A windmill works by centering it over the well. That would have worked here 100 years ago, but since then barns, houses and other things have been built...very close to the well.
The amount of water your windmill can pump is regulated by the size of the pump cylinder, the elevation to which the water needs to be raised, the size of the wind wheel, and how much wind you have at your site.
A typical windmill with an 8-foot-diameter wheel can lift water 185 feet and pump about 150 gallons an hour in 15 to 20 mph winds when using a 1 3/4-inch pump cylinder. The size of the wind wheel and pump cylinder impact the maximum lift that’s possible and the volume of water that can be pumped, respectively. A bigger wind wheel can lift water higher than a smaller one, and a larger cylinder pump can deliver a greater volume of water. If we increase the size of the pump cylinder to 3 inches while still using the same 8-foot-diameter wheel, the volume delivered increases to 470 gallons per hour, but the maximum lift decreases to 68 feet. If we stay with that 3-inch cylinder, but increase the windmill to a 16-foot diameter wheel, we will be able to deliver the same 470 gallons a total of 360 feet.
The above examples use a windmill configured in the standard (long-stroke) mode at wind speeds between 15 and 20 mph. Most windmills have the ability to change the length of the stroke of the pitman arms. At the same wind speeds, but in the short-stroke mode, the windmill will pump at lower wind speeds, but will pump less water.
Windmills are made with wheel diameters ranging from 6 to 20 feet, although the most common size wheel is 8 feet in diameter. Add a 33-foot steel tower to it and the cost is about $4,000 (windmill: $2,100; tower: $1,900). A 20-foot-diameter wheel windmill with a 50-foot-tower will cost close to $25,000.
I could squeeze an 8 foot windmill in. I would still need to elevate a tank to pump the water into and once again, out of my budget. Also, I think my brother would have something to stay about a windmill right next to his bedroom. If you've never been close to one, they're really pretty loud. They require regular maintenance (at 30 feet in the air). They are really quite sustainable. Too bad they didn't install one 100 years ago before building the house!
Of course that doesn't mean we couldn't put in a wind turbine.
apps2.eere.energy.gov/wind/windexchange/pdfs/small_wind/small_wind_guide.pdfHere is a whole pile of wind electric stuff.
Marches, you can use the power "whenever you want" but it comes with a price. Peak and off peak. If I irrigated the farm during peak hours, my bill would be close to $600 a month. At off peak it's closer to $200. But the new "off peak" hours are in the middle of the night.
In my mind there's only 2 kinds of irrigation, that which leaks and that which is going to leak. In the dark, it's hard to tell that you have an irrigation leak, unless it's gushing and making noise. A lovely little gopher chew on drip irrigation in the middle of the night results in a muddy mess in the morning. With one gallon drippers on a one hour timer..each line is pumping 50 gallons in a hour. Unfortunately, a critter chew just lets the water flow like a hose left on.
During the daytime, I would notice right away if an irrigation timer failed. But at midnight, I'm usually tucked in and don't notice...another muddy mess.
My current plan is to pump the water during the night to tanks in the field, and run them with low wattage pumps.
Here, a 2500 gallon tank is about $1000. I need a minimum of 5000 gallons of water a week, that's with mild weather. If we hit triple digits, it's closer to 15000 gallons a week. As Steev said when he was here...it's all just time and money, or money and time.
