Report on the wind-powered in-service training
7/26/82 to 8/5/82 - CONACOTO, ECUADOR
PARTICIPANTS
21 Peace Corps Volunteers
Ing. Eernan Alvarez S. Ecuadorian
counterpart
Napoleon Cevallos, Peace Corps Ecuador
Willis Eshenbach and
Paul Jankura, Trainers
OVERALL OBJECTIVES OF THE TRAINING
To learn how to design and build two types of low cost,
dependable mills and pumps.
To learn about working in design groups and construction groups.
To build and test the systems.
To learn about siting of wind powered systems.
To learn about community and large-scale wind systems.
MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THE WORKSHOP
Introduction and objectives - clarifying the objectives of the
program, general introduction.
Drawing - to introduce the different types of drawings used to
represent designs and hardware and to practice schematic drawing.
History of windmills - done with an eye toward selecting locally
useful types of wind systems.
Shop safety and tool care - so that everyone makes it through
the workshop with all their fingers and chisels intact.
Joinery and strength of materials - fastening with local
fasteners and materials; testing for strength.
Bearings and shafts - how power is transmitted; cranks and
wristpins.
Design - how to design, what to consider, the mechanics of the
design process.
Designing - designing a windmill, including the driving of the
water pump.
Design presentation - presenting the designs, using visual aids,
to the rest of the group.
Construction - of the mills and the pumps.
Siting - all of the factors affecting the site of the mill.
Large projects - the community and other factors involved in
scaling up the size of the wind system.
Maintenance - the prevention and care of aging in windmills and
pumps.
Water and numbers - the tables and calculations needed to size
systems.
Testing - testing the strength and efficiency of the systems
that we have built.
Presentation of projects - presentation of the projects, with an
explanation of their use, to the rest of the group and anyone else interested.
Field trip- to see a local windmill.
Clean-up and close down - disassembly of the projects, cleanup
the site, say goodbye.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The training was well received, and everyone expressed
satisfaction with the results. Both the pumps and the mills worked as designed,
with efficiencies in the ranges expected.
For model making, we used a combination of 2 Tinkertoy sets with
one Erector set. These worked extremely well; people were able to use the models
to actually see how the parts of wind pumping systems work together.
All of the work was done with hand tools and using locally
purchased materials and tools. The material for the two mills cost around $40
and $55; the material for the pumps, $18 and $10. These figures include paint
and thinner, but do not include tools or labor. The participants and trainers
made the following suggestions for possible alterations in the next training.
RESOURCES
Is it possible to buy a small library to be left in the country?
A small, miniature, working model of a windmill would help
explain some of the concepts.
A technical appendix to the manual containing the theoretical
formulas would be useful.
FURTHER EXPLANATIONS
More relative comparisons of types of mills
Other uses of
windmills
Cleanout and capping of wells
Amount of water needed to grow
various crops
Applications and system setup
PARTICIPANTS
If participants are Peace Corps Volunteers, they should not be
new to the country.
SCHEDULING CHANGES SUGGESTED
More time for basic carpentry skills.
Use basic carpentry skills time to build models of other types
of windmills and pumps.
If possible, involve a local craftsman.
Spend more time discussing group dynamics.
Ask a few people each day to stand up in front of the group and
give a short talk, in the local language, about some phase of the training.
Don't split the groups up to build windmills and pumps
simultaneously - do them consecutively.
Visit a local windmill as early in the training as possible.
SCHEDULE OF ECUADOR WINDMILL CONSTRUCTION TRAINING
