Kaimusailing

I ran calculations on how much 14 gauge wire I could fit onto the stator of the wind turbine and the number is around 24 windings max. The calculator is located at engineer toolbox on the internet.
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The 14 gauge magnet wire came in and it is larger in diameter due to the enamel coating. I could not fit more than 18 windings in the stator holes. I measured and found I could drill out those holes for the highest number of windings, 24, with a drill bit just a little smaller than 3/8“. I started with 5/16“ bit and then the large bit. The bits tended to disrupt the layers of armature metal so I used short 1/4-20 bolts to hold the armature together while I drilled it. I then used the dremel tool to file off any sharp edges. I didn’t want to cut through the enamel coating and short out any windings. The armature core was then washed with soapy detergent, rinsed, and dehydrated with denatured alcohol. It was left out in the sun to dry thoroughly.
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Later I strung the core up on monofilament and sprayed it with “red insulating varnish” from Never-seize.
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I watched a video on YouTube about starting oregano from seed and I seeded about a square foot’s worth of potting soil in various flower pots. I also finally found oregano plants at Walmart’s garden section. I had visited all the other possible nurseries and garden sections and most were serviced by Bonnie’s plants. The stores have little to do with the plant selection or maintaining the plants. When I ventured as far as East Jacksonville and could not find any oregano plants, a Bonnie employee said why didn’t I look further up North, like in Kingsland. That is of course where we do most of our shopping. The oregano plants I was able to purchase are Greek Oregano, and I’m not sure what the difference is.
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Another bean soup creation, two slices of bacon chopped up and rendered, add 10 cups of water, package of Hambeans, teaspoon of liquid smoke, package of sliced smoked brats, and pressure cook for an hour and a half. This time I actually used the ham spice packet that comes with the beans. I also added a 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes, Tuttorossi this time. The brats were not the andouille type, they were not available.
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I was going to write something about a couple of new issues at the boatyard, but I will let things play out and report on the aftermath. The bottom line now is that the boatyard is operating as usual and pretty much has been throughout the corona virus lockdown.
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My first attempt at winding #14 wire on the armature core turned out badly. I could put 24 little pieces of wire in the enlarged slots in the armature, but the windings were not straight and I could not pack them in tightly enough. I removed the wire and tried to think of a method to get those wires into the armature.
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The next day I made a little jig to wind the wire on, kind of like a rounded square about 1“ on a side and sandwiched between two other larger 2“ square pieces. I used pine lath to provide the little pieces of wood, then glued them together. My plan was to wind around this jig 12 turns, then place them into the armature. We’ll see.
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The jig didn’t work very well. I tried my first loop of 12 turns and could not fit the 12 turns into the enlarged slot in the armature core. I tried a method of winding the turns zig zag again using the neck of a small bottle that was exactly the radius I needed the turns to have. This too failed. I tried to force the windings into the slot by binding them with 80 lb. test monofilament, but this just resulted in more frustration. You can’t say I didn’t try. I called the manufacturer and asked if the new Air-X stators would fit into an Air 403 body and accommodate the Air 403 rotor magnets. He said yes, they would fit. The price he quoted was about 20 dollars more than a price I had seen online. I searched and found the stator at $165 at emarine.com. I ordered it.
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The next day I found an Air Breeze stator and face plate on eBay for less than 90 dollars and ordered it. I canceled the stator on order from emarine.com. I found them to be very courteous on the phone. The image is of the stator I bought on eBay.