gear up the small ones

hi everyone, one of my small gen,s is a low output one, { I have trouble getting rid of this one, it does everything perfect but the output amperage is low } and oddly is almost perfect. these are the results of gearing it up 2/1. ok this is a modified alt, it has NO cogging at all. it uses a larger bearing on both ends, and is silent when running at any speed. what more could you ask for, maybe some amperage would be good. this one puts out 3.5amp in a storm, low output I know, but it does everything else vary good and has been on a pole for two years and works perfect except the output. so I thought I would try to gear it up, well it was a vary good idea. I added a lay shaft and two to one over drive gearing { #35 chain drive } turned the gen backwards on the mounts , and made a new hub mount to accept the standard hubs I use. I did change to a five blade from a three blade. back on the same pole and its only at 14 feet above the water on a lake at the end of the dock. yesterday we got the wind needed to see if it was worth the efforts. before any changes the highest amps seen by this little one was 3.65amp and you would of thought the house was going to move in that much wind. the new numbers are 8.99amp, WOW and the highest wind I seen on the wind speed meter was 22mph, not a really high wind. a huge change for such a simple modification . I watched the amp meter for 2 hours to see if it would hit a solid 9 amp and no go, it just wasn,t giving the 9 amp to me, no way no how. anyway the amps over doubled by a simple gearing to 2 / 1 or doubling the speed and adding 2 more blades. the start up was about the same but wasn,t able to see or record the speed that charging started at, the noise level was vary low but was a little noisier than before, vary minimal though, I don't think this would be a good mod for a cogging mill though, the start up would need such a high wind it wouldn't be any good without a big storm on the go. im already thinking why not 3 / 1 in the future this will be tried and we will see where this little one go,s from here, till then its food for thought. thanks for reading.

components area / room

hi everyone, when a system is being thought out, there are many things to decide on, these decisions can help or hurt you in the long run. take the time to look at all options and make an informed plan before you start. these are my thoughts on the components and there placement within the system. first the yard and house and house layout all need to be considered as one workable area, the closer components the lower the loses and the better the efficiency . this can prove to be vary hard in many cases. remember that ac power has less loses for length than dc power . also the components area  / location should be as close as possible to the heavier drawing systems like the dump loads { water heaters, space heaters or any other heavy load }. this will help minimise the dc loses. I think the disconnects and rectifiers should be outside , easier access to the disconnects for the emergency crews if needed and the rectifiers can burn up in an extreme storm, this is much safer in my opinion. these need to be near the battery bank. the battery bank I like in the house or a warmer area, the bank / s will be in there own enclosure and vented with fans and ducting to outside as needed. the battery should also be as close as possible to the 2 buss systems but should have a separation of some kind { keep batteries from any sparks or high heat source for safety }. the mounting area for the components should no be flammable { I see ply wood used often, this is a fire hazard } to mount the shunts, ssr relays , relays, cables, controller and any other system components you will be using in your system. I like to use fire board backed by a piece of dry wall on a piece of ply wood, this configuration exceeds code in my area. the dry wall is all that is needed in many location, this will need to be checked. the controller and any electronics should be in an enclosure then mounted to the board. the dump system and the draw system should be mounted so there separate on the board, easier to identify . the ssr,s all need a heat sink this can use a fair amount a space. the shunts if used should also be in a separate area on the board. do not mount any of the dump loads them self to the board only the ssr,s or relays. the dump loads if there resistors, should be in a enclosure to protect people from getting burnt and for fire protection, follow manufacture recommendations for mounting all dump loads. mount the breakers and any fuses to this board also, they should be setup as to have the dump ones and the draw one organized with the layout of the board. the ssr,s should be organized for a cooling fan in my opinion, added safety and better efficiency overall . this board should be as close as possible to the main breaker panel for the house if you will be using inverters, this also can be vary hard in many cases. the ac loses will usually be minimal in these inverter parts of the install. all connections to the ac of the house will need to meet code like any other ac connection. the dc side will need to meet the low voltage or dc code for your area. on the dc code you will need a fire ext within 10 feet in my area. also I like to paint the board with a standard interior house paint because any high heat areas will dicolour the paint { use a lighter colour paint seems to work good } and show a possible problem area . the board can get large dependant on the system size, my board is 4 feet by 5.5 feet and houses all components but the inverters and dump loads. I hope my thoughts help anyone building a system. thanks for reading.

know whats happening at a glance

hi everyone, most systems I go to work on is a pain for me, only because my system tells me what its doing and im just to used of all info at a glance. these are my thoughts on a simple automation system. im used of looking at a clock on the wall and seeing the l.e.d.,s in the background of the clock and seeing one of these bits of info== charge voltage--if it,s dumping--if water system is up to temp--low gen output--one led for every ssr in the system and battery voltage. each led tells a tail, the charge voltage is coming from the rectifiers and the voltage is a little board that reads voltage and set a relay when it reaches a set voltage, this turns on the led and all leds only have one wire to the clock and a common ground or earth. the low gen output is the same type of board but to read ac power and connects to the rectifiers ac side. the temp switch over system that switchs from water heaters to air heaters also light that led to tell the story on that. the led,s for the dump system are wired to the ground side of each dump , if a dump has a falt the led, dosnt light up, one for each ssr in the system. the same thing for the draw side of the system. this puts 10 led,s x 2 rows + 4 led,s in a row on there own. the led for the battery voltage is from the buss bar for the draw system and lights until 10.5 volts and then go,s out. there is 30 led,s in the clock, room to expand if needed. the wiring is a 15 db cable from a computer x 2 . and sent to the componants room. not all that hard to do but the time can add up. when done and a small time with use go,s by you will look at the clock and know in a glance your complete system stats and I feel safer knowing this info and at a glance. I would like to install a arduino system once my system is complete and no more testing will be done, im a ways from that at this point. I would have a hard time without this system now that im used of it. thanks for reading.

