Here is the electrical panel that I made up, inside it contains 1) contactor, 2) contactor switch, 3) 3-gang 60 amp fuse block, 4) inline splice connector block, 5) 3-phase lightning arrester and 6) ground connector. The switch box is pop-rivited to the front of the panel door.

The right picture shows a better image inside the box:

POST NOTE: I have removed both the fuse block and additional connector block from this electrical box. After thinking about it there is no way that I want one or more fuses to blow, reason is that if it did then the turbine is potentially unloaded and could spin to destruction!

I put in the splicing connector block so that later on if I decide to add amp meters it gives me a convenient place for making the connections. The 3-phase lighting arrester is actually located on the left outside of the box. The switch is used to energize the contactor, when it trips it shorts out the 3 phases of the generator, essentially locking it. Note that the contactor is before the fuses. I will put a dedicated ground rod outside the wall and run a wire to the ground lug inside the box.

The heat sink for the 3-phase rectifier is just below the box, it has a couple of hinges on the left side so that it can easily be opened to get access to the rectifier and wires on the opposite side. All that is left to do is wire from the rectifier to the inverter/battery bank:

The computer power supply that I modified is just to the right of the electrical panel, next to the window. I put it there so that I could look outside and monitor the wind turbine. The power supply provides power to the actuator on the turbine that engages a manual disc brake. The purpose of it is to slow the turbine down to a reasonable speed so that the contactor can be engaged and essentially provide an electrical brake:

I was in need of a 12v power supply that I could use to control the linear actuator that I am using to activate/retract the disc brake caliper. I ended up using a modified ATX computer power supply. The 12v output of the supply is easily capable of 10 amps or more (dependant upon the specific power supply used), these supplies are cheap and readily available. The power supply needed to have a couple of modifications before I could use it, first of all pin #14 (green wire) on the connector needs to be grounded to enable the supply to power up.

Here is the pin-out of the ATX power supplies:

Next I put in a DPDT switch connected to the +12v (yellow wire) output, the DPDT switch is used to engage brake and retract brake. I mounted this power supply near a window in my garage so that I could monitor the turbine when activating/de-activating the brake. I simply crossed the +12v and ground so that the switch reversed polarity. The DPDT switch that I used has a center off position as well.

I did not like the Outback system for a couple of reasons; 1) older technology and 2) the way that they package their systems. What I mean by the second comment is that the Xantrex systems are more complete, and the Outback you have to buy a number of optional components to come up with a complete system.

So I decided on spending slightly more for the XW system knowing that I will have a lot of extra capacity in case in the future I decide to put up solar panels, larger output wind turbine what ever.

The DC disconnect is required per code to be able to positively disconnect the battery bank from the inverter. The other 3 breakers will be used for connecting the charge controller, the rectified DC from the turbine and the battery bank. This way any one of the 3 may be temporarily disconnected from the system.

Since the Xantrex XW internally contains a battery charge controller, I will be using the C40 simply as a dump connection to divert excess power to a heater element in case I am disconnected from the grid and I am not consuming enough power to keep the turbine speed in check. Depending on exactly how I connect all the devices I may end up purchasing an external charge controller for the battery bank.

	XW-6048 inverter
	DC250 DC disconnect
	C40 charge controller/diversion Post Note: replaced with Tri Star TS-60

I have been taking with a good friend of mine (Jessie Sanders) that is a master electrician in PA (not licensed for WV). We have been sorting out the connection of the wind turbine to the inverter to the grid. Initially I had hoped that I would be able to put the inverter and battery bank into my garage, now it is not looking like it is the best solution.

My garage is about 1/2 way between the tower and the house, this is why initially I ran the turbine output into the garage. In looking at the length of run between the garage and the house, and taking into consideration the power capacity, Jessie has determined that I need to make a run of three lengths of #2 THHN copper wire to the house. I already have two lengths of 2-1/2" pvc conduit ran between the garage and the house, one run contains the power from the house to the garage, and the second run will be used to contain the #2 wires from the garage into the house. Jessie mentioned that these two conduit runs are necessary as per code you can not run two different sources inside the same conduit.

Since the inverter will be located in my basement, so the battery bank needs to be there as well. I will make an enclosure for the batteries and vent it to the outside. I will run the 'wild' AC through garage and into house to lessen voltage loss, near the inverter I will rectify the AC into useable DC and plumb it into the electrical system.

Here is an overall system block diagram:

The utility company requires an external disconnect so that if they are doing maintenance on the lines that they can disconnect me from the grid. Instead of a simple disconnect I got the idea that I can instead use a 200amp Manual Transfer Switch (DPDT) with the main circuit box as the common connection and allowing the switch the ability to choose either the grid or the AC out from the inverter to put power into my main circuit box. When using the output from the inverter the breaker for the AC in for the inverter should be thrown so not to cause a power loop.

