I was thinking there for a while that wooferhound didn't like VAWT's but I just read a post where he seems to be in the mood to create a new VAWT design of his own.

The reason I want to use VAWTs is because I need my mills close to the ground and to operate in turbulent wind conditions. I realise I will not get as much power from the wind as I would get using a HAWT.

The mills I would like to build are very light weight with blades only 18 inches high by 12 inches diameter and I have kind of settled on a helical blade design. I will mold the blades as a single unit from recycled plastic and force fit these onto the top of my 11.5inch diameter generator. No amount of wind stress would cause bearing failure at these sizes.

Any initial guesses about the maximum wattage I could expect to get from a 11.5 inch diameter PMG at say 150 RMP? I think I would like to get up to or beyond the 48Volt mark most people aim for here. This would allow thinner wire to be used to connect the mills over a greater distance with less line losses.

Anyway, back to original question I had.

Should I rectify the output of each mill separately ? or should I parallel all the outputs and rectify the result ?

What would be the advantage/disadvantage in each of these scenarios?

Thanks again folks, this site is just great