wind mill tach, easy

hi everyone, this is a short one, but too easy to not mention. if your trying to read the rpm of you gen just use a bicycle speedo, can be had for about 12-20$ and is easy to setup. install the wheel sensor on your hub and set the meter to 27cm and that's it. now rpm is the mph x 100. 28.1 mph = 2810rpm  --- 20.0mph = 2000rpm ----- 5.0mph = 500rpm , you get the picture. the meter can be mounted to the tail mount bracket and facing down so it can be seen or seen with a set of binoculars . thanks for reading.

terminal amperage

hi everyone, installing wire terminals is a easy job,. I worked for two days on a friends system to find a cold solder at a battery connection. do not solder any wind and solar connections, this only raises resistance. this type of problem can be vary time consuming and costly. these are my thoughts on wire termination . first, wire crimpers that squish the terminal flat should be band from sale everywhere, they are the poorest excuse for wire crimpers ever made. there are several vary good ones out there but are not cheap if there any good. the ones that put a punch hole in the center of the connector seem to work vary good for me, iv tested the pull hold ability on many connections with great results. on a standard 14awg wire and a standard 1/4" connector I can pull until the connector breaks and the wire and terminal don't come apart. on the same crimping tool it has a wire stripper, cutter, crimper , plier, small bolt cutter and stripping gauge, all needed tools in one plier but cost 24$ each, and are princess auto ones, iv had them for 8 years now and still work perfect, money well spent. the larger cable type connections are vary expensive, you should use the coated ones for a wind and solar install,. when you are using a lot of larger ones the cost is vary high 3-20$ each and not in the budget for most, a good system can need 15-25 of these big ones. on the big crimps I use a hydrolic crimper I purchased on ebay for 50$, money again well spent, these big connectors can take a lot of pressure to crimp properly and have never seen a good job with a hammer, looks like crap and is a poor connection. I make a lot of my own from copper tubing, select the right size tubing for the wire size and crimp the end of the tube closed with a vise to the needed length and cut the tube off a least twice of the length that you crimped in the vise, install on the wire before drilling the bolt hole , again I use a hyd crimper for this and is vary fast and easy. once crimped it can be held in the vice by its sides and the hole drilled. iv made about 80-100 cables and had 0 problems to date, the main bus cables use 0000 cable and never a problem. I coat all negative cables with the plasticoat brush on rubber coating, this seems to work good, can also use the shrink tube, ether will be good and trouble free for years. if you don't or cant afford a hyd crimper this is what I did before I bought the hyd crimper. I had a vary thick piece of angle iron and a  punch set, one and one only punch in the centre of the area holding the cable, punch the same spot until the copper gets a v shape forming on the opposite side and stop, that's it, never had any problems like that ether but dosnt look as good after assembled and the bigger the cable the harder this is to do. starts to take some time with the larger cables. the coating can be shrink tube or the rubber coating, I don't think there is any advantage to ether one. all cables and wires should be secured down after installation and the high amperage carrying ones should have a protective cover over them and as always the battery should be in a protective box and vented with fans .a good SYSTEM can be built for 600-700$ complete and be built properly, and putout about 600w on the high side of output with the proper home work and efforts done. the net can help a lot but beware of all the bs, you will need to be a investigator and checkout all the stories to see the truth and lies, there are many lies by many people selling junk that don't work as intended . im selling nothing and gain nothing from my info given and hope to see more and cheaper cost systems out there. thanks for reading

wiring it all together

hi everyone, iv fixed a lot of wiring mistakes and problem that were dangerous , these are my thoughts on wiring up a system { these are general thoughts, each system will be different }. lets start at the mill or gen end of things. I will assume the mill is three phase, the wire size from the mill to the disconnect must be the proper awg that is needed for your output current and voltage rating , there are many good calculator out there, I use { the12volt } they have all the calculators you will need in one stop. the cable coming from the mill will go to the disconnect first, from there to the rectifier, I mount my rectifiers in the same enclosure as the disconnects and outside of the house for safety and quick access if needed. from the rectifiers dc side the wire size must again be calculated for size and distance to the battery. at the battery there WILL ONLY BE TWO CONECTIONS PER POST , do not listen to any other garbage on this critical connection. the incoming wire and the wire to the bus is the only connections at the battery period .  SO you will have one in coming  positive wire and one out to the bus wire on each post, the positive and on the negative. the wire going to the bus must be large enough to handle the amperage you will be using from the entire system ,this means the dump system and the draw system together, on larger systems the good ones iv seen use a copper flat bar system, vary heavy duty. I install a breaker between the bus wire and the bus for added safety, the breaker will need to be rated at you system amperage draw also. the buss itself must be rated for the amperage draw of the entire system also. from the buss you should wire the same as you would the house and to code, the low voltage code is different than the ac grid code for me at my location, this should be checked out before wiring. this will vary in different locations . if any thing happens the fire dept will check your system and take action as nec. the dump system should connect at the same point as the lead from the battery connects to the bus breaker and on the battery side . this wire also needs to be rated for the amount of amperage the dump system can possibly see, I don't use any fuse or breaker on the dump feed wire because this is also the only possible safety for over voltage, amperage and must not fail for a system to be safe, if the wires and system is designed properly this  wire will be over rated on purpose. the buss also needs to be rated for the amperage of the buss system, my system is capable of  four time the highest possible wattage I can use from my dumps, from the buss I wire the ssr,s as needed, I have 10 in my system and all work flawless always. this is a basic complete system , I would like to get more detailed but there is a million possible combinations . one must do the homework with the parts your using in your system build. this doesn't take a lot of time but will help to build a system that has no issues  and will last a log time trouble free and safely. thanks for reading

