I purchased a 650 windmax turbine from Magnets4less and got only 3months with it and the slip ring gave out. I only found this out after taking it apart myself. This company said there was no warranty outside the USA. They wouldn't respond to my phone calls and left me with this useless piece of junk. After finding out what was wrong I tried to get a slip ring or a complete hub and they told me there was no parts for them. Has anyone out there had problems with windmax and can direct me to a place where I can get the parts to try and fix it. Thanks
I have a very simply solution that will cost you zero dollars. Bypass the slip ring. While a slip ring might seem necessary, you can easily get by without one. I think Murray (murray2paddles) has been running all his turbines without slip rings for a couple years now. Use heavy walled, outdoor rated extension cord wire. It should give you many years of trouble free service. In fact, we now offer the Windtura 750 wind turbine with or without the slip ring. Obviously, the Windtura without the slip ring costs less. The guys at otherpower have flown no slip ring turbines for years: http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_wind_tips.html (scroll down towards the bottom of the page)
Too bad there can be problems with slip rings because they make so much sense. Here's another option: Once I asked a popular ebay guy who sells low budget windmills made with PVC blades and PVC pipe if his mills had slip rings and he said, "No, I use a "stop chain", so I decided to try mine own. Basically of course it worked with no concerns of any wire ever twisting but my tower was only 17 feet high. If the chain would get wrapped up tight, I had a pole that I could push against the tail and unwind the chain. I had the slack in the chain set so the mill could turn about a full 180 degree turn and a half. I could get at least a week and a half without resetting the windmill. I'll try to get a photo of the "Stop Chain".
Plus small wires that most slip rings have to use rob you of some serious watts..The more copper the more current will fill it easier.
Stop chains work very well. You should consider elongating the stop chain to allow the turbine to make up to five complete revoltutions. The wire(s) traveling down the tower can definitely handle at least five revolutions with no problems. And you will most likely find out that you will be able to go several months or possibly even longer before you will have to untwist the stop chain.
