I am working on a very simple charger based on a Savonius (vertical axis) wind turbine charger.
The basic principle is the same as in my previous project using a solar panel to charge 3 NiMh AAA batteries.
The difference comes from:
a) the Savonius rotor offers much lower voltage than a solar panel (namely 1-3 V); reason to use it instead of an horizontal axis (propeller) is it start offering power from lower wind speed
b) the out put voltage is much more variable as a result of very variable wind speed
I avoid the dedicated push up power modules as being very hidden in terms off explanation.
So I plan to use a modified Joule thief circuit.
The compont's list (modified from the internet source) is the following:
NPN Transistor - one I can find in my shelves (original: 2N2222, 2N3904, or similar)
4.7 uF capacitor (the scheme provides for a 0.01 microfarad Capacitor) - I made this modification to allow more energy to get stored when the wind blows instantely
330 microfarad Capacitor
470 Ohm resistor( instead of the original 1 kohm resistor) - I made this modification to reflect lower voltage selected (4,7 V instead of 6 V in the original design)
4.7 V Zener Diode
Shotky Diode (instead of a regular diode in teh original design)
Perf Board
1 toy electric motor 3-6 V.
various PVC profiles, screws.
The original design (which includes a common diode and a 6 V diode) is here:
I clipped the schematics from this web-site is attached.
The modified by myself circuit is to charge a series of 3 AAA NiMH Batteries 800 mAh (the same as in my previous solar charger) which at its turn will light an white LED (the same as in the previous solar charger).
Is somebody please more familiar with the Joule thief circuits to be so kind to give me an opinion about whether this modified circuit may work? Thank you very much!