any new ops on wind gens?

[mangomuffins]

I searched through some threads looking for recent opinions about wind gens and found an older one ('05). Am I missing one more recent? If not what's the current scoop on preferences?

thanks,
mm

[MarkJ]

any new ops on wind gens?

Yeah. Get me a BAZOOKA for the next jerk with a LOUD wind generator that parks next to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Celestialsailor]

I don't think 05 is the most recent. Seems I've made a few posts in recent times on them. I had the latest Air-X and although they were the "newer, quieter" version, they still made an erry woshing sound all night long. The boat I have now will be only solar panels.

[Get-a-Life]

I have the latest Air-X and they are certainly not quiet, but they are very efficient. If you purchase the optional switch you simply turn it off during the night if it is that worrying. What we tend to do is if its not too windy but a change is due is to leave it on, when the wind starts to pipe up, hey presto, we have a strong wind alarm. Get up have a look around, then turn it off. Wouldn't be without it. The other big plus for us, is that when it is really windy and we are using the auto pilot, the auto pilot gobbles up a lot of power which the wind generator simply keeps replacing on a user pays basis.

[Ram]

Kiss makes a great gen

[feelsgood]

Have a look at this site
D400 Urban Wind Turbine

[bobfnbw]

If I was to get a wind generator right now, and I am thinking about it, the only choices to me are between the KISS and the fourwinds2. Both excel at producing amps at low wind speeds, with the fourwinds being slightly more efficent and quieter, but not by much. By the time the wind pipes up to ~15 knots, they are on par with each other. Both are brushless, both weigh about the same. The fourwinds has 2 large blades with a diameter of 60". Cost is 2300 usd, including the pole and wire.
The KISS has 3 blades, has a diameter of 29", and costs 995 for the unit alone, if you buy it here in the states a bit more. You will need to purchase a pole as well, and mounting hardware, and of course wire. Depending on the pole you select it could be less or more that the forewinds, but I found mcmaster carr to be the place to go for things like that and a 10 foot aluminum pole can be had for ~400, vrs ~1500 for a "marine" pole from Kato marine.

Was thinking seriously at this this week, but now leaning on building my own diesel genset instead. I have 200 watts of PV panels, but now thinking it might be nice to run the a/c from time to time. It gets pretty hot here in Texas coast.
Bob

[olgy]

I like my aerogen, it is silent compared to others.

[Bash]

...I'd much rather have the boat next to me running a wind turbine than a diesel generator. That goes double for upwind boats.

When we first installed our Air Breeze, I told my wife that the swish she was hearing was the sound of us not running our engine to charge the batteries. She replied that it sounded marvelous.

Best thing about a wind turbine is that in charges all night during a passage while the solar panels are sleeping. I run my radar a lot more now thanks to the turbine.

[Marinheiro]

Wind Viper Marine 600
www.windviper.com
saw this at the Miami boat show, pretty solid looking unit (& heavy) - anyone had any experience with this?

[Harriet]

another vote here for KISS>

[annk]

Our KISS is now 11 years old and still going strong. The simplicity of it's design belies it's efficiency. It produces sufficient to power our boats electrics 95% of the time. Admittedly we have a mechanical refrigerator and low power use. But on the other hand we don't even carry solar panels.

The company, based in Trinidad, have offered us excellent service. Both when installing the unit and ever since. We carry a spare set of blades and a spare control box, both supplied at excellent prices by the makers.

Noise is not an issue so far as we are concerned and it's certainly far more socially acceptable than running a generator in the anchorage.I would wholeheartedly recommend it.

[john landrum]

I know this is not what you want to hear but ALL of them are noisy. there are options besides wind turbines(solar,conservation,doing without the power hungry energy wasting components or more choosing more efficient components) and a well planned system can with proper choices cost you less money in the long run as well as be less intrusive of others at anchor. there are few cruising trends that annoy me more than noisy wind generators in a anchorage or even a marina for that matter.

[GDFL]

Originally Posted by bobfnbw

Was thinking seriously at this this week, but now leaning on building my own diesel genset instead. I have 200 watts of PV panels, but now thinking it might be nice to run the a/c from time to time. It gets pretty hot here in Texas coast.
Bob

I've been researching DIY diesel gensets for my next boat. I'd be very interested to hear your plans. I have a 5kw Northern Lights on my current boat, but we're building the next one and I don't want to spend 8k on power generation. I'm leaning towards a balance of solar and genset with hopefully a simple DIY genset design. I've read quite a bit about the Lister diesels, but the 750lb weight is a turn off in addition to the need to marinize. Sorry for being off topic. I guess I could start a new thread if need be.

[CapnTony]

I just did a little checking and wow, what a price difference.
D400 - $1650.00
WindViper - $2300.00
Kiss - $1195.00

Anyone got any info on why such a big price swing?