I mounted the wind generator at the spreaders, rather than the mast head for several reasons. To keep the unit at a more easily serviceable location, to keep the weight of the unit lower down, to reduce the length of the cable run in the mast and therefore the required size of the cables(The longer the cable run the thicker and heavier the cable requirements).
This position worked well when I needed to service the unit last year. I could stand on the spreaders while working on the generator. It would have been a nightmare at the mast head. The generator is quite heavy and unwieldy, and at the masthead I would not have been able to use a halyard to secure it or to lower it.
You cannot skimp on the cable sizes. I ran some heavier, #4 (20 mm
2)wires from the batteries to the mast base and then #6 (13mm
2) wires up the mast to the turbine.
At my main distribution panel I included 30 Amp breaker, which fed the turbine onto the main 1/0 AWG (50mm
2) battery bus. This eliminated the need for a fuse, and allowed me to totally isolate the wind generators from the batteries, if needed.
Nearer to the mast, I mounted a 30 Amp meter and the stop switch. The stop switch removes the connection from the battery and shorts the black and red coming from the turbine. This acts as a brake which slows down the turbine when not in use. This reduces noise, and wear and tear.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 22-Jan-2008