Wind Turbine FAQs
-
- Start with two questions: how much wind your site actually gets, and how much room you have.
- Vertical turbines (the X-300, H1000 and H2000) start turning at 2 to 2.5 m/s and take wind from any direction, so they keep working where the wind swirls and shifts — around buildings, trees and rooflines. They run from 300 W up to 2000 W.
- Horizontal turbines (M-400, M-600, M-800, and the L1, L2 and G series) want cleaner, steadier wind and a clear run at it. In clean, steady wind a horizontal of the same rating is usually the better harvester, and they scale further — 400 W up to 5000 W.
- Match the turbine to your battery bank, not to the biggest number. 12 V suits a camper, 4WD or tinnie; 24 V a van, cabin or boat; 48 V a shed or remote block.
- The largest models run at mains voltage, and the L2-3000, G-3000 and G-5000 are ground-mount only — they need a 10–15 m mast and are not rooftop units.
- Rated power is measured at 10–14 m/s, depending on the model. What you get at your place depends on your wind, your mast height and the season — not on a number on our website.
-
- No. Wind turbines generate "wild" 3-phase AC power that changes voltage constantly with the wind speed.
- Connecting it directly to a battery or a standard solar inverter will destroy your equipment.
- You must wire the turbine into a dedicated wind charge controller (pure-wind or wind-solar hybrid) with a dump-load resistor.
- The controller converts the power to stable DC to charge your batteries safely.
-
Match the turbine and its controller to the voltage of your existing battery bank:
- 12 V: compact mobile setups — caravans, 4WDs and camper trailers.
- 24 V: medium setups — off-grid sheds, cabins and motorhomes.
- 48 V: most of this range, and the sensible choice for a full off-grid system. Higher voltage means less current in the cable, so less loss over a long run and lighter cable.
-
- When your battery bank is fully charged it stops accepting power.
- If a storm hits at night with the batteries full, a turbine with nowhere to send its power will free-spin out of control and can physically fly apart.
- The controller prevents that by diverting the excess into the dump load resistor, which burns it off safely as heat and acts as an electronic brake to slow the turbine down.
- Yes, you need one.
-
- Usually quieter, but not silent — no turbine is.
- Why a Horizontal is Louder: its blade tips travel several times faster than the wind, and blade noise climbs steeply with tip speed. The whoosh rises and falls as each blade comes round — a rhythmic swish that carries through wind noise more than a steady hiss does.
- Why a Vertical is Usually Quieter: its blades turn more slowly, so there is less of that whoosh.
- What we won't Tell you: that it's silent. Every turbine gets louder as the wind picks up. The wind often covers much of it in a strong blow, but a close neighbour can still hear one in light to moderate wind.
- The manufacturer publishes no noise figure for the turbines themselves (the "65 dB or less" on some Specs tabs is the controller's), so we don't quote one.
- On a building, use vibration isolators — a turbine bolted to a structure carries its sound into the rooms — and check your council's rules on noise, height and placement before you order a mast.
-
- It will turn, but turning is not charging. The blades start turning at 2 to 2.5 m/s (about 7 to 9 km/h) — a light breeze.
- Charging starts at the cut-in speed: 3 m/s (about 11 km/h) on every model except the X-300, which starts and charges from 2 m/s. Output then climbs steeply with wind speed.
- The rated figure is measured much higher — 10 to 14 m/s depending on the model, a 36 to 50 km/h wind, not a normal afternoon. Each product page's spec table gives that model's own numbers.
- A gentle breeze keeps the turbine ticking over; it takes real wind to push real power into your batteries. Every horizontal model has its measured power curve published on its product page — work from that, not from the number in the product name.
-
- No — small turbines are built to spin fast. The smaller the rotor, the faster it has to turn to keep its blade tips up with the wind: the M-400's 1.35 m rotor runs at about 800 rpm, the M-600 and M-800 at about 500, the big G-series at 300.
- In the manufacturer's words, the high rpm is a design necessity, not a defect. A slower generator would need a bigger stator and more magnets and copper — heavier and dearer.
- They start turning at 2 to 2.5 m/s and make power right across the wind range — just less when the wind is light. What you get depends on your site and how high you mount it.
