Classic 150 Installed

[keyturbocars]

I finished up the install of my Classic 150 wind turbine control system today.  I have some "clean up" work and tweaks to do to my wiring, but it's all hooked up and commissioned.  I have some questions.



First of all, I used the manual and also comments from boB on here to get things set up.  Commissioning went fairly smoothly.  For some reason, the Classic thought that my battery bank was 24V.  My battery bank voltage is at 50.8V, so I'm not sure how it defaulted to 24V.  In any case, I went through the wizard and chose the correct 48V bank selection.

I went through and set up AUX 1 (3 phase AC diversion) and AUX 2 (DC water heater diversion) just like boB detailed on here in the past.  Thanks to boB's detailed descriptions, that was fairly straight forward.  I just printed out his comments on the AUX 1 and AUX 2 settings and followed them.  Straight forward.

Here are some issues/questions I have so far:

1)  When I got to status, the IN shows 34.9V even when there is NO wind or incoming power.  Why doesn't it show 0.0V?

2)  When the wind picked up a little (10-12mph), I watched to see the power output and it shows 0000 watts and 0.0A.  I saw IN voltage over 60V once and still the Classic was not outputting any power.  Why isn't the Classic outputting power when there is clearly power being generated and input to the Classic?

3)  This may be related to #2, but on the status screen it shows "Battery Over V" on the screen.  Why is the 48V battery bank considered overvoltage when it's only 50.8V?

I have a feeling that #3 might be related to the fact that the Classic selected 24V battery bank during initial comissioning.  I set it to 48V when going through the wizard.  Maybe it somehow still thinks that I have a 24V battery bank and so the Classic is shut down.

4) Related to the Wizard, I chose 2500W for my turbine and used 48V for "rated turbine voltage".  Is that right, or should I have selected 125V since that will be the maximum output on the turbine (limited by AUX 1 diversion)?

When using the wind curve editor, I used the default (53V, 0A) first set point.  On the last set point on the curve, I left it close to the default (122V, 60A).  Actually, I tweaked that last point to 125V.  

I know from the power curves on my HY-2000 wind turbine that at 125V I would be at around 750RPM and 3400W.  If that is the case, then the amps at that point would be 27.2A (3400W/125V).

5)  Should I set that last point to on the curve to 27A???

I have watched the video boB made about the wind curve editor, but I'm still not sure about the best way to make the wind curve.    

There is a wind storm predicted for Thursday with wind gusts as high as 40+mph expected.  I want to try to get this sorted out before then!  That will be a good time to put the Classic through it's paces and see how it does.

Since it appears that my Classic is shut down anyway, I applied the manual brake to my turbine.  We are getting some nice winds right now (10-12mph) that would be great for testing and seeing how the Classic works, but unfortunately I am keeping the turbine shut down until I figure out why the Classic is not working as expected under light winds.  I don't want to risk some stronger winds coming up that might cause trouble.

Edward

[boB]

I finished up the install of my Classic 150 wind turbine control system today.  I have some "clean up" work and tweaks to do to my wiring, but it's all hooked up and commissioned.  I have some questions.



First of all, I used the manual and also comments from boB on here to get things set up.  Commissioning went fairly smoothly.  For some reason, the Classic thought that my battery bank was 24V.  My battery bank voltage is at 50.8V, so I'm not sure how it defaulted to 24V.  In any case, I went through the wizard and chose the correct 48V bank selection.

I went through and set up AUX 1 (3 phase AC diversion) and AUX 2 (DC water heater diversion) just like boB detailed on here in the past.  Thanks to boB's detailed descriptions, that was fairly straight forward.  I just printed out his comments on the AUX 1 and AUX 2 settings and followed them.  Straight forward.

Finally got it !!  CooL !

Here are some issues/questions I have so far:

1)  When I got to status, the IN shows 34.9V even when there is NO wind or incoming power.  Why doesn't it show 0.0V?

The voltage is there because of a resistor across the internal relay contacts.  It kinda helps the unit connect at startup.

2)  When the wind picked up a little (10-12mph), I watched to see the power output and it shows 0000 watts and 0.0A.  I saw IN voltage over 60V once and still the Classic was not outputting any power.  Why isn't the Classic outputting power when there is clearly power being generated and input to the Classic?

