Wind Generators

[Tony B]

Do any of you have wind generators and what do you think of that particular model?
I havent gotten involved in wind gennys for about 6 years or so. I see the prices have come down and the technology has gone up.
The biggest problem with wind generators on a boat is the vibration. The cheaper ones will keep you and your neighbors up all night. Not just the sound of the blades but the sound on your deck and handrails vibrating.

 

[Singleprop]

Best one seems to be the Silentwind generator. It makes AC, which is then delivered to an included charger, which also has input for solar panels. So you can save a bit on complicated electrical design.
Minimal noise, good performance, slightly more expensive, but this one will not humm the boat at night and your neighbors will appreciate this.

 

[KJ]

A friend had an Aerogen on his boat. He said it was pretty reliable. Never said anything about there being any excessive noise. KJ

 

[Peter B]

I am getting good service from an Air-breeze, which being new generation, has pretty quiet blades and minimal vibration, and it is very easy to install. I think a lot of research had gone into all brands, in view of the negative reactions to the older noisier types, so I guess you would find the noise factor a lot better in them all.

AIR Breeze | Southwest Windpower

 

[Per]

I am getting good service from an Air-breeze, which being new generation, has pretty quiet blades and minimal vibration, and it is very easy to install. I think a lot of research had gone into all brands, in view of the negative reactions to the older noisier types, so I guess you would find the noise factor a lot better in them all.

AIR Breeze | Southwest Windpower

nice.. how much AHRS do you get on a daily basis?
do you use an external smart charger?

 

[Peter B]

Per, the Airbreeze has it's own regulator, then I have two solar panels one large for house, one small for start batt, and these go thru Sunguard pulse width modulated contollers, (please don't ask me to explain PWM, or why, but that is a good type - suggest Googling it, or look here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-width_modulation), and then I have C-Tek 7 step smart charger for when at the dock.
So when we go out, the batts are full, then sun keeps adding to the engine charge if required until we stop, then after a time, the sun top-up has dropped sufficiently for the Airbreeze to get a chance to add it's contribution, which varies with wind strength between 1 amp when beggar-all wind up to 20 odd amps with a good breeze. However, as one tends to anchor out of strong winds, the average gust brings in about 10 amps, in bursts of seconds to minutes at a time. All I can say is it is enough that we could permanently anchor for days, and stay topped up just with the wind genny and sun contributions, but we don't run any AC stuff - we are all 12v. However, that does include a 12v frig on all the time.

 

[Nomad Willy]

If you have a wind generator I will hope you are always far enough from me that I can't hear it. I hate the racket they make. I do'nt care how eco they are.

 

[Per]

Per, the Airbreeze has it's own regulator, then I have two solar panels one large for house, one small for start batt, and these go thru Sunguard pulse width modulated contollers, (please don't ask me to explain PWM, or why, but that is a good type - suggest Googling it, or look here Pulse-width modulation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), and then I have C-Tek 7 step smart charger for when at the dock.
So when we go out, the batts are full, then sun keeps adding to the engine charge if required until we stop, then after a time, the sun top-up has dropped sufficiently for the Airbreeze to get a chance to add it's contribution, which varies with wind strength between 1 amp when beggar-all wind up to 20 odd amps with a good breeze. However, as one tends to anchor out of strong winds, the average gust brings in about 10 amps, in bursts of seconds to minutes at a time. All I can say is it is enough that we could permanently anchor for days, and stay topped up just with the wind genny and sun contributions, but we don't run any AC stuff - we are all 12v. However, that does include a 12v frig on all the time.

i have 2 x 85W panels myself with a PWM controller, works really well.
sounds great you can be self sufficient.
but i am guessing you also carry propane for cooking?
i have all electric (110 volt with inverter set up), dont really want to change to propane.
how noisy would you say this unit really is?

 

[JD]

i have 2 x 85W panels myself with a PWM controller, works really well.
sounds great you can be self sufficient.
but i am guessing you also carry propane for cooking?
i have all electric (110 volt with inverter set up), dont really want to change to propane.
how noisy would you say this unit really is?

