Anyone else using old washing machine motors for a DIY wind turbine?

Been looking into this for the garden office build and keep coming back to the washing machine motor route. Seems like a surprisingly popular option once you start digging through the rabbit holes online.

From what I can gather, the permanent magnet motors out of older Bosch or Hotpoint machines are the ones worth hunting for — the brushless ones especially. Has anyone actually got one spinning and producing usable voltage at realistic wind speeds? That's where I get a bit lost. Most of the YouTube builds seem to be in places with considerably more wind than suburban South East England...

A few questions for anyone who's actually done this:

• What blade diameter are you running to get the RPM up enough?
• Are you feeding straight into a charge controller or rectifying first?
• Is it worth pairing with a small Victron MPPT or is that overkill for the output you're realistically getting?

I've got a decent south-facing roof on the office already running a 400W Renogy panel setup, so wind would purely be a supplement — particularly useful in winter when the solar drops off. The office is only about 15 metres from the house so cabling isn't a nightmare.

Also wondering about the legality side — I know permitted development rules cover small wind turbines but the height restrictions seem tight for a freestanding pole in a garden.

Anyone gone down this route and actually got something reliable running, or is it more of a fun project than a genuinely useful power source? Keen to hear real-world results rather than best-case figures.

LiFePO4_King | 847 posts | ⚡ Trusted Contributor

@Smithy98 Yep, it's a genuine rabbit hole! Worth knowing the distinction though — you want the stator from a washing machine, not the motor as such. The newer direct-drive drum motors (particularly from Bosch/Siemens front-loaders) are already permanent magnet alternators, which is exactly what you need. Older belt-drive machines use induction motors which are essentially useless for this application without serious rewinding.

Scrapyards and Facebook Marketplace are your friends here — dead washing machines get listed constantly. Check the drum spins freely and the winding resistance measures consistently across all phases before you cart it home.

Main gotcha I'd flag: low-wind cut-in speed. These motors need a decent RPM before they produce anything useful, so blade design becomes really critical. What's your typical site like — exposed or fairly sheltered?

IslandWanderer | 312 posts | 🏝️ Off-Grid Enthusiast

@Smithy98 Done exactly this! Grabbed a Fisher & Paykel SmartDrive motor from a skip outside a white goods repair shop - those NZ machines are practically legendary for this application, loads of poles so they spin up at lower wind speeds than most alternatives.

Main thing I'd flag that nobody mentions upfront: you'll need a rectifier to convert the AC output, and the voltage will vary wildly with wind speed, so budget for a decent charge controller too or you'll cook your batteries.

@LiFePO4_King is right about the rabbit hole - I lost about three weekends to YouTube before cutting metal!

One practical tip: test the motor's cogging resistance before building your whole rotor around it. Some are too stiff for light winds and you'll be disappointed come autumn.

CopperRoamer | 134 posts | 🚐 Tiny House & Narrowboat

@Smithy98 Ooh this is timely — I've been down this exact rabbit hole for my narrowboat setup! Quick question though: how are you handling the rectifier side of things? I've read the F&P motors output wild AC so you need a proper 3-phase bridge rectifier before it'll play nicely with a Victron MPPT. Is that what you're doing?

Also curious what blades people are using — carved timber vs printed PVC? I'm on a narrowboat so weight distribution actually matters for me, which rules out some options immediately.

Anyone had issues with the cogging effect on these motors killing efficiency at low wind speeds? That seems to be the thing that keeps putting me off committing fully to this route rather than just buying a cheap Renogy unit.

GeorgeShaw | 203 posts | 🔧 DIY Tinkerer

@Smithy98 Great timing on this thread! One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet — check your local Facebook Marketplace and Freecycle before paying anything. I picked up two dead Bosch machines last spring for literally nothing, both with perfectly usable motors. The neighbours were just glad to have them shifted.

Also worth noting: once you've rewound or modified the motor, document everything carefully before you connect it to any batteries. I made the assumption mine was outputting sensible AC and nearly cooked a charge controller. A cheap multimeter on the output while spinning it by hand first saved me a proper headache.

@IslandWanderer — curious what rectifier setup you went with on the Fisher & Paykel? I've heard those motors are particularly good candidates but haven't had one through my hands yet.