You may find this picture helpful:
I took the photo of the DC distribution panel before I installed it in my battery shed.
The power from the mill is rectified (from 3-phase) in a separate control box.
DC coming out of the control box connects to the copper bars, sharing connections
with the battery bank and the charge controller (white box shown in photo).
Beside the charge controller is the dump load: four large Ohmite resistors that can shed 400 Watts in their current configuration. When I upgrade to a 24V system, they will shed 800 Watts. Because the cylinders are so large, they don't get extremely hot until they're working near the top of their rating (300 Watts each in this case).
I found this set on E-bay. For once it was exactly what I needed.
As for the inverter, I'm still shopping. In 24V, you can choose from Xantrex, Outback, and Magnum; they seem to be popular. Each has its proponents and critics. There are a lot of other choices too, but if you want features tailored for RE, you might want to stick with these guys. Check out the AEE catalog:
http://www.alt-energy.com/
Here's a opposing philosophy for you (the one I've used): While you're experimenting, get something kinda cheap so that when you "learn a lesson" the hard way, it doesn't throw too much money away. Maybe you don't need the fanciest inverter while you're still a rookie. I boiled down a pair of Trojan lead-acid batteries, instead of a bigger bank of AGM batteries that would cost a pretty penny to replace.
