Tom,
I just went back and read the original post, without bias. I think it is a fair comparison of a bang-bang circuit like ghurds, and a true three stage design, like a person can buy from Xantrex. I do not see a personal agenda against any particular person in this post.
I personally do not see a "talking down" to anyone. Samoa seems to subscribe to the theory that batteries should have a proper absorbtion charge daily, and is pointing out that these simple dump controllers will not automatically do an absorbtion charge. Assuming enough wind, with a bang-bang controller, you're either constantly boiling the crap out of batteries or chronically undercharging them, depending on where the voltage is set. I think it is a good point, and one that should be discussed.
Let me give you an example. My first solar system was this little one I put on my garage, 160W of panels, 4 golf cart batteries at 12V and a cheap 1500W inverter. I chose for my first charge controller a BZ Products MPPT200. Back at that time MPPT was all the rage and I thought it would give me the best bang for the buck, it was about $50 if I remember correctly. Well, as time went on, I kept wondering why every three months, I could see the tops of my plates in the golf cart batteries. I had the charge controller set up to a good absorb setpoint, like 13.8V. Problem was, I hardly ever used any power out of the batteries and the water boiled out at an alarming rate. Luckily for me the charge controller died after about 18 months and I put a $80 C30 on it. I only realized afterward that this BZ Products POS was NOT a three stage controller. I could hold batteries at float, I could boil them all the time, but nothing in-between.
Now, if someone, like Samoa, had warned me about charge controllers and how it is important to go through a daily absorb cycle of 1-3 hours and then return to float so as not to use excessive amounts of water, I likely would have been grateful for that information. I think there are plenty of people reading this board who are in the same boat I was in years ago and can benefit from this lesson.
I think maybe you and Samoa are on the same team, and maybe just don't realize it, perhaps because of past grievances or something. I see your agenda as leading people away from the BS that they can get an earful of in investigating RE solutions. In this particular post, I think Samoa is doing the same thing.
I'm not saying that this nifty simple controller that ghurd has cooked up is not a useful device, or that it does not have an appropriate place in somebody's RE system. Maybe I'm just one of those rich guys who has ten grand into his system and wants his batteries to last fifteen years. I want the best available, affordable technology to achieve that aim. Others might have different goals. A $100 charge controller on a $2000 battery bank is a good investment in my book. If I had a $20 battety bank, maybe my perspective would change.
And here I am, without even a single wind turbine in the air, talking about what I theoretically believe is the best charging profile for batteries. Guilty as charged for being a talker and not a doer, and I mean that seriously, as I think we see eye-to-eye on that subject.