-
- Yes — connect the turbine to a battery bank first, through a dedicated charge controller.
- Never straight to an inverter. Connecting a wind turbine directly to a standard inverter will damage the equipment or cause the system to fail.
The Correct Order:
- 1. Wind Turbine — generates wild, fluctuating 3-phase AC as the wind changes.
- 2. Hybrid or Wind Charge Controller — converts it to steady DC, and protects the turbine from over-speeding with an electronic brake.
- 3. Battery Bank (12 V, 24 V or 48 V) — absorbs the gusts and provides a steady source of energy.
- 4. Off-Grid Inverter — connects to the battery, converting stored DC into AC for your appliances.
Why you Cannot Skip the Battery:
- Unstable Voltage: wind changes second by second. Without a battery to smooth it out, a direct-connected inverter would constantly cut out.
- Turbine Damage: when a battery is full or disconnected, the turbine loses its load. Without that resistance the blades can spin out of control in high wind and destroy the unit. The controller uses the battery connection to dump excess power and slow it down.
-
- This turbine generates 3-phase AC power and cannot be connected directly to a battery, a solar controller or a home inverter.
- It must run through a dedicated wind charge controller (pure-wind or wind-solar hybrid) with a dump-load resistor. The dump load stops the turbine over-speeding and destroying itself in high winds once your batteries are full.
- Installation and commissioning must be carried out by a suitably qualified and licensed electrician.
- Cable, breakers, isolators and all protective devices are selected to suit your site and are the electrician's call, not ours.
-
It is almost always one of three installation issues. Check them in order.
Quick Checks — Tick as You Go
- Is the Meter Set to AC Volts (V~)?
- Does it Spin Freely Once Disconnected from the Controller?
- Is the Cable from the Mast Heavy Enough for the Run?
1. The Multimeter is Set to DC — The Most Common Mistake.
- Measuring the three turbine wires with the meter set to DC volts gives a false reading near zero.
- Wind turbines generate 3-phase AC directly from the stator. Switch the meter to AC volts (V~).
2. The Turbine is Stalling Because of a Short.
- The blades turn heavily and slowly, or lock up: if any of the three AC output wires touch each other, or the controller's braking diodes have short-circuited, it acts as a magnetic brake — the turbine can never spin fast enough to build voltage.
- Disconnect the turbine from the controller. If it frees up and spins much faster, the problem is a short in the wiring or a faulty controller.
3. Voltage Drop from Thin Cable.
- Thin solar or automotive cable over 20 metres or more loses the power as heat before it reaches the controller.
- Use heavy cable between the mast and the controller on long runs — minimum 8 AWG, ideally 6 AWG. Final sizing is your electrician's call.
-
- The number in the name is a peak rating, not a promise.
- A turbine's rated output is measured at a specific wind speed — 10 to 14 m/s depending on the model, which is about 36 to 50 km/h — and most sites see far less than that most of the time.
- Your display shows what the wind is delivering right now, so it will sit well below the rated figure and move second by second as the wind changes. That is physics, not a fault.
- As an example, the L2-2500 is rated 2,500 W at 11 m/s. On a decent steady coastal breeze of 7 m/s the manufacturer's own curve gives about 813 W. That is why we publish the full power curve on every horizontal turbine's product page.
- Where these machines earn their keep is time: they keep charging through the night and through the weather that shuts solar down.
- If the display shows 0 W while the blades are spinning, that is a different problem — see the 0 W question.
-
- Not necessarily — this is one of the most common questions we get, and it is rarely a faulty unit.
- It is usually a quick settings check, or (on a first-time install) how the wiring and start-up sequence were done.
- See our full Wind Turbine 0W Troubleshooting Guide for the complete walkthrough, or the Set-Up Guide — or contact us and we will help you sort it out.
-
- Wire your bus bar and breakers before and after the controller, then power up in the right order. Getting the sequence right prevents almost all wiring issues, including the common "spinning but 0 W" problem.
- Fit a breaker before the controller (turbine/solar side) and after it (battery side), landing on a DC bus bar.
- Keep the turbine-to-controller cable run to 2–10 metres to limit voltage drop.
