Wind Project

Thread Starter

Slammer

Joined Mar 13, 2012
2
What I have is a prebuilt Wind Generator, and my own home made wind generator. The prebuilt one is supposed to be capable of generating 300Watts. The one i built consists of a 90V 1725RPM DC motor. The prebuilt one has no brushes so I can leave it hooked to the batteries all the time. The one I built needs a blocking diode, or rectifier so my batteries dont feed voltage back to the motor, and drain them. My question is, I have both of these units spinning pretty much non stop, upwards of 306RPM at any given time. I am seeing voltage from them, but never any amps. From either unit. So I'm wondering where the amps are going? Can anyone help me?
Thank you in advance
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
Welcome to the forums.

You haven't said anything about how the generators are loaded. With no load, you'll see the maximum voltage but they won't be generating any power (voltage x current). When loaded, the voltage will drop but current will flow.

You mentioned batteries, which are a type of load. If the battery is charging, that's where your current is going. What makes you think there is no current flowing?

Your permanent magnet alternator probably contains a built-in rectifier, and that's why it doesn't need an additional blocking diode.
 

Thread Starter

Slammer

Joined Mar 13, 2012
2
The main reason Im thinking I dont see any amps is because I have the positive wire of each one running through an ammeter, then I have them combined to a circuit breaker, then straight to the batteries. The voltage of the batteries doesn't change at all when they are both running. The batteries are my load.
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
A diagram would be helpful at this point. If you're placing the generators in parallel without a controller, bad things could be happening - power from one generator being forced into the other. Just putting them in series might not solve your problem either, though, so I'd recommend coming back with a diagram before you risk something.

Your general problem is "OR"ing power sources, and this plagues every corner of the energy-generation world. Lots of folks want to run wind and solar together, for instance. So your problem has been solved many times at many different scales. The best solution for YOU will depend on the details of your setup. The more detail you can put into your diagram, the better help you'll get from the pros here. I'm not one of them, but I do know what information is needed to reach a solution.
 
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