slip rings are getting a bad rap

hi everyone ,  iv herd the discussions to not use slip rings several times, I don't think all information on the slip ring is being used quite right. these are my thoughts from testing the slip rings. many people have a smaller system, 10-30amp out put max, and they say to not use slip ring, they fail. like all parts of the system, they must be sized properly. a 30amp slip ring is capable of 30amp at max, this is also the point that the life is drastically reduced. 30amp times the voltage of 12v is 360 watts, not much if a storm is on. the question is what is your gen capable of producing ? . iv found most of the home made mills have under rated slip rings. like most parts, there rating is absolute max before failure, to live a long and happy life there needs to be a safe operating rating , iv never seen this number advertised. I would think it would be about 60-70% of max rating being the highest operating amps applied for long service life. IF this is so, that would mean that the 30amp slip ring is only good to handle 19.5amps max properly, this could be the reason there failing. properly sized slip rings for a larger system are not cheap, iv seen 250-650$ for one slip ring, just not in the budget for most people me included, this much is better spent other places. making slip rings is not hard and can handle 50-100amp properly {  toppentech.com  } can help with his design, its what I use, I alter sizes for amps but these slip rings are easy to make. smaller systems can use the { moflon or senring } slip rings, these can be had for 30$ on ebay. the brushes can be purchased from most any altenator or generator shop, I use the biggest ones they carry in stock for ease of not having to order them. the idea of using a welding cable although might be tough is crazy, the weight of the cable is a extream overkill in most cases and vary expensive. they say to anchor the cable to carry the weight but if you anchor the cable the twisting factor there saying it will withstand will be gone once anchored and handle about 400amp, does anyone know a home system that is putting out even 200amps per line ?. dosnt seem vary sensible to me. iv never had a slip ring problem of any kind ever { when properly sized }. my three phase lines from the poles or tower are 12awg for 500w and under and 10awg for 1000w down to 500w, the larger mills all have 6awg secured to the tower { purchased a large spool in a auction } the 10-12awg are extention cords and I use the ends in place, I buy the matching ends from a electrical supplier that fit into the 1 1/2 pipe, all are soaked in dialectrical grease. never had any problems with this arangment since day one. to anchor the ends simply drill a 1/4" hole at the proper location down from the top of the pipe { this will vary with design } once the cord is fed through the pipe the 1/4" bolt is installed and that's it. now when you install the slip ring you just plug into the core and slid it down to the bolt easy and tighten the slip ring. there is a lot of realy good home made designs on the net, look at the pictures and you will get the idea quickly, they really are not hard to build and can handle way more than a lot of people think, if this was bs then ask your self why the mega watt wind mills use slip rings ?. the key is as always, they must be sized properly to work properly. I hope this helps to remove any of the welding cable misconceptions , this might work but dosnt make any sense to me. over kill can also lower the efficiency of your system bolth mechanical and electrical ends of the spectrum. thanks for reading.
 --------------------------------------------------------------- update, today I replaced one of my slip rings. some birds needed some wire covering and plastic for a nest more than I needed a working slip ring I guess, this is the oddest failure iv ever had I must say. this is my 2 year in service slip ring and pissed me off, I now need to start over on the service life test of the smaller slip rings. this was a moflon slip ring and had 2 full years of service with no maintenance at all. I would of liked to see how long the life could have been. so back to the beginning .

rectifier, the temp rise

hi everyone, iv seen 4 burnt rectifiers and all where way over rated. there are my thoughts from experience and testing. there are many sites selling the Chinese 90-100amp rectifiers { there not a bad unit just over rated } for a price but, I tested one 90amp at a controlled  { using a shunt on the dc side } 60amp draw and it burnt in 10 seconds and was in flames before I was able to disconnect the load. I was given one to test the same way { the fella up the road heard from a friend that watched the test } and the results were no different, 10 seconds to flames. testing one more I controlled the dc draw 10amp at a time until the unit was 40 deg c . I was drawing only 50 amps at the 40 deg c and as time spent at 50amp lengthened the temp continued to rise, I stopped the test at a recorded 69 deg c , this was 15 minute test. between 50-60amp seems to be the point where it gos from overkill to failure. WOW in no time this thing could burn the house down. after cooling I lowered the amp draw to a steady 35 amp draw, although better the temp still reached 50 deg c but stayed there for 30 min test. I felt that this was still to close to burning the house down because my test controlled the voltage and amperage, the wind system would not. I lowered the amp draw at the 30 minute mark while still continuing the test and the temp dropped to42 deg at 23 amp. I felt that this is just short of being liveable , I would like to see 40 deg or less but this would mean lowering the amp even more. from my tests I would say these are a constant 20amp useable rectifier . for these reasons there is none in my system, to risky. I purchased four 200amp unit and they tested at 85amp constant at 39 deg. none of my gen,s will produce that much power without failure so I feel safe at this rating. I paid 44$ each and was less than the common wind and solar sites where charging for the Chinese ones. when it comes to rectifiers I would feel safe to say to only use at 1/4 of its rating for a long and happy life. the Chinese ones would prove ok for the smaller system that produce 20amp or so in a stormy condition. also my rectifiers are outside with the disconnects . and a temp controlled cooling fan for the summer, they never seem to run in the cooler months. all rectifiers should be mounted on a heat sink at minimum, but should have a temp controlled fan I think, when they start to heat up the heat will rise vary quickly on these rectifiers. like all other part of the system, they must match the intended purpose properly to live long and safely . I hope this will help rectify any concerns . thanks for reading.

