Well today a thunderstorm rolled through and it was a nasty one! Before I abandoned the the rectifier box/shut down, I saw the amp meter hit 40 amps on the 11 footer....yes with the odd-ball stator I wound with a wonky number of turns.
I left the area because lightning was getting furious, and I didnt want to be anywhere near the rectifier box; while I have everything grounded...I have seen what lighting has done to things before.....so it was either spin or burn. I guess I should have shut it down, but I also wanted to see waht the tower was capable of.
However everything held together, The tower which is at 60 feet and with three guy positions rocked and rolled a little bit but held firmly, the generator was completely folded up, yet I almost shut it down because I wasn't sure how long it could sustain this before the stator overheated and went nuclear....so I never got to actually see what the maximum amps were.
But I want to extend a word of thanks to each and everyone one of you folks!
Without your help none of this would have been possible. You folks pointed me in the right direction on every aspect of this adventure from batteries, towers, magnets, coils to controls, in fact everything! I'm sure at times I asked too many questions but you folks answerd every question I had...thanks!
I could easily name at least a dozen people who have helped me out, but that would be unfair because there were more than that many involved and I would consider a slight to an individual if I left their name out due to lack of memory!
Thanks again,
Gavin
Long live the homebrew wind turbine industry
