Gents of the Outback,

Quick question for you.

I have a Jacobs Wind Turbine that I just finished errecting in my back yard. It's on a 100 foot tower, about 150 feet from my home.
Output at the generator is 40v, 70a, DC.

Jacobs used to sell a cobbled together diverter/controller, but it seems to be more economical to "buy new" than to refurbish this old box (Jakes are decades old machines, but still considered the Gold Standard of wind turbines).

The problem is that Jacobs turbines are entirely mechanical, and cannot be backfed or shut off. It makes electricity when it turns, but it will also turn if supplied with electricity, ie, plugged into a battery bank.

So, I need, basically, a honkin' big blocking diode, and a load diverter that can handle my output if the batteries were full.

Now, to further complicate the game:

I am currently running a 12v DC system, and if I go up to a 24v system, I need to reconfigure my batteries (no prob) and buy a new inverter/charger. I will, eventually, but would rather not have to right now.

It cost me 1000$ in crane rental to get that tower errected on Saturday, so I want to let my wallet heal for a bit before hitting it as hard as an FX inverter (which I have my heart set on) will hit it.

Calling the Jacobs guys, they suggest I put a rectifier and a charge controller/diverter, like a Xantrex C-60, to handle my problem. However, that still leaves me with stepping down the voltage somehow, with a transformer or something...

But the OUTBACK controller seems to solve that problem, doesn't it?

I can keep my 12v bank, use my 40v (minus line loss) generator, and everything is cool, seemingly. Eventually, when I get my 24v FX or FX2, I can still use that controller, just reconfigure it for 24v batteries.

Now, is this actually true, that Outback has magically solved my problem with the MX60, or am I missing something?


DJ

Hi DJ,

Turning 70 amps at 40 volts into a 12V (13.8V) battery would need a capacity of about 200 amps. And you would still need a diversion controller to keep from unloading the wind genny. Can you change over to a higher voltage battery to reduce the amps?

Yessir, it looks more and more like I'll be upgrading my inverter to a 24v FX and reconfiguring my bank to 24v... that would save a bit of amps .

The previous owner had a cobbled together gizmo that, I guess, was a blocking diode, and two Enermaxer load diverters.
I am hoping for a slightly more elegant solution .

DJ

Oh, and just to let everyone know, I've been talking, off list, to Outback, and although, no, it doesn't look like the MX60 is suitable to my purpose, they were a great deal of help!

Thanks guys!

DJ

There have been people that have used the MX60 with wind, but it really isn't right for the job... Yet anyway.

70 Amps is a bit high for this controller if you want to get more than that. There has been some talk (you maybe?) about being able to parallel MX60s (WX60s?) It could be done but there hasn't been much call for that (Yet, again)

We do know how to make it work with wind though.
It will take some time and resources to get it rolling though. It is mostly software, but some hardware will be needed in addition to make sure the input voltage doesn't exceed 140 Volts and to also put a minimum load on the wind turbine.

Turns out that the MX60 has been working pretty good in micro-hydro for many folks as is. Especially for long wire runs from the generator.

You still have to watch and make sure you don't have an overvoltage problem when it is free-running. The voltage limiter should take care of that as well.

boB

Hi boB,

After looking at the efficiency curves of the MX, it looks like the losses near full output current at 48 volts is less than 1/2 of the losses at 24V so if it can handle 60A at 24V, 70A at 48V should be easy.

Pretty impressive efficiency figures by the way, less than one percent loss at over 60 amps with a 48V battery and less than 2.7% loss with a 24V battery.

I have installed a Bornay 6kW 48V turbine and it has the new LCD controller (in Spanish). This turbine can put out 10kW peaks when the wind is cranking! If I switched to two MX-60 put in parallel, is there concern over equal load sharing and diversion? If you would like to see the Bornay in operation, see turbinecam-no.ip.com Camera #1 is on the turbine and #3 is on the LCD controller display. A second LCD is being built to show RPM, wind speed, and actual battery charge/discharge current. The wind turbine powers a 2 kW NCE FM broadcast transmitter. Solar panels to supplement the turbine will be installed as soon as funds are raised.

Hi Chris...
You do not want to parallel MX60s on their inputs. One or both units
will most likely smoke.

At the moment, diversion is the only way to make them work with solar and wind using the Aux output feature.

Hopefuly in the future, you may be able to stack MX60s. Not at
the moment though.
Keep us posted and I will look at that link. Sounds very interesting!
boB