Biggest and best Wind Generator?

[Shearwater]

We have a Super Wind 350 along with 800 watts of Solar. Lots of opinions for sure. We’ve had the Marine X and would never go back down that road, super noisy and lots of vibration. The 350 is very quiet and efficient. Even in Mexico where everyone said it would be useless it gives us lots of amps as the Northers blow through and the panels are shaded.
We had hoped to use a Victron Bluetooth controller so we would have everything on the same page but the research we have done says a mppt controller is not compatible with wind generators. I think the best route might be to go with a Morningstar controller and a Victron Bluetooth shunt.

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

A towed generator is a better option on passage, mine ( 12V system) gives me 5 amps at 5 knots 24 hours a day - go faster -get more. Oh and use a windvane.

Originally Posted by jcapo

D400, Super Wind, Silent Wind, Airx with Silent Wind blades in that order.

I had all three, solar, wind and drag prop when I did ocean passages. Completely eliminated running the engine to charge batteries.

The drag prop was the most stable power source, generating eight amps day and night. In trade winds the AirX with Air+ blades was also very good. Yes, solar is subject to shading from the sails when underway but at anchor it is the best, far better than wind unless you are in someplace like the Caribbean.

The drag prop was a towed line unit and hard to retrieve. That meant no fishing. The newest generation of drag props on a post look very impressive but the cost is prohibitive.

I still have the AirX with Air+ blades but it is of little use where I cruise now. I would like to sell it and thought I had a buyer a couple of years ago but he balked at my price. Wouldn't even counteroffer.

Here in the Pacific Northwest my 390 watts of solar and long summer days keeps the refer cold while I am at anchor. My local marina is not available in the summer - they keep it open for tourists. I anchor outside of the marina for the half of the summer that we are not cruising.

[SV Confianza]

[QUOTE=highlan875;3865085]

Originally Posted by TheSailingBeard

Good afternoon all,

I've been digging through a bunch of old threads - but When it comes to wind generators, there are several popular models that you might consider for your 40ft Catamaran. Let's explore some of the newest and highly regarded options in the market:

1. D400: The D400 is a well-regarded wind generator known for its efficiency and quiet operation. It is designed specifically for marine applications and has a great track record of reliable performance.

2. Superwind 350: The Superwind 350 is another popular choice among sailors. It is known for its robustness, durability, and ability to generate power even in low wind conditions. The Superwind 350 is also praised for its quiet operation and self-regulating capabilities.

3. Silentwind 400+: The Silentwind 400+ is known for its efficiency and low noise levels. It features carbon fiber blades and high-quality marine-grade materials, making it suitable for the harsh marine environment. Additionally, it offers adjustable pitch control, allowing you to maximize power output based on wind conditions.

Regarding paralleling multiple wind generators, it is possible to connect them into a single MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) charge controller. However, it's important to refer to the specific manufacturer's instructions and specifications to ensure compatibility and proper operation. Additionally, consult with a qualified professional or technician for any necessary wiring and configuration.

Using a Victron device to capture data from the wind generators is a good idea, as Victron is a reputable brand known for its reliable and efficient energy systems. Just make sure the Victron device you choose is compatible with the wind generators you select.

It's always recommended to consult with a professional installer or technician to ensure the safe and effective installation of wind generators on your Catamaran. They can provide you with specific recommendations based on your vessel's requirements and help you optimize the power generation capabilities of your setup.

Please take this with no offense, but did chatGPT generate this response? Did you feed the thread into it? I use ChatGPT quite a bit, and if it’s original writing, I think ChatGPT is plagarizing your style! =).

[SV Confianza]

Originally Posted by tdunlap

Check out the Airdolphin Marine Wind Turbine -

https://www.emarineinc.com/categorie...bine-1000-Watt

I bought one. It is a beautifully make generator, carbon blades, brushless neodymium alternator, 1000 W output, and it comes in at around 38lbs. I don't think you'll find a better unit. It is a commercial unit. You will pay for the quality. It is expensive, but if you are looking for the biggest and best, I don't think you'll find better. It's built for harsh environments.

As far as the controversy of wind vs solar, I had both set up on my boat back in the 90s before it was very popular to do so. Lived with the set up for 8+ years. I found both had advantages. Often, if it was cloudy and inclement weather, we'd see reduce output from solar, but the wind generator would be working well. A lot depends on where you intend to sail. Sailing down wind in the trades means you won't have much apparent wind to drive your wind generator, but it will work find at anchor.

