home wind turbine advice

[brendomac]

Hey All,

Has anybody used the home wind turbine setups? I'm not talking about the big ones to power a house, but something like a 400w one.

This is a random one I pulled from ebay. There are heaps on there and I suspect a bit of research needs to be done. But I was wondering if anybody had any experience with them and how they performed? I was thinking it would be nice to have power input throughout the night as well.

example link to wind turbine from ebay

It would be going in a bush spot in the NSW southern tablelands with a shed, powering something like a 12v 100ah AGM or Lithium battery. The location usually has a bit of wind.

 

[Jaros]

I would call Jaycar who give well informed and educated advice for this sort of tech. Manufactures will try and sell..at the cashiers desk.

 

[Moneybox]

I like the look of that and it's not a lot of money to give it a go. I'm not too sure of its wind rating of 23.5mph, that's 37kph or 20kts so does it need that sort of wind to generate power or is that maximum?

 

[RuddyCrazy]

To be totally honest mate thats a lot of money for some yard art and in a blowing gale one might see 150 watts just before the tower goes over. those gennies have been sold to suckers for well over a decade and well if they are selling a heap of them they have the sheeple hook line and sinker.

I just use a F&P washing machine motor unmodified and wired in delta and the output goes thru a bank of caps on each phase too boost the current. then it goes thru a diode bridge to get the DC output.

Now if this is a permanent site then a decent tower needs to be installed and a gin pole made so the tower can be lowered and raised with ease.

 

[grubstake]

These look to be around the output/size you're thinking, brendomac. Popular for ocean-going yachts, I believe:
https://www.outbackmarine.com.au/power-generation/wind-generators/
These ones are on a larger scale:
https://www.australianwindandsolar.com/wind-turbines

 

[aussiefarmer]

The cheap ones around here should be placed somewhere sheltered I've seen a fair few destroyed by wind , there was 5 or 6 that were 2m across the blades and they all destroyed themselves over a year or so.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Most wind turbines are fitted with an Overspeed Brake and you can shut them down via remote or the charge controller,

Even though they don't put out much power at average wind speeds where they come in to their own is even a low wind speeds they will produce power 24 hours a day and when paired with 3 to 500w of solar you can make 2 to 800w+ of power per hour during the Day,

Wind Generators under 500w need to be paired with solar to get the best out of them and are well worth having when set up like this,

The 900w - 1200w models can make serious power and adding solar as well is a secondary option.

 

[brendomac]

Thanks everybody. Sounds like a bit of buyer beware is in order. It will be for a permanent set up.

Ridge, can a turbine be paired with any wattage panel, Say a 200w? Happy to research it if you are unsure off the top of your head.

 

[nicko61]

An old friend of mine has home made solar and wind set up that he has used to power his home with for over 20 years ,at first he used just a wind power set up with a car 100amp alternator and his powerbank was made using secondhand car batteries (about a dozen from memory) that he religously spent an hour every Saturday checking and replacing any that failed as needed, we all thought it was funny until we saw the results ,like his daughters both having plazma tv;s in their rooms and a family one in the lounge and a big fridge and freezer , he had a backup diesel generator that he used if it was raining for more than a day and when his wife had clothes washing to do as the old washing machine drained the daylights out of the batteries, and then he brought 4 house solar panels and set that up and added a few more batteries about 10 years ago and he told us he did not need the generator any more with the solar in the set-up

 

[Ridge Runner]

Thanks everybody. Sounds like a bit of buyer beware is in order. It will be for a permanent set up.

Ridge, can a turbine be paired with any wattage panel, Say a 200w? Happy to research it if you are unsure off the top of your head.

Yeah they can, If the Turbine comes with a charge controller they usually allow for up to 500w of solar as well as the Turbine, If not just buy a charger controller that has inputs for the panels and another pair for the Turbine and you should be good to go,

 

[RuddyCrazy]

If one is going to use a decent wind genny for an off grid solution then a dump or diversion load MUST be put in place. for instance lets say there is no wind or sun and the op charges the battery with a genset then a storm brews up and the wind genny is putting out max current, well that power needs to go somewhere or it will overcharge the batteries and get them boiling to the point of all the electrolyte boiling away.

The easiest way is put in a resistive element and use it to heat water.

 

[Ridge Runner]

If one is going to use a decent wind genny for an off grid solution then a dump or diversion load MUST be put in place. for instance lets say there is no wind or sun and the op charges the battery with a genset then a storm brews up and the wind genny is putting out max current, well that power needs to go somewhere or it will overcharge the batteries and get them boiling to the point of all the electrolyte boiling away.

The easiest way is put in a resistive element and use it to heat water.

Not really because he can shut the power down coming from the turbine and he can put an Isolation switch in line with the solar and then all he has todo is shut down the Genny and use the turbine.

 

[crustydog]

Ive been offgrid completely for the last 10 years with both solar and wind power that whole time.
The store bought wind turbines dont really make that much useable power.
I had one like in your link and it destroyed the blades in high wind.
I now have a big heavy duty unit with fiberglass blades but only makes any sort of noticeable power in really strong wind.
As Ruddy mentioned you'll need a dedicated wind charge controller with a dump load or automatic brake for when the batteries are full. If you just disconnect the turbine it will spin itself to death with no load attached.

 

[RuddyCrazy]

In order to shutdown a turbine one has to short out the turbine which does act as weak brake but in high winds the wind will overcome the brake and do much damage to the turbine. As posted above NEVER leave a turbine open circuit as it will over speed and self destruct so putting in place a diversion load is needed to ensure the turbine survives in strong wind. Now if the diversion load is greater than the output of of the turbine it will go into stall mode and be protected.

 

[aussiefarmer]

Half the 6 small scale turbines I know of flying bits had brake systems and they still flapped them selves to smithereens in 100+ kph winds.
These turbines had blades from 500mm up to 2meters. Most threw blades off and one folded the tower over.
I love the technology and the idea of wind power but the small scale ones cannot withstand extreme winds, until they make them with rotating blades to adjust how much wind they catch like the big ones they just can't take the freak storms.
If you go real small scale you can probably pull it down hinge it so you can lay it down depending on forecasts.

 

[Jaros]

Good idea - I've thought of the Turbines at Jaycar-but not too sure as to their about their durability and how they will work with solar- we have 7kw plus on the roof with a timer connected to the powerboard to switch the solar to the hot water service during sunlight hours.

 

[Ridge Runner]

The best wind turbines you can by are made by marlec They are fitted all over the globe and can take a beating, Not cheap but these are the ones fitted on small GOV installs, Wind speed is not a problem for their products.

 

[Lindt]

A few things about wind energy:
The energy you can extract from moving air is related to the swept area of the blades. Big/long blades or blades that spin fast. First is impractical unless in a fixed location and the second results in noise and rapid wear of components.

Turbulent airflow has little energy. Wind turbines of all scales need laminar flow which is why they need to be tall to get the best clean air. This is also why urban wind installations perform poorly. Same goes for in a treed campground or even a caravan parking nearby

Solar or a methanol fuel cell (if you’ve hit the mother lode) for quiet reliable power with good batteries and controller.

I know jack about finding gold but have some practical experience with energy.

 

[Mike678]

I set up a wind powered charging system at my camp . Bought 3 carbon fiber blades from the USA , $150 at that time . Generator was from a tread mill . Really need 6 blades to do any charging . I have still got it all , for sale ....
I like those ball looking wind chargers that are on E-bay . I would buy one of those and give it a try . Cheap ! It is not worth it to set this up unless you have plenty of wind and it is a permanent camp . Solar first , wind as back up .