how slow is the xantrex c-series?

[cardamon]

So I just got my windmill flying, Ill post some more details and pictures of it when I get some time.  The mill is 1000 watt rated, and runs through a transformer to drop the 240 to 12 v and during gusts, I see up to 70 amps going into my two l-16's, and I often see 40 to 50 amps sustained (12 volt system).  I have a xantrex c-60 diverting into a 75 foot length of 16 guage copper thhn submerged in water which at max warp will take about 60 amps.  Under regulation I am seeing the voltage rise above the regulation set point by about up to 1 volt, and minus .5 volt when the wind dies suddenly, The controller seems out to lunch, as it can take ten seconds for it to compensate (its hard to tell because the windmill speed is volatile).  Now I have read numerous postings on the board about the c-series being slow to react, but does this seem worse than others' experiences?  The other factor may be my undersized (for the available charge current) battery bank when doesnt buffer changes well.  I am considering trying a tristar ts-60 , but I dont really want to spend $200 right now if it wont improve the regulation significantly.  Any opinions/suggestions appreciated.

[2windy]

I have two C-40's parraelled with two seperate dump loads 40 amps each with 12 - 6 volt Troyans. I have a 24 volt system and often see 70+ amps. I am having the exact same problem. When crazy winds happen it looks as if it is on break. My problem is it trips my inverter. Talked to the "man" at Xantrex and he said they are just slow playing catch up. Adding more C-40 controllers would not help, they are just too slow. Maybe a different flavor of controller would help. If you find a solution post it please. I had some advice from guys here about adding another home made control circut, but don't quite understand electronics that well.

[dbcollen]

I trigger Solid state relays with the aux relay of my Outback equipment, it reacts instantly. I have 6 aux relays total in my system (1 in each inverter, 2 in FlexnetDC, one in the mx60, and one in the Flexmax80) any or all of which can be set for diversion and at different voltages so I can stage small loads a few tenths of a volt apart. They also follow the charge stage of the equipment so you get bulk, absorb and float still with the diversion.

Dustin

[(unknown)]

i am not familiar with this particular charger,  but have

worked on many other xantrex charger/inverters.

They all seem to have a common problem,  parasitic oscillations on the DC side

fooling their meter and control circuits so one gets bad voltage readings

and charge shift

points that are off by a couple of tenths of a volt.

Large large (4/0) and short cables to the batteries reduce the series resistance and inductance and allow the batteries to help damp the problem.  A large capacitor (on the battery bank side) also helps but it has to be very large.  Neither of these

are attractive solutions I understand,  but until Xantrex provides remote sensing

and puts some filters (hdw or sw) on the inputs, its all I have been able to do.

If you have a scope, put it on the battery side, set it to AC, and check it.

I was surprised to see .6V P-P of high frequency ripple across the charger outputs.

(worst case on a Xantrex/Heart charger I have seen 90V of narrow pulses, enough

to shock the owner).

In general, I have had very poor luck with Xantrex in off grid applications.

The motor home crowd loves them.

good luck

gello

[cardamon]

As I mentioned in my OP, I have heard the tristars are better, but it would be nice to hear from someone who has used both and can quantify the improvement a bit.  I currently have two C-60's but am only using one at the moment since the output rarely goes above its capacity. Ultimatly I will hook up two for redundancy and those rare situations.  I really dont like the idea of buying two tristars so maybe one used as the primary would improve the situation and a c-60 can do a poor job at handling the extra.

[Flux]

I have never used either but as far as I know there is no problem with the Tristar.

One Tristar would tame the thing and the C60 could come in at it's leisure when the wind really blows. Just choose the dump load for the tristar to keep it within it's rating.

Flux

[scoraigwind]

Yes the tristar is quite different.  It does not have the time-delay.  Buy a tristar in teh first place if you get the chance.  They are much better!

The Xantrex C- series controllers work on an average of the last few seconds, and this is not good when the wind is gusty.  The Tristar has instant response and so it hold the voltage steady.