- Power up in this order: battery breaker first, then solar, then wind turbine last.
- See our full How to Install & Start Up guide for the complete step-by-step walkthrough and wiring diagram.
Pure Copper Electrical Terminal Connectors
Delivering Outside Australia or New Zealand? Delivery is free. Import duty, customs charges and any tax on arrival are set by your country and are payable by you — we can’t collect them for you.
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Pure Copper Electrical Terminal Connectors
A Lug is Only as Good as the Crimp Behind it.
Bare cable clamped straight under a bolt head is the joint that gives trouble later. The strands spread, only a few of them carry the load, the bolt loosens with vibration, and the connection starts running warmer than the cable either side of it. On a battery bank that joint is carrying every amp your inverter draws.
A copper tube lug fixes that by turning the cable end into a solid, flat ring. You strip the insulation, seat the conductor in the barrel, crimp it, and bolt the ring flat against the bus bar, breaker post or battery terminal. Full contact area, one fastener, nothing to spread. These are SC-type lugs in pure copper, cold-pressed for crimping, in seven conductor sizes from SC4 to SC50 with stud holes from 4mm to 12mm.
Two honest limits. First, the crimp does the work — a hex or indent crimper matched to the barrel is the difference between a joint that lasts twenty years and one you replace next summer. Bolt cutters and hammers do not count. Second, we sell SC4 up to SC50 and nothing above it. If you are running 70mm² or 95mm² cable to an inverter, these will not suit you, so do not order the biggest one and hope.
What it Solves
- Battery Bank Leads: making up 25mm² or 35mm² interconnects between cells and the main isolator, with a flat ring that sits properly on the post.
- Bus Bar Terminations: a shed or workshop DC bus bar where six or eight circuits land on one bar and every one of them needs a matching stud hole.
- Farm & Site Plant: repairing chewed or corroded cable ends on pumps, gensets and machinery without waiting on a made-up lead.
- Van & 4WD Builds: running 16mm² from the DC-DC charger to the auxiliary battery and needing an 8mm stud hole at one end and a 6mm at the other.
- Boat & Shack Rewires: stripping out old bolted-and-taped joints and putting proper terminations on every cable end in one go.
Key Features
- Pure Copper Barrel: copper conductor into a copper lug, so you are not introducing a second metal into the joint.
- Seven Conductor Sizes: SC4, SC6, SC10, SC16, SC25, SC35 and SC50 — matched to 4mm² through to 50mm² cable.
- Stud Holes 4mm to 12mm: nineteen size combinations in total, so you can match the bolt already in your bus bar rather than drilling it out.
- Three Holes on Most Sizes: SC10, SC25 and SC35 each come with a 6mm, 8mm or 10mm hole, which covers most bus bars and breaker posts.
- Closed Tube Barrel: the conductor seats inside a tube rather than a split ferrule, so nothing sticks out past the crimp.
- Cold-Pressed for Crimping: designed to be compressed with a crimper, not soldered — a soldered lug goes stiff where the solder wicks up the strands.
- Packs of 10 or 20: SC4 to SC16 come 20 to a pack, SC25 to SC50 come 10 to a pack. Enough to do both ends of several runs and keep spares.
- Flat Bolting Face: the ring lies flat against the bar so the contact area is the whole palm of the lug, not the edge of a strand.
- Takes Standard Heatshrink: the barrel gives you something to shrink over, which keeps moisture and stray tools off the joint.
- Delivery: Free Standard Delivery, 5 to 10 working days from the day you order. Allow 1–2 days for fulfilment. Regional and remote addresses can take longer.
Where This Fits
Wiring an off-grid system means making up your own cable ends. This is one of the tools for that job — here's the rest of the picture:
- Wind Turbines: vertical and horizontal turbines from 300 W to 5 kW (rated) — and they can charge overnight, when your solar can't.
- Hybrid MPPT Controllers: you can't wire a turbine straight to a battery. The controller rectifies the output, manages the charge, and brakes the turbine when the bank is full.
- The Rest of the Electrical Range: bus bars, breakers, isolators, cable, lugs and Anderson plugs.
