48 volt Hornet question

[John motz]

I just purchased a 48 volt Hornet wind turbine. What puzzles me is how the instructions describe to use a battery regulator instead of a charge controller.

I have a charge controller already and don't want to spend anymore money on unnecessary items. Can someone please help me understand this?

Below is part of the instructions that I am confused about:

"Never send the power from a wind turbine into a THROUGH CHARGE controller! The power coming from the wind turbine MUST go directly to the battery. After that point do waht ever you need with the power as it will be SMOOTH and BUFFERED. Next make sure that the battery does not over-charge you can add a battery regulator with a
dump load. The reason of this is that during wind storms turbines can put out enough high voltage to FRY in line controllers and in many case the pulsing voltage that comes out of a wind turbine can confuse the controllers computer. Best to connect direct!

Wire size and dump loads / extra notes-

The great thing about wind power is that the voltage goes up along with the wattage making power transmission very linear. Do not try to stop a turbine by shorting out the wires! If the wind gets over 50 MPH they will burn out. Just let them free spin.

The best plan is always to use ALL OF the power during high wind events!!!!!!
I have made about 500 Gallons of FREE hot water during the biggest wind storms we get around here. We take lots of luxurious and FREE hot water bubble baths after a wind storm : )"

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Rob Beckers]

John, the way the manual describes things for your turbine is pretty common: The turbine wires directly to the batteries (via a rectifier). The batteries provide what is in essence an infinite load, keeping the turbine from running away. To prevent overcharging of the batteries a charge controller in diversion mode is used, directly (separate from the turbine) connected to the batteries.

Think about the other way, if there's a charge controller between the turbine and batteries: When the batteries are full the controller switches off, disconnecting the turbine from the batteries and leaving it without a load. A little puff of wind spins up the turbine, now unloaded, and it runs away towards self-destruction.

-RoB-

[John motz]

As you can probably notice I don't know a lot about this stuff but am learning slowly. I am what you could call a layman or dabbler. It seems at each step I run into a problem so thanks for making this clear Rob. Much appreciated.

[Brian McGowan]

What charge controller do you have? Some have a relay that can be programmed to control a dump load.

[John motz]

This is what I got...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12-24V-10-000-Watt-440-Amp-THER-Digital-Charge-Controller-for-Wind-Turbine-G4-/301653088180?hash=item463becd7b4:g:YFAAAOSwstxVb78 9

[John motz]

I have a question about batteries. This has been the most confusing thing so far with this wind turbine project.

The alternator is called "550 Watt SCS PMA 48 VOLT DC 2-WIRE Wind Turbine Permanent Magnet Alternator" (actually I think mine is rated at 875) so what 12 v battery would go well with this? My plan is to buy one 12 v golf cart battery and use it for 3 or 4 light bulbs for 24 hours a day. Once I get used to how this stuff works through hands on learning I want to add more batteries and solar panels for more power. I found some cheap 12 v batteries online rated 12v35amps. Would this type of battery work for what I am wanting to do here? It seems from what I have read online people tend to use batteries with a lot more amps. They are also a lot more expensive.

I am hoping that this turbine will be able to at least work good enough to power three 60 or 100 watt light bulbs. I have the tilt up tower up. It is 22 ft high. The wind here is erratic because of the terrain. It is either no wind or very high winds and sometimes of course mild winds so the power coming in is going to be very little or very high.

The charge controller is supposed to handle up to 10,000 amps. What would also be a good inverter for this setup? If I added more solar panels and batteries would I have to buy a different inverter? I know that is a lot of questions and may be confusing. I am confusing myself trying to explain it, lol. I would appreciate it if someone could help me out here. Thanks