I suspect it doesn't turn on because of the "Battery Over V" message  (see 3 below)....   The Charger set points are most likely still set for some low value (24V ?)

Normally, there is really not any power available at "just" over the battery voltage.  It depends on the turbine of course.  The highest
battery voltage you will want is around 60 Volts so I would think that the cut-in voltage will want to be something over 60V at least...
Maybe 70V ?   That will take some playing of course.  The reasoning is that if you connect a 60V battery to a 60V battery, you won't get
any charging.  The input voltage (not-connected yet) must be higher than the output (battery) voltage in order for you to get any
output power when it does connect.  How high the voltage must be over the output voltage depends on the electrical size of the
input power source.  Larger, more powerful wind turbine can start to charge at a somewhat lower voltage than a small turbine.

What I find, if the cut-in voltage is set too low, is that when the Classic turned on because the input voltage went above that point 1
graph value, there won't be any power available and the Classic will drag the input voltage right back down to that 0 Amp set point
voltage and sit there with no power being produced.   Why have the Classic start up if it isn't going to make some power ?

3)  This may be related to #2, but on the status screen it shows "Battery Over V" on the screen.  Why is the 48V battery bank considered overvoltage when it's only 50.8V?

I have a feeling that #3 might be related to the fact that the Classic selected 24V battery bank during initial comissioning.  I set it to 48V when going through the wizard.  Maybe it somehow still thinks that I have a 24V battery bank and so the Classic is shut down.

Hmmmm...    Well, yes, some charger set-point voltage is evidently set lower than your battery voltage.  When you went through the wizard, at the end, did it tell
you that the values were sent to the Classic ??  If not, then maybe the wizard didn't quite complete and save the values to the Classic ?

You can tell what nominal voltage the Classic is set for by getting to the other status screens (or charger volts menu)...   While in main status, press the right arrow key
a few times till you see the software dates and Classic version and at the top right corner it will show you the battery nominal voltage.  If it says
24V   then that's your problem and you should go through the wizard one more time.  Remember to go all the way through to the end and make
sure it says data saved.  The latest software changes this to multiple presses of the STATUS button, with the option of using the right arrow key.

Another way to do the same thing is to go to the menu and get into the CHARGER menu and hit "volts".  Then, instead of just raising the Absorb
Float and EQ voltage settings, press the soft-right key labeled "QuickSet"...  (this will eventually be moved to an option when entering the wizard)

It will (at the moment) obnoxiously tell you to turn the mode to OFF (sorry about that, this will also be fixed), and press the UP button until you see 48V in the
upper right corner.  This sets the default voltages and nominal battery voltage.  This is of course the most important settings in the Classic
next to the mode (wind, solar, etc).

The Classic will not wake up if the battery voltage is above the charger set points.  This is also the case if the message says "Battery Over V"

4) Related to the Wizard, I chose 2500W for my turbine and used 48V for "rated turbine voltage".  Is that right, or should I have selected 125V since that will be the maximum output on the turbine (limited by AUX 1 diversion)?

When using the wind curve editor, I used the default (53V, 0A) first set point.  On the last set point on the curve, I left it close to the default (122V, 60A).  Actually, I tweaked that last point to 125V.  

I know from the power curves on my HY-2000 wind turbine that at 125V I would be at around 750RPM and 3400W.  If that is the case, then the amps at that point would be 27.2A (3400W/125V).

The high points (right side of the graph) sounds fine to me.   However, right now, the wizard's wind selection does not do much to your graph as yet so
you are doing right by hand editing what you started out with.

5)  Should I set that last point to on the curve to 27A???

If you only want to get 27 Amps out of the Classic then, yes.   There is also a current limit in the CHARGER/LIMITS menu.
Remember that when the current limit is reached (current limit set in the CHARGER menu), the input (turbine) voltage will be
raised as the wind speed goes up to keep that current down to the limit that was set in the LIMITS menu.  Other than that,
the highest current you should see if pretty much that right hand value of the wind graph.   Battery voltage reaching Absorb or
Float will have the same affect of course.

I have watched the video boB made about the wind curve editor, but I'm still not sure about the best way to make the wind curve.
 

