Waving Wind Systems

The friendliest type you can get. They aren't bad for pumping, have efficiency problems and can be a bit overly mechanical and Rube Goldberg-like. I like them anyhow.

The first reference I saw of an oscillating wing windmill was in an article about one that was built at the Martha's Vineyard Wind Museum. This was back in the late 1970s to early 80s. The windmill and museum are probably both defunct by now but I hope not.

The wing was made of sail cloth, flapped up and down vertically and there was a pump rod that oscillated up and down coaxial to the tower it was mounted on. A counterweight stuck out upwind of the tower and the sail wing was oriented downwind of the tower by the wind. Think of a pump handle that has a little wing that flips up and down where your hand would normally go to provide the pumping power. Also the winged handle shifts downwind from the pump as the wind direction changes.

This was similar to a concept now being developed in Santa Barbara only the new guys are, evidently, using an upwind wing system. That seems wrong to me. A elegant design always takes the best advantage of the forces already at hand. A downwind oscillating pumper better fits that bill, imo.

A recent issue of the "Windmiller's Gazette" had almost a whole issue dedicated to similar designs. Here's a YouTube video from a Canadian company up in British Columbia named Econologica which markets a sweeping type of oscillating wing windmill.

Oscillating Windmill Pump - YouTube

Waving Wind Systems

The friendliest type you can get. They aren't bad for pumping, have efficiency problems and can be a bit overly mechanical and Rube Goldberg-like. I like them anyhow.

The first reference I saw of an oscillating wing windmill was in an article about one that was built at the Martha's Vineyard Wind Museum. This was back in the late 1970s to early 80s. The windmill and museum are probably both defunct by now but I hope not.

The wing was made of sail cloth, flapped up and down vertically and there was a pump rod that oscillated up and down coaxial to the tower it was mounted on. A counterweight stuck out upwind of the tower and the sail wing was oriented downwind of the tower by the wind. Think of a pump handle that has a little wing that flips up and down where your hand would normally go to provide the pumping power. Also the winged handle shifts downwind from the pump as the wind direction changes.

This was similar to a concept now being developed in Santa Barbara only the new guys are, evidently, using an upwind wing system. That seems wrong to me. A elegant design always takes the best advantage of the forces already at hand. A downwind oscillating pumper better fits that bill, imo.

A recent issue of the "Windmiller's Gazette" had almost a whole issue dedicated to similar designs. Here's a YouTube video from a Canadian company up in British Columbia named Econologica which markets a sweeping type of oscillating wing windmill.

Oscillating Windmill Pump - YouTube