It is a personal decision. I don't know why some people are so insistent as to their personal feelings on the subject. We all have our own opinions about what works best for our own boat. Is that such a bad thing?

Good luck in your decision.

I had not heard of the airdolphin before. Was getting pretty excited after watching the emarine YouTube video on it. However, after some digging, looks like it came out about 20 years ago. Emarine makes it sounds like it’s some brand new revelation.

Maybe there’s some new refinements that have been made. But the disingenuousness in the “new tech taking the world by storm” video turned me off.

[tdunlap]

Originally Posted by SV Confianza

I had not heard of the airdolphin before. Was getting pretty excited after watching the emarine YouTube video on it. However, after some digging, looks like it came out about 20 years ago. Emarine makes it sounds like it’s some brand new revelation.

Maybe there’s some new refinements that have been made. But the disingenuousness in the “new tech taking the world by storm” video turned me off.

From their website -
Zephyr's "AIRDOLPHIN" is the world's most advanced small wind turbine, which brings together the wisdom of Japan. The AIRDOLPHIN, of which Zephyr is proud, was born out of the "Project Z" collaborative research initiative between industry, academia, and government launched in 2002, which aimed to develop the world's most advanced small wind turbine.

So yes, it was developed some time ago. It isn't well know, likely due to it's high cost. All I can say is the build quality is incredible. It's quite the machine. If one is looking for the highest output in something that is reasonable in size and one has the budget, I think it's worth considering.

[NorthPacific]

Wow sometimes I shake my head at what’s posted here.

Ok I sail lots. Northern BC Canada down to the sea of Cortez and now also Greece and turkey and the med. lots of wind. Being a kill joy I usually try to anchor in a sheltered spot. Out of the wind. Unfortunately this often means hills and mountains block the sun. Dam bother.

I’ve often found that when making longer passages my solar panels do not produce any electricity, this seems to happen every day for at least 12 hours and sometimes up to 18 hours.

This is very annoying and I often wonder if I should turn off the boat lights radio radar gps dept sounder AIS. Also no matter what fairy tales you believe in even hot places in the southern oceans get lots of cloud cover which is very annoying from a solar point of view. Fortunately having sails up and propelled by the wind at 4am I am reassured when I see my batteries are still charged to the max. Wonder how that happens?

Nothing is perfect. Buy a gas generator, run your main engine. Or get the best batteries solar and wind gen set You can afford. And go cruising. I rely on wind and solar. Make my own water and am off the grid for months at a time.

I bought an old old 4winds wind generator. Windings and 4 replaceable brushes a big prob an an air brake that deploys around 25-30 knots.

12 years a go wired it up to a morning star controller with 200 watts of solar. That’s it never had a moments problem no repairs no destroyed batteries fires anything nasty. The wind gen has been a great addition it works and often in a 24 hour period produces most of the electrical power go the boat.


So from my experience wind and solar makes good economic sense if you intend to actually sail and cruise.

Good luck with your search and decision

[bergius]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

A towed generator is a better option on passage, mine ( 12V system) gives me 5 amps at 5 knots 24 hours a day - go faster -get more. Oh and use a windvane.

Whether a towed generator or a wind gen is better depends on your style or cruising and where you are. I made quite a bit of data analysis using the real wind and boat speed numbers of our 2022 cruise, and in some months wind would’ve been better, hydro in others:

(Graph is average Wh/day generated or used in each month. Simulated electricity generation uses the production curves published by SuperWind and Watt&Sea)

When making the decision on how to complement our 660W of solar panels (360W fixed, rest deployable), we ended up going with a towed SailingGen hydrogenerator. This was mostly down to incentives: if if we’re not getting enough out of solar, we’d rather have to go sailing than to go anchoring in a windy spot.

The towed generator would produce more on a faster boat, but it has been a nice addition. However, I’m sure we would’ve also been quite happy with a wind gen.

As to the original question, I’d say Superwind and D400 are in a league of their own, then come the other ones like Silentwind and Rutland. If you have Lithium batteries, Superwind appears to be the only one that will survive the BMS deciding to cut charging.
There is a lot of cheap Chinese stuff out there that I have no idea how well it works. Their heaters are in many ways better than the Webasto originals, so maybe these are good too. Or maybe they’re junk.

The Duogen convertible wind / hydro generator from the same company as the D400 might be interesting, but they never answered my emails when I tried to figure out if it would work on our boat (LiFePO4 batteries, double ender).

Like everybody says, max solar first before looking into other renewables. There are deployable panels that might fit even if you think you can’t fit more solar.

