Wind turbine and solar power combo ?

[zukamini]

I have been pondering on building a small wind turbine and linking it into my solar panel array to charge one deep cycle battery. I have (2) 15 watt panels and and a voltage regulator capable of handling 20 amps. is this possible? It just seems that every night a little wind picks up and it would be nice to harness that power right at max consumption. if I was to install blocking diodes to both turbine and solar panels that would prevent each trying to power each other. I have a 72 volt pm motor that if powered, can produce about 14 volts at around 400 rpm. i thought that i could fashion a mast from a telescopic paint pole and mount it to the side of the teardrop.

[looped]

hmm a Y junction with a switch and a flag post holder would make this happen,, during the night remove the flag and put the wind generator in its place, plug it in and flip the switch.

[zukamini]

Sorry I meant to say solar controller. I'm not sure if it will regulate the voltage as it is rated for 12/24 volts & pm motor spinning at faster rpms can produce up to 50 volts.

[emiller]

I've got that set up on my trailer.

[brian_bp]

I think the problem with using the solar controller with a wind turbine would be the different behaviour of solar panels and turbines.

With a solar panel if you don't need the power (the battery is fully charged) you just disconnect it, and the panel tries to produce a high voltage with no current, which is harmless.

With a wind (or water) turbine if you just disconnect it from the load (the battery) it may spin out of control. For this reason, controllers intended for turbines divert the unwanted power to a "shunt" or "dump" load, which can simply be a big high-power resistor.

The ideal would be separate controllers, preferably ones designed to work together.

[zukamini]

I found a controller that will do both duties but not at the same time. it is made by Xantrex model c35, it is good for 35 amps and will multi stage charge batteries and when switched, can regulate voltage from turbine & dump to a shunt (load) when battery is fully charged.

[brian_bp]

I found a controller that will do both duties but not at the same time. it is made by Xantrex model c35, it is good for 35 amps and will multi stage charge batteries and when switched, can regulate voltage from turbine & dump to a shunt (load) when battery is fully charged.

The Xantrex C Series sounds promising!

[Oasis Maker]

I have been pondering on building a small wind turbine and linking it into my solar panel array to charge one deep cycle battery. I have (2) 15 watt panels and and a voltage regulator capable of handling 20 amps. is this possible? It just seems that every night a little wind picks up and it would be nice to harness that power right at max consumption. if I was to install blocking diodes to both turbine and solar panels that would prevent each trying to power each other. I have a 72 volt pm motor that if powered, can produce about 14 volts at around 400 rpm. i thought that i could fashion a mast from a telescopic paint pole and mount it to the side of the teardrop.

Yeah, you go 'head and do that zukamini. And Eddie, you bring your already completed set up to IRG 2.0. and I'll be following both of you around like some crazed groupie!


Scott G.

[daddiozz]

I have been pondering on building a small wind turbine and linking it into my solar panel array to charge one deep cycle battery. I have (2) 15 watt panels and and a voltage regulator capable of handling 20 amps. is this possible? It just seems that every night a little wind picks up and it would be nice to harness that power right at max consumption. if I was to install blocking diodes to both turbine and solar panels that would prevent each trying to power each other. I have a 72 volt pm motor that if powered, can produce about 14 volts at around 400 rpm. i thought that i could fashion a mast from a telescopic paint pole and mount it to the side of the teardrop.

....hey guy ,go to www.realgoods.com these guys just about wrote the book on solar/wind power systems......they're "help" was invaluable when I set up my solar/wind system in my cabin in the woods...