batteries, a shocking charge

hi everyone, the batteries seem to be ether under thought or over complicated from my experience . these are my thought on batteries from my system and helping others. first and foremost the batteries job is to absorb the incoming charge and smooth voltage pulses, all of the generator in the system must connect to the battery first. anything leaving the battery can then be taken from there { it is a good practice to have leads to a bus bar type system to take any power from } DO NOT take power directly from the generators, the load applied can stall and or burn the generator and will vary voltage to much to be usefull. on my system I also have a fuse on the in coming positive of each generator rated to 10% higher than my test output, or your generator rating { just added safety }. each gen will be on its own disconnect, this is code in most all areas and just safer. I also have 3 300amp breakers, one to each bus system { I have 2 3400 amp hour batteries and a 2100 ahr battery } these might not be needed but also are rated 20% over the draw from each bus. my dump load power is taken before the bus breakers and operate from the dump controller system. my dump and my drawing systems are separate on each bank. this might not be nec but I think is safer. for most it dosnt need to be this complicated, power from the gen through a disconnect to the battery and then to your controller is all that is needed, always fuse or breaker your systems as needed for safety. I also find a proportional battery to output problem more times than not. having to much battery and not enough charge means that the batteries will take for ever to charge up or never see full charge, bolth are no good, if your system is small then you can { in most cases } only get away with a smaller battery bank { 200-500ahr } if your system is larger you need a larger bank, you will need to check how long it takes for your gen to charge the system without any use and again while in use. if you can charge your system in one overnight storm with use this is a good point, as long as your dump are not maxing out. if so you need a larger battery bank, if not you might have a bank to large already and will have trouble reaching full charge and damage the batteries. in my system at the beginning I thought the having it set up for 14.4 volts of battery , this would be better and give me more power available , NOT the case, it took a lot longer to charge and almost never got to full charge. I removed one cell to get the voltage to 12.85v and the batteries would charge almost twice as fast and would use the dump controller in a small storm, a BIG change for a voltage change of only 1.55 volts at the battery. the charge output of the gen can be a huge factor on the smaller systems and to much battery is a KILLER. one should take time to test the charge time of the assembled and working system , and adjust the battery size as needed, your system will work much better and charge much faster. a vary good system in my opinion will when in use , will dump in a storm most all the time BUT only at about 20-30% of dump capacity , if your dump system feeds water heaters, I think there should be a change over temp switch to dry or air type heaters to avoid to high of water temp and the dangers that go with it, this works good for me, I also know when bolth of my 60 gallon water tanks are up to temp. the dump systems can be almost anything you need if you put your mind to it. a buddy has one running a dc block heater in his car most of the winter. if your using the smaller car batteries, you know they dont  last that long, a year maybe. the doubled up 6volt batteries work way better and would be deep cycle, most all are. the ahr rating will be over double and discharge rating is 10 time better, but we all use what we can afford . check out  { xtrapowerbatteries.com } good prices on recon forklift batteries }  all the power to you. thanks for reading

slippery wind,lubes and surface prep

hi everyone, lubrication is one major key to long life of a wind mill. these are my thoughts from my testing. every gen iv purchased and bearing iv purchased for a wind mill has hade way too much grease in the bearing and the wrong type. the grease in the bearings can be a huge drag in the winter, iv had a couple freeze ups happen until the grease was changed. this is what works every time for me. the seals need to be removed from bolth sides and all grease cleaned out, if your going to use grease it must be extreme low temp only, NOT just low temp. this type of grease stays soft and sticky at -45c and dosnt cause much drag in the winter. only put one drop at each ball on one side and 2-3 small drops of lucas on the other side, now replace the seals and your good for a year to a year and a half before you should check them. if your mounts use oil like most of my mounts, I only use a.t.f. fluid with 10% lucas, do not exceed 10% or the tracking will slow down in the colder months. my oil im changing every two years now because im testing the design, I should be able to go to every five to seven years with no problems but im checking bearings and slip rings at two years for now { the oil has been change twice and was clean and clear bolth times, unit still has the original parts as designed.} im planning on testing hyd fluid in my next install . all bolts should also get a coat of grease to protect them from the weather , every bolt I didn't grease has come out rusty.not shure to say yet but my blades all get painted and a coat of wax, my blades never get a ice buildup and clear off any snow on just about the first turn at start up.  I use a wind sock on my tails also for a visual , you can see a unit not fallowing the wind easily this way. all electrical connectors should be coated with dielectric grease to stop corrosion and weather related problems. I don't at present do any thing more than clean the slip rings, im looking into some kind of lube for them , longer life maybe ? . I like to paint my units, I find they just look like they work better when there customized. I probley do way to much maintenance but some is testing. im trying to get a TRUE 10 years without any servicing needed unit at the end of all my efforts, might not be possible but ,  im going to try. smooth spinning to everyone. thanks for reading.

