First fly on test tower

[Flux]

As far as the turbine is concerned then amps into the battery is what matters. Battery volts may have some small effect on performance but normally the volts don't change much and have little effect on the power produced.

When a machine is on the point of stall then sometimes the battery volts does affect the degree of stall and it may perform badly if the battery is low but if the loading is correct volts are of little importance as far as wind is concerned.

If you are actually calculating true power in to find battery efficiency then for accuracy you do need the true battery volts but it will have negligible effect on the charging current.

Reading ac volts is totally pointless, it is only a clamped value based on battery volts and is made useless by the meter waveform factor.

I understand your problem as a newcomer because in other places voltage is a factor in determining the power. If this alternator was driving a resistive load then yes as I  said previously volts rms would be useful.

I tend to forget that batteries are a very strange load to those not familiar with them, no normal load shows this constant voltage mechanism, all normal types of load are resistive ( or at least linear if reactance is present).

When discussing the voltages and that includes the 1.73 factor between phase and line volts it is always before a rectifier is connected to a battery.

Sorry if I sometimes get the wrong idea of questions, when something is obvious to me I have difficulty realising that someone is seeing this in a very different light.

Flux

[TomW]

Sorry if I sometimes get the wrong idea of questions, when something is obvious to me I have difficulty realising that someone is seeing this in a very different light.

Flux

Flux;

Yes, it is tough to remember to explain all the little bits n pieces that you just "know" and take into consideration automatically from long term experience in a field when addressing the less experienced folks.

Thanks for your efforts and patience.

Tom

[fabricator]

Flux I know it must be hard to see this from a spot you can't remember ever being And you are correct, this battery as a load thing is hard to come to grips with, until a couple months ago my "clamping" was done with vise grips, but thanks to the remedial education I'm getting from the professors here some of this stuff is seeping through my thick skull, thanks to every body for their patience.

[dlenox]

Dale,

Isn't that a vise grip clamping some electrical wires?

Sure - you know more about electrical clamping that you are letting us in on...

Dan Lenox

[fabricator]

No, usually steel for welding. 

[Timeless Turbines]

     Fabricator,
I have been trying to get a hold of you, we talked on the phone last fall, I lost your number.

Dan Bartmann and Dan Fink and one other will be starting a turbine building class at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti the first week of Aug.
 I told him that you live in Michigan and might stop buy.  We would love to meet you, Dan B spoke highly of you, and would like to meet you.

The plan is to build multiple turbines, and the last day of class bring the 12 footer to my house and fly it at its new home.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Larry Holmes
More Power To Ya
email: lholmes at emich dot edu
Web Site: ]people.emich.edu/lholmes]

timeless turbines... there is an instant message feature - use the tic-box beneath fabricators' name on his above post to communicate directly with him; or post a new thread calling forum folks out.... leaving this up for now but it is gone in a day or two.