Windmills can be used for a lot of things. They can be used to pump water, produce electricity and grind grain. They can also be used to compress air; these windmills are called aeration windmills.
Aeration windmills were developed about 30 years ago and have been improving ever since. The original design consisted of a small 7” diaphragm and brass check valves. Over the years, innovative companies like Outdoor Water Solutions have developed new technologies like their patent pending “BalCam” Technology. This allows their aeration windmills to pump significantly more air by balancing the piston and crankshaft on three internally mounted sealed bearings. Outdoor Water Solutions also increased the size of the diaphragm to 10 inches and increased the size of the check valves to allow for more air flow. Older style aeration windmills had a diaphragm surface area of 38.5” and maxed out at 1.5 CFM of air. The new 10” diaphragms has a surface area of 78.5”, which is a two-fold increase in size and can produce up to 4.5 CFM of air with the new BalCam design and less restrictive check valves.
Aeration windmills use the wind to compress air. The air is then used primarily for aerating ponds, lakes, lagoons, septic tanks, etc.. or for pumping water out of a stream, pond or shallow well. The compressor is mounted on top of the windmill tower and just behind the windmill head or blades. As the wind blows, the head turns powering the compressor. Inside, a piston with a rubber diaphragm on top goes up and down compressing air and pushing it out to diffusers or water pumps. Outdoor Water Solutions offers a 5 year warranty against any mechanical defects in their compressors on their aeration windmills. This is the longest warranty in the industry. If you look at performance, customer service and product warranties, you’ll see why Outdoor Water Solutions is the market leader in aeration windmills today.
You can see a 7 minute video that talks about the history of windmills in America as well as the history of Outdoor Water Solutions at