magnetic flux, placing it right

hi everyone, I think a lot of magnet placement on rotors I see could be much better . these are my thoughts on flux and magnet placement. if you look at the picture to the side you will see a magnet flux visual test, the fuzzy looking areas are close to useless and the more packed looking areas are potentially USABLE flux. by now you already seen the much larger area compared to the magnet, this is why I think most are missing the picture when it comes to magnetic lines of flux. if one tests at least 2 magnets from the lot for there project they might rethink there design to maximise the potential output. in my opinion , most coil to magnet relations are off kilter , there is so much missing in coil, and magnet size, thickness and placement that I would guess about 35% of every one iv seen can be improved at least 20-40% if only they checked the lines of flux before assembly , things could have been moved around at the vary least to improve output. the speed the magnet moves across the coils is a major factor and might be the most important factor to try to control, this DOSE NOT mean shaft rpm,  this means surface speed of the magnets. the easiest way is the diameter of the stator and rotor assembly, the larger the higher the surface speed will be. if you check a car alt you will find a surface speed of about 314 fpm, and a 36"hawt  speed of about 2826 fpm at 300 rpm on a direct drive system. one can see the importance of diameter quickly. as speed and power production increase the lines of flux start to have a lag effect happen from the eddie currents and to many magnets will increase this problem, magnet placement can be one of the hardest factors to get right. most like me will be stuck using the trial and error way, the lucky ones use a scope to track every pulse and wave form. iv hade good results using .75% the coils as compaired to magnets or less in some cases, I have tried more on a couple units and always had a decrease in production, so I stick to .75% as my number . the placement will effect the time the magnets meet the coils for each of the three phases, this is a VARY important factor and might dictate a slightly staggered pattern, if this happens you will have to stagger the coils with the magnets for each phase for things to match but will net more output and cleaner power with less stator heat . on the alt type its common to see or here to angle the magnets, this can also work in other systems. turning the magnets to different angles has worked for me on several units built, not only the car alt,s. im not a big fan of using a core and especially not to transfer a south pole to the side of an adjacent magnet, it is instant cogging and counter productive for a direct drive type wind mill. I would like to build a alt type gen one day completely metal free except the magnets and copper to see the output difference, I would be willing to bet it doubles or close to it. also the bigger coils need bigger magnets as most all know, but vary few seem to know that smaller coils need smaller magnets too. this dosnt seem to be proportional from my findings but you don't use a 2"x2"x1" magnet with a 6oz coil, if you do you will produce a lot of smoke and vary little output. size matching is vary important and can only be learned by testing and recording the results, testing can use up 85% of project time but has always netted me a lot better output numbers and at lower rpm in most cases. the magnet and coils must relate to each other in so many ways, size-thickness-wire size- shape-location on the stator-winding orientation-magnet size lines of flux-gausses-angles mounted. magnets and coils are the only two items that produce the power so spend all the time on them, the rest don't matter if these two items don't relate. thanks for reading.

pma, improvements

hi everyone, there is many ideas on generators and there improvements out there. these are my thoughts from testing things iv tried. star or delta, single or three phase, induction motor or permanent magnet, batteries or grid tie. so many things need to be figured out before you build a system. there can be advantages to all dependant on the systems you plan on using. first is the windings, star will give a higher voltage but lower amperage , delta will give higher amperage but lower voltage, you need to decide at the point the generator is in your hands to make any needed changes to the coil wiring. here is a thought, USE BOTH, this can be wire through relays and be switched by the current that is being made by the generator, this will happen by the amperage its set for. works vary good for the smaller mills, increased output every time. see { toppentech . com } this is a fella with some vary cool ideas. single or three phase, iv only used three phase at this point, I don't see a larger output from single phase and a larger cogging problem with sing phase dosnt interest me at all. the permanent magnet type is by far the widest used type, its proved itself over and over again, but there is a million possible combinations with each type out there. this is why I like the wind mills, so much room to play with ideas that there is no end to the posibilitys. the induction motors can be a grid tie or a generator , and with a properly selected motor for the application can have a good output for cheap. they can also have magnets installed on the rotor to be made into a permanent magnet type gen, most have more than one set of windings giving you options to test for more output. I use one setup for a grid tie to offset the battery charging cost and to lower the strain on the batteries saving more battery for when the wind isn't there. I think that all systems should have batteries, even grid tie ?. yes even grid tie. the battery systems are self explanatory but the grid tie will not only lower your hydro bill coming into your house but can charge the batteries when needed lowering the cost of charging. I think the best possible system would use all of these factors at the same time , this is my long term goal. the smaller alt type rear bearings don't last long, I find about a year at best before you will be able to see the beginning of the end for the rear bearing. using two front cases will improve life into the two to three year point, I have hade a couple bad ones at two years but never a failure in service yet. painting the inside as well as the outside is a must, the corrosion on the inside has allways been worse than any other area on my units. im also testing a idea I found that uses a sheet metal ring around the inside of the gen to stop the field from absorbing into the aluminum casing . these are food for thought and always move onward and upward. thanks for reading.

relay,s or ssr,s dose it matter

hi everyone, relay or ssr, there are many opinions on this topic. these are mine from my testing . both have there place in a wind or solar system but in specific places, also dependant on the controller you are using. all of my dump load system use ssr relays ONLY because my controller can operate at 20ms and faster, this gives amazingly accurate control over my dump and a stable charge voltage. one note on ssr,s, they should not be used at more than 70% of there rated amperage for a long and happy life. they give off more heat than mechanical relays but if your system is well thought out you will not see more than about35-40 deg from them, this is more than acceptable . I have 10 in my system and the highest temp recorded was56 deg c on a dump that shorted to ground. iv had vary good luck with the ssr,s iv used and have not had a failure that wasn,t ether my fault or a parts failure. the mechanical relays are also used in the smaller applications within my system but do have a shorter life than the ssr,s. nothing gets connected to my battery bank without a fuse and or a relay, I like my house without the flames all around it. the led lighting supply is on a voltage sensing relay, because I can run the leds all the way down to 8v if needed or wanted for summer parties . my battery vent system are on the mechanical relays away form the batteries, these are sealed relays too for extra protection. if buying from places like ebay, be carful of the sellers, there is a lot of junk on ebay and relays of any type are no exception. DO NOT USE FUSABLE LINKS in a wind or solar system, most cant test them properly and almost allways burn through when they go, a major fire hazard . the incoming hydro from the mills need to each have there own disconnect , this is code in most places and just sensible . I also have a breaker between the battery and the main bus supply terminals, just in case. its all about the safty, just think what my 3400amp battery system could do if a dead short happened at the main leads. would go off like a boom from hell. please build safe systems, life is already to short. thanks for reading

