Wind query [RE-wrenches]

[Allan Sindelar]

Wrenches, some wind advice, please,
    In 1998 we designed and installed a PV/wind/diesel stand-alone system for a rancher in the eastern plains of New Mexico. He brought to the design a depression-era 32V "Wincharger" two-blade wind gennie with original controller that he had bought at a ranch auction, I believe. This was not a Jacobs, and early on Windy Dankoff advised me that it wasn't the Jake's quality. So I designed the system around a World Power 12-1600 EZ-Wire center for both wind and a small PV array. I did it this way because 1) the controller and a governor adjustment allowed for operation on a 24V system; 2) it provided a dump load; 3) I got rectified DC out of 3-phase wild AC from the bird; and 4) I didn't believe that the old bird would keep running for long, and I wanted to give the client an easy way to replace the old bird with a modern unit without redoing the rest of the system.

    All happened as expected. The unbalanced blades started coming apart in a couple of years and eventually I heard that a part or two blew over to the east 40. The client has asked for a quote on a new gennie. We had originally specified the controller for a Whisper 1000, which is more or less the Southwest Windpower H80. World Power sold the EZ-Wire center without the bird, but SWWP doesn't want to sell the bird without the EZ-Wire II (wind only) controller at a reasonable price. So, my questions:
1. Is the H80 the best choice for this particular application? (good seasonal site, adequate ~50' 4-leg freestanding tower, a dozen 5-year-old L16s showing signs of weakening) The client is on a pretty tight budget.
2. If so, should we try to buy just the bird, haggling for the best price we can get for the client, or should we use the EZ-Wire II controller and a separate charge controller for the PV? (In other words, is the newer wind regulator a major improvement?)
3. Is there a better way?

Thanks in advance for the collective wisdom, as usual.
Allan at Positive Energy


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