Any way to utilize a 12v wind turbine to help charge a 48v battery bank?

Susido

I gave up using my old 12v wind turbine years ago when I moved to a 48v system but I'm wondering if maybe it could be of some use in the winter months when I really could use some extra charging at night in particular. I have no real need for it the rest of the year but since I still have the controller and diversion loads for it, it does seem a waste.

Is there something like this solar converter that can utilize a 12v solar panel to charge a 48v battery bank that would work here?

https://www.solar-electric.com/12vopato48vo1.html

BB.

You can setup a 12 volt battery+wind turbine system, then use a 12 volt to 48 VDC converter (dc switching power supply) or AC inverter to AC battery charger.

Using DC converter, or other 48 VDC power supply... You have to check the specifications closely to see if they are compatible with charging a battery bank. Many are not. Not high enough output voltage, or the output stage is over voltage protected (a common method is the "crowbar", if the output voltage is too high, a switch turns on the output of the supply and shorts the output--not a good thing when connected to a battery bank).

Out of curiosity--Did you get good charging current from the wind turbine? How high was it mounted, etc... Wind turbines can be a lot of work to keep running well--And wind is not always consistent enough to reliably charge a battery bank except in a few, windy areas.

In general, re-winding the turbine to 48 VDC output (smaller awg wire, more turns) or getting a 48 vdc turbine are the better solutions if you do not go with some sort of 12 to 48 VDC battery charger system. Did the 12 volt turbine supply a lot of your power needs during the winter/windy season?

-Bill

Susido

Thanks for the feedback Bill. Would you happen to have a link to a DC converter that would work for my purposes? Might something like this designed for solar panels work?
https://www.solar-electric.com/12vopato48vo1.html

There was a time when my wind turbine (a TLG-500 which was a fairly high-end design for the time at least) plus a generator supplied all my electrical needs. With a brisk wind it worked really well, with a strong wind it worked perhaps too well, overwhelming my pair of ceramic heat diversion loads and over-charging my smallish battery bank. I would toggle a brake mode if high winds were expected but if the winds were already strong, it was a risk to try to brake it. It was only about 28 feet high, I always wanted to mount it higher but that was physically really difficult.

BB.

That looks like it could work... I would contact Solar Converter Inc. directly and ask them about your application.

http://www.solarconverters.com/contact/

-Bill

fantom007gr

or you can use a triple diode and capacitor circuit to triple the voltage.

fantom007gr

fantom007gr

jonr

IMO, none of the above solutions provide sufficient amps to do more than trickle charge.

I'd buy a 12V to 80+V DC-DC boost converter(s) (with reasonable amps) and connect the output to your existing charge controller.