dump loads, cheap and easy

hi everyone, the dump load is a needed piece even if never used, this is the protection so your system cant burn the house down in the event of,, overcharge and possible battery failure. there is a hologram effect there also. these are my opinions from testing. everybody has seen the dump load resistors available and there prices, they have also seen the heating elements , all come at a large price tag when you consider the wattages needed for a good proper system. I have been using the  element type and one I built to control the inverters by voltage, both work well but the element type are about 50$ each and the one I made still cost about 28$ all said and done. well iv found a vary cheap and easy way , see { poorman guides } on the net. its a 1/4" all threaded stainless rod, is capable of 4000w and will work in open air or in water . the cost is about 7.89$ each at lowes + the nuts. I finished testing it to the extreme, { dead shorted with 1000 cca battery and 000 cables and it took about 15-20 seconds to glow red but worked for 12 minutes until the battery went dead and no failure. } this is with only one 1/4" rod and was a little scary, it was in the field 200ft away. this is a extreme test but shows the endurance it can handle. this will be the only type of dump load for me, vary cheap, vary durable and vary easy. why pay so much for the other dump load types and get so little wattage ability in return . remember that system protection is like the brakes on your car, you wouldn't drive your car with no brakes, well not for long anyway. thanks for reading.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------an update-----I was able to do another test using diesel gen and a 120amp draw dc electric motor driving a saw mill, the 1/4" stainless all threaded rod on the negative side and the mill ran all day. at the end of the day we loaded the mill until it almost stalled for almost ten minutes and not even a glow from the all threaded rod, this is the altimate dump load or shunt for a vary good price and vary durable. never will I buy any other dump loads. thanks again to poorman guides.com .

generator mounting

hi everyone. I have to comment on the mounting system available, these are my own thoughts from experience. another hologram effect, you will be told one thing and get another. the scaffolding type , also look kinda like a c channel are a fail attempt  in my opinion. they allow any viberations to echo through the tail and or the tower pipe . iv tried with a needle bearing under and the bearing failed in one month from weather. I found a bearing and made a shield and this is working good for the last year or so. the fit to the pipe is poor and if you loosen the fit until it pivots freely it will rattle, the angle of the gen is off on every one iv got and seen. there crud at best and  noisy , if your gen has cogging this will be 10 fold and they don't give them away at 50$ each. im working on a simple piece with 2 tapered bearings that can be adjusted as or if needed, it will have a slip ring witch iv had 0 problems with since day one, one of them has 2 years with no maintenance at all. there is some vary good looking ideas on line for almost any configuration out there, some even have a furling system made into the mount and is vary easy to make. hats off to all the home made ideas out there, even when some don't work out at least the idea of betterment is at work. if you don't want to fail, its simple, don't make an attempt. I think all mounts should have two bearings at minimum , mount the gen at 3 to 5 deg upward and be removable without any more than one nut or bolt to remove the entire assembly , this being for the smaller systems, the larger systems all have a good bearing system already, they wouldn't work without them. the use of readily available bearings like trailer bearings are cheap, come with the seal and will run almost forever with a light oil like atf fluid for winter use. the unit would need to be designed with the bearing kit in mind, but once done this will allow the user to buy one kit with all needed parts almost anywhere for a good price and simplify life, you will only change them { I figure } every 6 - 10 years or when the seals dry and start to leak. here,s a thought, one I seen was a trailer hub assembly with the axel removed and replaced with a pipe made to fit and a bracket made to hold the gen. so if you want to save a pain in the you know what, mount it on bearings. thanks for reading.

charge controllers, why so expensive

hi everyone, once again the hologram effect at work, so I think I need a 440 amp charge controller and I want to pay about 350 -450$ for only 440amps, and I don't even get the dump load, and there mechanical relay type, short life. NOT. I see these types of controllers everywhere on the net. they make no sense.  the sellers have all the answers figured out, if you ask they will answer the question that you didn't ask, they will make it sound almost logical , and make 440amp sound like you can control the world. so lets see what 440amp will do, 3000w inverter on 12v supply would = 250amp draw, so you cant even control two 3000w inverters, wait , its only to control the dump, on there systems,  but they sell the dump resistors of 400w for 250$us but that is only 33-34amps so why the 440amp controller, so it will work with any system they say, but it will dump 5280 watts of power if needed ?. I have never and probbly will never meet anyone with a home wind system that will need to dump 5000+ watts to waist resistors that has any kind of a useful system. these controllers make no sense to me. your system dose need to be capable of 1.5 time the dumping as compaired to charge output capability , that said wouldent it be nice to have one charge controller to properly fit any home system from 100w to 20,000w and work to within .04 volt accurately and for about 40.00$us. this is possible, one site {windandsunpower.com}. this is by far the best controller I have tested and I have 8 controllers besides their ones . the next best is only.8 volt and varies voltage constantly on wind system, is ok for solar. I have 5 of there controllers, 3 different models and all are as good as the others, vary easy to use and set up, they come with vary detailed instructions and all your email will get answered promptly. there smallest controller is controlling a 3400ahr battery bank and a charge of incoming amp of 63.5amp as tested using a diesel gen to make sure no problems arise ,on my test system I don't change my controller settings for any changes to my system at all. it is 2"x2" and will hide any place you need. I use ssr,s for the relays and there is almost no limit to the amperage ability, it will easily run 10 ssr,s at 100amp each = 1000amp and is rated at 25+ ssr,s but one ssr can run another 25ssr,s for a amazing 5000amp and that's with only 100amp ssr,s, its potential is amazing . I have stopped looking at controllers because there is no point , I have the best available, all efforts for this are a waist of better spent time. this I can say was my best purchase so far on any of my wind and solar projects, low cost, high performance, and high accuracy and ability. when your system changes with your needs you don't touch the controller you simply add more ssr,s as needed for your upgrades, { or remove if your testing }. there is a lot of smoke and mirrors with controllers people so please please please do the homework or you will end up with useless pieces of art on the walls to remined you of the importance of doing the homework. there are a lot of scammers in the controller market, they all make theres sound the best, add up the numbers and check the math, don't assume ANY numbers are true, go to { the12volt for any needed calculators }. watts can be added many different ways to give the answers they need them to be ,when any of the numbers are missing , DO NOT ASSUME . thanks for reading. ---------------------------------- A recent update, a friend had the Missouri wind and solar 440amp controller, this is what prompted the article above. today it failed and stuck in the full dump position, he has almost a total lose. batteries wont take a charge and were extremely hot when the problem was found, the wires from the rectifiers dc side have changed to a pink and brown colour, basicly burnt. the controller dosnt work at all, and the gen has not been checked yet. DONT BUY JUNK CONTROLLERS you will pay more in the long run.------------------another update   the system was checked deeper into the problem. when the controller failed, my friend also forgot to mention that he removed one of his dump loads [ 600w worth ]  the gen has one burnt phase , the controller is a total lose, and 3 of the four batteries are junk. basically he removed the safety of the system and the failure was only a matter of time. it was accelerated by the junk controller . please do the home work on controllers, the entire system depends on the controllers ability to do the job properly at almost any voltage your system could create. home work--home work---home work !

