Wind Turbine FAQs
-
Summary Checklist for Your Choice
Choose the SR or ST-1200W if you want portability, low noise, and minimal investment for camping or caravans.
Choose the ST-2000, ST-3000, or ST-5000 if you have a stationary house/cabin and want to supplement solar panels at night.
Choose the ST-10kW — the largest turbine we sell — if you have heavy agricultural power needs, acreage, and a budget for proper mast engineering.
The vertical axis wind turbines listed on the BushLine Outdoor Equipment catalogue are categorised by physical design shapes, which dictate their ideal applications.
-
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 instantly destroy your equipment. Youmustwire the turbine into a dedicatedWind/Solar Hybrid MPPT Controller with an integrated Dump Load Resistor. The controller converts the power to stable DC to charge your batteries safely.
-
You must match the turbine and its hybrid controller to the exact voltage of your existing battery bank:
- 12V: Best for compact mobile setups like caravans, 4WDs, and camper trailers.
- 24V: Great for medium-sized setups like off-grid sheds, cabins, and motorhomes.
- 48V: The gold standard for full off-grid home systems. Higher voltage means less energy loss through your wires and allows you to use thinner, safer cables.
-
When your battery bank becomes 100% fully charged, it stops accepting power. If a heavy wind storm hits at night when your batteries are full, a turbine with nowhere to send its power will "free-spin" out of control and physically fly apart. A hybrid controller fixes this by automatically diverting that excess power into the dump load resistor, which burns it off safely as heat and acts as an electronic brake to slow the turbine down.
-
No,that is the main benefit of the vertical design. Traditional horizontal "propeller" turbines create a high-pitched, annoying "chopping" noise. Our ST Tulip and Flower series utilise advanced omnidirectional maglev-style bearings, making them virtually silent and completely vibration-free, all you will hear is the wind. They are perfect for suburban blocks, tight caravan parks, and areas close to neighbours.
-
It will turn, but turning is not charging. The blades start rotating at about 1.5 m/s — a light breeze. Charging starts once the wind clears the cut-in speed of about 3.5 m/s, and output climbs from there — the rated figure is measured at 13 m/s (about 47 km/h). A gentle breeze keeps the turbine ticking over; it takes real wind to push real power into your batteries.
-
You should connect the wind turbine to a battery bank first, via a dedicated charge controller, rather than directly to an inverter. Connecting a wind turbine directly to a standard inverter will damage the equipment or cause the system to fail.
🔋 The Correct Wiring SequenceTo safely capture and use the power, your setup must follow this exact order:
- Wind Turbine: Generates wild, fluctuating 3-phase AC power as wind speeds change.
- Hybrid/Wind Charge Controller: Converts the unstable AC power into steady DC power. It also protects the turbine from over-speeding by applying an electronic brake during high winds.
- Battery Bank (12V/24V/48V): Acts as a buffer to store the energy. It absorbs sudden power spikes from wind gusts and provides a steady source of energy.
- Off-Grid Inverter: Connects to the battery, converting the stored DC battery power into standard AC power for your household appliances.
⚠️ Why You Cannot Skip the Battery
- Unstable Voltage: Wind speeds change second by second. Without a battery to absorb and smooth out these massive fluctuations, a direct-connect inverter would constantly turn off and error out.
- Turbine Destruction: When a battery is full or disconnected, a wind turbine loses its "load" (resistance). Without that resistance, the blades can spin out of control in high winds and physically destroy the unit. The charge controller uses the battery connection to safely dump excess power and slow the turbine down.
-
Wiring & Installation Requirement:This wind turbine generates 3-phase AC power andcannotbe connected directly to a battery, solar controller, or home inverter. To operate safely, it must run through a dedicatedWind/Solar Hybrid MPPT Controller with an integrated Dump Load Resistor. The dump load prevents the turbine from over-speeding and destroying itself in high winds once your batteries are fully charged.
-
It is almost always one of three common installation issues. Check them in order:
1. Your multimeter is set to DC (the most common mistake).
- The issue: measuring the three turbine wires with the meter set to DC volts.
- The reality: wind turbines generate 3-phase AC power directly from the stator.
- The fix: switch your multimeter to AC volts (V~). Testing these wires on a DC setting gives a false reading near zero.
