Aerogen wind generator.

[iainzxr]

A question for the more knowledgeable on electrics. I'm planning fitting a used Aerogen ... small one I think ... to my boat. At present it is fitted on to my garden fence so that I can check that it is working ok. So .. it's spinning round like a banshee and when I connect my multimeter to the 2 wires it reads up to 19 volts depending on the gusts. So what can I expect to get into my battery going through a regulator ... ie can you measure amps or whatever from this .... or how does one work this out. Also, by joining the 2 wires the blades slow right down ... as I've seen this on other posts. Is this the right way to slow it down through an "on and off" switch.

 

[VicS]

A question for the more knowledgeable on electrics. I'm planning fitting a used Aerogen ... small one I think ... to my boat. At present it is fitted on to my garden fence so that I can check that it is working ok. So .. it's spinning round like a banshee and when I connect my multimeter to the 2 wires it reads up to 19 volts depending on the gusts. So what can I expect to get into my battery going through a regulator ... ie can you measure amps or whatever from this .... or how does one work this out. Also, by joining the 2 wires the blades slow right down ... as I've seen this on other posts. Is this the right way to slow it down through an "on and off" switch.

What are you going to use as a regulator.
The Aerogen must be used with a dump resistance type of regulator.

IIRC the Aerogen had two options for the regulator. One for use with a single battery and one for use with two batteries. If it is to be connected to a battery with any other form of cahrging eg the alternator the two output type must be used .......... or it will try to dump the output from the alternator

See https://www.absak.com/pdf/manuals/LVM/aero4gen_man.pdf
and https://www.absak.com/pdf/manuals/LVM/2-4TBman.pdf

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[Rappey]

Is it 5 or 6 bladed? The 5 blade is a aerogen 2 giving a max of 4a at 4knts wind.
The next one up is a aerogen 4. That gives a max of 20a
You should not let it continually spin with a load as it could damage it.
You could put a multimeter in line with a battery connected and see how many amps you get at a given speed.
These type are dc output so need a charge regulator and dump load to prevent over charging.
Connecting the two wires together is a safe way of stopping it but should not be used as a permanent brake

 

[iainzxr]

Thanks guys ... first the easy bit ... it has 5 blades so I guess that's putting in 4 amps when going well ... as for the regulator ... it is not the wee plastic thingy you get off ebay. It was ordered and came in individual pieces from the internet which were then screwed to a 8x10 board and included a power dump unit. It takes my solar panels and a wind generator all quite straightforward .... and shows when it's charging and when it's dumping power. I would photograph it but it is on my boat and I won't be there for a few days. The reading from VicS if very informative. Cheers.

 

[William_H]

The voltage of 19v out of the gen no load is quite normal. As said the important part is just how many amps you get in to a battery. Just like a solar panel it will provide high voltage no load, the voltage being pulled down by the current. This by internal electrical resistance and simply by the load slowing the alternator. So when connected to the battery the voltage ends up being what the battery is. Now having a no load output of 19v it can continue to push a charge in to a battery even when the battery reaches 14.3 volts or so. Hence you need a regulator if battery is likely to reach full charge. To avert boiling and overcharge of the battery. Note here it is conceivable that if you have a very large battery bank and any continuous load that you could safely run it without a regulator.
As said it is not good to run the alternator with no load in strong winds it will just run too fast. Solar regulators particularly non MPPT will disconnect battery in a pulsed many when battery is fully charged. So no good. An MPPT type will also reduce current from the source as battery reaches full charge.
So a specialised regulator is used for wind gens that will divert current to a load resistor to soak up the output when battery is fully charged or is there is no load. The electrical load then slows the alternator to a safe speed. ol'will

 

[doug748]

Thanks guys ... first the easy bit ... it has 5 blades so I guess that's putting in 4 amps when going well ... as for the regulator ... it is not the wee plastic thingy you get off ebay. It was ordered and came in individual pieces from the internet which were then screwed to a 8x10 board and included a power dump unit. It takes my solar panels and a wind generator all quite straightforward .... and shows when it's charging and when it's dumping power. I would photograph it but it is on my boat and I won't be there for a few days. The reading from VicS if very informative. Cheers.

I have the old Aerogen 25, back then the larger unit was the 50.
If you have the smaller model (fan dia - 460mm, 5 blades) the manufacturers suggested it might give out 0 .75amp at
20kts. 2.25amps at 30kts.
If you have the larger model (810mm dia) the figures are: 2.75 amps @ 20kts and 5.5amps @ 30kts.

They mentioned shorting it out to test but not if there was any problem in switching it in this manner on a full time basis. The dump regulator should progressively do this anyway. There is a back up, thermal cut out if all else fails.
Be careful with polarity, they warn that if you connect it incorrectly the rectifier will be toasted.


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