Michael Karas wrote:
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Steve:

Please then consider a system with a wind generator and a battery backup.


That's the way to go.
Ready made wind generators are definately the way to go. It would be silly, in my book, to design a custom built one.

I take your point, but 845 USD is more an awful lot of 15 USD memberships. Horizontal axis mills are very efficient, but don't like the windspeeds we get, so a Savonius rotor seems the way to go - hell its only a 10's of Watts. Savonius rotors don't worry about overspeed stresses, and of course take wind from any direction (in our case it is strongly Atlantic Westerlies)

What do you think about using a DC motor as a generator instead of an alternator ?

I have an extremely well equipped machine shop as well as our electronics and processor stuff, a simple Savonius rotor wind turbine is well in our capabilities.

Steve