Cable sizing depends on your run length, voltage and current, and a bad crimp is the connection that heats up later — check the sizing against your own run or ask your sparky before you make up anything you can't undo.
Q & A
What does a Name Like SC10-8 Actually Mean?
Under the standard naming convention for copper tube terminals, the first number is the conductor cross-section in mm² and the second is the stud hole diameter in mm. So SC10-8 takes 10mm² cable and bolts onto an 8mm stud. That is the industry convention rather than a figure the supplier publishes, so measure your cable and your bolt before you order a full pack.
Which Lug do I Need for my Cable?
Match the lug to the cross-section of the conductor, not the outside diameter of the insulation. Common off-grid runs land on 6mm² and 10mm² for lighting and small loads, 16mm² and 25mm² for charger and solar feeds, and 35mm² or 50mm² for inverter and battery leads. If your cable is marked in AWG, convert it to mm² first — 4 AWG is roughly 25mm², 1/0 AWG is roughly 50mm². If you are not certain, take an offcut to your sparky.
How do I Pick the Stud Hole Size?
The hole has to match the bolt already in your bus bar, breaker post or battery terminal — not the other way around. Drilling a lug out to fit a bigger bolt removes copper from the part of the lug carrying current, and a hole that is too big lets the ring shift under the washer. Measure the stud first, then choose the second number.
Can I Solder These Instead of Crimping?
We would not. Solder wicks up the strands above the barrel and creates a stiff section that fatigues where it flexes, and it does not hold up to vibration in a vehicle or on plant. Use a hex or indent crimper sized to the barrel. If you only have a hammer-style crimper, it will make a joint, but it will not be as consistent as a proper die.
Do you Sell SC70 or SC95?
No. This listing runs SC4 to SC50 and stops there. Anything above 50mm² is not stocked here, so if your inverter leads are 70mm² or 95mm² you will need to source those elsewhere.
Are they Tinned, and What Current will they Carry?
Neither is specified by the supplier. The listing states pure copper construction, but plating, current rating and barrel dimensions are not published, so we are not going to put a number on them. In practice a lug is sized to the cable, and the cable rating is what limits the circuit — size the cable properly and the lug follows.
Specs
| Specifications | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | SC-Type Copper Tube Cable Lug (Ring Terminal) |
| Material | Pure Copper |
| Termination Method | Cold-Pressed Crimp |
| Sizes Offered | SC4, SC6, SC10, SC16, SC25, SC35, SC50 — 19 size and stud combinations |
| SC4 Options | SC4-4, SC4-5, SC4-6 — 20 per Pack |
| SC6 Options | SC6-6, SC6-8 — 20 per Pack |
| SC10 Options | SC10-6, SC10-8, SC10-10 — 20 per Pack |
| SC16 Options | SC16-6, SC16-8 — 20 per Pack |
| SC25 Options | SC25-6, SC25-8, SC25-10 — 10 per Pack |
| SC35 Options | SC35-6, SC35-8, SC35-10 — 10 per Pack |
| SC50 Options | SC50-8, SC50-10, SC50-12 — 10 per Pack |
| Pack Quantity | 20 per pack for SC4 to SC16; 10 per pack for SC25 to SC50 |
| Stud Hole Range | 4mm to 12mm, Depending on the Size Chosen |
| Naming Convention | Standard copper tube terminal convention: first number is conductor cross-section in mm², second is stud hole diameter in mm. Industry convention, not a supplier statement |
| Current Rating | Not Specified by Supplier |
| Barrel Length & Overall Dimensions | Not Specified by Supplier |
| Plating or Surface Finish | Not Specified by Supplier |
| Recommended Crimp Die | Not Specified by Supplier |
| Temperature Rating | Not Specified by Supplier |
| Certification | Not Specified by Supplier |
| Country of Origin | Not Specified by Supplier |
Watch Me
Everything we know about this one is written down: the Specs for the supplier's published figures, and the Q & A for the questions buyers ask before they order.
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Wind Turbine FAQs
-
- Start with two questions: how much wind your site actually gets, and how much room you have.