If this turns out to be a problem then I will connect the transfer switch simply as a disconnect.

Cutler-Hammer DT224URK-NPS 2-pole non-fused manual transfer switch

I found this item on eBay, the list resale price is over $1000!

Xantrex XW Conduit box.

I just happened to run across this little gem on eBay and quickly scarfed it up!

Just earlier in the day I happened to stop by another fairly local turbine/solar setup of a guy that is completely off grid. So I got a good look at nice professional electrical installation, one of the things that I had not considered was using a conduit box to contain all the wiring between components.

My inverter just arrived and I was able to confirm that the part number listed in the auction exactly matched up with the component as listed in the documentation.

LPM10-U 2/24/48V Batt Voltage Monitor by BZ Products, from the Alternative Energy Store

This is a really neat monitor that uses LED's to show the status of the battery charge, it has 10 colored LEDs to give a battery's state of charge and is switch selectable for either 12, 24, or 48 volt systems. For the price it is a great item to see the battery state at a glance!

The 3/4" thick board that I put up onto the cement block wall measures 48" high by 64" wide, I wanted to be sure that I had plenty of room to put everything that I wanted/needed. So the first thing that I did was to make .jpg images that were scaled down to the same ratio so that I could use them like colorform images and move them around until the layout suited me.

I also decided that I wanted all of the DC electronics on one side and the AC electronics on the other side. This way I would not be tempted to run both AC and DC wires inside the same conduit, but instead separate conduit runs for both.

This is the image that I came up with for a board layout, I have the wild AC from the turbine feeding the rectifier as well as the grid feed from my main circuit panel to the inverter from the left side. You can see that there should still be plenty of room on the left side of the board for an AC electrical sub-panel:

Feel free to download my scaled images just put your mouse over the item(s) and click it, the images will come up in a separate browser window, just save it locally to your PC.

With the image in hand I first located and hung the inverter since it was the heaviest. I used eight 1/4" x 1" long lag bolts to hang the bracket, then hoisted the unit up onto the bracket and fastened it in place (this thing weights about 125 lbs!). I made sure that there was almost 5" of room over the top of the inverter for proper ventilation. This also had to be done behind the diversion controller so that the conduit holes would align properly with the distribution box. I used a simple strain relief nipple and nut to connect them.

Next I hung the rectifier box and then the DC breaker box. In order to get the holes aligned between the inverter cable box and the DC250, I ended up spacing the box away from the backer board using some strips of 1/2" thick plywood, made sure that the conduit holes aligned vertically between the inverter and the DC box, and then mounted it.

Next I connected the diversion controller to the top of the DC250 and again used a piece of 1/2" thick plywood to space it properly Finally I mounted both the the Xantrex control box and the battery meter in the available space between components.

I spent another afternoon measuring/cutting and plumbing the components using pvc The DC250 distribution box did not have a knock-out where I needed it for a 1-1/2" pvc conduit connection, so I ended up drilling out a hole and using the angle grinder to finish it off. I also had to put a matching hole into the rectifier box for routing the DC output to the distribution box.

I was also careful to place some cardboard over the top of the inverter so that wood chips etc, would not find their way inside. So in the end I have 1-1/2" pvc conduit from the rectifier to the DC250, and a 2" pvc conduit from the inverter to the DC250. Spacing the DC distribution box made it easy to put in a straight piece of pvc to the inverter. I will be running a piece of 2" pvc from the bottom of the distribution box into the battery chest, and will do this once I have the chest and batteries in place.

It is actually starting to look like a nicely finished off system pretty close to the original image that I conceived in the digital image above.

I am using a bank of 8 - Deka 8A31DT AGM batteries ordered up from Battery Warehouse

These batteries are 12v @ 105ah maintenance free, sealed and valve regulated using fiberglass matt technology. The 'DT' in the name of the battery part stands for 'double terminal', these batteries come with standard automotive posts as well as a threaded stud for both the positive and negative terminals. The positive stud diameter is 3/8" while the negative is 5/16" diameter.

I will be connecting them in series/parallel connection to achieve 48v @ 210ah. Essentially I will have two strings of 4 batteries connected in series (+ to -). The two strings will then be connected at the (+) heads with a cable that goes to the (+) breaker in the distribution box, and the (-) tails of the strings connected to common (-) buss bar in the box. The following image shows the connections:

The layout above allows the pair of leads that go to the DC distribution box to be equal length which is desireable. I could have strung out the series connections length wise, but one of the resulting leads would be considerably longer than the other.

When connecting two batteries in series the voltage is doubled, but the amperage remains constant. When connecting batteries in parallel the voltage is constant while the amperage is doubled. For my situation, I have to string four 12v batteries in series to obtain 48 volts, however by connecting two series strings in parallel I double the amperage.

