I need advise/help-ASAP!!!

Thanks all for the replys. WNation- That's what I was thinking as well and I am upgrading to 6 hornet blades, ordered yesterday actually...
Also plan on going higher when new blades arrive. From approx. 12' high to approx. 20' high. I will be using a scissors lift or scaffolding, as it's just too dangerous trying to work off a step ladder and/or an extension ladder!

And on another note, for testing purposes, will using a battery charger as a substitute for the windmill itself work for testing the dump load capabilities of the charge controller?

Lastly, for today, the goal of the windmill in use with a battery bank is to put out anough to charge the batteries, right? So if it produces a minimum of 12+ volts, it will be doing it's job and the system will be functional with the battery bank and a power invertor to run a/c 'things'... Yes? Will producing an excess of voltage charge the batteries faster? Interested to hear thoughts about this as well. Again, thanks for the replys, Terry

You can use mis-matched batteries. No problem (as long as one is not shot).
CCA does not matter, unless you are in N America where true deep cycle batteries do not list CCA on the battery. Batteries listing CCA are not the best choice (in NA).

You need to think of the system as 3 seperate parts.
1- Charger. That's the windmill that charges the battery. It goes directly to the battery (through the rectifier{s}).
2- Controller. A wind controller should go directly to the battery, and the dump load is connected to the battery, possibly through the controller.
3- Power uses. They are connected directly to the battery. That includes the inverter or other 12V loads.
The only thing the 3 systems share is the same battery.

About a loaded windmill not turning...
It should start turning just as easy with a battery as without. It may not turn as fast after it reaches cut in, but it will turn the same until then, which is why I figured it was shorted
Even shorted, it should still be 'turning' Very slowly, fast enough to make about 0.7V.
G-

Hi ya Ghurd- appreciate the reply. I just watched a youtube video this morning and the guy went on and on about how you should NEVER use mis matched batteries, so I ended up with 2 identical deep cycle batteries. Maybe he's just FOS....

Anyways, I have the two batteries, and I wired them up per the instructions with the controller. I coundn't find a sutiable dump load so here's what I came up with. I ran the wires for the dump load to a power invertor which I have a trouble light plugged in to in 'on' position, both the invertor and the trouble light. The controller readout says 25.3 and I am assuming that is with the two 12v batteries together for the total of 25.3 I press the red test the dump load button on the controller and YES, the invertor light comes on and the trouble light comes on, after about 10-15 seconds, it clicks off and the controller starts with the green flashing lights that correspond to the battery charge level. From what I can tell all is working as it should. There is no wind tonight for any other testing. So in a nutshell, I have done all I can, I have the windmill, controller, battery bank all wired up and the small 400 watt invertor with a trouble light for the dump load, and the bigger 1000 watt invertor to the battery for use with a/c 'stuff'. Now I wait for wind to see if the batteries will stay charged. I really can't wait for the next windy day to see if all this work will work... :) I'd like to know more about a recommended dump load for my 2 battery bank setup... don't the water heater elements need to be submerssed in water? So you are supposed to have a bucket of water by your setup for overload protection?

As far as the motor being shorted, not sure... waiting for next windy day to continue monitoring/testing for results..hooked up to battery with diode in line she'll spin when windy enough... Light winds, she doesn't turn... will post again, hopefully soon. Thanks again! Terry

I will not make a comment on the U-Tube video, except to say he was selling something, doesn't understand as much as he thinks, or you don't yet understand enough (no offense) of what he was talking about.

Is the inverter 12V?
Is the system 24V?
Is the controller 24V?

You said something about a small 12V battery, and "12V headlight" (which BTW burned out and that's why I recommend against using them for dump loads), so I assumed it was a 12V system. Connecting a 12V bulb to a 24V supply always results in bulb failure.

You said "I have the two batteries, and I wired them up per the instructions with the controller"
and "The controller readout says 25.3", so it is a 24V system and controller, OR the batteries are wired wrong.

"don't the water heater elements need to be submerssed in water?" Yes.
"are supposed to have a bucket of water by your setup for overload protection? " No. You are supposed to buy a second water heater for use as a preheater, plumbed in before the existing water heater.
Not remotely worth it for a treadmill motor windmill.

Using an inverter with a light bulb for a dump load is NOT a good idea. Not at all.

Use suitably chosen power resistors.

Need to define a few things.
Is the system 12V or 24V?
What, exactly, is the brand, model, seller, voltage, and specifics of the controller (got a link?).
Is the inverter 12V or 24V?