- Vertical turbines (the X-300, H1000 and H2000) start turning at 2 to 2.5 m/s and take wind from any direction, so they keep working where the wind swirls and shifts — around buildings, trees and rooflines. They run from 300 W up to 2000 W.
- Horizontal turbines (M-400, M-600, M-800, and the L1, L2 and G series) want cleaner, steadier wind and a clear run at it. In clean, steady wind a horizontal of the same rating is usually the better harvester, and they scale further — 400 W up to 5000 W.
- Match the turbine to your battery bank, not to the biggest number. 12 V suits a camper, 4WD or tinnie; 24 V a van, cabin or boat; 48 V a shed or remote block.
- The largest models run at mains voltage, and the L2-3000, G-3000 and G-5000 are ground-mount only — they need a 10–15 m mast and are not rooftop units.
- Rated power is measured at 10–14 m/s, depending on the model. What you get at your place depends on your wind, your mast height and the season — not on a number on our website.
-
- No. Wind turbines generate "wild" 3-phase AC power that changes voltage constantly with the wind speed.
- Connecting it directly to a battery or a standard solar inverter will destroy your equipment.
- You must wire the turbine into a dedicated wind charge controller (pure-wind or wind-solar hybrid) with a dump-load resistor.
- The controller converts the power to stable DC to charge your batteries safely.
-
Match the turbine and its controller to the voltage of your existing battery bank:
- 12 V: compact mobile setups — caravans, 4WDs and camper trailers.
- 24 V: medium setups — off-grid sheds, cabins and motorhomes.
- 48 V: most of this range, and the sensible choice for a full off-grid system. Higher voltage means less current in the cable, so less loss over a long run and lighter cable.
-
- When your battery bank is fully charged it stops accepting power.
- If a storm hits at night with the batteries full, a turbine with nowhere to send its power will free-spin out of control and can physically fly apart.
- The controller prevents that by diverting the excess into the dump load resistor, which burns it off safely as heat and acts as an electronic brake to slow the turbine down.
- Yes, you need one.
-
- Usually quieter, but not silent — no turbine is.
- Why a Horizontal is Louder: its blade tips travel several times faster than the wind, and blade noise climbs steeply with tip speed. The whoosh rises and falls as each blade comes round — a rhythmic swish that carries through wind noise more than a steady hiss does.
- Why a Vertical is Usually Quieter: its blades turn more slowly, so there is less of that whoosh.
- What we won't Tell you: that it's silent. Every turbine gets louder as the wind picks up. The wind often covers much of it in a strong blow, but a close neighbour can still hear one in light to moderate wind.
- The manufacturer publishes no noise figure for the turbines themselves (the "65 dB or less" on some Specs tabs is the controller's), so we don't quote one.
- On a building, use vibration isolators — a turbine bolted to a structure carries its sound into the rooms — and check your council's rules on noise, height and placement before you order a mast.
-
- It will turn, but turning is not charging. The blades start turning at 2 to 2.5 m/s (about 7 to 9 km/h) — a light breeze.
- Charging starts at the cut-in speed: 3 m/s (about 11 km/h) on every model except the X-300, which starts and charges from 2 m/s. Output then climbs steeply with wind speed.
- The rated figure is measured much higher — 10 to 14 m/s depending on the model, a 36 to 50 km/h wind, not a normal afternoon. Each product page's spec table gives that model's own numbers.
- A gentle breeze keeps the turbine ticking over; it takes real wind to push real power into your batteries. Every horizontal model has its measured power curve published on its product page — work from that, not from the number in the product name.
-
- No — small turbines are built to spin fast. The smaller the rotor, the faster it has to turn to keep its blade tips up with the wind: the M-400's 1.35 m rotor runs at about 800 rpm, the M-600 and M-800 at about 500, the big G-series at 300.
- In the manufacturer's words, the high rpm is a design necessity, not a defect. A slower generator would need a bigger stator and more magnets and copper — heavier and dearer.
- They start turning at 2 to 2.5 m/s and make power right across the wind range — just less when the wind is light. What you get depends on your site and how high you mount it.
-
- Yes — connect the turbine to a battery bank first, through a dedicated charge controller.
- Never straight to an inverter. Connecting a wind turbine directly to a standard inverter will damage the equipment or cause the system to fail.
