Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

[Dannyx]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

Here's how I'd imagine a small-ish DIY charge controller for home use. The components can be up-scaled as needed for bigger stuff, of course. That battery switch is a little tricky, as it has to open when the turbine turns (charge mode) and close when the wind stops (battery mode). I see an op-amp in there somewhere maybe...

Victron already has this stuff pre-made from what I gather.

[Dannyx]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

I doubt it's got field coils. It's most likely a BLDC with the magnets stuck to the outer casing that spins around the stator coils. It's backed up by the fact that it's got 3 main wires coming out of it and although it has another connector with a bunch of smaller pins as well, that's most likely for some sort of speed/position sensors, as the wires are way to fine a gauge to be anything else, like power. Field coils would probably waste power to begin with, which isn't something we want. I was thinking about a car alternator, but it's the same problem: no permanent magnets, unless I modify it...

Right now, I'm still waiting for the guy to tell me what happens to the joule thief circuit once he tries it out

[petehall347]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

It might if it has a permanent magnet in the motor

shouldn't matter if the field coils can be excited .

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

I sold it, it got me thinking whether such an E-bike motor would function as a generator.

It might if it has a permanent magnet in the motor

[Dannyx]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

Great...the notification emails about this post suddenly ended up in my spam folder for whatever reason, so I had no idea people replied FAIL

True, I haven't seen a single one of this guy's inventions so far, so I too have no idea what's supposed to happen there....and I'm not curious to find out anyway, since that's NOT what I'd use for this project to begin with as far as the electronics are concerned.
I also agree with not wanting to reinvent the wheel here. As much as I like the idea of DIY turbines as a hobby and for a bit of fun and experimenting in the name of science, I'm not ready to put in a lot of time and effort into something that's already been invented AND is much better off the shelf than I'd ever be able to make it. The idea of a bridge rectifier on the output still seems to go right past this guy

I also had a brain-fart: last summer, I upgraded the motor on my E-bike to a bigger one and I remember such motors are BLDC motors, which conveniently have 3 wires for power. Although I no longer have the old motor to experiment with, because I sold it, it got me thinking whether such an E-bike motor would function as a generator.

[madan1]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

motorbikes are 3 phase .

Yes, I also have seen bikes with only 3 phases/coils (japan made), but apparently there are some with 2 and single phase ... like scooters, old ussr ones, etc.


p.s. my bad - now checked again the schematics, what I though that was a diagram of a 2phase rectifier was a single phase. So I guess even the ruskies did not make such a unicorn.

[petehall347]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

Hot water has already been invented. You will find what you need in... motorcycles. Basically all pre-2000 (I'm not sure about the newer ones) have a magneto with 2 or 3 coils. I guess you can get the rectifiers from a motorcycle scrapyard or pick one of the many schematics available in google ( https://www.google.com/search?q=moto...=lnms&tbm=isch )

motorbikes are 3 phase .

[madan1]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

Hot water has already been invented. You will find what you need in... motorcycles. Basically all pre-2000 (I'm not sure about the newer ones) have a magneto with 2 or 3 coils. I guess you can get the rectifiers from a motorcycle scrapyard or pick one of the many schematics available in google ( https://www.google.com/search?q=moto...=lnms&tbm=isch )

[eccerr0r]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

Need more details of how the electromechanical parts are made, what are the rotor windings, stator windingsl is he using magnets or electromagnets to generate the field, what commutator is being used, etc., etc. - without those details it's hard to tell what needs to be connected to what, and what kind of voltage output is to be expected?

There is no standard, using a DC PM motor in reverse as a generator requires significantly different circuitry than using an alternator from a car to generate electricity...

[Dannyx]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

I ended up putting together the smaller circuit with the BD139 after all, just by soldering the components to one another because I couldn't get the guy out of my hair I'm actually kinda curious to see what happens once he hooks this up to whatever coils he put together at complete random, with no specs and no measurements like inductance and the likes. I'm no expert either when it comes to this advanced a topic, but I know for sure there's more to it than that. If I had to take an educated guess, I'd say the battery will immediately kill the transistor (assuming it's a 12v SLA he attempts to use), because once the C-E junction starts to conduct, that battery is capable of pushing WAY more than the 3A the BD139 is rated for, since it will just pass through coil 1-4 like a dead short, with only minimal resistance from the wire. The wire itself may melt and split at that point anyway...

[Dannyx]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

Not a problem. I think it's better to have a higher input voltage anyway, since the closer you get to the output you're trying to achieve (230v in this case), the more efficient the system is, albeit more expensive with all those batteries...

[petehall347]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

plenty of 12v stuff around i think

[Dannyx]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

Yeah, I found some Victrons and the price difference between them and other random stuff is significant, possibly hinting to their quality in the industry. Even though the cheaper one I found also does MPPT....supposedly. The norm for the battery bank seems to be 48v for most of these systems.

[petehall347]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

check out victron energy . everyone thats serious uses their stuff .others cheap out and buy mppt units that are actually pwm .and at best set on fire whilst you are home and can deal with it .

[Dannyx]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

Fairly expensive stuffs, but not nearly as expensive as what I was going to come up with Can't find any big-name brands though and they're all intended for solar panels, meaning I'm not sure if they can slow down the turbine with the dump load to keep it below the maximum input voltage....although the one I have my eyes on the moment claims it can do up to 500v on the input from the solar panels (which will be the generator in my case), which let's be honest, is unlikely this chap's gennie will reach I THINK the MPPT does just that, so I'm probably all set to go.

[petehall347]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

should work .. mppt controller is best

[Dannyx]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

Wonder if I could use a pre-made controller/charger/UPS thingy normally designed for solar panels. I'd stick the rectified wind turbine on the input for the solar panel and it apparently does the rest for me...no need to reinvent the wheel here...

[petehall347]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

they just about stop if you short the output . like i said my dummy load is to be outside lighting . nice to have outside lights in high winds .
on another note i knew someone that designed and built wind generators very clever he was . he had one doing 240v 50 hz ..

[Dannyx]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

Another thing I'm concerned about if I use a SMPS on the output of the generator, be it AC or DC, is the generator exceeding the input the SMPS is rated for....you know, due to TOO strong a wind. I'd need a way to slow it down and the crude and primitive way I'm thinking of is to simply load it some more using a dummy resistor that I'd engage as needed, automatically of course...a more complicated setup would probably involve an additional winding to mess with the fields somehow...I need to brush up on my motor theory

[petehall347]

Re: Wind generator charger schematics (or load of baloney ?)

This you ?

not me ...