MPPT Hybrid Controller Wind & Solar 1kw 2kw 3kw & Dump Load Resistor

The bank's full and the wind's still blowing.

A wind turbine has no off switch. When the bank hits full and the breeze keeps coming, that energy still has to go somewhere. If there is nowhere for it to go, the voltage climbs and you find out which part of your system was the cheapest — a cooked controller, a boiled battery bank, or a rotor free-wheeling faster than it was ever meant to on a pole above the shed. Then you are off-grid with no power and a repair bill, a long way from the nearest supplier.

This is a Meteor MPPT hybrid controller with the dump load resistor in the same box. Wind on one set of terminals, solar on another, both charging the one bank through one display. When the bank is full or the wind gets away, it brakes the turbine and burns the surplus off through the resistor instead of through your gear.

Straight up: it is a charge controller, not an inverter. It charges batteries and runs DC loads — anything at 240V still needs an inverter after it. It will not run without a battery connected, the manual is blunt about that, and like every turbine and controller we sell it needs to be installed by a qualified specialist.

Which One Do I Need?

This controller comes in matched pairs — 1000W wind with 1000W solar, 2000W with 2000W, or 3000W with 3000W. Take your turbine's rated output and pick the pair at or above it. Oversizing doesn't make you more power, it just costs more.

Then pick your voltage. The 12V/24V option auto-detects between those two banks and takes solar up to 55V. The 24V/48V option auto-detects between those two and takes solar up to 95V. Both accept wind up to 80V. Match the option to the bank you actually have.

Need a different wind-to-solar ratio? If your two sides aren't balanced — say a 3kW turbine but only 1kW of panels, or a big existing array with a small turbine — our MPPT Wind & Solar Hybrid Controller does the same job in thirteen mixed combinations. Same idea, more ways to split it.

Buying a turbine from us instead? You don't need to work any of this out. Turbines supplied with a hybrid controller ship one already matched to the turbine's output. This listing is for building or repairing a system around gear you already own.

Not sure? The pairs and the voltage options are set out above, and the spec table lists the input limits and what the supplier doesn't publish. Match those to the gear you've already got, and have your electrician size the run from the measured output.

Problem Solving / Benefits

• Somewhere for the surplus to go: the dump load resistor is in the box, not an add-on you discover you need after the first windy night. Wire it on the D+ and D− terminals and the controller has somewhere to put the extra.
• One box instead of two: turbine and panels through a single unit with one screen. Fewer connections to corrode, one place to look when the bank isn't charging, and one thing to isolate when you want to work on it.
• Wind covers what solar can't: overnight, heavy cloud, a week of rain, short winter days. Panels do nothing at 2am; that is usually when it blows. Running both is what smooths the year out.
• Checks itself from the ute: Bluetooth to the phone app means you can see what the bank is doing without climbing into the shed with a torch. The app is Android only — the LCD on the front tells you the same thing either way.
• Runs a light circuit on its own: the DC load output has a dusk-to-dawn mode and a timed mode with four adjustable phases, so shed lights or a gate light run off the bank without a separate timer.

Key Features

• Three matched pairs — Wind 1000W with Solar 1000W, 2000W with 2000W, or 3000W with 3000W.
• Two voltage options — 12V/24V auto-detect or 24V/48V auto-detect. The menu can lock it to a single voltage if you'd rather it didn't guess.
• Input limits are published — wind ≤80V on both, solar ≤55V on the 12V/24V option and ≤95V on the 48V option.
• MPPT on the wind side with boost charging, and intelligent disconnection on the solar side once the bank is full.
• PWM dump load control to the external resistor, plus automatic braking on over-voltage, over-current and over-load.
• Handles the usual battery chemistries — gel, ternary lithium, lithium iron phosphate, or a custom setting where you set the voltages yourself.
• Bluetooth on every option sold here — the supplier's GreenPower app, which the manual states is Android only.
• Eleven-terminal block — dump load, battery, solar, wind three-phase, and DC load, all clearly marked on the case.
• Protected against the common mistakes — reversed solar charging, reverse battery polarity on a replaceable internal fuse, and battery open circuit.
• Conformal-coated board in a finned aluminium case, 167 × 137 × 61.8 mm, wall mounted.
• Indoor mounting only — no IP rating is published for it, so it wants to be inside or in a sealed enclosure.

