You Guys Are Awesome!

[crunnells]

Hey Midnite crew,

Just installed my Whizbang Jr, which is something I've wanted forever (but was too cheap to buy a Trimetric), and I'm glad I could get it from you guys. Now I get all of the info I need from my Classic and the Local App.

I just wanted to let you know how happy I am with your products, and how awesome I think you are. I tell everyone I talk to that the Midnite Classic beats the pants off of the Outback FlexMax so much so that there's no comparison. I've used both, and now days when I have to go back and tweak an Outback I want to tear my hair out. The Classic is so much more user friendly, has more useful options, and doesn't require "hubs" to chain controllers together.

I've said it before and I'll say it again; as soon as you release a pure-sine inverter I'll be at the front of the line to pick one up!

When it comes to solar, make mine a Midnite!

[mahendra]

i second that and also i am awaiting their wind turbine,planning to upgrade later so just waiting for my present system components to runs its course and of course the $ to build up to the the products i want from midnite

[crunnells]

Also, I finally managed to get my firmware updated to support MyMidnite, and wow that's good too! You guys keep doing great things for your customers.

[boB]

Hi guys.  Just now saw this post.

Thank you, Crunnells !!

We appreciate the appreciation and support !

boB

[Robin]

Crunnels, and Mahendra, thanks for the Kudos!
Where in Hawaii are you? I am on the Big Island for the next week.
When we have an inverter ready for beta testing, I might just deliver one in person.
The wind turbine is almost ready. We have the first 50 sets of castings in now, but there are lots of other parts not here yet. We are jumping through hoops attempting to meet a December date for the ARMY. They funded most of this development. We must supply a turbine, MPPT controller with built in solid state Clipper and telescoping mast in a few weeks. Maybe I can find some pictures?
Found some. We are trying to create two more products that can fit into the Army Wind controller casting. There is no guarantee that the Army will ever buy any turbines or controllers. We have spent the money for all the tooling for the turbine, but not the controller. That will be another $100K. It is hard to justify spending that kind of money on something that may never make economical sense. The Army money ran out long before the casting! So, we figured we could justify the $100K in tooling if we could fit a couple additional products into the same casting. One is a 60 amp/150 or 200V sealed solar controller. The other one is a 1000W wind turbine grid tie inverter. The controller in the picture is machined out of a large piece of aluminum at very great expense. It is a one of a kind and will be going to the ARMY very soon.
Thanks,
Robin

[Robin]

I guess I am not smart enough to figure out how to download more than one picture at a time, so I will try again.
Robin

[Robin]

Third picture. This one is of Logan Bryce and Bob Quarterman. Those two are the brains behind this 3.5 year project. Nothing is ever easy or fast.

[Robin]

Last picture. We are assembling the stator onto the shaft here. Then the main hub casting is installed over these parts.
The castings for the turbine all come from Thailand. I found this company many years ago when starting OutBback. This company still makes the OutBack castings too.
By the way, our new KID castings are made a little closer to us. They come from 120 miles north of us in British Columbia. That casting company also makes the castings for Magnum Energy's inverter.

[Westbranch]

Third picture. This one is of Logan Bryce and Bob Quarterman.

I can think of a lot of titles for this pic, like,  Hmm, now where does/did  that part go?

[Robin]

You are absolutely correct in that last statement. This was the first turbine to be assembled and it took all day for four of us.
I did a write up regarding the entire process so we could go back and make changes and such. I would be glad to share it with you if you want it. There are a lot of pictures too.
E-mail me at robin@midnitesolar.com

[mahendra]

would this turbine be available to people like us any time soon ? if yes whats the average weight of  one, As i remember its around 400w correct?The reason i am asking is,because i was planning to get a turbine to supplement my solar and while primus are good micro turbine and kestrel are great small turbine ,they are not fitting my requirements. Primus too small and pricey for my needs, While kestrel is hurting my pocket and too heavy for my area of  installation.

[mahendra]

As i mentioned before also i am looking forward to your inverter as well ,hopefully one that would be available to people like us.Have found Midnite Products team up nicely to function as a unit ,even in custom set ups as i did with my system  can't afford all your kool stuff so just going one product at a time.

[Robin]

As far as the turbine, we don't have a release date although I suspect the turbine itself will be ready in 2 or three months. The problem is having a controller to go with it. I am hoping we get the wind code into the KID and also develop the diversion load. You MUST use our diversion load with the KID and turbine. All the other options like the Army wind controller are farther out for delivery. We have not ordered the castings or plastic parts yet. The inverter is still further out. The KID will be the best bet in the next 4 months or so. The turbine as it sits can do about 500 watts. It is not a cheap turbine though. Just take a look at all those custom castings and other custom parts. Every part in the slip ring assembly is custom also. Blades are extremely custom. I think the turbine weighs about 45 pounds. We will be doubling the power in the near future. Or at least will try to double it? That won't make it cost much more because the additional parts should only cost us about $40 more. Too bad we will have to spend another $40K in tooling though.
As far as As comment about having to wait for stuff. Let us know what stuff you would like. Sometimes we get scratch and dent stuff that we cannot sell, so it just collects dust. We also take numerous parts to trade shows or up to engineering. Those products will never be able to be sold, so it doesn't hurt to turn in a wish list. If there is something we can do, we will.
Robin

[mahendra]

Thanks Robin the turbine seems to fit my needs ,just the price part is left to make an accurate review.As i mentioned before i am not in a real hurry just anxious,hope you guys get it sorted out thought and bring down the price whenever you decide to put it on the market.I should say another reason i am skeptical of going with the kestrel is because i buy most of my stuff from the US and kestrel does not have great marketing there so in a long term situation it makes me somewhat uneasy.As for the inverter i guess i am just anxious again to see if you guys would better already great products you had your hands  i.e outback,magnum,xantrex,etc.I did my home work before i bought my first Midnite classic ,no offense i do that for almost everything i buy these days.What can i say i like quality stuff not quantity.

[mahendra]

Another thing if you can equate/compare(price,weight,performance,etc) your turbine  with the kestrel e160i(600w) and e230i(800w) that would be great.I know they would not be exactly the same in terms of specs but at the end of the day a consumer considers those aspects  to decide on a product.i did not mention quality because i trust You will be better if not on par with Kestrel. Thankyou.