blades and hubs

hi everyone, new to blogger, the hologram effect is for sure true with blades. there are thousands of blades on the market, iv tested 6 different and will give my own thoughts from my testing of the blades. ,first im going to sum all the sword type blades like the raptors together because all results were almost identical . these blades ARE ONLY HIGH SPEED - HIGH WIND type blades, they might work in some areas but for the most of us there no good and to have any chance of them working you will need 9- 13 blade system, plus the hub and shipping - if you live in Canada this is a 750.00$ blade system, absolutely crazy, and there no good in lower wind areas. next is the china blades with the pocket near the hub and wider tip, these works way better than the sword type but are mid wind type blades, they are a little better at  start up at lower wind but are lacking a little if you need the speed as the small mills do. the HOME MADE blades are ,  well just that, some take pride in there work and some don't. iv tested only one set and was sent in the wrong direction for a while, I seen a test of one set made by a  guy in Germany and started to rethink the home made blades . after several hours of searching the net I found some people that did a nice job and with good results, my testing of the home made blades will continue for some time to come as I have at this time 6 mill projects in the works and of varying sizes. the one thing I have found is to only use pvc, NOT abs , the abs ones iv seen on youtube coming apart is wild to see, iv been told by good sources to only use pvc and only the green pipe. next is the metal blades, although the are hundreds of this type too , iv tested two types, the first one and the best of all my blades for any wind up to 30+ mph and start up at 4 mph, are charging at 7-8 mph are made by daddyomomma and are the hemi blades, a vary nice older fella who bent over backwards to help me and shopped around for a better shipping price for me, one of my top ten best purchases of all time. the other set is not work the weight in scrap. the hubs are fairly straight forward but iv seen some good ideas for test stands were your able to adjust the pitch and length , more for testing and to find the optimal point to set and build a permanent hub . one person even added a leaver system and springs to make a variable pitch system, not sure how it worked out but looks like an idea worth playing with. the mounting of the hub with a thick backer and a thick washer at the front is a absolute must, every time iv tried without both of these in place iv had a failure or a sign of a failure trying to happen , this is on the smaller mills. also all the failed ones were cogging mills and had vibration do to cogging. I  will not even mount a gen of any type for tests that have cogging any more, the end results are most often poor output to low output on these units [ the alternater  type ] im not a big fan. SO if your needing a set of blades and are willing to do the work, look into home made pvc blades, a good starting point is [a poormans guide ] on the net, a vary nice and helpful guy with really cool ideas. anyway thanks for reading. I forgot to mention , check out warlock.com.au they have a vary good blade calculator and several other helpful tools. thanks for reading.
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magnets, bigger than they look

hi everyone, once again the hologram effect refers to a magnet is larger than its physical dimentions. these are my  opinions and seem to always prove true to me. magnets are fairly simple pieces, NOT. a magnet will change with every movement , every distance change, and every angle change. if we use these factors to our advantage we can gain output from our gen systems. iv found by simply turning the magnets on one of my projects from 90 deg to 45 deg I gained 11% output below a set rpm and had a lose of only3-4% at all other rpm,s . dependant on application this could be an asset. iv also seen people having a clearance between magnet and coils of 1 - 4mm but have found that with the larger 2" square magnets , and a coil thickness of 15 - 18mm , no change in output at all between 1 - 3mm . these are also the uncoated magnets, the coaled magnets loose a little more gauss with distance, not a lot but enough to make the difference of to close to the magnet and a higher contact risk. the magnets also have a flux pattern almost like d.n.a. , if each magnet is checked [ vary time consuming and teadious  ] you will find that each magnet would be mounted a little different than the next to get 100% from each, this is NOT worth the time to output gain but one should check 2 magnets from the lot for there project, you might be surprised to see how much magnet flux is been miss in there design. a angle change can make gains , each design will be different in results but the only way to know is test, test, test. the time spent testing will give the no how needed to improve on and make you think about the design of other possibilities . its not allways the strongest magnet that work the best, it is true to have the strongest magnetic flux possible but, it all relates to the coils as one other factor. one of my brothers designs was having problem, after giving up he removed the magnets for another project, 5 months later was looking for a place to put some magnets for another project and used the rotor and they were randome at best. he gave it a spin for the heck of it and the wires touching his leg form the bench gave him a surprise he wasn't expecting. back on the project netted a 3 times the output form the gen that was abandoned 5 months before. these magnets were smaller in size and gausses , go figure . things are not always as they seem .the coil and magnet relation needs to match , to big magnets can cause power to stall in the coils and cause the coils to heat up until burnt.  iv seen one rotor with the magnets raised one end to compensate for the coil shape and though risky it worked and output went up. I built one rotor , the standard hawt style but with the magnets set in a dimond looking arangment , the coils were large oval type and the output was 10% less at max but was at charge conditions 10% less rpm, if you cant or seldome reach max output then tis could be an option for an already built unit. all summed up, don't just fallow the norm, there is so much more posability in the magnet end of power production. please done forget the magnetic flux is larger than the magnets, so use it. thanks for reading

