Aerogenerator questions

[wedgeantilles]

Dear all,

Have just repaired an old aerogenerator, it was in an old farm that a friend of mine has purchased.

We are trying to use it for charging batteries.

Have measured the open circuit voltage and it gos to +30 Vdc ( it has only two output wires).

When the aerogenerator was spinning we made a shortcircuit, we saw a little spark, and the amp meter readed 1 amp, so we think there will be amp flow from the aerogenerator. Also the aerogenerator stopped nearly inmediately, matter that we think it is correct.

In the aerogenerator the only info found is 3 Amps.

We think it is a 24 Vdc 3 Amps generator, it is very little.

Now the question is, which kind of reliable regulator can I purchase to charge 2 12 Vdc batteries to 24 Vdc?

And another question, is, it is enough to make a shortcircuit test to ensure that the aerogenerator will generate amps?

Thanks a lot for the info.

Regards,

[Mike90250]

Nice on restoring a early (and fairly reliable) wind generator. 24V @ 1 A = 24 watts, which is not much, even if it cranked out 3A, that would be less than 75 watts. I think something is still wrong inside.

But, Morningstar makes a small MPPT charge controller, which is quite efficient, and will convert 95% of your 30V power, to 12V for battery charging. PWM style controllers will only harvest about 40% of that same power, but they cost a lot less.

http://www.morningstarcorp.com/en/sunsavermppt

[Naptown]

Shorting it was probably not a good idea. Ok with solar panels not so good with generators run a load instead.
How hard was the wind blowing when you tested it

[wedgeantilles]

Aerogenerator questions

Dear Mike and Naptown,

Well, the aerogenerator was there, unable to spin, now it spins, we have painted it, and if we can get some good watts from it, we will power a little outdoor 5 W led light at night, with a movement sensor.

Thanks for the info about Morningstar, will read the manual and see if we can get one unit.

Regarding the shortcircuit, it was not a really windy day; I thought it was a good idea to make a shortcircuit, to see if the aerogenerator was slowed down, and to see if there was some current flowing. But you are right, it's like trying to stop something moving in 0 seconds, this can not be good at all.

When we have the charge controller, will measure the volts amps and watts with a microcontroller and a SD card. If it is posible to attach graphs here will do so, and your points of view will help me to understand how the generator is performing.

Thanks again for the answers I get from you all.

[ChrisOlson]

Have just repaired an old aerogenerator, it was in an old farm that a friend of mine has purchased.

What kind of a turbine is it? It is an old Wincharger? Most of those were 32V if it is.
--
Chris

[wedgeantilles]

Aerogenerator questions

Dear Chris,

It's really old, never seen one like it. And probably yes, it is a 32 V.

I have not much experience with aerogenerators, so I am a little bit scared, don't wat to mess it up.

Trying to read all the info can be found in internet and in this forum, to learn from the "old" wise guys.

My mother tongue is not English, so sometimes do not explain myself very well.

Thanks again,

[ChrisOlson]

It's really old, never seen one like it. And probably yes, it is a 32 V.
[......]
My mother tongue is not English, so sometimes do not explain myself very well.

Well, my wife is Swedish and for 28 years whenever she gets mad at me she switches to Swedish when reading me the riot act. So I am very familiar with the mother tongue is not English situation

If you have an opportunity, please take a photo of the turbine and post it. Maybe I can identify it.
--
Chris

[wedgeantilles]

Aerogenerator questions

Dear Chris Olson,

Have no photo yet, but searching in the web, have found a generator that has the same shape and format:

LVM aerogen wind generators.

A link to a brochure: http://www.xylemflowcontrol.com/file...r_brochure.pdf

Will try to find a LVM2SB24 regulator.

If you know some equivalent, please inform.

Thanks all again for all the info provided. This fórum is full of doers and helpers. I like it.

[ChrisOlson]

LVM aerogen wind generators.

Thanks - I will look at that as soon as it downloads here. We are on satellite and having problems with our internet this morning.

