Cheap chinese horizontal wind turbine, an in depth exploration.

[Hedges]

It just needs a way to regulate the generator itself. Exactly how a car alternator does it. Or adjusting the pitch of the blades. It's just added parts and cost and these little units are designed to be cheap.

Electrical control vs. mechanical makes it simpler and more robust.
Automotive alternators have brushes on a slip ring to make variable magnetic field on rotor. That lets output be adjusted so at idle they still produce high power output, keep up with electrical loads.

I think permanent magnet alternators have power output proportional to RPM.
Wind turbine power harvesting is proportional to wind speed raised to the power of 3.

http://solidwize.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/7-Understanding-the-Wind-Power-Equation.pdf

A switching power supply (MPPT) can adjust electrical load on the turbine to maximize power across a range of RPM (and wind speed), allowing voltage & current to be different at different operating points.

A bank of switches connecting more/fewer resistive loads (strings of Christmas lights) would let the test operator perform MPPT function.

The video of carbon-fiber wind turbine on front of vehicle was interesting.
They adjusted blade angle to maximize power output.
I don't think they designed power electronics to alter operating point, just connected resistive load.
Large wind turbines also have adjustable blades. I'm not sure if that is to maximize power, or to adjust RPM for a 60 Hz synchronous generator.

This paper mentions maximizing power while minimizing load:

https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy00osti/27143.pdf

Without varying pitch, optimum RPM would vary with wind speed. Keeping blade tip sub-sonic would be one goal.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

No harm will come to it because the baldes can't spin fast enough so the blades will be stalled all the time.

Except the heat, eh?

I’ve heard enough blah stories about shorted braking that a load brake that puts the heat elsewhere (or big expensive turbines with mechanical brakes) seem like a much better idea. Am I wrong?

 

[Smokin]

 

[brandnewb]

The problem with all the million and one wind turbine manufacturers or resellers or companies that claim to be able to beat betz law

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org

Betz's_law
they only stay in business long enough to screw some investors out of money and/or leave end users with weird lawn art that stopped rotation long ago.

Or did I miss something specific in that extended advertisement that should have caught my eye?

Anyway, it made the urban wind turbine segment, unpopular.

 

[brandnewb]

Ive created a new thread to make a distinction between I am not sure what and I am not sure what

[SOLVED]Testing one's wind potential. How to do it in Europa

I have a wind turbine https://diysolarforum.com/threads/cheap-chinese-wind-turbine-an-in-depth-exploration.30146 What would be the most simple way of testing it's output.If there is anything to be bought from local sources then I will do do. TL;DR it's an 48V AC alternator and now if at all...

diysolarforum.com

there we can talk more about how to actually test this damned thing. Here I will keep updating results/statistics on this particular thing

 

[brandnewb]

Otherpower is the place for all things wind. @brandnewb m you might consider joining over there.

I registered days ago, still have not been accepted by a moderator ;(

This is what you need or something like it to hook the wind turbine to the battery. This would go near the battery. However the voltage is a bit high for Lifepo4.

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It's in boys and girls!


A whole 6 days earlier than expected. Now if only it works My 16 x 3.2v 280Ah LifePO4 battery pack is still not shipped and the seller is also not updating.
I am not sad, only f*(d up as I have been warned on several occasions. But It's not over until the fat lady sings. There is still time and they might make it.

 

[chrisski]

I am on pins and needles to see what the result will be on this.

Good luck.

 

[Porch]

I am on pins and needles to see what the result will be on this.

Good luck.

Well, if the expectation is to get the rated 6,000 watts of the wind generator, so 125 amps across those read and black wires, the results will be fire.

 

[brandnewb]

Well, if the expectation is to get the rated 6,000 watts of the wind generator, so 125 amps across those read and black wires, the results will be fire.

No brother, i bought this cheap thing knowing full well it will never do as it is sold. I merely could afford it and was interest to learn what it CAN do and over time change the alternator/stator so that it can become better

 

[brandnewb]

I am on pins and needles to see what the result will be on this.

Good luck.

Can you please elaborate on what you meant 'this'? The charge controller, the cheap turbine, the combination of things etc etc?

 

[Porch]

I fully support any light test, controller test, connecting the wires to your balls, and other experiments you want to do. We are all here to learn and see what happens.
I am purely pointing our in all the above, that without a known, fixed source of clean airflow, as in a wind tunnel, there is no accurate way to measure the max power output of this unit.

I will point out that in any experiments you do, that Fluke T5 is not designed for what you want to do. No DC amps, and the auto settings can mess up. A Fluke 115 or a UNI-T UT210E is a better meter for the task.

 

[brandnewb]

connecting the wires to your ball

The results are in, I now have a confirmed gurth and lenght increase of 300% and a permanent erection

 

[brandnewb]

But I have tried and read and still fail how to wire those lights

 

[Porch]

But I have tried and read and still fail how to wire those lights

Hold one wire to the metal base of the light, and one wire to one of the terminals. If the light turns on and starts burning your flesh, disconnect one of the wires.

 

[chrisski]

Can you please elaborate on what you meant 'this'? The charge controller, the cheap turbine, the combination of things etc etc?

All the results of the windmill.

Specifically to see if I could meet my goal of 150 wh to 250 wh of power off of two hours of winds a day in excess of 15 knots.

 

[brandnewb]

Hold one wire to the metal base of the light, and one wire to one of the terminals. If the light turns on and starts burning your flesh, disconnect one of the wires.

Ok, I'll try tomorrow.

 

[brandnewb]

So I should probably also get a wind speed meter and an rpm meter yes?

 

[Porch]

So I should probably also get a wind speed meter and an rpm meter yes?

Meh. RPM is not going to help. Wind speed will not be accurate unless it's in the same location of the generator. Aka, standing on the ground getting a wind speed measurement may not tell you what the wind speed is up on your roof where the wind generator is.

The proper way to do this, before you buy the wind generator, is get an anemometer and measure the wind speed over months, at the same location as you want to put the wind generator.

Then you do a bunch of math and figure out how much wind you get that is within the range the wind generator makes power. Then you can get a rough idea of how much power you can make from that location.

This is all assuming the wind generator you select, has accurate numbers behind it. Aka, makes 200 watts at 10 knots of wind speed, 300 watts at 15 knots of wind speed. The Chinese specials, make all these numbers up, so you have no idea.

 

[brandnewb]

how do I do something like this?

this seems lke testing what a turbine can actually do,, does not it?

 

[Porch]

how do I do something like this?

this seems lke testing what a turbine can actually do,, does not it?

It is, and I suggested strapping it to the front of your car like this in one of the other post. You said it was already mounted on the roof.