Until I get the wind learn mode done, you're doing all you can.   Sounds like what you have entered so far is not very far off.
I would raise the cutin voltage though.  (step 1, left side of graph)

There is a wind storm predicted for Thursday with wind gusts as high as 40+mph expected.  I want to try to get this sorted out before then!  That will be a good time to put the Classic through it's paces and see how it does.

Since it appears that my Classic is shut down anyway, I applied the manual brake to my turbine.  We are getting some nice winds right now (10-12mph) that would be great for testing and seeing how the Classic works, but unfortunately I am keeping the turbine shut down until I figure out why the Classic is not working as expected under light winds.  I don't want to risk some stronger winds coming up that might cause trouble.

Edward

You should try and get it running of course if possible.   Depending on the version of software, since you are going to use the Aux 2 PWM output, you should update your firmware if possible to the latest.  I made a change that will most likely help.  The Aux 2 PWM mode WAS based on AVERAGE voltage (input V) and really should be based on PEAK voltage as it is now for diversion.  Otherwise, the input voltage might overshoot for around a 1/2 second to 3/4 of a second.   Luckily, wind turbines don't usually go up in voltage all that fast so it might be OK.  I installed a simple clipper last week up in the San Juan islands using the Teledyne DC SSR and some resistors and Aux 2 PWM based on PV input voltage and it looks like it's going to work fine.  We will see.  We also have a strong wind warning for tomorrow which may just be based on your wind warning coming up on Thursday.

I may post more later, after I've eaten dinner.

boB

[keyturbocars]

boB, You were right (and my suspicion was correct) that the Classic was set to a 24V battery bank.  I went through the Wizard 3 times and the same thing happened each time.  The last time, I jotted down some notes...  

While going through the Wizard, when it got to the point where it asks to selected "Controller Mode", I selected "Wind" and entered the turbine data.  

Then a screen comes up that says "Go To -> Menu, Mode, Windtrack, Setup, Graph before turning ON." (7J)

The next screen says, "Please consult manual and video for additional setup instructions." (7K)

If I select ENTER to go on, then it just starts the Wizard all over again (losing all the data that I input).  

Once I figured out that was happening, then I just forgot the Wizard and went in to the appropriate menu selections and made my settings manually.  Now my Classic looks like it's ready to work (as soon as we get some more wind).  It displays "Resting" instead of the "Battery Over V".

As a side note, when I went into the battery menu, there is a selection shown as "Type".  When I click that, there is only a blank screen.  I'm just mentioning that in case you want to change that (if you haven't already done so).

I plan to use AUX 1 for my Clipper with my 3 phase SSR diverting to a 3 phase resistor/heater box to limit "PV" input voltage (I have it set at 125V high and 123V low).  

1) Do you think that AUX 1 will be fast enough to respond to keep the Classic input voltage under control?  

I see you set up the faster AUX 2 with PWM for your Clipper experiment.  I'm hoping my set up with AUX 1 controlling my 3 phase AC SSR "Clipper" to keep input voltage under control (and also limit turbine speed) will work well.  I have my AUX 2 set up to "buzz" when battery bank voltage reaches a certain point.  I use AUX 2 to control my DC SSR that diverts off the battery bank to my water heater.  This is the primary way that I utilize my wind power.  The battery bank stays in float mode most of the time, and I just use most of the wind power to heat water.

By the way, I like the ability manually turn on/off the AUX outputs and the toggle mode.  I was able to confirm that my SSR's were working as expected.

I experimented some more with the wind curve editor.  I set up a new wind curve.  

2) If I have my current limit set to 88A, then should my end point (step 16) be set to 88A?

3) Is the purpose of setting the AMPS at a specific voltage to tell the Classic what I expect the AMPS will be at that point?

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the relation of the V and A on the Classic wind curve.  Somehow, in my mind, I think that I should be setting the points on the wind curve using the power curve information that I have on my wind turbine.  But, I confess that I am not 100% sure the best way to translate that power curve data to an optimized Classic wind curve.  I understand how V & A are related in the real world (as volts go up, then amps go down & vice versa for any given power), but I'm not sure if that's exactly the same on the Classic wind curve. 

A written description in the manual explaining the theory behind the Classic wind curve (a technical explanation of what it represents) would probably help people like me better understand what I'm doing when creating a Classic wind curve.