2. The turbine is stalling because of a short.
- The issue: the blades turn heavily and slowly, or lock up.
- The reality: if any of the three AC output wires touch each other, or the controller’s internal braking diodes have short-circuited, it acts as a magnetic brake — the turbine can never spin fast enough to build voltage.
- The fix: completely disconnect the turbine from the controller. If it suddenly frees up and spins much faster, the problem is a short in the wiring or a faulty controller.
3. Voltage drop from thin cables.
- The issue: thin wire run a long way from the tower to the battery shed.
- The reality: thin solar or automotive cable over a long run (20 metres or more) loses the power as heat in the wire before it reaches the controller.
- The fix: use heavy cable between the mast and the controller on long runs — minimum 8 AWG, ideally 6 AWG.
-
Because the number on the box is a peak rating, not a promise. A turbine’s rated output is measured at a specific wind speed — for these models that is 13 m/s, about 47 km/h — and most sites see far less 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 with the wind. That is physics, not a fault.
Where these turbines earn their keep is time: they keep charging through the night and through weather that shuts solar down. If the display shows 0 W while the blades are spinning, that is a different issue — see the 0 W question below.
-
Not necessarily — this is one of the most common questions we get, and it's rarely a faulty unit. It's 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 & Installation Guide for the complete walkthrough, or contact us and we'll help you sort it out.
-
Short answer: wire your bus bar and breakers before and after the controller, then power up in the right order — battery first, then solar, then wind. Getting the sequence right prevents almost all wiring issues, including the common “spinning but 0 W” problem.
Correct installation comes down to isolation and the right sequence:
- 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.
Flexible Copper Wire Electric Power Cable 10 - 22 AWG
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Flexible Copper Wire Electric Power Cable 10 - 22 AWG
Cable is where an off-grid build gets hot.
A run that is one size too small does not fail loudly. It warms up. The terminations warm up with it, the voltage drop eats the charge your turbine worked for, and the controller never quite sees a full bank. Left long enough it ends at a discoloured lug behind a panel nobody has opened in months, and by then the damage is to the gear either side of it.
This is plain single core flexible wire — the stuff that connects a controller to a bus bar, a breaker to a battery, a switch panel to a load. Stranded pure copper in PVC, in eight sizes from 10 AWG down to 22 AWG, four colours, cut to 5, 10 or 20 metres.
The honest part, up front. The supplier publishes the nominal cross-section in mm², the strand count, the strand diameter and the overall diameter for every size — all of it is in the specification table below. It does not publish a current rating, and we are not going to invent one. Safe current depends on your run length, whether the cable is bundled or in conduit, the ambient temperature under an Australian roof, and the voltage drop you can live with. That is a number your install has, not a number a product page has.
What It Does
- Controller to bus bar: the short runs between a hybrid controller, a breaker, a bus bar and the bank, where fine strands make a lug or a ferrule easy to land properly.
- Van, ute and camper builds: 12V and 24V accessory circuits behind panels, where solid core will not take the bend and work-hardens on corrugated road.
- Earth and bonding runs: green with a yellow stripe is the earth colour, so the run reads correctly to whoever opens the enclosure after you.
- Switch panels and enclosures: fine strands crimp cleanly into a bootlace ferrule instead of splaying out and half-clamping under a screw terminal.
- Colour coding a whole system: black, red and blue in the same size, so polarity is obvious next time the panel is open instead of a guessing game with a multimeter.
Key Features
- Pure copper, not CCA: the supplier states oxygen-free pure copper. Copper-clad aluminium looks identical at the end of a strip and carries far less current for the same size.
- Fine stranded conductor: 28 to 84 strands depending on size, so it routes around a corner instead of fighting you.
- Strand count published: the supplier gives the number of strands and the diameter of each one for every size, which is what lets you check the conductor yourself with a magnifier and a micrometer.
- Nominal size in mm²: 0.5 mm² up to 6 mm² across 20 AWG to 10 AWG — the figure an Australian or New Zealand sparky will actually ask you for.
- Overall diameter stated: 2.25 mm to 5.5 mm, so you can work out gland size and conduit fill before the cable turns up.
- Single core PVC: one insulated conductor. No outer sheath over the top, no shield, no second core.
- Four colours: black, red, blue, and green with a yellow stripe.
- Three cut lengths: 5, 10 or 20 metres, though not every length is offered in every size — the specification table sets out which.
