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brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548
Posted: 04:19am 16 Feb 2010
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Hi Folks, Well ,after many years of playing around with F&P's I've now got an Exmork 2.5 Kw unit from China.
I'll still play with the LG and Seeley types that are stored away,, just now it's Exmork time.
The machine is very well engineered,very robust,a bit on the heavy side after the F&P , needs a bit of cosmetic work,(just nylock nuts and epoxy paint ).
I'm going to raise it on my existing 50 foot tower,after a bit of strengthening.
The machine comes with "everything" --controller,dump load, 30 foot tower, base and anchor fittings,guys,turnbuckles..
I've set her up on a testpole next to my workshop under the house with a 30 Mtr 10mm square 3 phase cable.
I get 1 Ohm between phases and can hardly move the armature by hand when shorted out.
They do say in the instruction book that the high end is 3.6Kw..,so ,we'll see.
as I said , i'm not deserting the ship ,just trying out something different and would love to put together one of Phill's ax fx in the future.(still have Trev's huge F/G blades to run yet).
Ok,,bye for now ,raining cats and dogs here....
Bruce
Bushboy
KarlJ Guru Joined: 19/05/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1178
Posted: 04:58am 16 Feb 2010
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Now there I can see some REAL value.
what a beast!
Make sure she's well balanced before flying.
NOw lets hear some specs
Blade diameter?
Neo's or regular?
Whats with the funny lookin tail.
Heavy? How Heavy?Luck favours the well prepared
brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548
Posted: 05:12am 16 Feb 2010
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Yeah Karl, she's a beast allright...
3.8 diameter fibreglass blades that have a very nice airfoil section,,all ground for tracking in the factory,just ,maybe a shim here and there.Mine so far are very close 1/4 inch..
Neo's for sure,,you can hardly turn the shaft by hand when 3 phases are shorted-they have an electrical brake (Manual) and an over voltage brake.
Funny lookin tail ---sort of 3 inch tube to 2 inch tube ,then a 45 degree angled fin that I guess pivots to create the furling -watch this space..
Heavy ,,oh yeah. not your step ladder stuff,,the head would be a 3 man effort ,I used a gin pole and come-along...
The fin , a 2 man effort,that fin is 2 mm s/s sheet ,cut your leg off ,quick smart , if it fell.
The fin has this long axle with 2 bearings ,,just sort of furls when the wind gets too windy,I guess.
They say ,expect 3.6Kw in a howl. We'll see .I'm hooking it up to 48v triple bank of ,say ,3 banks of 800 Kw's,,
It came with "everything"
BruceBushboy
RossW Guru Joined: 25/02/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 495
Posted: 07:35am 16 Feb 2010
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I'm happy to get more if someone else wants them.
I spoke with the manufacturer who has confirmed they're N35 neo mags in it.
As Bruce says, comes with pretty much everything - I like the guy tensioning system - way superior to ordinary old turnbuckles.
There's certainly some cosmetic improvements, but they're a damn good start - especially at the price.
Perry Senior Member Joined: 19/11/2009 Location: Posts: 190
Posted: 07:54am 16 Feb 2010
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not to be rude but what is the price you can get them for Ross?
RossW Guru Joined: 25/02/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 495
Posted: 10:12am 16 Feb 2010
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I gave Bruce my "spare" one at cost (probably slightly below cost in reality). I can't recall what I charged him, but it was all calculated on my landed cost for the spare.
It depends on the dollar, who I get it freight through, clearance charges and how many I get at a time, but I reckon around $2500-$3000 would be about the mark with the current exchange rate.
KarlJ Guru Joined: 19/05/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1178
Posted: 10:15am 16 Feb 2010
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bargain...
If it works well, but I'm sure Bruce will make it work
well even if it doesnt out of the box.
They get mixed reviews, some rave about them (usually people who have experience with turbines)
and some find the instructions and installation a bit toughLuck favours the well prepared
Perry Senior Member Joined: 19/11/2009 Location: Posts: 190
Posted: 04:36am 17 Feb 2010
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Thanks for the info guys. That is cheap. It'll be interesting to see how it performs. I'm sure Bruce will tweak it a bit.
Perry
MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329
Posted: 05:47am 17 Feb 2010
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brucedownunder2
I'm curious about a couple things. First off, since you said it was really hard to turn when shorted, do you think it will cog heavily?
Secondly, how is the power transmitted to the ground; through slip rings or do the output wires merely dangle and have to be unwrapped from the tower now and then?
My turbine should be flying in a month or so and when it's up, I intend putting "stops" at each side of a 180-degree arc to stop the thing from winding the output wires around the tower. Our wind comes out of the west 99% of the time, so I'm not worrying about the occasional wind direction reversal.Nothing difficult is ever easy!
Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman,
"Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!"
Copeville, Texas
RossW Guru Joined: 25/02/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 495
Posted: 05:58am 17 Feb 2010
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When not shorted, it turns reasonably freely, without any obvious cogging.
Nice, chunky sliprings.
davef Guru Joined: 14/05/2006 Location: New ZealandPosts: 499
Posted: 08:53am 17 Feb 2010
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Bruce,
Would appreciate your feedback on performance on this machine over the following months. I would consider their 1kW unit. Can you buy them without the tower?
Cheers,
Dave
gpalterpower Senior Member Joined: 19/07/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 175
Posted: 11:02am 17 Feb 2010
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Hey Ross,
I must admit im interested too in the 1 kw unit. Preety good value. Do you have a costing complete with tower , controller and guys.
Marcusif it aint broke dont fix it!!
brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548
Posted: 02:42pm 17 Feb 2010
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Hi , I think Ross has answered all the questions. I'll add a few remarks, here are the slip rings ,real professional,,Oh, there are 6 slipring brushes in total 2 for each Phase
hard to turn ,,yes when 3 phases are shorted. Cogging ,very slight,can just feel it . With 3.8 Mtr blades it won't even be felt.
Nice unit and what seems to be a good price.
Questions,
How long is the warrantee for this unit?
Did that price include the tower?
Pity I only want to do grid connect, how long before they have a grid connect ready system.
Brett
KarlJ Guru Joined: 19/05/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1178
Posted: 03:53am 25 Feb 2010
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No problems for the grid tied unit.
Get the 96V version
get a TC96 from LAtronics at $700 odd bucks.
get a PVE2500 from Latronics, should be able to be had via
Trev (forum member) for a little under three grand.
Thus TUrbine $3K
Wizardry $3.5K
Tower ??the higher the better but $1000 and up
Wire and conduit $500+ depending on how far away it is
All in under $8K and IF you have a decent site you'll get a
rebate (here in Aus) of about $4K.
Thus all out $4K --incidentally cheaper than my f&p dual!
good luck keep us posted.Luck favours the well prepared
KarlJ Guru Joined: 19/05/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1178
Posted: 09:49am 27 Feb 2010
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BTW Bruce I went through your album tonight,
I think you have suffered enough with the F&P and take it well beyond what most would call ENOUGH!
I hope you have some real success with the kick ass EXMORK.
You really do deserve it after al the f&p work you've done. Luck favours the well prepared
brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548
Posted: 09:57pm 27 Feb 2010
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Thanks Karl,,
I started on the F&p maybe 12 years ago ,,starting first ,like most , with rewiring a car alternator,then a big computer drive motor with permanent magnets,,next was a big generator.
The F&P first came out with the .6 mm wire, which I had some good results. Then the 1 mm stator which is good for high winds.
The most common in the tips these days are the .8 mm .
I've had very good results with the .8 with my modified neo rotor. Had a accident with a brand new one while first fitting it and it was smashed to pieces on the concrete driveway.
Have sort of given up since that disappointment..
Now I have a couple of LG motors and rotors. I really think these will be exciting when time gets me around to fitting Neo's to these. They are much stronger, a bit larger in dia and a huge bearing and shaft combo.
I must give lots of credit to Glenn ,he was the guy starting this adventure off,thanks Glenn.
The Exmork came along because of storm damage to my F&P back in late November . I was fortunate enough to have insurance and so the Exmork came into the scene.
It's on a test pole at present ,doing the tracking and balance act,,got 8 new 100Ah sla's yesterday ,,so putting together a total of 800 Ah @ 48volts .. Should be enough . Will still keep my 400Ah @24v bank , as I have a few 24v input inverters .
Phill has some very good gear ,along with Trev's stuff, so you guys that want good stuff contact these guys.
Ross is the guy to contact for the Exmork gennies and any one near me ,Mt. Tamborine, is welcome to visit.
Happy tinkering
BruceBushboy
neil0mac Senior Member Joined: 26/12/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 210
Posted: 10:31pm 27 Feb 2010
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I've recently had a quote at $2390 for (a number) of these (not eBay, either!), so shop around.
KarlJ Guru Joined: 19/05/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1178
Posted: 02:32am 28 Feb 2010
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I didnt want to give away too much, but i paid well under the RRP of $2090 for the PVE1200. Dont know if it was a mates rates price so I haven't divulged it here.
needless to say I scored 160AH x 48V SLA (brand new) battery bank with the change from rrp.Luck favours the well prepared
Notice. New forum software under development. It's going to miss a few functions and look a bit ugly for a while, but I'm working on it full time now as the old forum was too unstable. Couple days, all good. If you notice any issues, please contact me.
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EXMORK. 