Edward

[boB]

 

boB, You were right (and my suspicion was correct) that the Classic was set to a 24V battery bank.  I went through the Wizard 3 times and the same thing happened each time.  The last time, I jotted down some notes...  

While going through the Wizard, when it got to the point where it asks to selected "Controller Mode", I selected "Wind" and entered the turbine data.  

Then a screen comes up that says "Go To -> Menu, Mode, Windtrack, Setup, Graph before turning ON." (7J)

AHA !!!   This tells me that you ran into an old wizard bug !    That Classic has an older software version !

You should probably update it.   If you can do this before the wind storm, it will be better, mainly because
the AUX 1 and AUX 2  diversion also will work better.  They used to be based on average voltage and are
now triggered by peak voltage.   The voltage will overshoot for 1/2 second or so with the old method, which
probably won't be a problem, but best to have the latest software.

The latest software upload web page is here now...

http://www.midnitesolar.com/firmware.php

The next screen says, "Please consult manual and video for additional setup instructions." (7K)

If I select ENTER to go on, then it just starts the Wizard all over again (losing all the data that I input).  

Yep.  We felt there was too much information to put in the wizard at this point.  Unfortunately, that
bug would not let you continue when in wind mode and that's why your 48V battery voltage did not
get sent to the Classic.  Sorry about that !!

In wind and hydro mode we also turn the mode "OFF" because we know there is more setup required.
The wizard will eventually be "betterized" and work the way you would think it should.

Once I figured out that was happening, then I just forgot the Wizard and went in to the appropriate menu selections and made my settings manually.  Now my Classic looks like it's ready to work (as soon as we get some more wind).  It displays "Resting" instead of the "Battery Over V".

As a side note, when I went into the battery menu, there is a selection shown as "Type".  When I click that, there is only a blank screen.  I'm just mentioning that in case you want to change that (if you haven't already done so).

The new firmware gets rid of that empty "Type" menu.

I plan to use AUX 1 for my Clipper with my 3 phase SSR diverting to a 3 phase resistor/heater box to limit "PV" input voltage (I have it set at 125V high and 123V low).  

1) Do you think that AUX 1 will be fast enough to respond to keep the Classic input voltage under control?  

Yes, you are using the correct Aux output for using an AC SSR.  The only thing that would be better is the latest software (firmware) because
it will respond faster because of the peak triggering rather than the average voltage triggering.

I see you set up the faster AUX 2 with PWM for your Clipper experiment.  I'm hoping my set up with AUX 1 controlling my 3 phase AC SSR "Clipper" to keep input voltage under control (and also limit turbine speed) will work well.  I have my AUX 2 set up to "buzz" when battery bank voltage reaches a certain point.  I use AUX 2 to control my DC SSR that diverts off the battery bank to my water heater.  This is the primary way that I utilize my wind power.  The battery bank stays in float mode most of the time, and I just use most of the wind power to heat water.

Excellent !  Yes, I was using that Teledyne DC SSR and load resistors for the clipper in the San Juan islands. So far it is working well.

 This should work fine, although I think the peak voltage triggering, (peak battery voltage in this case), might work better.   Battery voltage may not
change as fast as wind turbine voltage because of the extra load it has, but peak is probably better.   Again, latest firmware if you can get it uploaded
before the storm would be best.  You may eventually want to try adding power load resistors in series with that SSR.  This will limit the current that
will be seen by your SSR that could possibly be bad for it, over time, due to the inertial of the wind turbine.   Then again, this may just not be a problem
at all.

I believe that we (MidNite) will be in the power load resistor business as well.  We do have some resistors and I should post some pictures and
descriptions etc. of what we have to offer.  They are, like, 1500 Watts and also should have some 300 Watt versions for AC SSR systems
like you are using on the turbine side.

By the way, I like the ability manually turn on/off the AUX outputs and the toggle mode.  I was able to confirm that my SSR's were working as expected.

I experimented some more with the wind curve editor.  I set up a new wind curve.  

2) If I have my current limit set to 88A, then should my end point (step 16) be set to 88A?

