Hybrid Controllers

[Ryan Nobles]

I am in the research mode of building a setup for my house and have put ears on a "hybrid" solar/wind charge controller. Is there one that is reliable such as a midnite? The one I heard mentioned was from a company called Hurricane Wind Power, but there is not an item for sale on their site, nor have I yet to receive an email response of the controller in question. Any suggestions?

Ryan

[Ralph Day]

kBergey XL1 here, comes with a Midnitesolar Classic 250. Works great, but get the Clipper, not just the disconnect. With the Clipper and Classic you can really adjust and play with things. Also you can almost eliminate the "blade tip flutter" (read gentle roar) that the turbine can make when it's dumping in high gusts.

Ralph

[Ryan Nobles]

Ralph,

I am assuming you have some time working with the clipper. I am looking at the internals and noticed most of the cost must be from the control PCB. With that being said, this leads me to my next question-- Have you seen these cards last long term? Have you had to deal with midnite as far as their warranty goes? Honestly I have not even looked or asked about their warranty for the clipper, but I would imagine it would have to come with a decent one as long as nothing is rewired internally (and maybe if coupled with a classic). The point to my requisition is that $1200-$1700 for a wind turbine control setup is a bit high on most people's pocket book but with long term reliability, it has benefits.

Ryan

[Ralph Day]

Hi Ryan
I've only had the clipper installed for less than a year, but no problems whatsoever in that time. From what I"ve read on the MS forum, they're really good on warranty calls and trying to get people back on-line quickly.

One little addition I made to mine was a muffin fan below the box to blow through as the resistors heat up. The higher rated resistors have an integrated fan and control, but the 1kw units don't. Felt kinda warm on the box, so I wired a snap switch (furnace fan control) to the muffin fan and presto, fan control on the cheap.

Not the cheapest control system, but when you put up a $4000 turbine on a $3000 tower and support system, you might as well go with the best (Midnitesolar).
Ralph

[Ryan Nobles]

Yea, that is wise when you do spend some money on a quality turbine. For me, I am wanting to start with a cheapo turbine but with quality brains/controls. When I feel that wind is of benefit, I will then make the call to upgrade to a better mill.

Ryan