If off-grid that sized battery bank would be very minimal a bigger battery bank would probably be needed, however with my grid-tie system it is a good starting pont.

I spent a bunch of hours making up almost all of the cables that I needed today. Recently I found a video in DelCity Wire in how they suggest soldering heavy duty lugs onto heavy cable. They manufacture copper lugs as well as soldering pellets, I did not have any of their solder pellets, but I adapted their technique to use with regular solder.

You can save yourself a bunch of money by making up your own cables. The cable that I am using for the battery inter-connects is a #2 S/O stranded copper wire, it is very flexible and bends easily, it is widely available as cable that is used for welding, our local Tractor Supply carries it. When making your cables you want them to be as short as possible, but you also don't want the cables pulled straight and tight either, leave an inch or so extra to give them a little slack.

If you do decide to make your own I have learned that there are two kinds of soldering flux available, one which is an aggressive flux that states that it should *not* be used with electrical connections. It looks like the 'standard paste flux' is not an agressive flux and should work fine for use here, so be sure to read the label that is on the flux so that you use the right one!

With some experimenting I discovered that if you applied soldering flux to the inside of the lug (and on the cable) along with 5 lengths of solder (about .050" diameter) that it works out quite well. Four lengths did not seem to be enough solder to properly do the job.

The first photo below shows the lug filled with solder, it is held in place using some vise-grips:

Next using a propane torch heat the lug until the solder melts this should only take about 10-15 seconds, if it takes longer then you are not using enough heat. Once the lengths of solder have melted into a pool, remove heat (mainly so you don't burn your finger tips) and put the prepped end of the cable into the lug but do not push in yet! You have to apply more heat to the side of the lug, you need to do this so the lub *and* the cable can get to the proper temperature. After about 10-15 seconds or so push down on the cable twisting it into the hot bath of solder inside the lug. Once the cable is in, continue to heat for another couple of seconds so that the solder works it's way all through the cable strands and then you're done!

Cool and wash off the excess residue of flux and clean the surfaces with a rag, finish off the cable ends by using some lengths of the proper colored heat-shrink tubing:

Here is a sample of the completed cables, I will be using these cables to connect the batteries in series so one end will go to the (+) end of one battery and the other to the (-) of another:

Post Note: Do NOT solder connections in high current applications, CRIMP them! FYI amazing wind event tells why!

I modified the DC250 box slightly and added both (-) and (+) buss bars, these buss bars are made by Outback and have insulated stand-off's as well as a plastic barrier. Using the buss bars made it a lot neater and easier than if I hadn't used them.

As you can see the (-) input from the turbine/rectifier goes to a shunt, and then to the negative buss bar. I have also made up a box that contains a DC voltmeter and ampmeter, the ampmeter is connected across the shunt while the voltmeter goes from turbine (+) and (-) buss bar.

All of the devices are connected to their own DC breaker, this way I can selectively take any one of the devices off line in case I need to do any servicing of the devices. There is a cable that connects the (+) buss bar to the main 250amp breaker, the other side of the main breaker goes to the DC input of the inverter. Even though there is a breaker on the turbine input and diversion controller, neither of them should be shut off without having the turbine previously shut down! Unloaded a wind turbine can easily accellerate to a speed possibly making it self-destruct!

In my garage I have another box that contains a fuse block and contactor relay. Also out there is a 12v dc power supply that can power my linear actuator. The reason that I have these out in the garage is that they are used for shutting down the turbine, and I want to be able to watch it as I am shutting it down. Post Note: this contactor was moved inside for convenience!

Here is a picture of how the DC distrubution box wiring looks so far:

I have yet to run the AC in to the inverter from my primary power panel but I also got my AC distribution box installed and plumbed. I still have to wire this auxillary panel to the inverter output, and divert the circuits from my main panel into this aux panel. This auxillary panel is a Squared-D 'QO' box and contains a 100amp main breaker and has 20 spaces for breakers - lots of room! I got the 'QO' (commercial quality) box as my main panel is a 200amp Squared-D 'QO' box and I had plenty of extra breakers that I can now use in the auxillary panel.

Post Note: all wiring that was #4 or smaller in DC distribution box has been replaced with #2/0 throughout system: FYI amazing wind event.

Here is what my board layout looks like at this point:

Went over to PS Composites, I helped Paul layup my battery trays this weekend. We got them both done and they look fantastic!

We popped one out from the mold and did some quick capacity tests and it easily holds over two gallons of water! This is a lot of capacity in case one (or more) batteries rupture, the idea here is containment of battery acid. The basic dimensions are 24" x 31" outside. Here are a couple of pictures of one of them:

I decided to have mine colored green (as this is a green project) but Paul can make them any color you want - even metal flake! Next on my job list is to make a simple wood chest and a pexiglass top to contain the batteries.

