these pics are taken by me today on a modded HP Photosmart 850 camera thay are all taken in Infra-Red

On the upper left is the basic Template Drawing that I’ve been working and building off of. Lets design a 4 foot prop with a 25 degree Hub (or Root) angle, and a 7 degree Tip Angle for this explaination. The diameter of the pipe will determine the width of the blades. For blades that average 4 inches wide at a 25 degree hub angle, you will need a Pipe Diameter in the 10 to 12 inch range.

Cut your Pipe to 4.5 feet long. Draw a Centerline down the entire length of the pipe and accuratly mark the centerline on the inside of both ends of the pipe. This will be the Trailing edge.  Also mark onto the centerline the Center Point between the ends of the pipe. This will be the Bolt Hole.

Put the centerpoint of a protractor against the inside centerline mark on the pipe and find where the 7 degree point is on the inside of the pipe, make your mark there. Next find where the 25 degree point is on the same side of the pipe, and mark that point on the inside of the pipe. accuratly mark the outside of the pipe at these points too. Repeat this step on the otherend of the pipe.

The center of the prop is a circle (or oval) with the bolt hole in the middle of it. The outsides of this circle will be the same distance from the centerline as the 25 degree marks that you marked on the ends of the pipe. I would cut out a thin cardboard circle and wrap it around the pipe centered on the bolt hole mark and trace around it with a marker.

Turn a metal tape measure around backwards and lay it numbers down onto the pipe with one end lined up to the circle and the otherend lined up to the Tip Angle mark at one end of the pipe. draw this line onto the pipe, and repeat for the otherend of the pipe.

All the markings are done now. Since there are no cuts into the circle or through the blades you might want to erase or markout the areas in the center that don’t get cut. These areas are the dotted lines in the drawings above.

Time to start cutting. I think a Recipricating Saw works great. You can just cut straight into the pipe and get Good results. But if you angle the cuts as shown at the bottom of the drawing above, it provides a much longer path for the air around the back of the prop, improving efficiency. This is harder to do though because you want the cut to follow your markings as if they were on the inside of the pipe. You will see when you try to cut it.

Now you have a new PVC Pipe Prop that will spin like carzy in the slightest of wind.
Here is a picture af a 3 foot 4 blader prop experiment that I made from small 1 1/4 inch low pressure pipe . . .

Hope this helps Ya’ll to make some cheap wind power.

On the upper left is the basic Template Drawing that I’ve been working and building off of. Lets design a 4 foot prop with a 25 degree Hub (or Root) angle, and a 7 degree Tip Angle for this explaination. The diameter of the pipe will determine the width of the blades. For blades that average 4 inches wide at a 25 degree hub angle, you will need a Pipe Diameter in the 10 to 12 inch range.

Cut your Pipe to 4.5 feet long. Draw a Centerline down the entire length of the pipe and accuratly mark the centerline on the inside of both ends of the pipe. This will be the Trailing edge.  Also mark onto the centerline the Center Point between the ends of the pipe. This will be the Bolt Hole.

Put the centerpoint of a protractor against the inside centerline mark on the pipe and find where the 7 degree point is on the inside of the pipe, make your mark there. Next find where the 25 degree point is on the same side of the pipe, and mark that point on the inside of the pipe. accuratly mark the outside of the pipe at these points too. Repeat this step on the otherend of the pipe.

The center of the prop is a circle (or oval) with the bolt hole in the middle of it. The outsides of this circle will be the same distance from the centerline as the 25 degree marks that you marked on the ends of the pipe. I would cut out a thin cardboard circle and wrap it around the pipe centered on the bolt hole mark and trace around it with a marker.

Turn a metal tape measure around backwards and lay it numbers down onto the pipe with one end lined up to the circle and the otherend lined up to the Tip Angle mark at one end of the pipe. draw this line onto the pipe, and repeat for the otherend of the pipe.

All the markings are done now. Since there are no cuts into the circle or through the blades you might want to erase or markout the areas in the center that don’t get cut. These areas are the dotted lines in the drawings above.

Time to start cutting. I think a Recipricating Saw works great. You can just cut straight into the pipe and get Good results. But if you angle the cuts as shown at the bottom of the drawing above, it provides a much longer path for the air around the back of the prop, improving efficiency. This is harder to do though because you want the cut to follow your markings as if they were on the inside of the pipe. You will see when you try to cut it.

Now you have a new PVC Pipe Prop that will spin like carzy in the slightest of wind.
Here is a picture af a 3 foot 4 blader prop experiment that I made from small 1 1/4 inch low pressure pipe . . .

Hope this helps Ya’ll to make some cheap wind power.

I have just come across an intresting site for solar water heating a DIY solution

http://www.solarfriend.co.uk/

For  a few of you who read this blog and are local to Grimsby here is some info I have managed to dig up from the council website.

http://www.nelincs.gov.uk/community/maps/Highways_in_Winter.htm#SaltingMaps

On this page it shows the Gritting routes for the Gritter. I know we have had a little more snow then usual but it is winter So I would expect some snow and Ice.Those that know me  know where I live and work and I normally take the rural back roads to work. All throught this bad weather I have carried on taking the same route to work .I have added on extra time for the run to and from work slowed my speed well down and I’ve been getting to and from work with out a problem.Yes I’ve had the odd slide or skid but because of my reduced speed I have not crashed  or come off the road.I drive a 4x4   and it does not make you immune to comming of the road.

Also  some  drivers of 4X4 dont even realise that their car  might not alway be in 4 wheel drive  many models are on 2 wheel drive unless you select 4 wheel drive and if you have locking hubs  it not alway possible to go into 4 wheel drive mode

This is because  you can be on the wrong type of surface and end up with whats call transission windup explained here and you then start to break you tansmission or propshafts  . So while your flying down the road in you nice shiny 4×4 thinking i am safe you could well be in 2 wheel drive and soon heading for the nearest ditch.To my viewers in other countries .we dont get enough snow to warrent snow chains and we dont get enough snow plus the fact its not around long enough  to get use to driving on it

So a lot of people who have passed their driving test of the past few years have never driven in snow  dont know what to do.Also  if you look at a lot of driving habbits  it this country  the car is mainly used to the school run  even though the kids could get there quicker on foot and they very rarely drive out of town plus the face most modern cars have Airbags and ABS  they think it will stop them skidding.The only thing it will do if give you a false confidence  you travel faster and hit the ditch harder or another car head on.I cant fault ABS or Air bags  but dont  think they make you a better driver.They help reduce accidents and injuries   they dont stop them