One warning worth more than the rest of this page. The wattage in the title is a configuration name, not a current rating. Nobody publishes the maximum charging amps for this controller — not the case, not the images, not the manual. Do not size cable, fuses or breakers off a wattage figure. Amps are what melts wire. Have your electrician size the run from the measured output.

The Dump Load Numbers, In Full

The resistor supplied in the box carries its rating on its own plate, and we have read it off the plate rather than taken anyone's word for it: 800W 1RJ. In standard resistor marking that is 800 watts, 1 ohm, 5% tolerance. Put Ohm's law across the bank voltages this controller is sold for and the three answers do not land in the same place:

• On a 12V bank: 12 amps through 1 ohm, about 144 watts. Well inside an 800 watt part.
• On a 24V bank: 24 amps, about 576 watts. Still inside the rating.
• On a 48V bank: 48 amps, about 2,300 watts — roughly 2.9 times the 800 watts on the plate.

We sell a 24V/48V option, so 48V systems are being sold this resistor. The same resistor appears in the supplier's photographs of the 1000W, 2000W and 3000W options — the three pictures are the one photograph with the caption changed, so nothing in the imagery shows a larger resistor going out with the larger units. We are not telling you the controller is unsafe and we are not telling you the resistor is unsafe. We are telling you that the supplier's part and the supplier's own supported bank voltages do not reconcile at 48V, and that you are better placed to size it yourself knowing that than not.

The caveat, stated honestly in both directions. The controller switches the dump load with PWM rather than holding it on flat out, so the average power going through the resistor is lower than the full-duty figures above — how much lower depends on how hard it is dumping. That does not make the number go away. While it is switched on it is still 48 amps through a part rated at 800 watts. Amps are physics; the watts on a label are marketing.

If you are on a 48V bank, size the dump load for your bank or have your sparky size it, and treat the supplied resistor as the starting point rather than the finished job. This matters more than a spec line usually does: the dump load is the turbine's brake. Once the bank is full it is the only thing loading the generator. If it cooks and fails open, the turbine loses its load and can run away — and an overspeeding rotor in a decent blow is how these tear themselves apart.

Q & A

Does the dump load resistor come with it, or is that extra?

It's in the box. Every option on this page ships the controller and the external dump load resistor together, on its mounting brackets, with a pair of leads. There is no variant here that gives you the controller on its own.

What size is the dump load resistor?

The plate on the resistor reads 800W 1RJ — in standard resistor marking, 800 watts, 1 ohm, 5% tolerance. Run the arithmetic across the banks this controller supports and a 1 ohm dump draws 12 amps at 12V (about 144 watts), 24 amps at 24V (about 576 watts) and 48 amps at 48V (about 2,300 watts, roughly 2.9 times the 800 watts on the plate). The controller switches the dump load rather than running it flat out, so the average is lower than that — but the instantaneous current at 48V is still 48 amps through an 800 watt part. It is also the same resistor in the photographs of all three options, including the 3000W pair. We are not saying it is unsafe. We are saying the supplier's part and the supplier's supported bank voltages do not reconcile at 48V, and we would rather you knew. On a 48V bank, size a dump load for your bank or have your sparky do it. The full working is set out above.

What do the options actually change?

Two things. The first is the matched wind and solar pair — 1000W/1000W, 2000W/2000W or 3000W/3000W. The second is the battery voltage range — 12V/24V auto-detect or 24V/48V auto-detect. Every option is the Bluetooth version; there is no non-Bluetooth choice to make.