I would set the end of the wind curve editor Amps to just less than the current limit set in the CHARGER / LIMITS menu.
BUT, it shouldn't really matter.  If it did, then that I would call a bug.  It should just work, that is, work as best it can
with the settings and adjustments you have made.   We're trying to make sure this happens automatically.

3) Is the purpose of setting the AMPS at a specific voltage to tell the Classic what I expect the AMPS will be at that point?

You're close !  It's actually the reverse of that.   The battery AMPS tells the Classic what input VOLTAGE  to be.
If the battery Amps goes to zero, for instance,  the input voltage goes to the lowest voltage (left side point) on
the graph.

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the relation of the V and A on the Classic wind curve.  Somehow, in my mind, I think that I should be setting the points on the wind curve using the power curve information that I have on my wind turbine.  But, I confess that I am not 100% sure the best way to translate that power curve data to an optimized Classic wind curve.

Edward

You are very close to getting it working I think.   You will want to make sure it is working correctly, (mainly the diversion part) before your
bit wind storm comes.  We can try to keep in close contact while this storm is going on.

Please feel free to call me or Ryan with questions...

360-403-7207   Ryan and tech support can be found  by pressing 2 after it answers.

If you need to talk with me, press 5 (or zero ?) and ask for boB...  We are getting more  "bobs" here so it's
going to get kinda rough nailing down which one you want.

boB

[keyturbocars]

Thanks for the info boB.  I will try to update my firmware today. 

The weather forecast is showing wind gusts up to 24mph today, but it's supposed to come from the South, so I probably won't see much action today.  I live in a canyon which goes East-West and is right along the foothills of a small mountain range.  Winds from the South usually shoot right over the top of us.  We are getting some erratic, small wind gusts now, but nothing really good for producing power.  I did see the Classic producing 400-500W at one time, so I know things are working now. 

Tomorrow, they are predicting wind gusts up to 30mph during the day and up to 40's Thursday night.  Those winds are predicted from the West which is our prevailing wind direction.  That's when things start to rock and roll down here in the canyon as the wind is channeled right into my turbine! 

I need to take my daughter to an orthodontist appointment tomorrow morning, so I'll probably keep the turbine shut down while I'm gone.  When I get home, I'll release the brake and let 'er rip! Not rip apart, I hope!   

Edward

[boB]

Thanks for the info boB.  I will try to update my firmware today. 

The weather forecast is showing wind gusts up to 24mph today, but it's supposed to come from the South, so I probably won't see much action today.  I live in a canyon which goes East-West and is right along the foothills of a small mountain range.  Winds from the South usually shoot right over the top of us.  We are getting some erratic, small wind gusts now, but nothing really good for producing power.  I did see the Classic producing 400-500W at one time, so I know things are working now. 

Wonderful !  It's working !  I'm glad you finally got the unit and doing something.

Tomorrow, they are predicting wind gusts up to 30mph during the day and up to 40's Thursday night.  Those winds are predicted from the West which is our prevailing wind direction.  That's when things start to rock and roll down here in the canyon as the wind is channeled right into my turbine! 

30 MPH !!!   Oh NO !!   Actually, I was worried about gusts up to 70 MPH or higher like those guys in the San Juans are going to see.

No sweat !  Hopefully you can use that power and not have to dump much, if any.    I really appreciate that you are being
careful with things, especially while you aren't there to watch it.  Very prudent and good idea for now, until you have a
better feel for how things are going to work in higher winds.

I need to take my daughter to an orthodontist appointment tomorrow morning, so I'll probably keep the turbine shut down while I'm gone.  When I get home, I'll release the brake and let 'er rip! Not rip apart, I hope!   

Edward

OK then...  We'll stay "braced" for wind gusts while you're at the orthodontist !

(I had braces for 5 years BTW)

boB

[keyturbocars]

Went through the Firmware update process.  The directions in the latest manual on setting up the COM port and such were straight forward.  I just followed the directions step by step and everything went as described.

I ran the update twice because I was not sure if it worked on the first attempt.  I followed the directions on the pop up windows.  When I clicked the "Update Classic 150V" button, the black dialog window popped up and told me to turn on the Classic.  I did so and the black screen quickly disappeared.  Then I followed the directions to power down the Classic and power it back up.  When the dates show on the screen, I see 1/28/2011 under the words CLASSIC 150.  In the lower right hand side of the window, I see 2/7/2011.

