Author Topic: tower building (Read 2586 times)

getterdone · « **on:** April 06, 2008, 02:15:44 AM »

i'm just about to finish my tower. i need advice on wiring. i will be running wire about 130' from the tower base to my power shed. the tower is 72' tall. i'll put in electrical condent, probably 1- 1/4".,in the ground. for now, the tower will have a 10' wind gen on it and in the future maby a 12'. ok should i run the wire from the gen to the shed then rectify it.,running all three phases.,in doing so, what size wire should i use? would it make more sense to rectify, and run d/c [2 wires] to the shed? if so what size wire should be used? also could some one point me in the right direction on how, and where to get a charge controller. i dont know the proper way to hook the wind gen to the batt. should i need a dump load? help please...........

wpowokal · « **Reply #1 on:** April 05, 2008, 09:45:33 PM »

Start by telling us what voltage your system is, it's relevent.

allan down under

getterdone · « **Reply #2 on:** April 06, 2008, 08:51:58 AM »

system is 24v

getterdone · « **Reply #3 on:** April 06, 2008, 09:03:20 AM »

i will post pictures of the tower, windgenny, lister back up, power shed,and such as soon as i can. might need help posting pictures never done it, but need to learn.

jmk · « **Reply #4 on:** April 06, 2008, 04:30:49 PM »

I wouldn't go with anything smaller than # 6. If you want to have the brake switch by the batteries you will have to run three wires. It isn't much of a difference in dc losses to ac losses so if you want to save on the extra wire you can but you will have to have the brake at the tower.

getterdone · « **Reply #5 on:** April 06, 2008, 04:52:39 PM »

jmk, i have got a roll 500' of thhn wire. do you think it would hurt me much if i used that. the price of wire in play here also. i thought i'd run it from the top of the tower to a male and female plug 250v twist lok.,so i could untwist the wire as it gets twisted. then i'll go from the base of the tower to the shed, where the batt is located. i have got a big heat sink to mount the diode's to. another question is, do i need a dump load, and a charge controller?

ghurd · « **Reply #6 on:** April 06, 2008, 05:35:39 PM »

We don't have the information needed to answer.

THHN comes in a lot of sizes. #18 to #4.

I figure you are hoping for 50A?

I think #6 is a bit light for it. And expensive too.

Fine down the tower.

Might consider AL for the long run. 2 conductor w/g USE #2 AL is about the same price as single conductor #6 CU THHN. Meaning bigger AL is a lot cheaper.

Yes. You certainly need a dump load and controller.

G-

dbcollen · « **Reply #7 on:** April 06, 2008, 05:37:27 PM »

what guage THHN?

THHN will need to be run in conduit and protected from sunlight if you are going to use it down the tower. It is not very tough like USE or USE-2 cable and is not suitable for direct burial or exposure to sunlght.

#6 would be the smallest wire I would use if it were my project.

Dustin

ghurd · « **Reply #8 on:** April 06, 2008, 05:42:12 PM »

For running 3 conductors 130', and a 12' mill, might even think about #1/0 AL USE.

It's cheaper than 2 conductors of #6 THHN CU!

G-

jmk · « **Reply #9 on:** April 06, 2008, 05:55:58 PM »

You need to use flexible strand wire down the tower. If you use the thhn wire for your underground you will have to be careful of the U - V protection where it comes out of the ground at the tower. A dump load is a must, and you need a controller to do it. You will need a C - 60 or equivalent with a good wind site at 24 volts. I used thhn too, but ran welding wire down the tower. I bought my welding wire from this guy. He had great prices plus he will put your name on the cable casing, and you can pick your color. If you go that rout. http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZcoppercableman If you have the thhn in individual cased wire I think it will be fine in a 70 foot tower. If it's all wrapped up in one casing it you wont be able to untwist it. You need to make a clamp to hang the weight of your wires at the top. I used a small cable bolted at the top about thirty - five foot long. I zip tied and taped it to the wires. This way your not hanging all the weight of the wires at the top on themselves. I used a Range plug on mine. I had a hard time finding cheep twist locks, but others have found them. They say that it's good to run your wires out to a guy footing that will allow you to make a 90 deg turn to the house. You should have a ground rod there too. It will help loose some volts from a lightening strike. If you get hit by lightening your probably sol anyway, but it can help.

getterdone · « **Reply #10 on:** April 06, 2008, 07:58:00 PM »

jmk, i have a 500' spool, single strand #6 thhn. i didnt think of running a cable down inside the tower to help support the wire. i've been surching the board, and haven't found that idea. do you have any problem with the cable and wire twisting? i guess i'll get some welding cable to run down the tower. i forgot to put the ground rod in while i had the dirt and out of the hole for the base. thank goodness for backhoes. i know ground rods are a must. i will be adding solar in the future [400watts] or so. will i need a seperate charge controller for these? any thing else you can think i will need to know will? man i appreciate it very much. thanks again

DanG · « **Reply #11 on:** April 06, 2008, 10:57:34 PM »

Ground plates and such can be buried but a true grounding rod is meant to be driven into place. You want it to see a cross section of undisturbed soil strata with the act of driving in forcing better contact & conductivity. It's okay to trench and cover conductors to the driven ground rods but not the rods themselves.

A lightning protection guide download:

http://www.dehn-usa.com/dehn-Application-Guides-pubcid1.html

It's 16+MB and pushes their products but the 'rolling sphere' strike hazard model and seeing what they do to protect pedestrians around buildings makes it worth at least scanning...

Sparky01 · « **Reply #12 on:** April 07, 2008, 06:28:48 AM »

On the subject of supporting the wieght of the cable down the tower, the best thing to use (which is used in the industrial electrical field) is a "Kellems Grip". It is designed like a chinese finger lock with a hanging loop. The harder the cable is pulled the more it grips around the entire circumferance of the cable. It is used alot with hanging multiconductor SOW cords or power drops to machinery.

jmk · « **Reply #13 on:** April 07, 2008, 06:40:24 AM »

Yes, they all twist up together, and untwist together. Mine hardly twist up. My machine does about one 360 clockwise every one to two weeks. I put about twenty turns clockwise in the cable and then it's good for a year. I have only seen the machine do a 360 all at once one time. That was just before a thunderstorm hit.

TomW · « **Reply #14 on:** April 07, 2008, 08:36:34 AM »

Sparky;

And this is what mine look like:

getterdone · « **Reply #15 on:** April 12, 2008, 06:41:25 PM »

DanG,,,i can't drive a ground rod [ rocky area ]. the web sight did give some ideas though. all i can do is dig down about 5' then drive as far as possible. maybe two or three of them. i've heard of people using a large hammer drill, i've only got a small one. thank's

getterdone · « **Reply #16 on:** April 12, 2008, 06:44:20 PM »

tom, i didn't know what they were called. thank's

jmk · « **Reply #17 on:** April 12, 2008, 07:08:37 PM »

You can bury coils of wire too.

TomW · « **Reply #18 on:** April 12, 2008, 07:09:37 PM »

The type I have are perfect for tower downleads. Just bore the top "cap" of the yaw tube on the head to fit that smaller diameter of the round part to fit in it. I have an industrial salvage and surplus place nearby they have lots of cool parts.

http://7riverssurplus.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/

They list on Ebay a lot, too if you use that mess.

TomW

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Author Topic: tower building (Read 2586 times)