Turbine Operational Again...

At least we think it is.

First a brutal rainstorm while the guys were installing the new micro switch which--by the way--is certainly of better construction than the one that came with the wind turbine 3.5 years ago.

At left is the original and failed microswitch (which reads "turns" of the head rotation) from Yangzhou-Shenzou Wind-Driven Generator Co. Ltd.    To the right is the OMRON replacement (purchased from Digi-Key Corporation in Minnesota).  The OMRON microswitch is more solidly constructed and has a better cover.

The original microswitch (at left) is rusted from a poorly sealed cover; the new one at right is more solidly constructed with a better cover.

The better product, from OMRON, a huge Japanese corporation.

The original cast mounting bracket on the yawing motor, whose two feet broke.

The new -- SOLID STEEL -- mounting bracket machined by Aberdeen Machine of Vernon BC.

  Great job!

Then, no wind!

Time will tell if everything works well.

"Steel is better than cast", offers Kia.

Hope somebody tells Yangzhou-Shenzou Company! 

Oh yeah, the weather!  A few shots from today:

Brutal weather!
It's almost June, but you wouldn't know it from the chilly air.

10 kW Wind Turbine Running Again

After 4 months and 4 days of downtime due to 2 blown 6 kW Power One inverters, we're back up and running today.

Add to that the 2 months it was down in 2010, and that adds up to 25 per cent downtime in two years.

Paul Wende, Energy West, installs the two new Aurora 6 kW inverters

And the problem?

"A loose bolt on the heat dump," says Paul.

In the Roses and Thorns department,  a bouquet of Thorns to Power One in California for the horrendously slow response from their Customer Service department.  After more than 3 months of back and forth--with no decisions forthcoming on inverter failure and replacement--Paul contacted the Vice President of the company.  Obviously the VP had the authority to make the decision, whereas others did not.

10kW Wind Turbine 0, Storm 2

Twice in one-and-a-half years.

A mammoth windstorm during Saturday night on February 12th, 2011 has once again "fried" Power One's 6kW inverters, only this time both inverters were affected.  At bedtime, I noticed windspeed was 58 kph as recorded on the residence's Bios weather station.

Last year's mid-May storm affected only one of our two parallel-wired inverters.  This time it's both.

Energy West's Paul Wende on Monday logged onto the controller software via his laptop.
He checked settings and advised that all were within safe operating ranges, but since the controller of the 10 kW wind turbine has no built-in memory, no record exists of the voltage and RPMs of the turbine.
Controller hardware appeared to be physically unaffected by the night's events.

Paul removed the two Aurora inverter covers and announced both inverters "fried".

Paul Wende investigates

A lot of "soot" inside the second inverter

More "soot" inside the first inverter

Inverters were packed into boxes for return to Power One in California, where an investigation will show inverter logs of the last voltages received.  After inverter damage in May of 2010, a new inverter took two months to arrive, its last log indicated maximum voltages had NOT been exceeded!  The two-month timeframe will likely be repeated in this case.

That wasn't the only damage that night.
The new nets and poles at the golf course's west fenceline were still standing, but a hardware bolt--holding the aircraft cable on Pole 3--broke, allowing the cable and net to droop.  Advanced Powerline of Kelowna was called and, five minutes later, their crew drove into the driveway.  A crew member chuckled at my stunned look, "we weren't far away when we got the call from the office!"

Jeff, plus two colleagues on the ground, raised the cable.

"Haven't seen one of those hardware pieces break recently, but they did get some bad ones a couple of years ago."  He added, "Maybe you got one of those."

"Have you got a couple of inverters in your office we could borrow?" suggests Kia.

10 kw Wind Turbine...operational again

Again operational, after two months and four days of downtime! 

Shown (at the right of the two) in the photo, this is the third Aurora inverter installed.

The first--slow to start up even when its parallel partner at the left was sending electricity to the grid last year--failed around midnight on May 19th, 2010. Sent back to Power One in California, after three weeks they had no answer as to why it failed. So the contractor asked for a replacement inverter to be sent. After several weeks it arrived and was programmed and wired parallel, only to discover it had an "internal fault". Power One was again contacted by Paul Wende of Energy West Power, who insisted a new 6 kw Aurora inverter be put onto Air Express to mitigate this lengthy downtime.

The third Aurora 6 kw inverter arrived Thursday, was immediately programmed, then installed Friday.  We're finally up and running again.

Of the changes made, contractor Paul Wende stated "we have implemented an independent braking function so that when the controller senses either a certain RPM, or voltage, or windspeed, or turbine head temperature, that it will apply the 10 kw dumpload in parallel with turbine output, thus loading the turbine and dissipating excess energy." He added: "We basically installed four new wires."

And early the next day, Paul said 16 kilowatts had been produced since Midnight.

"Thank goodness we have another fan going in this heat," pants Kia.

Freak Storm Damages Wind Turbine Components

It was very sudden.
Just before midnight on Wednesday, May 19th, peaceful sleep dramatically ended with an intense sound...actually two intense sounds.

The sound of a horrendous wind nearly tearing branches from 30-foot fir trees not far from the open bedroom window had us immediately sitting up in bed, listening intently.  In the dim light of a clear sky I could see long branches being whipped like a flailing octopus from the west (or northwest).

The wind was quickly second in importance as the virtual roar of the wind turbine's blades reached a crescendo previously unheard.  My husband and I looked at one another and both said "It's not turning out of the wind," referring to the 10 kw wind turbine's blades.

The next morning at breakfast we tried to describe the wind turbine noise and couldn't exactly get it right.
"Like a jet engine," offered my husband, "increasing in intensity."  I nodded in agreement and looked out the window at a now-gentler breeze over the property.

"The turbine is dead, not turning at all," I admitted, "something's wrong."

Within five minutes I had opened the shop door and looked over the components.  Did the heat-dump go on?  I felt its exterior, it was cool.  I looked at the user panel, windspeed reading was 4 meters per second, yet the blades were not turning.  And RPM read zero.  Odd, it was even facing into the wrong direction.
Dogvane read Normal, no errors.  I glanced at the two 6 kw Aurora inverters.  No power lights were on, nothing was showing on the inverters.

Paul Wende, contractor was called and arrived mid-morning.  Inside the controller box he examined the "rectifier block", adding that "it's fried."  Minutes later, the prognosis was "no it's not, it's fine...but both  inverters are fried."

Paul assured me that both inverters will be returned to the manufacturer and that they're under a five-year warranty.


Downtime!


 "I always thought downtime was a good thing," intones Kia.

Not in this case!

Fortunately, no fire ensued.