This does not seem like the software was updated.  I am expecting to see newer dates.  That's why I went through the update routine again but I get the same dates displayed. 

Any ideas on what might be happening?

Edward

[Halfcrazy]

Edward
You may have found a Bug I had here one of my XP laptops would do that a lot I would just keep going through the process and after a few attempts it would work. For reference the Classic will take several minutes to upload and the MNGP will take around 10-15 minutes I need to time these one day.

I have switched to another XP laptop and it goes every time. Let us know if you can not get it to work with repeated attempts.

[keyturbocars]

OK, Ryan.  Good to know.  I'll try some more. 

I have a laptop that I can drag down here to try also if it doesn't work no my desktop.  Thankfully, my office (which is in my utility room  ) is in the same room as my RE stuff.  The Midnite supplied USB cable is just long enough to reach around the corner and connect.

Edward

[boB]

Edward, did you change the com port to com 8  ??   If not, then it may not work and the
black screen will not show  "Com 8 opened"   and count up from 0% to 100% and will
close in about 1 minute.

boB

[keyturbocars]

Mornin' Guys,

boB, Yes I did go through and change the COM port to COM 8. 

Ryan, I did have to go through and attempt to do the update several times until it finally "took" and actually updated.  I'd say that I had to try maybe 5 or 6 times before the update actually worked this morning.  Appears to be a bug that prevents the update from working on most attempts (at least with my computer).  I verified the date on the Classic to be 3/4/2011, so I know the update worked this time.

Last night, we had Bible study here and since I had a house full of guests, so I didn't want to sneak away  .  I needed to finish up this morning.  My wife ended up taking my daughter to the orthodontist this morning, so I could fiddle around a little more on my wind turbine system.  (boB, 5 years is a long time for braces!  My daughter is eager to get them off after 2 years.)

Anyway, this morning I was also working on another fail safe for my turbine system.  Having lived through a runaway wind turbine experience, I am very cautious now with what I do.  I have an old controller and dump load from an older wind turbine that I have previously (the one that failed).  I rewired the load resistors with some 450C rated wire and special high temp steel wire end terminals.  I used the terminal blocks on the old controller to just join to some cable going to the DC output of the 3 phase rectifier.  I have a 100A Midnite breaker that I wired in to use to manually switch over to the 4kW load (2 x 2kw load resistors).  Basically, I used the old controller as a sheet metal enclosure for the load resistors.  The idea is if the Classic ever went off line and disconnected my turbine and I had a runaway turbine, I want to be able to load down the turbine in the hopes of keeping the speeds under control so that I could try to use my manual brake (short 3 phases AC output) to stop.  My experience is if the winds are too strong, than trying to short the 3 phases may not work to stop the turbine.  I figured that a 2 step manual shut down would be better, so I set up the 4kW load resistors to dump right off the DC output of the 3 phase rectifier.  Here's a picture of the load resistors with the cover off. 



I did a quick test this morning under light winds (maybe 10mph).  I flipped the breaker on my 4kW dump load and it worked, but it appears that the Classic is "reverse" flowing current from the battery bank and feeding it into these load resistors.  After a little while, the fans on the Classic kicked on.

I did not expect the Classic to allow the battery to drain into these load resistors.  I have these 4kW load resistors wired in right at the DC output terminals of the 3 phase rectifier so that I could divert/dump power right there during an emergency shut down.  Again, this is not something I normally plan to use.  Just for emergencies.  Hopefully NEVER!  I just had to test it to see if the idea worked.  I suppose if the Classic is offline for some reason and I need to do an emergency shut down, then I wouldn't expect the Classic to allow the battery bank to be drained into those load resistors if it's shut down.

Is the Classic supposed to be able to allow this "reverse" flow?

I didn't expect that and it caught me off guard.  My battery bank voltage was dropped after that quick test, so I know that the battery bank was drained some.

Edward

[boB]

I did not expect the Classic to allow the battery to drain into these load resistors.  I have these 4kW load resistors wired in right at the DC output terminals of the 3 phase rectifier so that I could divert/dump power right there during an emergency shut down.  Again, this is not something I normally plan to use.  Just for emergencies.  Hopefully NEVER!  I just had to test it to see if the idea worked.  I suppose if the Classic is offline for some reason and I need to do an emergency shut down, then I wouldn't expect the Classic to allow the battery bank to be drained into those load resistors if it's shut down.

