Wind Generator

[Henry J Fate]

Hello Everybody. First time posting here. I bought a used wind generator. I am trying to figure out what it is (make model etc). The seller had no info for it other than to say that he got it from another boat owner who he thought was using it without any power management. I have set it up on land and had a peak voltage reading of 22.9 volts dc in about 20 mph wind. No load applied. Just hooked to a multimeter. There is a junction box just under the head where 2 bridge rectifiers are mounted. Across the 2 rectifiers is a wafer style capacitor. The generator casing appears to be cast aluminum with an aluminum hub. The blades are badly worn and dried out and appear to be molded with a flexible reinforced material showing definite signs of a fiberglass compound.

My guess is that it is of 70's origin but that's a guess.


Any help identifying would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.. Henry

[Henry J Fate]

Anyone out here have any idea what this wind generator is? I am posting another picture. Hopefully somebody will offer some input.

I did some additional testing today and have the following to report....

1) I wired a good lead acid 12 volt battery to the generator. Before wiring the battery to the generator, I put a load on the battery to bring the voltage below 12 volts. Starting voltage was about 11.8 volts.

2) I first hooked up the multi-meter in the voltage mode. Increases in voltage occurred when the wind generator rpms generated over the battery voltage of 11.8. Several good gusts of wind brought the voltage up to 12.3 - 12.5 volts. The battery continued to absorb the higher charge voltage.

3) When the voltage of the battery reached about 12.2 volts, I wired the multi-meter to monitor amps. The meter indicated that the battery was absorbing . 1 - 1 amp of current depending on the wind speed.

4) no current was shown to be leaving the battery at any wind speed including 0 mph.

I suspect that the 2 bridge rectifiers in the head are performing 2 functions. They first change the current from ac to dc. Second, the bridge rectifiers prevent current flowing from the battery to the generator.

My tests today were land tests in equal or about the same wind as my first testing which did not include a battery or any other type of load. The 22 volts I metered during the initial no load testing was no where to be found with the battery connect today and the wind speeds for today's testing were about the same and forecasted as such.

Any help with this beast would be great. I am planning to build new blades fairly soon. I have drawn up plans for a slightly longer blade to cradle more wind but have also incorporated a way to adjust the pitch of each blade as needed.

Henry

[Vasco]

Looks like an old Rutland.

[Henry J Fate]

Cannot find anything posted on the web of Rutland generators that looks like this generator.

[Rubicon King]

Looks like an old POS model A

[deblen]

That red disk could be a thermistor https://www.ametherm.com/thermistor/...tc-thermistors


It sounds like the unit is generating DC. I suspect it will need a voltage regulator to properly charge a battery without ruining the battery.
Just guesswork based on your test results.


Would a solsr panel regulator work?? / L

[mjscottinnc]

My bet is the red disc is an MOV, metal oxide veristor, clamps excess voltage transients. 2 full wave bridges suggest a 2 phase AC output (most newer models are 3 phase)

[Henry J Fate]

Originally Posted by Rubicon King

Looks like an old POS model A

Any links to a POS model A? My search is not coming up with anything. What does POS stand for?

[Henry J Fate]

I will open the casing up tomorrow and get a good look and picture of the wafer and post the picture tomorrow. I bet you are correct. I never did look at it closely and I am pretty sure there is identification on it. I found it a little odd today that at the same wind speed that peaked at 22 volts with no load, I got a peak of under 13 with the battery which had a charge over 12 volts at the time. The difference in testing was the current which did not exist in the first test. I doubt if the current ever went over 2 amps but I cannot be sure because I did not switch my meter to current until the battery had absorbed some charge. There could be some regulation there with a load. That would be helpful.

I have considered a solar controller. It may be that I set things up for solar and wind. I am not quite there yet. This beast needs new blades badly. I will first complete that task and then do some more testing. I found some blades online but nothing bolt on. Everything I see will need modification to mount to the hub. If I ever figure out what the generator is, I may be able to find blades. That's still a maybe.

And I should tell everyone that I bought this generator for $5 usd. It was posted on CL for the longest time at $25 and I had been looking at it. Then suddenly about 2 months later the seller dropped the price to $5 so I drove over and picked it up to find out that it works!!. It's becoming a project now but I am enjoying the education. Can't go wrong for $5.

Thanks to everyone. I will update tomorrow.

Henry

[GordMay]

Rutland Fm910-3 Series Wind Turbine

[stormalong]

No, it is an Amp Air. Here is a link to a picture.

https://omniyacht.co/ampair-100-wind-generator.html

It also had a towed propeller add-on accessory.

[Chris8120]

Originally Posted by stormalong

No, it is an Amp Air. Here is a link to a picture.

https://omniyacht.co/ampair-100-wind-generator.html

It also had a towed propeller add-on accessory.