Limits
Where this cable stops, plainly:
- No current rating: the supplier does not state amps for any size, so neither do we. Size the run against your own current, run length, bundling and voltage drop, or hand the numbers to your electrician.
- No voltage or temperature rating we can confirm: nothing legible in the supplier's photographs states either one. Both rows in the table read "Not specified by supplier" for that reason.
- No compliance mark sighted: no RCM mark and no AS/NZS 5000.1 marking is readable anywhere in the supplier's images, and no certificate was supplied. Fixed mains wiring in Australia and New Zealand is licensed work using cable that carries that mark — this is sold for low-voltage and DC work, not as a substitute for it.
- The 22 AWG size is undocumented: the supplier's own size chart runs from 21 AWG to 10 AWG and does not include the 22 AWG option sold here, so its cross-section, strand count and diameter are all unstated.
- Not for burying or open weather: the supplier's artwork calls the PVC waterproof. There is no IP rating, no UV rating and no immersion figure behind that word, so we are not repeating it. Single insulated wire like this belongs in conduit, a loom or an enclosure.
- Nominal is not measured: the mm² figure is the supplier's nominal size, the one printed on the sheath. We have not put a sample under a micrometer, and the strand figures are published here so you can check it yourself.
What Else You'll Need
Cable is one part of the run between a turbine and a battery bank. The rest of it:
- Breakers, isolators, bus bars and lugs: the electrical supplies range covers the hardware at both ends of a run. Every input and output wants a breaker or isolator on it so you can shut down and isolate before you touch anything.
- Shielded signal cable: sensors, displays and comms runs need a shield, not a bigger conductor. That is the shielded 2 and 3 core cable, and it is not for carrying charging current.
- Controllers: you cannot wire a turbine straight to a battery. A hybrid MPPT controller rectifies the output, manages the charge and brakes the turbine when the bank is full.
- Turbines: the vertical axis turbine range, if you are building the system rather than repairing one.
Q & A
How many amps will it carry?
Not specified by supplier, and we will not print a figure we cannot source. Someone sizing a breaker off an invented number is a fire, so the honest answer is the useful one: safe current depends on the cross-section, the run length, whether the cable is bundled or in conduit, the ambient temperature and how much voltage drop you can accept. The table below gives you the cross-section, the strand count and the strand diameter. Your sparky can do the rest with those.
Is it real copper, or copper-clad aluminium?
The supplier states oxygen-free pure copper throughout, and repeats it across four separate panels in the product images. CCA is the usual substitution in this category and it carries a lot less for the same size, so it is worth checking on arrival — scrape a strand, and copper stays copper coloured all the way through while CCA shows silver underneath.
What is each AWG size in mm²?
The supplier pairs them like this: 10 AWG is 6 mm², 12 AWG is 4 mm², 14 AWG is 2.5 mm², 16 AWG is 1.5 mm², 18 AWG is 1 mm², 19 AWG is 0.75 mm² and 20 AWG is 0.5 mm². The 22 AWG option is not on the supplier's chart at all, so its cross-section is not specified. Those mm² figures are nominal sizes, not measured cross-sections.
Can I use it for 240V mains wiring in the house or shed?
No voltage rating is confirmed and no compliance mark is readable on it, so treat it as unsuitable for fixed mains work. In Australia and New Zealand that wiring is a licensed electrician's job using marked cable, and this is sold for low-voltage and DC work — off-grid, vehicle, van and panel wiring.
Which colours come in which sizes?
Black and red are offered in all eight sizes, 10 AWG through to 22 AWG. Blue and green-with-yellow start at 16 AWG and run down to 22 AWG. The 5 metre length is offered on 16 AWG in every colour, and on 10, 12 and 14 AWG in black and red only — everything else comes as 10 or 20 metres.
Is it one continuous length?
Not specified by supplier. If a continuous run matters to your install, order the next size up in length so a join is not forced on you.
