Windmills

[piedmontese]

Why don't people use them much anymore? At least in my part of the country they don't,KS.

 

[Rafter S]

I only know of one working windmill around me. It's pumping into a water trough, and probably 1/4 mile from the nearest electricity source. I think solar-powered pumps have replaced some of them.

 

[TexasBred]

Why don't people use them much anymore? At least in my part of the country they don't,KS.

See them everywhere around here but most are run down, in disrepair and no longer used. Just standing there falling apart. I guess building stock ponds and community water was just easier for many.

 

[John SD]

Why don't people use them much anymore? At least in my part of the country they don't,KS.

See them everywhere around here but most are run down, in disrepair and no longer used. Just standing there falling apart. I guess building stock ponds and community water was just easier for many.

Uncle Sam's Great Plains and EQIP programs have helped to develop a lot of more reliable and better distributed water systems here. Doing for livestock water much like REA did to get electricity into the countryside.

Old windmills and the troublesome steel pipe/sucker rod/brass cylinders w leather cups, check valves involved are increasingly expensive/hard to find parts for and fast becoming obsolete. Kinda going the way of the Model T :idea:

 

[dun]

Old windmills and the troublesome steel pipe/sucker rod/brass cylinders w leather cups, check valves involved are increasingly expensive/hard to find parts for and fast becoming obsolete. Kinda going the way of the Model T :idea:

Those were my thoughts too. Plus they run 24/7 and unless you have a huge storage facility that's a lot of water that gets run out onto the ground.

 

[ga.prime]

Why don't people use them much anymore? At least in my part of the country they don't,KS.

You can buy a brand new one, but they are very costly. I looked at getting one a few years ago for a remote unelectrified location. We're talking $10,000-$20,000 and up.

 

[James T]

If those numbers are right then I'm betting solar pumps took over. They are about half that price range.

 

[cow pollinater]

Just about every one that I know of here has solar panels sitting under it or has gone dry. I can still get parts but most of them are used.

 

[piedmontese]

Thanks for the info. They sure do look nice working out n a pasture

 

[dun]

Availability may have improved, but 40 years ago it was nearly impossible to get a 2 inch cylinder and foot valve. The last 2 we got were made in europe somewhere.

 

[dun]

If I wanted to have a windmill for looks I woud just get one of those 10 foot decrative ones and put it in the front yard. I don;t think those have the set up to turn off the wheel in high winds so having it in the yard would make it easier to walk out and turn it before it flew away in high winds.

 

[talltimber]

The last one I saw working around here was about twenty yrs ago or so. It's still there, wasting away, as was mentioned. I like the look of one out there working also. A bit of Americana. I have some pictures of my Grandpa back in the day. Generally with something my Granny thought was pretty or she really thought a lot of: Grandpa with a bird dog; roan cow (that I'm now assuming to be a shorthorn); clover up to the hood of an old Ford pickup, etc. Several of those pics have their windmill in the background. Pretty cool stuff.

 

[Hook]

Buddy put up a brand new one last year. It pumps into a water trough, and whatever runs out o that runs to a pond about 50 feet away. Before the windmill the pin would get pretty low.

 

[greybeard]

I see them ocassionally on Texas CL for around $1500-$2000--sometimes "in good condition" sometimes "as-where is--you take down".

https://easttexas.craigslist.org/grd/4973072954.html

 

[Kell-inKY]

I want one of these so bad I can taste it, not many come up close to me, nothing says farm like one of these.

Anyway, I would hook it up to aerate the ponds, you can buy bellows for them, or buy a new American Eagle Windmill for a close approximation, but it's only 6.5' dia. which is a little small in my opinion.

 

[TexasBred]

The last one I saw working around here was about twenty yrs ago or so. It's still there, wasting away, as was mentioned. I like the look of one out there working also. A bit of Americana. I have some pictures of my Grandpa back in the day. Generally with something my Granny thought was pretty or she really thought a lot of: Grandpa with a bird dog; roan cow (that I'm now assuming to be a shorthorn); clover up to the hood of an old Ford pickup, etc. Several of those pics have their windmill in the background. Pretty cool stuff.

And just over to the side of the windmill was the outhouse. :lol2: :lol2:

 

[greybeard]

I tore down the outhouse from the little old one bedroom house up front of the property in 2006. That house was white planks and we all called it the white house to differentiate it from another camphouse on the east side of the property. I saved the door off the outhouse, used the raised panels off of it and made both my 2 sisters a nice kindling box that Christmas. Put a note in each, saying "feel privileged--not everyone can say they got kindling box from the outhouse of the White House".

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

My wife has always wanted one for decoration!

One of these days, I'll get her one.

 

[dieselbeef]

i got one in my pasture. isnt pumping right now but it does when i want it too

 

[dieselbeef]