First, let me say thanks for responding back to my posting. Sorry it took me this long to respond back to you as I have been working a lot this week. I know my PM alternator question was pretty broad and general, so let me give you some details. As I stated before, I started this windmill project in the spring and it's been flying since June. My first motor was a 38VDC Ametek with a 3 blade rotor. I'm using 28 inch, aluminum hyper-spin blades, I ordered from Ebay. They spun fast and true mounted on the Ametek. The intent of this wind generator was to power my shed lights and some outlets. I have it mounted at the back wall of my shed. I'm using a #10awg power cord for a 25foot run going from my ametek motor, down my tower and into the back wall of my shed to my batteries. My batteries are 4 new 105/amp hr. deep-cycle batteries. I thought the larger capacity batteries would be appropriate. I'm also using a charge controller with a 40-amp relay and 3 heavy-duty, 200watt resistors for a dump load. The ametek motor never put out enough voltage to charge my batteries, even in steady 20 to 30mph winds. The most volts made was about 12-13 volts. I became very dissatified with this, so I purchased the 500watt PM Alternator, I am now using. This is a 3phase, AC motor capable of putting out a lot of voltage and it does just that when not under load. With this alternator, came a 3phase bridge rectifier, turning AC to DC voltage, which I am now using. It was pretty simple to hook-up, using the same 3-wire, #10 power cord. I thought this Alternator would definitely remedy my low voltage and battery charging problems, but it still doesn't. When hooked-up to my batteries and no matter what the wind speed is, the rotor still spins at a slow steady speed and produces no more than 5-6 volts. Now, I don't know if this is the way it's supposed to be and there really isn't a problem or is it, that something isn't wired right or I need to upgrade to heavier wiring. It has been suggested to me, to upgrade to larger blades, matching to my PMA and maybe better start-up in low winds. I really getting disgusted over this, since I've put a lot of time and money into this small windmill. I am new to this and I have done a lot of reading on the subject, so it peaked my interest to build a wind generator. They make it sound easy and cheap on the internet.
I will try to send you some photos of my set-up to give you a better idea. So, if you have any suggestions or ideas, I would greatly appreciate it. Again, thanks for responding back to me.