Is the Classic supposed to be able to allow this "reverse" flow?

I didn't expect that and it caught me off guard.  My battery bank voltage was dropped after that quick test, so I know that the battery bank was drained some.

Edward

Edward,   your home build clipper is VERY nice !!!

The Classic should not be driving your clipper in reverse at all.  The Classic IS capable of driving reverse up to a couple of Amps with its
present software, (BTW, that reverse flow we're talking about is how snow melting works.)

BUT if your clipper is on the AC side of the rectifier, that alone should keep it from allowing current to the Classic's output and towards your turbine circuit.


We should probably see a schematic of that clipper and maybe we can figure that part out.
Also, even if the clipper is on the DC side of the rectifier, like it would be for a DC clipper, it should not be clipping
until the input voltage it high, Classic is on and running positive current.

I believe there is some kind of load on the DC side of that rectifier.

Still, the wiring and box is really beautiful !

boB

[Halfcrazy]

Edward

You will have to have some form of transfer switch to do this on the dc side. You will need to isolate the Classic before turning these resistors on. I would strongly recommend that you put these resistors on the ac side of the rectifier this will isolate the Classic for you as well as give you the ability to stop things even with an open rectifier.

[keyturbocars]

I do have some load resistors on the AC side that is my real Clipper.  Here's the 3 phase resistor/heater box that I use for my AC Clipper.  The Classic uses AUX 1 to divert AC to this through the 3 phase SSR when "PV" input voltage gets too high.  This is the load box that came with the HY-2000 turbine control system.  It appears to have nichrome wire elements inside.  I figured it'd be a good match to use as my AC Clipper since it was specifically designed to work with my turbine.



However, I wanted a back up plan to my back up plan  , so I set up that old controller box as a manual dump for the DC side.  This is not controlled by the Classic at all.  It is just a disaster backup plan.  I just manually flip the breaker switch to dump power to these big green load resistors.  What I am thinking about is worst case scenario here... Classic goes down (hopefully that will never happen), and then I've got a free spinning wind turbine in high winds.  If that ever happens, then it will be too late to come up with a Plan B.  That's why I set up these big load resistors on the DC side of the rectifier.

Ryan, I understand the transfer switch idea.  Would it be the same to just power down the Classic by flipping the breaker between the battery bank and Classic?

They changed the wind predictions a bit, and it looks like it might not be as strong today.  I'll have to wait and see.  

EDIT: Now I see they've changed the wind predictions again!  Now they are saying up to 55mph tonight!  That's why I want to get all my "PLAN B's" in order now before the big winds come!  Hopefully, the Classic will work as it should, and the PLAN B's will not be necesary.

boB, How did your San Juan's turbine with Teledyne SSR Clipper fare during the wind storm yesterday?

Edward

[boB]

Ryan, I understand the transfer switch idea.  Would it be the same to just power down the Classic by flipping the breaker between the battery bank and Classic?

Answering for Ryan here.   YES!   You got it, Edward.  That will work great.  Now I better take a look at the software to  see why
you were able to get enough backward current to make the Classic fans come on.

And, hopefully I will stop reading and  posting first thing in the morning while I'm still half asleep !

They changed the wind predictions a bit, and it looks like it might not be as strong today.  I'll have to wait and see.  

EDIT: Now I see they've changed the wind predictions again!  Now they are saying up to 55mph tonight!  That's why I want to get all my "PLAN B's" in order now before the big winds come!  Hopefully, the Classic will work as it should, and the PLAN B's will not be necesary.

boB, How did your San Juan's turbine with Teledyne SSR Clipper fare during the wind storm yesterday?

Edward

Edward, so far, wonderful on the S.J. system.   It still has some good winds today.  That clipper was set to come on at
150 Vdc now.  This is a 24V bank and so it should start clipping at around 1800 Watts or so.   I've already seen that
much power out of it, just randomly checking the current, so I believe that clipper has come into play plenty the last
couple of days.  Still windy here.



Keep us posted !

boB