How many amps will it put out?

We don't know, and we won't guess. The maximum charging current isn't printed on the unit, isn't on the supplier's spec images and isn't in the manual that comes with it. That matters because amps are what you size cable and breakers from, not watts. Have your electrician size the run off the measured output. Anyone who hands you a cable size based on the number in the title is guessing.

What can I connect to the inputs?

Wind up to 80V on either version. Solar up to 55V on the 12V/24V option, or up to 95V on the 48V option. Those are the supplier's own figures. Check your panel's open-circuit voltage in the cold, not its working voltage — that is where people go over.

Will the Bluetooth app work on my iPhone?

Not according to the manual, which says the GreenPower app is Android only. The LCD on the front of the controller shows the same information, so nothing is lost except reading it from the ute. If that matters to you, plan on an Android phone or tablet living in the shed.

What batteries does it suit?

Gel, ternary lithium, lithium iron phosphate, or a custom setting where you enter the over-discharge, recovery and over-charge voltages yourself. Set the battery type before you commission it, not after.

Can I mount it outside on the pole?

No. There is no IP rating published for this controller, and the manual says keep water and snow out, away from corrosive gases and away from strong electromagnetic interference. Inside the shed, the van or a sealed enclosure.

What order do I connect everything in?

It's printed on the front of the unit and it is not optional: dump load and load first, then the battery, then the solar panel, then the wind turbine. It also says do not short the circuit. Connect the turbine last and connect it when it isn't spinning hard.

My turbine slows right down as soon as I connect it. Is it broken?

Usually not. The manual gives three reasons: the bank has reached float voltage, or the turbine's output voltage is much higher than the bank so the battery drags the speed down, or the dump load has been damaged by an incorrect connection. If it's spinning and showing nothing at all, read the 0W troubleshooting guide before you assume a fault.

Do I need an electrician?

Yes. Wind turbines, solar controllers and technical electrical gear all have to be installed by a qualified specialist. Damage from DIY installation or improper wiring isn't covered — see our Return Policy.

How long will it take to get here?

10 to 14 days from the day you place the order, not from the day we dispatch it. Allow up to 3 weeks, and longer again if you're regional or remote. Shipping is free to Australia and New Zealand with no minimum spend.

What if it turns up faulty?

Ring 0400 333 898 or email Support@BushLine.com.au and we'll sort it. Returns cover faulty or not-as-described, not change of mind. On electrical gear a fault return needs proof of professional installation — an electrician's invoice.

Specs

Figures above are taken from the manufacturer's manual and the supplier's own spec images and product photographs. Where nothing is stated, we've said so rather than guess.

Turbine Spinning But Showing 0W?

It is almost never a faulty turbine or controller. Read the 0W troubleshooting & correct installation guide before you assume something is broken.

Typical Off-Grid Wiring Layout

What Else You'll Need

A controller on the wall is only part of a system. This is the gear that goes around it, and why it matters.

• 3-pin Anderson plug: wire one in between the turbine and the controller and you can unplug the whole turbine — drop it for maintenance, swap it out, or take it off the van before you travel. Five minutes' work and you'll thank yourself later.
• Bus bars: where everything lands before it reaches the battery. Properly rated 48V bus bars are genuinely hard to find — most of what's sold online is light-duty gear. There's also a 500A marine version.
• Breakers and isolators: every input and output wants a breaker or isolator on it so you can shut the turbine down and isolate it before you touch anything. There's also a 100A−300A rotary isolator.
• Cable and lugs: shielded 2 and 3 core copper cable, and a lug crimper if you're making up your own runs.

Straight up on cable sizing: it depends on your run length, your system voltage and your current, and every setup is a bit different. What we stock covers 48V systems and shorter runs well. If you're building 12V or 24V, check the sizing against your own run and talk to your sparky — we'd rather you fitted the right cable than the one we happen to have on the shelf.

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