Ok this is my 1st turbine that I want to build. I have read alot of info in the internet and I feel that I am ready. I am looking for info from someone that might have expirence or has build some themself. Here is what I am looking at on doing. I want to purchase this generator from ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/Wind-Generator-t...item3efd25f75a

Not sure if its a good choice but if someone could assit me on this.

Also i was looking on getting a charge controller at 160 amps.

I was looking to do either a 12 v system or a 24 volt system I am not sure yet but would love some to help me on this which choice is better.

I am looking to get a inverter of at least 5000watts.

The main reason for me doing this is for my window a/c unit its rated at 1340 watts and for the winter to run my space heaters.

I dont know if theres something that I am missing on this setup. Before I spend all the money on doing this I would like for someone to give me thier point of view and if its worth on doing it. Eventually I would like to have my whole house off the grid.

Let me know if theres any questions on this and if its even possible.

Thank you very much for the input on this.

Well wind power is not exactly my specialty, but if that generator you linked too can generate 1500 watts I will eat my hat. That thing has more red flags raised than Obama's Health Care plan. No UL certification, about 1/10th the price a professional hade unit, and was made in someones garage looking for a pigeon to pluck.

Have you done any research into this?

For example have you looked at geographical wind charts for your area to even see if you are a candidate? What the average wind speed is at what height above ground?

Do you live in a city and will they even permit you to erect a tower for the generator?

Have you looked at the power curves for the unit you are thinking about buying? Most units for residential system require around constant 30 mph wind speed to deliver their rated power. IF the wind is half that you will only generate 1/8 the rated power.

One thing I can tell you for sure is if you have commercial power available it would be a very costly mistake to go off grid unless you just like spending 10 to 30 times more for power than you do now for the rest of your life.

Before you go off buying anything wind powered you need got a lot of hoops to jump through first. Or else you could just be parted with your money and nothing to show for it.

__________________
Dereck, PE, MSEE
Moderator

I cant see how that wind generator is useful to charge batteries? or am I not understanding the quoted figures??/
12 volt at 500 rpm 20 amps
15 volts at 600 rpm 40 amps
15.5 volts at 1000 rpm 60 amps
15.5+ volts at 2000 rpm 115 amps
To me it seems anything lower than 600rpm only produces 12v?
But to achieve 600rpm would require a very strong wind
2000 rpm would be a typhoon. !!!!!!
those waterpipe blades and the perspex hub dont look anywhere near strong enough to withstand a typhoon

Before you go down the road of buying any hardware at all, you need a very good understanding of what sort of wind resource you have , and how much you can realistically hope to generate.

This equation gives you an idea of the power output of small wind turbine.
Formula for power in wind. for small turbines.
P = 0.5 X rho X A X Cp X V^3 X Ng X Nb in Watts
rho = 1.225 kg/m^3 air density at sea level
A= swept area of rotor in Meters
Cp = Betz limit, 0.35 for good wind design.
V= speed in M/S
Ng = generator efficiency 0.8 for good perm magnet alternator.
Nb = gearbox efficincy 0.95 for directly connected alternator.

Most small wind turbine manufacturers will give you a chart of wind speed
versus turbine power output, and this chart will also indicate the cut in speed, which is the minimum speed needed to start the turbine actually turning.
Usually Turbines are rated at maximum power output at 25 MPH or more,
and power drops dramatically as wind speed falls.
Other issues that you need to consider is how high a tower will you need
to mount the turbine on , to get it clear of any near obstructions which can cause turbulance, which will reduce the turbines efficiency.
You can get wind charts from most Met offices for the area that you live in , and then its simply a matter of actually making sure that you do get the winds where you live .

Forget that setup. While converted alternaters do make good chargers, they usually require too much RPM fo wind. The only times I've seen then actually work is if they are geared up to increase the RPM.

115amps at 2000 RPM - that little setup is not capable of doing that. Compare it to other setups and you'll see the swept area of the blade is just too small to produce that. What I consider the best small genny on the market (Bergey XL.1) has a rotor diameter of 8.2 feet and is only rated at 1000 watts. Since swept area is based on the square of the radius, it should be capable of about 2.5 times the power (19.25sq' vrs 52.78sq'). They are simply overstating the capabilities of of it as a wind genny.

If you wish to learn about building a wind genny than see these guys:

http://www.otherpower.com/

I've met them at the Sustainable Living Fair and they put on workshops there and other locations. Both Dan's live off-grid powered by their creations that are based on Hugh Pigotts designs.

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