A "branded" Solar and Wind combo charge controller?

[Hawk]

I have a "China" 120W solar panel, planning on buying a 50W USA-WindGen Turbine.

Are there any combo Solar and Wind charge controllers? Budget 100-150 USD. (e-Bay or a store with international shipping)

----Sun and Wind conditions----
1 Hour or more of clear skies in the morning, and hours of 10-15 M/s wind in the evening.. (Winter)
5 Hrs of clear skies, a few hours of 8-9 M/s wind.. (Summer)

[Mike90250]

No "combo" controllers. Some can be configured for regulation, or load dump, but not both at the same time, you will need 2 controllers.

[Hawk]

Can I use two charge-controllers with one battery?
-And do you have any experience with USA-WindGen?

[Hawk]

The turbine isn't three fase I think, only one positive wire, and one negative.

[Mike90250]

Several charge controllers can feed a battery bank: hydro, wind, solar, generator backup......

What's best, is that they are quality controllers that can work together, and all be in the same stage of charging, no point in having the solar being in float, and the generator in bulk, because the controllers are not calibrated.

[Hawk]

Flea-bay crap?

As the turbine only has two wires (+/-), couldn't it be connected to the same terminal as the solar panel? (With a 12v 5 amp auto-fuse to prevent overvoltage during heavy vind?)

-I found this "hybrid" charge controller on e-Bay or fleabay as you guys call it, is it crap?

[Hawk]

-And could you recommend the cheapest "branded" (Xantrex, Morningstar e.t.c.) controller that would be usable (X2, one for the 50W wind and one for the 120W solar?)

[Mike90250]

As the turbine only has two wires (+/-), couldn't it be connected to the same terminal as the solar panel? (With a 12v 5 amp auto-fuse to prevent overvoltage during heavy vind?)

-I found this ebay.com/itm/Charge-Controller-Wind-Generator-Air-X-Ametek-Solar charge controller on e-Bay or fleabay as you guys call it, is it crap?

It's not spec'ed as a true 3-stage (bulk, absorb, float) charge controller, so it will shorten your battery life.

only 500 w @ 12V, 1,000 only at 27V

I really think it's better to have a separate charge controller for each source, not 3 in one box. Often it's the wind gen that goes berserk, and frys things.

You will need a Dump Load for your wind gen, regardless what controller you use. Dump Load should be at least 2x the generator capacity

could you recommend the cheapest "branded" (Xantrex, Morningstar e.t.c.) controller that would be usable (X2, one for the 50W wind and one for the 120W solar?)

Frankly, unless you have to tie your hat on every time you step outside, you likely don't have enough wind to bother with. I'd suggest spending that $ on more solar.
For 120W of solar, I really like the Trace/Xantrex C12 controller for about $100 Very simple, very rugged. And any of the Morningstar controllers over 10amps would work for the PV, depending on the features you like (light controls/timers). Assuming you have 18V panels for charging a 12V battery.

50W for wind, well, I doubt there is anything real for that, we need some more specs, what sort of voltage the wind gen produces in high winds, the controller needs to handle that high voltage, and high currents. I'd look at the Trace/Xantrex C35 controller for about $120, configured for diversion control. Maybe just get a PAIR of C35's , and have a very redundant system, for low cost.

[The Only Sarge]

I realize this thread is rather dated....but I use the Coleman Air for a small wind/PV array over the shop. Works as advertised.

http://www.colemanair.us/vp_asp/scripts/shopexd.asp?bc=no&ccode=C40-12SG

Cost like $60 bucks. Simple and has worked well for me.

http://colemanair.us/ebay/Images/C40_HookupDrawingDualWindSolar.gif

[Hawk]

Thanks! I'll look into it :3