Specs
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Cable type | Single core flexible wire, supplier designation RV |
| Conductor | Stranded pure copper — supplier states oxygen-free |
| Conductor construction | Fine stranded — strand counts and diameters in the size table below |
| Insulation | PVC, single layer. Supplier states flame retardant |
| Cores | One |
| Shielding | None |
| Sizes sold | 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20 and 22 AWG |
| Nominal cross-section | 0.5 mm² to 6 mm² across 20 AWG to 10 AWG. 22 AWG not specified by supplier |
| Overall diameter | 2.25 mm to 5.5 mm across 20 AWG to 10 AWG |
| Colours | Black, red, blue, green with yellow stripe |
| Lengths | 5 m, 10 m or 20 m — availability varies by size and colour |
| Current rating | Not specified by supplier |
| Voltage rating | Not specified by supplier |
| Temperature range | Not specified by supplier |
| IP rating | Not specified by supplier |
| Certification | None sighted. No RCM mark or AS/NZS 5000.1 marking readable in the supplier's images |
Size Table
All figures below are the supplier's own, taken from the sectional-view chart in the product images.
| AWG | Nominal size | Strands | Strand diameter | Overall diameter | Weight per 100 m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 AWG | 6 mm² | 84 | 0.29 mm | 5.5 mm | 7,136 g |
| 12 AWG | 4 mm² | 56 | 0.29 mm | 4.4 mm | 4,780 g |
| 14 AWG | 2.5 mm² | 77 | 0.19 mm | 3.65 mm | 3,090 g |
| 16 AWG | 1.5 mm² | 48 | 0.19 mm | 3.25 mm | 2,128 g |
| 18 AWG | 1 mm² | 32 | 0.19 mm | 2.85 mm | 1,600 g |
| 19 AWG | 0.75 mm² | 42 | 0.14 mm | 2.42 mm | 1,140 g |
| 20 AWG | 0.5 mm² | 28 | 0.14 mm | 2.25 mm | 900 g |
| 22 AWG | Not specified | Not specified | Not specified | Not specified | Not specified |
Which Colours And Lengths
| Colour | Sizes offered | Lengths |
|---|---|---|
| Black | 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22 AWG | 5 m on 10–16 AWG; 10 m and 20 m on all sizes |
| Red | 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22 AWG | 5 m on 10–16 AWG; 10 m and 20 m on all sizes |
| Blue | 16, 18, 19, 20, 22 AWG | 5 m on 16 AWG; 10 m and 20 m on all sizes |
| Green with yellow stripe | 16, 18, 19, 20, 22 AWG | 5 m on 16 AWG; 10 m and 20 m on all sizes |
Watch Me
No video on this one. If you are wiring an off-grid system, these two are worth reading before you start:
- How to install and start up a wind turbine — the correct sequence, and the shock hazards to know about before you touch a terminal.
- Wind turbine spinning but showing 0W — nearly always wiring or setup rather than faulty gear, and undersized cable is one of the usual suspects.
Free delivery to Australia and New Zealand. Allow 10 to 14 days from the day you order, and up to three weeks in regional and remote areas.
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Wind Turbine FAQs
-
Summary Checklist for Your Choice
Choose the SR or ST-1200W if you want portability, low noise, and minimal investment for camping or caravans.
Choose the ST-2000, ST-3000, or ST-5000 if you have a stationary house/cabin and want to supplement solar panels at night.
Choose the ST-10kW — the largest turbine we sell — if you have heavy agricultural power needs, acreage, and a budget for proper mast engineering.
The vertical axis wind turbines listed on the BushLine Outdoor Equipment catalogue are categorised by physical design shapes, which dictate their ideal applications.
-
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 instantly destroy your equipment. Youmustwire the turbine into a dedicatedWind/Solar Hybrid MPPT Controller with an integrated Dump Load Resistor. The controller converts the power to stable DC to charge your batteries safely.
-
You must match the turbine and its hybrid controller to the exact voltage of your existing battery bank:
- 12V: Best for compact mobile setups like caravans, 4WDs, and camper trailers.
- 24V: Great for medium-sized setups like off-grid sheds, cabins, and motorhomes.
- 48V: The gold standard for full off-grid home systems. Higher voltage means less energy loss through your wires and allows you to use thinner, safer cables.
-
When your battery bank becomes 100% fully charged, it stops accepting power. If a heavy wind storm hits at night when your batteries are full, a turbine with nowhere to send its power will "free-spin" out of control and physically fly apart. A hybrid controller fixes this by automatically diverting that excess power into the dump load resistor, which burns it off safely as heat and acts as an electronic brake to slow the turbine down.