The Correct Order:
- 1. Wind Turbine — generates wild, fluctuating 3-phase AC as the wind changes.
- 2. Hybrid or Wind Charge Controller — converts it to steady DC, and protects the turbine from over-speeding with an electronic brake.
- 3. Battery Bank (12 V, 24 V or 48 V) — absorbs the gusts and provides a steady source of energy.
- 4. Off-Grid Inverter — connects to the battery, converting stored DC into AC for your appliances.
Why you Cannot Skip the Battery:
- Unstable Voltage: wind changes second by second. Without a battery to smooth it out, a direct-connected inverter would constantly cut out.
- Turbine Damage: when a battery is full or disconnected, the turbine loses its load. Without that resistance the blades can spin out of control in high wind and destroy the unit. The controller uses the battery connection to dump excess power and slow it down.
-
- This turbine generates 3-phase AC power and cannot be connected directly to a battery, a solar controller or a home inverter.
- It must run through a dedicated wind charge controller (pure-wind or wind-solar hybrid) with a dump-load resistor. The dump load stops the turbine over-speeding and destroying itself in high winds once your batteries are full.
- Installation and commissioning must be carried out by a suitably qualified and licensed electrician.
- Cable, breakers, isolators and all protective devices are selected to suit your site and are the electrician's call, not ours.
-
It is almost always one of three installation issues. Check them in order.
Quick Checks — Tick as You Go
- Is the Meter Set to AC Volts (V~)?
- Does it Spin Freely Once Disconnected from the Controller?
- Is the Cable from the Mast Heavy Enough for the Run?
1. The Multimeter is Set to DC — The Most Common Mistake.
- Measuring the three turbine wires with the meter set to DC volts gives a false reading near zero.
- Wind turbines generate 3-phase AC directly from the stator. Switch the meter to AC volts (V~).
2. The Turbine is Stalling Because of a Short.
- The blades turn heavily and slowly, or lock up: if any of the three AC output wires touch each other, or the controller's braking diodes have short-circuited, it acts as a magnetic brake — the turbine can never spin fast enough to build voltage.
- Disconnect the turbine from the controller. If it frees up and spins much faster, the problem is a short in the wiring or a faulty controller.
3. Voltage Drop from Thin Cable.
- Thin solar or automotive cable over 20 metres or more loses the power as heat before it reaches the controller.
- Use heavy cable between the mast and the controller on long runs — minimum 8 AWG, ideally 6 AWG. Final sizing is your electrician's call.
-
- The number in the name is a peak rating, not a promise.
- A turbine's rated output is measured at a specific wind speed — 10 to 14 m/s depending on the model, which is about 36 to 50 km/h — and most sites see far less than that most of the time.
- Your display shows what the wind is delivering right now, so it will sit well below the rated figure and move second by second as the wind changes. That is physics, not a fault.
- As an example, the L2-2500 is rated 2,500 W at 11 m/s. On a decent steady coastal breeze of 7 m/s the manufacturer's own curve gives about 813 W. That is why we publish the full power curve on every horizontal turbine's product page.
- Where these machines earn their keep is time: they keep charging through the night and through the weather that shuts solar down.
- If the display shows 0 W while the blades are spinning, that is a different problem — see the 0 W question.
-
- Not necessarily — this is one of the most common questions we get, and it is rarely a faulty unit.
- It is usually a quick settings check, or (on a first-time install) how the wiring and start-up sequence were done.
- See our full Wind Turbine 0W Troubleshooting Guide for the complete walkthrough, or the Set-Up Guide — or contact us and we will help you sort it out.
-
- Wire your bus bar and breakers before and after the controller, then power up in the right order. Getting the sequence right prevents almost all wiring issues, including the common "spinning but 0 W" problem.
- Fit a breaker before the controller (turbine/solar side) and after it (battery side), landing on a DC bus bar.
- Keep the turbine-to-controller cable run to 2–10 metres to limit voltage drop.
- Power up in this order: battery breaker first, then solar, then wind turbine last.
- See our full How to Install & Start Up guide for the complete step-by-step walkthrough and wiring diagram.
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