You will need a charge controller when you start producing more than you use. Until then don't bother. If you look after the load and use what you are producing you can manage without a charge controller. When you are managing to supply the sort of load you want you can start adding things that are convenient rather than essential.
If you have trouble obtaining books, Hugh does give away a lot of good information on his site free. You need to look through all of it. There are free download articles from the work he did with ITDG. There is also blade information on the site, it's a bit scattered but everything you need is there somewhere. The books are more detailed and more convenient but see what you can find.
Flux[ Parent ]
One more point i wanted to ask, should i put some srt of gearing to increase rpm to make constant 12v to charge? i have been checking on the system the whole day and many times i have seen 12v, but when i check amperes they are only reaching max 1.5, is that right or am i taking the reading wrong.
till my wooden blades are ready can't i put this to any use or its not practical. i have been reading alot on sites as you have told, where ever i can find information i'm gathering it, but reading alot too is confusing because everyone is using his own ideas, one person says its the best solution, the other says its not good : )
What about building a VAWT type design and put the treadmill motor under it, would that work? like many people have made VAWT's with PVC and other materials, you may have seen those.
Thanks again, i'm really grateful for your help, never thought some one would help me this much. [ Parent ]
If the problem is just lack of prop speed then gearing it will help. If you are in a low wind area then the additional gearing loss may even make it worse.
If by any chance you can find a 6v battery and try charging that you will have a better idea. If it works far better into 6v with more power ( not just amps, i.e. more than twice the amps) then you will gain with gearing or a boost converter.
"What about building a VAWT type design and put the treadmill motor under it, would that work? like many people have made VAWT's with PVC and other materials, you may have seen those."
Talk to them about it, just my personal opinion, just don't waste your time.
Yes many times i have seen close to 1.5A, normally its between 0.7 to 0.8A. I like very close to sea in Karchi, just 5 minute drive sea shore. Thats why the swirling winds, i checked the data from the websites, they say it was 18MPH today. We do get good wind here and my home has no big buildings near it except 1 3 stories building just across the street.
Another friend of mine suggested the same thing that try and charge a 6V battery with it first, i'll try that. Yes with 4 PVC blades 2ft long i'm getting this result, i wanted 3 blades but the person i got the hub drilled from made a mistake and its not 120 degree. when i put three blades it doesn't look evenly balanced.
How much difference can i get from wooden blades? like have told you what readings i get now, max i got 1.5A and about 18V.
How to gear is what i want to know, timing belt type on pulleys or chain on sprockets. What gear ratio's, maybe that i'll have to keep trying and find out, you can't help me with this i know because till you see it you can't tell. [ Parent ]
As told by you all to make wooden blades, i can't seem to get that much time from work to do it for now.
I have put the gen up and put a 15amp blocking diode and just for checking a 12V 7Ah lead acid battery which i had new from a ups, as my mill hardly makes more than 1.5amp, is it the diode enough? how long should it take to charge this battery to be of any use?
Kindly please help with the gearing issue too, i'm stuck with 7-9volts, it reaches 12-14v but not for long and 2-3 times an hour hardly.
What should i do now?[ Parent ]
