-Draws 4.4 - 4.8 watts while idle. -In a wind gust takes up to 3 seconds before it decides to lock on. -Every once and a while it stops putting in to the grid. Then idles for up to 5 seconds then starts putting into the grid again. :shock: -So if you are in smooth air and above 6 mph all should be good. -With the gusts I get here I would have to add a flywheel plate to this turbine like Blue Jay talked about when he started using Wind Max Blades. To slow spin up and store energy for when the wind dies down. Other than those little quirks it has been doing Good so far.
Well here is the first picture of the flywheel I am starting to build. It is 6 inches in diameter 1 inch thick and has a 1.5 inch hole in it for the socket to fit thru to the nut. Weighs in at 8 lbs. Waiting on the 1/4 inch plate to weld it to and mount it on the turbine.[attachment=0:2ct0fb38]Flywheel.jpg[/attachment:2ct0fb38] Will keep you posted.
Have you considered adding a Super Cap (rated at 60V or higher) (or two) between the Wind Turbine and GTI to help maintain the voltage above the 22 Volt minimum? It could be easier to "tune" the system by adding or removing Super Caps vs. changing weights in the Wind Turbine. Also, don't you want the rotor assembly as light as possible so that it can spin up quickly to a high speed (ie make power) when a wind gust does occur?
Tom, I really appreicite all of your ideas and expertese but i have I have to ask. How many more watts are you going to gain by doing all of this?
Yes I would like to keep it lighter. But I loose all the power while this Grid Tie is taking its time thinking when to kick in. Sometimes it is about 5 secs and by then the gust is slowing down. The flywheel is to help store the energy till the Grid Tie kicks in. I will adjust weight up or down after I put it up on the turbine and test it. Will post results later. I tried the cap idea and the Grid Tie gets real loud when I try that. Alot more noise than usual.
Leamy, Just trying it out for now. Not sure about power gain. Will have to see. More wanting to keep turbine from spinning up too fast before Grid Tie kicks in. Will be a bit of a balancing act to get it right.
As far as watts gained. AT 22 volts it jumps up some and then at 30 volts it jumps again. Over 22 volts I have seen up to about 300 watts max at 30 volts I have seen 488 watts here. If this will help the shudder problem at 40 volts unloaded and no battery tie. GREAT. Right now at 6-7 mph I am making power to the grid. Being this flywheel is small diameter it should spin up in low wind. Like I said I will post results. Have a 22v-60 volt Grid Tie might as well play. My 10.8 -30v will be tied to the solar for at least another month till I get the other Grid Tie fixed or replaced.
Forgot to add about the shudder problem. Been reading up on it and they say it is because the blades go supersonic or close to it and the turbulence causes it. NOT turning out of the wind. I am a believer. I was standing on the porch roof during the storm watching the turbine during a few 30+ gusts and when the shudder happened with the window open I could hear it REAL WELL . The turbine was facing the wind. So in my case it is not turning out of the wind. I used the dump load I bought and hooked up 2 resistors up and no battery tie. Set it to kick in at 35 volts and it does and climbs up over 45 volts with no shudder. Only problem is at that voltage the resistors get hot fast. DO NOT TRY this one while not at home.
Tom, If you are making power in low winds (6-7mph) and seeing 488 watts ("here"??) i am not sure i see where you are going with this. The shuttering (fluxutaion of volatge??) you are refering to.... Is this what you see on your volt meter? If so, it is the MPPT adjusting plus gust's and turbulance all in one. I have a 22-60v 1000w Sun G wind rated GTI. I do see these volatge fluxuations too. Never enough to start modifying the turbine though. I am just trying to follow along. Can you pleas be more specific with your explinations? Maybe i can help??
The fluttering that tom speaks of was my alarm that the turbine was coming down Glad that was not your case tom! My hub and blades alone weigh in at 27lbs,will start in 7-8mph winds and will keep spinning all the way down to 6mph but wouldnt start in these winds.. I like the flywheel idea tom..dont know if 8lbs will show much improvement but you will have to go bigger blades to add more weight or it will lose low start up like leamy said. You really need to invest in a second GT before you get more efficient tom..
I will be going to (2) 10.8-30 volt wind GTIs as soon as I can. Right now just seeing if I can keep this from over speeding by adding weight. Just a experiment and that is it. Since I battery tied it to 30 volts I have seen 488 watts at 33 mph. Just do not like it revving up so high when I get hit with big gusts.And it does ramp up in 1-2 seconds. Remember I have gusts like waves and turbulence here. So my situation is alot different than what most of you have at your site. The materials were free and I have some time to kill so why not try and see what happens.
With only one turbine tom I would stick with a second 22-60v and when money allows I would buy a ensupra just because you can run a 12v system and make your low wind watts and when it would be good winds the supras can be turned off and let both 22v get you more watts then staying on a 12v system always.... No changing of any wiring as long as the battery bank as a good diode that wont let the batterries drain to 12v while wired as a 24v system.(you showed me that tom :idea: )...
Tom, You said, "I tried the cap idea and the Grid Tie gets real loud when I try that. Alot more noise than usual". Are you speaking adding "CAPS in SERIES with AC wires" idea ? That is not what I was suggesting. I suggest that you add one or more Low ESR Super Cap across the DC input. Connect the Super Cap the same way you would connect a 24V or 48V FLA battery to the system. A Super Cap does not have any of the issues of a battery system. A Super Cap across the +/- DC input of the GTI will smooth out the Voltage from the Turbine so that the GTI will stay ON-GRID longer. If you add a weight to your Rotor that will make it take even longer to spin-up after stopping. So you will "net lose" power during spin-up. You will "net gain" power by staying connected during brief wind shortages. Will this just be a "wash" ? The weight will also delay top rpm for short wind gusts (another Power Loss issue). Just some things to think about ...
Mine speeds up rather quickly,I feel 100% its not a wash with MY TURBINE..I just got my 3rd 600w and for only one turbine it locks it down around 23v and put out less unitl I unplugged it. I got it to use it for my solar so I can up the volts and gains some and then use the ensupras for real light days were I see 18-21 volts and no production at all.. The reason I wont run the 12v and the 24v together all the time, is it will lock it down hard and will put out less than letting the blades speed up to make more volts and amps...
I will try the parallel caps across the DC to the GRID TIE. I have about 10,000 MFD laying around. Let you know how it goes.
Well tried the parallel caps across the DC line at the GTI. It is running smoother. Also has been to 40 volts a few times and no shudder. Will have to wait till some better winds for it to go higher and see. By the way this is without battery tie.
