Specifications

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Step 9:
Check the XL.1 wind turbine carefully to make
sure that the installation is complete. We recom-
mend the following checklist:
 Blade fasteners are secure and prop-
erly torqued
 Blade tips are evenly spaced
 Spinner is secure
 Tail fin is secure
 Tail pivot pin is locked in place with
both cotter pins.
 Tower adapter bolts are secure
 Wiring polarity is tested and marked
Step 10:
Dynamically brake the XL.1’s alternator by either
of two methods: 1) using the Stop Mode function
of the PowerCenter, if you already have the tur-
bine and battery bank connected to the Power-
Center, or 2) connecting the positive (+) and
negative (-) output leads together. The resulting
short-circuit will keep the rotor from spinning dur-
ing tower raising. DO NOT raise the wind turbine
without first stopping the rotor from turning.
To use the Stop Mode of the PowerCenter press
the Mode Selector Button on the backside of the
PowerCenter briefly. Clinking the button again will
release the wind turbine. We recommend verify-
ing that the turbine is in Stop Mode, by checking
for resistance to turning the rotor by hand, before
raising the tower.
Step 11:
Raise the tower following the procedures outlined
by the tower supplier. Please make safety your
top priority.
Non-tilting Towers: On a non-tilting tower,
such as a fixed guyed tower or a self-supporting
pole type tower, there are two general approaches
that can be used: 1) assemble the tower and tur-
bine together on the ground and then use a light-
duty crane to set the tower in place, or 2) erect the
tower and then lift the wind turbine to the top with
either a light-duty crane or a gin-pole.
A gin-pole, in this case, is a tower assembly tool
that attaches to the tower and provides an arm
with a pulley so that parts can be hoisted above
the top of the tower. Gin-poles are used by pro-
fessional tower erectors and we do not recom-
mend their use by non-professionals. We know of
at least one homeowner who died approximately
fifteen years ago while improperly using a gin-pole
to install a small wind turbine (though not a Ber-
gey turbine).
Wherever possible we strongly recommend as-
sembling the tower and turbine on the ground. In
this case please follow the general procedure for
turbine assembly provided in the preceding sec-
tion. When raising the tower you must lift the
tower, not the XL.1 wind turbine. The XL.1 cannot
support the weight of the tower.
For customers installing a BWC XL.1 on an exist-
ing fixed tower we recommend that you use a
crane to lower the tower so that you can attach
the turbine on the ground. Alternatively, we rec-
ommend you use a bucket-truck, like the type
used by utility linemen. Check with local sign
companies because they often offer bucket-truck
services at reasonable hourly rates. If neither of
these approaches is possible then we recommend
that you engage the services of professional wind
turbine or tower erectors to install your wind tur-
bine.