I recommend taking a step back and doing some careful reading.
Continuing to connect up parts improperly is going to get expensive and dangerous.
G-

Morning Ghurd, at least it's morning here, 5:25am... OK, this isn't some cheapie treadmill motor, it's a bohemuth, a big, heavy, industrial type dc motor, it's at LEAST 2x bigger than the last ones I tried using. So, not a treadmill motor, or if it is, it was designed for extremely obese persons! It's a 3/4 hp 1725rpm 7.5amp dc motor. The charge controller is the 160amp Coleman Air products charge controller(12/24v 3600 watts model C160m). I wired two 12 batteries, brand new, deep cycle, with the + on one battery to the - on the other battery, and one + from one battery to controller and one - from the other battery to the controller. This wiring is per the supplied diagram. I believe this makes my system a 24volt system. I also think I can wire it as a 12volt system, but thier diagram did not show the wiring schmatic for this....but I'm almost positive it can be done this way as well, just wasn't comfortable trying this way without a diagram... I did not have a suitable dump load lying around so I made due for now with the 400watt dc to ac invertor with a 100 watt lightbulb plugged in for the dump load. For 'main' power, I have a bigger 1000 watt invertor connected to one of the two batteries. For now, I have plugged in my electric garage door opener into the bigger invertor for 'free' opening of my garage door. Other than not the best choice dump load, I feel I have a decent initial setup. I plan on my final upgrade (aside from a proper dump load) of a six blade hornet style setup at a tower height of approx. 20 feet.
I do have another question I haven't seen posted before...
I wanted to protect the motor from the elements, so I 'fabricated' a cover out of a plastic kitty litter bucket behind the hub, over the motor. It of course is 'boxy' and not asthetically appealing, although I painted it a reflective silver. Will a larger square shape behind the blades negatively affect performance of the blades? I haven't a good way to test this. I was going for a combination of element protection and adequate ventillation for the motor. As the windmill is coming down for it's hopefully final upgrade, I'd like to make any recommended changes before it goes up again. A real PITA that I really don't want to do more than one more time. P.S. For safety, in addition the to fall cable setup I 'designed' I have a steel rod off the side of the swiveling base with a rope attached to so I can manually turn the windmill out of the wind from the ground, if necessary. My goal is a safe and working properly windmill, and I again say I really, really appreciate the posts you give in reply to help with my questions. Regards, Terry

You do not seem big on sharing voltage information.

I guess the motor is a 72 or 90V because it is almost difficult to not reach 12V charging voltage in 10MPH wind with a 180V motor and because of the motor math.
It will take twice the RPM (nearly double the windspeed with the same blades) to reach 24V charging voltage, making the existing windmill virtually useless.

I am also guessing the blade's TSR is not a very good match.

I guess the inverters are 12V.
Unless you want to buy new 24V inverters, make the system 12V.

Using the inverter as a dump load will ruin any decent dump load controller.
That Coleman controller is just a relay based controller, and the inverter as a dump load will even ruin it.
I lost interest in detailed reading of the controllers attributes when I got to "We burnt out two (x-brands) 40 amp models with a 20 amp wind generator, so we knew it was time to solve the problem and create something that could actually do the job", which I personally interpret as "we believed some ebay seller's sales pitch" or "we do not know enough about electricity to properly connect a decent controller" or "we believed some ebay seller and he said it was better than the name brand units when it was not but we do not want to actually say that if leaving that part out convinces you to send us money because that's how that guy is selling controllers to people like me".

Wiring 2 x 12V for 12V is as simple as it gets. + to +, - to -.
The batteries will last longer because they will be far more balanced.
If the Utube guy is talking about matching 12V batteries in a 24V string, he is correct.

Blocking wind behind the windmill is as bad as in front.
Making the wind go around a X" square or a X" circle is not much difference. 27%.
The center 1/3rd of the blade radius only accounts for 1/10th of the total available power with perfect blades. Great blades are far from perfect. Good blades are far from great. Normal blades are usually good enough. The center 1/5th of the blade is almost useless. Meaning it will not make any measurable difference. Nothing to worry about, in the slightest.

Hi- the only reason I haven't given much voltage information is I haven't had any! Yes, the motor says it's a 90volt dc motor, 90vdc on spec tag.. Yes, the invertors are 12v invertors. Yes, I will scrap the invertor as a dump load asap.

Today as it was steady 15+ mph winds, I stuck the windmill in the end of the fence post just to test her out with the new 6 blade hornet blade setup. It is only 6' tall, but way, way too windy to try and put her up 20' in the air. The good news is she started spinning like there was no tomorrow! I was thinking that wired as a 24volt system, I might need more than 24 volts from the windmill, and reading Ghurd's last post I believe he's telling me that is correct. It can make 24+ volts, but it need to be really spinning with 15-20 mph winds. I will try to rewire my batterys to a 12volt system, as my volt meter read 18-20 volts easy when I put my windmill power cord to just battery 1 and checked that with meter. As I continue makeing adjustments, will post results. So far, the 'upgrade from 3 to 6 blades has made an incredible difference! Now, I will try to iron out the setup with the two batteries, and charge controller to a 12v system as I feel more sure than ever I can make enough wind power to charge such system and someday be able to use it for something! Appreciate your input, and will try to make more detailed posts until I get it set up properly.. Thanks again, Terry P.S. I liked the Coleman charge controller because of all the positive feedback for the company/product, and because I liked the metal enclosure, and I liked the digital display. Right or wrong, those were the factors involved in my decision making process. I just want to not overcharge the batteries and hopefully end up with a safe and relatively maintence free windmill setup to the best of my somewhat limited abilities. Terry