TDM generator newbie help

[RanZ]

I am going to start building a TDM wind generator for a fun project and to power a couple lights and laptop in my fish house and was hoping I could get some guidance here. I took a couple college electronics courses along time ago so I have basic knowledge of electricity. I have a couple questions before I start ordering all my parts.

I will be using the Ametek 30VDC motor(if I can find one) According to this site:

http://www.tlgwindpower.com/Ametek30data.htm it will output 18.5V @ 550RPM, does that mean I could put out enough electricity to charge a 12V battery in a light wind(8-12MPH)?

If the wind does get a lot faster and it puts out say over 24V will I need a voltage regulator or will the battery regulate itself?

I was looking for a cheap charge regulator and found one that is usable up to 8amps:

http://www.infinigi.com/steca-solsum-88x-charge-controller-wlcd-p-806.html?ref=100

Would that product work with a TDM wind generator or is the amp rating too low?

If I hook an inverter to the battery and use it while the wind generator is charging it will I have a constant supply of power as long as there is enough wind or will the battery eventually run dry?

One last thing, if anyone has an extra working Ametek 30VDC in good condition and is willing to sell it I would be interested! I cannot find one in my area.

Thanks for any advice!

Dan

[AbyssUnderground]

The battery should self regulate until it is fully charges, then you will require a regulator.

These motors are hard to come upon so don't get your hopes up.

[ghurd]

The controller in the link is a SOLAR controller.

It will not work.  It will cook with a windmill. Quick.

G-

[RanZ]

can you recommend any cheap controllers that will work with a wind system? I'm trying to build this for under $200 if possible. Having a hard time finding a ametek 30VDC also, are there any other motors that would fit the job?

Thanks

[nothing to lose]

Much depends how much work you want to do and can do yourself.

First about any DC Permanant Magnet Motor will produce power when spun. Getting the best one for the job can be tricky, but it does not have to be a certain Ametek motor.

I have a 75lb industrial Dayton motor that might make well over 1KW as a genny with the right blades in a good wind, I paid about $20 for it at a scrap yard, and it works! I am of course saving that one for a specail project later.

I have several others I picked up at scrap yards about 1HP that would do very well, about 16cents lb for them. Agian though, as I am going off grid as much as I can I will probably use those as motors to replace AC motors here on big tools.

 If you look around for them you can find allot of motors scrapped that are great and cheap, or from a surplus/salvage store.

You can take a decent AC motor, turn the armature down, add magnets and have a nice genny also. Sometimes you need to change a coil connection inside, sometimes you don't.

If you look through the forum well and willing to do some work to build it, pay a little for having stuff done you can't do yourself maybe, then you could build several types of good gennies for $200 or less.

[bigdan]

Ranz I have a Ametek I will sell you if you need one. Email me at bigdan420us@yahoo.com.

[mukunthko]

I'm only a college student and a beginner so i'll tell you what i know.

I've never seen a ready-made charge controller being available for wind turbines on ebay but the way my wind turbine works is that.

The variable DC input is connected to a second hand buck dc-dc converter bought from ebay that converts 15-65 volts DC to 13.6 volts (the charging potential of a 12 volt battery). Although you can just allow the battery to charge itself with output voltages higher than the battery voltages and using a blocking diode to prevent the current from flowing backwards. but there's always the risk of overcharging the battery that way i suppose.

I then use a dump regulator i bough from ebay to divert the charge from the battery when it gets over charged.

I also have a low voltage disconnect in between my battery and inverter.

This system seems to work quite well.

[RanZ]

I'm a little confused, when you say dump regulator isn't I think thats what I meant when I said charge regulator. Basically I need something to divert the power to another load when the battery is fully charged. Is dump regulator the proper term for it? I searched ebay for that and came up with nothing.

Thanks

[RanZ]

I think I better get a basic design built and then add the more complex parts later. This will save time and money. For starters I can just use a manual switch to switch between battery charging and a dump load.

Can you short out the motor to stop the blades spinning so its safer to put up and take down or is that bad for the motor?

[fungus]

Yes, shorting out the turbine is a widely used practice, just make sure you short it before the blocking diode so that you dont short the battery, and dont short it out in high winds. If you are around to watch it all the time or if you have a large battery you may get away with not having a controller.

[RanZ]

I made a quick drawing in paint(no photoshop on this pc), can you tell me if this is the correct way to wire everything? What would make a good dump load?

Thanks

[fungus]

That should be ok; although it may be better to have the dumpload connected to the battery instead; it is hard to have a dumpload that will load the windmill at all speeds. I made my dumpload out of power resistors, shown here on the top right:

 

Dumploads can also be made out of nichrome heating wire assemblies, heater elements can be rewired. To find out the resistance needed you need the max input power (around 100w for an ametek(around 7A)) and the voltage (around 14v at dumping voltage). 14v/7A= around 2 ohms resistance. Make sure whatever you use can handle the current needed. Plugin car heaters can be used; around 150w. Any 12v load could be used in theory as a dumpload. Ghurd is one I know of who is developing a cheap controller and there is other circuits available.

[RanZ]

bigdan - I have sent you an email.

Thanks

[RanZ]

If the blades spin the motor clockwise, will the red wire still be positive?

[RanZ]

http://www.mpja.com/productview.asp?product=14461+MD

would that make a decent generator? I cannot find a ametek 30vdc for under $100

[alancorey]

Gearmotors generally won't work because the gear train isn't meant to be run backwards, ie low speed to high speed.  Also anything that runs on 45 ma isn't going to produce much more than that at best.

  Alan

[RanZ]

http://www.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=460755

would that little heater be a good enough dump load? It's 200W and I doubt the 30vdc motor will put out that much. Can I just cut the car cigarette plug-in and connect the wires to my charge regulator?