-
No,that is the main benefit of the vertical design. Traditional horizontal "propeller" turbines create a high-pitched, annoying "chopping" noise. Our ST Tulip and Flower series utilise advanced omnidirectional maglev-style bearings, making them virtually silent and completely vibration-free, all you will hear is the wind. They are perfect for suburban blocks, tight caravan parks, and areas close to neighbours.
-
It will turn, but turning is not charging. The blades start rotating at about 1.5 m/s — a light breeze. Charging starts once the wind clears the cut-in speed of about 3.5 m/s, and output climbs from there — the rated figure is measured at 13 m/s (about 47 km/h). A gentle breeze keeps the turbine ticking over; it takes real wind to push real power into your batteries.
-
You should connect the wind turbine to a battery bank first, via a dedicated charge controller, rather than directly to an inverter. Connecting a wind turbine directly to a standard inverter will damage the equipment or cause the system to fail.
🔋 The Correct Wiring SequenceTo safely capture and use the power, your setup must follow this exact order:
- Wind Turbine: Generates wild, fluctuating 3-phase AC power as wind speeds change.
- Hybrid/Wind Charge Controller: Converts the unstable AC power into steady DC power. It also protects the turbine from over-speeding by applying an electronic brake during high winds.
- Battery Bank (12V/24V/48V): Acts as a buffer to store the energy. It absorbs sudden power spikes from wind gusts and provides a steady source of energy.
- Off-Grid Inverter: Connects to the battery, converting the stored DC battery power into standard AC power for your household appliances.
⚠️ Why You Cannot Skip the Battery
- Unstable Voltage: Wind speeds change second by second. Without a battery to absorb and smooth out these massive fluctuations, a direct-connect inverter would constantly turn off and error out.
- Turbine Destruction: When a battery is full or disconnected, a wind turbine loses its "load" (resistance). Without that resistance, the blades can spin out of control in high winds and physically destroy the unit. The charge controller uses the battery connection to safely dump excess power and slow the turbine down.
-
Wiring & Installation Requirement:This wind turbine generates 3-phase AC power andcannotbe connected directly to a battery, solar controller, or home inverter. To operate safely, it must run through a dedicatedWind/Solar Hybrid MPPT Controller with an integrated Dump Load Resistor. The dump load prevents the turbine from over-speeding and destroying itself in high winds once your batteries are fully charged.
-
It is almost always one of three common installation issues. Check them in order:
1. Your multimeter is set to DC (the most common mistake).
- The issue: measuring the three turbine wires with the meter set to DC volts.
- The reality: wind turbines generate 3-phase AC power directly from the stator.
- The fix: switch your multimeter to AC volts (V~). Testing these wires on a DC setting gives a false reading near zero.
2. The turbine is stalling because of a short.
- The issue: the blades turn heavily and slowly, or lock up.
- The reality: if any of the three AC output wires touch each other, or the controller’s internal braking diodes have short-circuited, it acts as a magnetic brake — the turbine can never spin fast enough to build voltage.
- The fix: completely disconnect the turbine from the controller. If it suddenly frees up and spins much faster, the problem is a short in the wiring or a faulty controller.
3. Voltage drop from thin cables.
- The issue: thin wire run a long way from the tower to the battery shed.
- The reality: thin solar or automotive cable over a long run (20 metres or more) loses the power as heat in the wire before it reaches the controller.
- The fix: use heavy cable between the mast and the controller on long runs — minimum 8 AWG, ideally 6 AWG.
-
Because the number on the box is a peak rating, not a promise. A turbine’s rated output is measured at a specific wind speed — for these models that is 13 m/s, about 47 km/h — and most sites see far less 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 with the wind. That is physics, not a fault.
Where these turbines earn their keep is time: they keep charging through the night and through weather that shuts solar down. If the display shows 0 W while the blades are spinning, that is a different issue — see the 0 W question below.
-
Not necessarily — this is one of the most common questions we get, and it's rarely a faulty unit. It's 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 & Installation Guide for the complete walkthrough, or contact us and we'll help you sort it out.
-
Short answer: wire your bus bar and breakers before and after the controller, then power up in the right order — battery first, then solar, then wind. Getting the sequence right prevents almost all wiring issues, including the common “spinning but 0 W” problem.
Correct installation comes down to isolation and the right sequence:
- 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.
