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Wind Turbine to 12 Volt Battery Charger?


By eformx, Section Wind
Posted on Fri Aug 27th, 2004 at 07:01:40 PM MST
Can a Wind Turbine generating 24 volts be directly connected to a 12 Volt Battery Charger...

I have an indoor ice rink that needs some lighting for the winter. I was thinking I could pick up a powerful Rechargeable Light that comes with a 12 volt Charger.  They are relatively cheap ($29 cdn).  But does anyone know if I can connect a Wind Turbine generating 24 volts directly to a 12 Volt Battery Charger.  

Will this work or am I better off with a Deep Cycle battery and a connection to the Battery Charger?

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Rob
Wind Turbine to 12 Volt Battery Charger? | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 editorial)

Re: Wind Turbine to 12 Volt Battery Charger? (3.00 / 0) (#1)
by tecker on Fri Aug 27th, 2004 at 08:00:27 PM MST
(User Info)

    You're probably talking about a time frame that will leave you with lighting that
will be less than what you need for safety . You could   get one and test it to see
if the lighting is sufficient . If the light is good or if you can afford to buy enough
to have the the illumination . they probably have Gel or nicads  You could back the local bats  with a battery bank .

 You would have to investigate if the charger can be modified to take the 24volts .
 Lighting is easily made from scratch . Your level of expertise will dictate what you can do without help .

 I would have to say a battery bank would give you more flexibility than canned units
  lighting can be configured to your mill and you could always add a charger to work
in the absents of wind.




Re: Wind Turbine to 12 Volt Battery Charger? (3.00 / 0) (#2)
by arc on Fri Aug 27th, 2004 at 08:00:29 PM MST
(User Info)

Hi Rob,

Others here are better qualified to answer your question, so please, take my advice with a grain of salt.

I would not advise connecting the charger directly to the mill, but rather to a 12V deep cycle battery that is connected to the mill. The deep cycle battery will help control the voltage (ie. bring the voltage down to it's potential) thus you don't risk frying the light's charger.

Is your wind turbine already connected to a battery bank?
If so, do you have a charge controller?
It would help if you gave a bit more info. about your current set-up and if possible the type of battery/charger the light has.

arc



Re: Wind Turbine to 12 Volt Battery Charger? (3.00 / 0) (#4)
by eformx on Sun Aug 29th, 2004 at 10:00:52 PM MST
(User Info)

Hi arc,

Its not connected to a battery at the moment, just went up. Its sitting on a tree (a cheap tower), about 25 ft up, sitting on a bluff, so its a little taller then the trees.  If all goes well with my mouting system, I will put up a second TDM up that should be about 40 feet up.  No charge controller, just a diode to stop any voltage reversal.

Did some pondering this weekend, and I'm going with your suggestions to setup a 'Battery Shack' below the turbine and then hook-up the rechargeable light.  I'm leaning toward an AGM (Advanced Glass Mat) sealed deep cycle battery (about $180 CDN for 55 Amp hours).  Probably will go with 1 battery for trial purposes. The Battery Shack will be exposed to -45 Celsius tempartures in the Winter, and from what I have read the AGM batteries are tough in these conditions.

We have Class 2 winds here (Ontario, Ottawa valley), but when it blows, it really lets loose and it goes for a few days.

Thanks for your response,

Rob

[ Parent ]



Re: Wind Turbine to 12 Volt Battery Charger? (3.00 / 0) (#3)
by LEXX on Fri Aug 27th, 2004 at 08:36:42 PM MST
(User Info)

Could you tell us the make, model and where you plan to buy them?  Then we can look at what they are and understand it a bit better, also 29$ sounds like a good deal if i know what you're talking about.  How many are you looking to power for how long per day, where you are and the wind conditions would help too.
LEXX


Re: Wind Turbine to 12 Volt Battery Charger? (3.00 / 0) (#5)
by eformx on Sun Aug 29th, 2004 at 10:12:09 PM MST
(User Info)

Hi Lexx,

I am not sure on the make, you get them at Costco in Ottawa Ontario.  They have 3000 candle power, about an 8" reflector with a hologen bulb.  My plan was to buy just 1.  I would be looking at running it for a maximum of 3 hours, twice a week.

I guess what I'm wondering, will any 12 volt charger take then input voltage and bring it down to its needs.  I understand a Car battery is actually about 12-15 volts, and if this is true, then you would think I should be able to pass 24 volts or anything over 12 volts to the charger and it will import the amount of juice it requires to operate?  Hmmm...

Rob

Ps.  The Wind Turbine project is intended to first provide power to charge something that I can move from a Battery Shack to the location in need.  Primarily over the Winter that location is the indoor ice rink. If the Battery keeps topped off during our windy winters, then I might add some more batteries for other household uses. We would like the Genny to become an alternative to a gas/diesel generator, so if a power shortage occurs we will have some kind of backup with an Inverter.


[ Parent ]



Re: Wind Turbine to 12 Volt Battery Charger? (3.00 / 0) (#7)
by LEXX on Mon Sep 6th, 2004 at 09:07:46 PM MST
(User Info)

Sounds like a pretty good deal, i wonder about the bulb quality tho, also, make sure you battery bank isn't going to go through any rapid changes in temp, especially in the downward direction.  It has been said that a charging battery gives quite a bit of heat so you could just make a very insulated jacket for your single battery for the time being.

[ Parent ]


Re: Wind Turbine to 12 Volt Battery Charger? (3.00 / 0) (#6)
by ghurd on Thu Sep 2nd, 2004 at 09:16:48 PM MST
(User Info)

Have you thought about a 24 volt set up? Controller, batteries, bulbs, etc?

There is a lot of this equipment available. (28v bulbs from hydroavion Cessnas etc)
Also, there are 24v fluorscent bulbs, special order-same cost, very efficient.

You may try to find a switching regulator, going from 24 to 12 volts.

Changing the wind turbine from 24 to 12 would be best for you, I think. If it can be done.



Wind Turbine to 12 Volt Battery Charger? | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 editorial)
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