I am mainly concerned with what the rotor diameter is to figure swept area, what the design tip speed ratio of the rotor is, and whether or not the generator is three-phase AC rectified, or DC with excited field with brushes and commutator. If those things are known I can get a better idea of expected output and what it takes to regulate the output.

(Hopefully can get enough data packets thru this morning to even post this).
--
Chris

[wedgeantilles]

Aerogenerator questions

Dear Chris Olson,


Sorry about the coms problems, hope you can see this post.

Attached a PDF file.

The rotor diameter is 800 mm.

The output is DC from the generator, that is like the one shown in the pdf attached.

Regarding the tip speed ratio of the rotor, I am sorry but no clue about that. If I understand you is the relationship between W·R divided by wind speed.

W is the angular speed of the rotor in rad/second, R is the radius of the blade, the product is the linear speed of the tip blade.

Think that the aerogenerator is starting at speeds between 3 m/s and 4 m/s (5,83 Knots and 7,77 knots). It has 6 blades.

No data about W (rad/s) I am sorry. But I am learning from your questions.

Finally I have decided to purchase a C35 xantrex regulator 12/24 Vdc.

No way purchasing the ones in the web page I have found the aerogenerators that are like the old one we have repaired. Too expensive.

Best regards,

[inetdog]

Finally I have decided to purchase a C35 xantrex regulator 12/24 Vdc.

No way purchasing the ones in the web page I have found the aerogenerators that are like the old one we have repaired. Too expensive.

Best regards,

Just make sure that the regulator/charge controller that you get has a setting specifically for wind turbine use, since it must be able to drive a diversion load when the batteries are full. Without that the turbine speed could get out of control before any furling mechanism could take effect.

If you are concerned about getting the best possible performance out of the turbine, the Midnite Solar Classic is worth considering. It can be customized for the characteristics of a particular wind turbine.

[wedgeantilles]

Aerogenerator questions

Dear Inetdog,

Thanks for pointing this out. Some people just do not know about angular speeds, a rotating mass, and a no load situation with wind.

The forces involved are related to w^2, so it's scary...

The xantrex C35 has a feature for diverting the amps to a dummy load when battery is fully charged. My seller is making me a good price for it, so I will go for it.

If we can use the old spinner we will be really proud of him.

All the best,

[inetdog]

The forces involved are related to w^2, so it's scary...

You may not have noticed, but the forum software allows you to format superscripts and subscripts (using the X² and X₂ buttons). So you can write " w² " if you want to.

[ChrisOlson]

If you are concerned about getting the best possible performance out of the turbine, the Midnite Solar Classic is worth considering. It can be customized for the characteristics of a particular wind turbine.

I was able to get the PDF downloaded. Assuming this small turbine is what is shown in the PDF, it is not suitable for a Classic controller. In fact, I question the need for any type of regulator for it all. It is a marine wind charger, designed to trickle charge batteries at 2-3 amps - and it will only produce that at very high wind speeds.

It has a 0.8 meter rotor. So basically even at 13 m/s wind speed and a Cp of .37 it is only going to generate about 230 watts at the shaft, and I think that would be on the high end. With generator efficiency and line losses you're probably around 85 watts @ 13 m/s - not enough to even worry about putting any sort of regulator on it. 85 watts is barely enough power to float a 200ah 24V battery.
--
Chris

[wedgeantilles]

Aerogenerator questions

Dear Chris Olson ,

Wow, now I am excited, for sure. This means that we do not have to spend 100 € on a regulator.

So, to keep things simple, I just connect the aerogenerator to the batteries.

Let's give it a try Chris, and will also try to understand how you have estimated a Cp=0,37. Wish I was able to speak with persons like you everyday, just for a few minutes.

Will keep you informed sir!

Another crazy idea I have: if we connect a NO relay contact between positive and negative, just in case one day we have to give the aerogenerator a big brake, is it feasible, or maybe better to connect a big resistor, let's say with your estimate of 230 Watts, in the NO contact? Then use a NC contact from the same relay when things are Ok? This will be far more cheaper than a regulator, and we still have some security.

In our country there is a saying, do not know how to translate it but will try: dress me slowly that I am in a hurry!

All the best!