stator coils,

hi everyone,  by the hologram effect I simply mean that most of the sellers draw you a picture of what you would like to here but that isn't what there selling you. even the parts are hyped up way beyond there ability . ill give my opinions one blog at a time. making your own mill is a good feeling, each piece you choose will effect its outcome . lets start with the STATOR COILS. these are my own opinions and im no expert but I know what works because I did it or made it and tested it, iv got a lot of scrap to prove it too. so here we go, the shapes will effect the way the coils relate with the magnets, also how much copper will see usable flux, even the copper that dosnt see usable flux when more than needed will be carrying eddie currents witch is one of the biggest problems with power generation, and simply we have to live with, they can be minimised with design. I think the circle shape is close to useless , it uses the least flux and at steep angles, the magnets almost never relate perfectly to the coil and will cause power to stall in the coils every time one crosses a coil. the pie shaped one are headed in the right direction but I find there to short on one end and to long on the other causing the magnet relation problems again. the LONG oval seems to work , the current numbers iv seen the highest were from long ovals and they were compaired to the same size wire and turns. I wouldn't believe it until I seen the numbers but that is why we need to test, test, test.  I felt the numbers of 2.5 to 4.8v and the highest at 1.3 amp per coil tested by each coil seperatly at the same test conditions were still to low. I know these unit produced 7 to 10000w after assembly but there is so much coil still not being used, I also felt the coil thickness was lacking. with the magnets today there is a lot of room to expand with there magnetic ability, the flux is in most all directions around the magnet but we all only use one of the poles and try to get as close as possible to the coils, I don't think the full picture is being used on this aspect. if you have to cut the flux at 90 deg and the magnet is laying flat on top say 2mm above, the only difference I see that can be made different than all the other coils iv seen is the direction of the wire winding . if the wire traveled from top on the left to the bottom on the left then across to the bottom on the left and again to the top on the left being one wrap around the coil to a count of the same you would use on any other type of coil you used before this would have 100% flux saturation on evry pass of the magnet and the current flow through the coil would always be in the same direction for any point of the magnets travel across the coil with no stall points to lower power production.this would drasticly help with the eddie currents also. the width of the coil should be slightly wider than the magnet, I find 1/4" on each side of a 2" magnet and the coil length 1/2 longer on each end will show numbers not thought possible from such a small coil. I will warn of the fact that the coils will produce more power than your able to cool if you push them hard at high rpm, { 330 rpm } im testing with a 36" magnet circle dia and 33 coil with 1/8" between coil ends. thanks for reading and I HOPE this is food for thought.

wind mills, help needed

hi everyone, new to blogger. I enjoy wind and solar projects but am quickly getting annoyed by all the misconceptions and faulse advertising around the wind generator industry,   I should say home size wind industry, I call the hologram effect.  the wattages listed are a flat out lie in 95% of the sites, the amperages are vary unlikely to be seen under 50mph wind, and I have tested 6 different sellers blades and only one was any good under 30mph winds. this bs needs to be set straight to the average buyer, these systems will serve them NO purpose and they will get ripped off. most parts of a good system are available but the research MUST be done for your location, windmill type, home needs and expectations. here are my thoughts. if it looks like a car altenator its low output. if its not 30+ feet up it probly don't make vary much power, if there are trees and stuctures nere by it needs to be at least 20ft above them. as for the pma / pmg or hawt , all the coils iv seen I seem to find disturbing problems with the types or uses of the shapes, some of these have been reported to make a good output but in the design can be much better I think. the hawt is the best system iv seen any good to vary good reports on, there are many variation in design and some vary good and some , well piss poor. coil and magnet design is every where on the net and one only has to study to quickly see the differences in designs, but can get complicated when the magnets, there count, there strength, and there shape come into play. as with the coils. the time spent studying is well worth the outcome. im working on a coil design that in the math is 97% efficient , so if I get even 80% I will be 15% better than the next best coil iv seen tested, is also much easyer to wined but a little harder to mount. the shapes being used seems to me to be the biggest problems in output numbers. the magnets in most are placed on the rotors in the wrong places and at the wrong angle, they don't seem to understand magnetic lines of flux and there paths and the fact that they change with the distance and angles mounted. iv seen the use of magnet wire as small as 28awg ?, to produce a good power output you need wire size as large as possible while producing the voltage need to supply YOUR system. this is where things get a little harder. the right size wire is needed to produce the power but the coil thickness is vary important witch will limit the thickness , the thickness will effect the magnetic flux strength through the coil , when two magnets are used , one on each side of the coil the thickness can be larger, but the gauss should be tested to KNOW the gausses at set lengths away from the magnet allowing max thickness without losing flux through the coil, this will allow for a thicker coil with the max magnet power . many seem to forget that the magnet also has flux from the sides of the magnet, this will allow for a wider coil for the same application, the length can in most cases be lengthened also. blade size needs to be considered when building the generator, don't build a 10,000watt 18ft blade system if you live in town and don't have the room. I plane on getting into detail on all my thoughts in the near future. thanks for reading.