Correct, it's an Ampair. I have one that came with my boat. I haven't used it so I can't be of any help, other than to agree it's very heavy! On the plus side, it is super quiet. I believe one of it's features is that it works in very low wind, but doesn't offer the oomph of other models with more resistance in the gears. I have a manual for it if you can't find one online.

[Henry J Fate]

Update.....

Does appear to be an Ampair 100 mod# AO1 1012.

12 volt 100 watt direct connect to battery bank. So far I found a company called Seamap who apparently have the rights to the Ampair UW100 which is a Hydro turbine. On the company website it directed all inquiries about Ampair to the United Kingdom. I sent out an email this morning with photos to hopefully get confirmation and requested any updates on part availability. I will update where that leads and thanks to all for getting me this far.

This morning I removed the cover to the 2 bridge rectifiers and the red wafer disc. The disc has no markings anywhere on it. I suspect this was done intentionally to protect its design and force the purchase of a replacement set of components from the factory which I found to be called a "rectifier assembly" part # AO1 SP13. I suspect that the disc is in fact some sort of power dump to keep the voltage and current in check for the direct wiring to battery banks. I was also able to find the part # for the blades which were/are offered in a pre 2001 or post 2001 design. Not sure what the difference is but there were several parts that were split up by those dates. I am fairly certain my unit is pre 2001 and probably very close to the first group of the 100's which began production in 1973. Ampair was on the books in 1957 but I do not know what they were doing before the release of the 100 which btw was very influential in small wind turbine applications and they never really changed the design over the 40 plus years that it was offered. I guess I got a piece of wind turbine history.

Thanks to everyone. I will continue to update as more info comes along.

[Henry J Fate]

Latest.....

Confirmed to be a Ampair 100 with a date of manufacture between 1985-1990. I have been in contact with the company called Seamap and it's Singapore division which is responsible for Ampair equipment. Cost of new blades will be about $300 in total which includes price, shipping and fees.

The price is especially high when considering age and the other components that need to be removed, inspected and possibly replaced. I was sent a little history brochure about Ampair which provides an interesting view of their products and development. I have attached the brochure.

I am now in the process of obtaining any service documents for the Ampair 100. Removal of the rotor and the disassembly of the slip joint for inspection is needed. It is possible that bearings need replacing for the rotor. The brushes for the slip joint could also need replacements.

The rectifier assembly is another area I have requested test documentation for. Not sure I will get anything for that though.

In all so far, it appears that blade replacement would not be worth the effort even if the other components turn out to be in good order.

I have been researching the repair of the existing blades. The blades were injection molded using glass reinforced polypropylene. This material is very difficult for repair bonding. It becomes more of a challenge given the condition of the blades. I have not found any proven repair method for the glass reinforced polypropylene. I have been considering and continue to review an alternative reconstructive method that will use the existing blades as a core for an exterior coating. I still have some work to do on this method. The cost would be about $50 for all 6 blades. Hopefully this will turn out to be a workable option.


If I solve the blade issue, I will probably put new bearings in. Hopefully the bearings turn out to be something standard.

That's it for now....... Henry

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by Henry J Fate

Latest.....

Confirmed to be a Ampair 100 with a date of manufacture between 1985-1990. I have been in contact with the company called Seamap and it's Singapore division which is responsible for Ampair equipment. Cost of new blades will be about $300 in total which includes price, shipping and fees.

The price is especially high when considering age and the other components that need to be removed, inspected and possibly replaced. I was sent a little history brochure about Ampair which provides an interesting view of their products and development. I have attached the brochure.

I am now in the process of obtaining any service documents for the Ampair 100. Removal of the rotor and the disassembly of the slip joint for inspection is needed. It is possible that bearings need replacing for the rotor. The brushes for the slip joint could also need replacements.

The rectifier assembly is another area I have requested test documentation for. Not sure I will get anything for that though.

In all so far, it appears that blade replacement would not be worth the effort even if the other components turn out to be in good order.

I have been researching the repair of the existing blades. The blades were injection molded using glass reinforced polypropylene. This material is very difficult for repair bonding. It becomes more of a challenge given the condition of the blades. I have not found any proven repair method for the glass reinforced polypropylene. I have been considering and continue to review an alternative reconstructive method that will use the existing blades as a core for an exterior coating. I still have some work to do on this method. The cost would be about $50 for all 6 blades. Hopefully this will turn out to be a workable option.


If I solve the blade issue, I will probably put new bearings in. Hopefully the bearings turn out to be something standard.

That's it for now....... Henry

IMO you are better off investing in a newer wind generator if you even want one. Newer generation wind generators are lighter and produce greater output.

Go solar instead. Solar is cheaper, quieter, more reliable and provides far more consistent power production.