[GordMay]

FWIW:
On 1 September, the mammoth Goldwind GWH252-16MW turbine produced 384.1 megawatt hours (MWh) in 24 hours, as typhoon ‘ Haikui’ hammered southeast China.
Rotor diameter of 252 m, and swept area around 50,000 m2. Installed in June, 2023.
➥ https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/...r-170000-homes

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by TheSailingBeard

Thanks for the input all.

I am well aware of the benefits and advantages of solar. I currently have around 800w, and I'm going to be augmenting that with another 600w.

That said, I do like to have some alternate sources. When I'm doing long passages and have a lot of sails up, much of the panels are covered. So if I have a bunch people on the boat, I'm going to be drawing 400-700w on average while underway with autopilot on - which will have my batteries down to zero in a day or so.

As for the Victron question, my plan was to use the Solar controller mainly to bring down from 24 or 48v, into my system voltage of 12v, and also be able to capture the data as I do so. This would also lower the conductor size I need to run to the generators as well (mainly just for easy of fishing it).

As long as the electrons feeding in are DC and withing the voltage range required the Vistron does not care where they came from.

My Victron controller is a 150/60 which means that it will tolerate Dc input of 150 volts and output up to 60 amps of regulated current. I have an engine driven battery charger with a 12 volt 85 amp alternator on it. I would like to boost the 12 volt output to say 60 volts and feed it into the Victron 150/60 in order to reduce the alternator output current and thereby the heat generated and be able to run the alternator at close to it's maximum output wattage continuously without it over heating.

Doing something similar with wind generators connected in series rather than in parallel might be possible.

[SV Confianza]

Originally Posted by bergius

Whether a towed generator or a wind gen is better depends on your style or cruising and where you are. I made quite a bit of data analysis using the real wind and boat speed numbers of our 2022 cruise, and in some months wind would’ve been better, hydro in others:

(Graph is average Wh/day generated or used in each month. Simulated electricity generation uses the production curves published by SuperWind and Watt&Sea)

When making the decision on how to complement our 660W of solar panels (360W fixed, rest deployable), we ended up going with a towed SailingGen hydrogenerator. This was mostly down to incentives: if if we’re not getting enough out of solar, we’d rather have to go sailing than to go anchoring in a windy spot.

The towed generator would produce more on a faster boat, but it has been a nice addition. However, I’m sure we would’ve also been quite happy with a wind gen.

As to the original question, I’d say Superwind and D400 are in a league of their own, then come the other ones like Silentwind and Rutland. If you have Lithium batteries, Superwind appears to be the only one that will survive the BMS deciding to cut charging.
There is a lot of cheap Chinese stuff out there that I have no idea how well it works. Their heaters are in many ways better than the Webasto originals, so maybe these are good too. Or maybe they’re junk.

The Duogen convertible wind / hydro generator from the same company as the D400 might be interesting, but they never answered my emails when I tried to figure out if it would work on our boat (LiFePO4 batteries, double ender).

Like everybody says, max solar first before looking into other renewables. There are deployable panels that might fit even if you think you can’t fit more solar.

Wow very nice thanks for sharing! Very interesting. I would have expected the super wind to be generating a bit of a larger portion of overall production. Very nice to see this simulation.

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by Madehn

Im going to do something novel and give the OP my answer to his question instead of promote my own opinion or call him names. Seriously “brainless eco zealot” ? Polite much??? In my opinion the D400 is a pretty good unit. Yes solar has improved and I have 1.2kw on my boat but they don’t do crapcat night. I get a little if the moon is bright 😀😀😀. Your boat your money your choice. Best of luck with your decision.

My D400 has been retired to the bottom of the pacific on my way to New Caledonia... The noise was irritating and finally, after a strong squall, the thing finally gave up the ghost...RIP
Solar is ok especially if you are at anchor on a sunny day...
On the up side the Mase 3KVA super quiet generator does the trick better.

[Wolfgang.Schau]

I had a D400 which was powerful and very quiet, much quieter than other brands, even called whisper.
We live in Florida and are tired to take it down during hurricane season. Our 750W Solar panels are totally sufficient to power the entire boat, a 41' Lipari catamaran.
We never needed shore power, always anchored or being on a mooring ball.
We even have a small chiller to help cooling the cabin a little bit. Our batteries are 2 x 300 Ah Lithium batteries.

If you need more power than the solar panels produce, go for the D400.

Make sure the dump resistor is reliably connected and big enough to take the load during a storm. Our connections corroded and during heavy winds the D400 overcharged and destroyed our batteries.