Savonius Turbine Windpower

Just a bit north of Tennant Creek, just before the old telegraph station is a very interesting wind powered bore pump. Well, the remains anyway. The power plant has fallen apart and no longer works. Water is now lifted from the bore with a solar powered pressure pump.

The old tech is interesting though. Savonius turbines have been around for many years and are the basis of ventilation devices on buildings long before the whirlybirds so ofyen seen today. Two haft circular vanes on a vertical shaft that run regardless of wind direction. Not very efficient but cheap drive power for a ventilation fan.

The ubiquitous whirlybirds is no doubt more efficient and even cheaper. The installation here at the bore has three huge vanes. The remnants of the drive coupler are still here but as to the pump it powered, that's just a guess for me. It could have been a jack pump since those are very old tech. A helical archemedies could have worked but that is relatively new tech compared to the surrounding infrastructure.

It would be interesting to know the power it produced and perhaps how long it might have been used. It seems the water it pumped went into a tank and then flowed into a shallow trough. Cattle must have waded in like in a creek to drink.Read more