I had a NexGen on my sailboat. The blades were very quite, I think that is because it had five where some only have three. You can hear some air noise but not like some of the others that you could hear across the marina. There was a bit of a drone through the mount that was hear in the boat. But I always felt the it was such a problem I'd design a mount with a soft rubber insulator to tone it down.

 

[FF]

i have all electric (110 volt with inverter set up), dont really want to change to propane.
how noisy would you say this unit really is?

Really hard to charge batts to cook with. The amp difference between 24 hours of max charge and a half hour of stove use is too high.

And to keep the windmill operating you need to find the most windy spot near the harbor and anchor there.Bumpy? Long ride to town? No WI FI?

Perhaps a Sea Swing kerosene or propane stove?

Or a camping propane stove , 2 burner sitting on the dead electric range , and a refill kit to use a 20 lb propane tank to fill the tiny camping propane cans?

This solution is fairly common for year round boats that have diesel stoves that overheat the galley in summer.

FF

 

[Peter B]

i have 2 x 85W panels myself with a PWM controller, works really well.
sounds great you can be self sufficient.
but i am guessing you also carry propane for cooking?
i have all electric (110 volt with inverter set up), dont really want to change to propane.
how noisy would you say this unit really is?

Let's just say they are so quiet even Eric would not be bothered in his bunk at 20 paces distant on a night it was operating. However, yes, cooking would need to be propane to be able to avoid running a motor genny.

 

[marinetrader]

I am having good luck with a Sunforce Wind Turbine

 

[Nomad Willy]

I missed the last post as I refuse to respond to advertisements on this forum.

Peter very glad to hear that and I'm assuming you must have a very different wind gen that the ones I heard in the Port Of Everett Wash in the past. Very hard to imagine you being obnoxious.

At least the guys w ball games or country western music at high volume in a marina turn off the offending noise when they leave but the wind gens just keep right on go'in on until the wind stops. I ca'nt believe people will create a LOT of noise that they know other people will not like. But some do.

Alaska is no sanctuary to that either.

 

[Per]

i have all electric (110 volt with inverter set up), dont really want to change to propane.
how noisy would you say this unit really is?

Really hard to charge batts to cook with. The amp difference between 24 hours of max charge and a half hour of stove use is too high.

And to keep the windmill operating you need to find the most windy spot near the harbor and anchor there.Bumpy? Long ride to town? No WI FI?

Perhaps a Sea Swing kerosene or propane stove?

Or a camping propane stove , 2 burner sitting on the dead electric range , and a refill kit to use a 20 lb propane tank to fill the tiny camping propane cans?

This solution is fairly common for year round boats that have diesel stoves that overheat the galley in summer.

FF

If i was to be a long range cruiser or live aboard off the grid, i'd probably look at these options. For the 3 - 4 weeks of the year where we need to cook on the boat (away from shorepower), will just run the genny.
I am not saying my boat will ever be a charter, but if i am not mistaken one of the rules are no propane on charter boats.

 

[Larry M]

...I am not saying my boat will ever be a charter, but if i am not mistaken one of the rules are no propane on charter boats.

Per: Propane is perfectly acceptable on charter boats in the US as long as the installation is done properly.

 

[Daddyo]

We had an Aero4gen on the last boat. Not loud but they put out very little power. I would go solar before wind.

 

[Peter B]

We had an Aero4gen on the last boat. Not loud but they put out very little power. I would go solar before wind.

Daddyo, I agree solar first, however, the issue is, if you want to be able to avoid running a genny at all, then for almost silent charge at night, wind is required, if running frigs, TVs lights etc, or you need huge, battery capacity.

 

[Peter B]

I missed the last post as I refuse to respond to advertisements on this forum.

Peter very glad to hear that and I'm assuming you must have a very different wind gen that the ones I heard in the Port Of Everett Wash in the past. Very hard to imagine you being obnoxious.
Alaska is no sanctuary to that either.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Eric, and things have definitely changed for the better with wind power, so I respectfully suggest you listen to the video post of MarineTrader's because that is quite representative of how loud the later units are. Mine sounds about the same for the same wind speed and output, and he's right, the faster they go the quieter they go. And it's neat being able to see yourself getting free POWERrrrrr.....