V-belt?

 

I'm building a VAWT. It will have a very slow speed, high torque.
So to be effective, I'm going to need to gear it up for speed.
Average wind speed in this area is 9.8 miles/hour. My turbine
would be turning at about 12 RPM. So I'll likely need some very
long V-belts. What's the longest they make, like for a very big fan?
Has anyone used flexible cable for something like that?

 

Michael,

I don't think a V-belt is the best way to go because of thermal
changes and slippage, off the top of head, maybe a cogged drive belt
like is used on a Harley???

Curbie

 

Yeah, I've been considerering that.
But one of my gears is 4 ft diameter, made of plywood.

 

Michael,

It's pretty hard to make a sensible suggestion without knowing your
setup, but it's my GUESS that the cogged drive belts are about 3/4"
wide, perhaps inverting one (cog teeth facing out) and gluing the flat
side to the edge of your 4' diameter disk?

Curbie

 



From watching harley belts destroy themselves when they get a little tiny
pebble in the cog or whatnot i'd avoid those things.  Also pretty spendy.

Bike chain sounds like a more practical solution + you can easily alter the
length as needed.