informative. Take care Matthew, Rudydoo