I will be using two trays, each with four #31 size batteries for a total of eight, however each tray can hold up to *SIX* of them! If you are interested in purchasing any give Paul a call, his phone number is on his website.

Here are a couple of pictures of my completed battery chest with the battery connections made. I used two pieces of 1/4" smoked acrylic for the top so I can see my batteries with out having to open the top.

I recently purchased a dump load from Richard Murphy, he had a classified ad on Green Power Talk discussion board, it was just what I was looking for so I snapped it up enclosure and all for $100. Here is a picture of it without the cover on and connected to my diversion controller: Post Note: this has been replaced with larger capacity dump loat to take full turbine output!

The dump load essentially contains two 1 ohm 1000 watt resisters, I have them connected in parallel. Wind turbines should *never* be ran without a dump load, in my case if the utility grid went down and I was not drawing enough power from the turbine it would accellerate and possibly to the speed of self destruction! Solar does not need one, but wind turbines *always* have to have a suitable load available.

For my situation with a 48volt system, the max battery charging voltage is about 54volts, by putting the resisters in parallel I have 2 ohms, which at that voltage will draw 26 amps, and dissipate about 1400 watts of power. If I put them in parallel then I could potentially burn them out.

Post Note: I replaced the dump load with a unit that I made that has far greater capacity (and cost less). What I found out is that you have to plan for the worst event possible with the dump load!!!

I also made up a box that contains a DC voltmeter and ampmeter, I have the ampmeter connected across the shunt and the voltmeter across the incoming turbine lines. I got the plastic box from Jameco, and the 100 volt and 75amp meters separately on eBay. The box size is approximately 6" x 9" x 2.5". While the LED battery indicator is nice, this will let me see exactly what is coming in power-wise from the turbine.

Here is a picture of it:

In reviewing the documentation that I have for my Xantrex XW-6048 inverter it stated that the max incomming amperage that it would/could draw from the battery bank was 127amps.

Initially I had a 60amp breaker on the side towards the battery bank, so I decided to swap it out for a 125amp breaker. I got the breaker from eBay for just over $50. In switching to this breaker I can use basically the full potential of my inverter.

While at it I also purchased a 100amp breaker (eBay $50) and will be using it on the incoming side from the turbine/rectifier. The last thing that I want is this breaker kicking out - and allowing my turbine to go into self-destruct mode due to it being unloaded... The initial 60amp breaker that I was using could have become marginal during a period of high winds.

While perusing around on eBay I also found a new 250amp main breaker for the DC250 (again just over $50), so I snapped it up thinking that since the price was about 1/2 retail that I may use it in the future if/when I added a solar array.

The distribution box already has knock-outs on the front panel, and a mounting position for the very large breaker, in addition I still have one space on the side that can also accompany another smaller breaker (up to 125amps)

Here is a picture of the final plumbed board layout for the back-end electronics:

I added a second run of conduit from the inverter to the auxiliary power box, one conduit will carry the output from the inverter to the auxiliary power panel, while the other one will carry the connection from the inverter back to my main power panel/grid connection. I will put two breakers in my main power panel, one connecting to the inverter, with another connected as an auxiliary bypass so that if the inverter is down I can funnel grid power to my auxiliary panel.

All that has to be done is to connect the incoming wires from the turbine and a cable from the inverter to my main power panel. In addition I will be switching over a number of 'critical' circuits from my main panel over to the new auxiliary panel, as well as a bypass circuit so that I can power the auxiliary panel with grid power if necessary. Oh darn it almost forgot about having to also install the external disconnect switch out at the meter that my power company requires. Ok another weekend or two of wiring...

Kellem support grip, Hubbell #02206001, this is a double eye, double weave heavy duty cable support with a length of about 30" long. The cable which goes through it can be between .75" - .99" in diameter.

Kellem support grips are used to hold the weight of electrical cable as it hangs in a vertical, sloping or horizontal position. Electrical cable must be supported, or its dead weight can cause excessive strain or pullout at the connections. (FYI: These devices are also used when you have to pull cable through conduit.)

I have about 85' of 6/3 SO cable which weighs about 150 lbs and needs some sort of support at the top of the tower. The grip basically acts like the chinese finger torture toys you played with as a kid, where the more you pull the tighter it gets on the cable inside.

I will probably use an aluminum carabineer on top of the yaw bearing to retain the end loops on the device, this way I can easily grab onto the carabineer to pull the cable up. When the generator needs to be removed the carabineer can be removed and the cable slid down the telescoping tower, allowing for the lifting of the turbine off from the stub.

Currently I have the cable tied down using industrial strength wire ties, however it is causing a great deal of pressure against the side of the cable as it comes through the yaw bearing and makes a hard 90 degree turn and I am worried about eventially the insulation wearing out and the cable shorting out against the steel yaw bearing.