New wind generator install

[skipgundlach]

Originally Posted by Discovery 15797

I'm again with Mike on this one...I like my SilentWind, and it is far better than the Rutland 913 I had previously.

Rutland is a fine and quiet wind generator; however, I think the SilentWind is just as quiet (if not more so) and more efficient in energy conversion IMHO.

I also have 600 watts of solar, and the wind generator helps on cloudy / rainy days. Of course it also depends on where you are. Steady trades help tremendously.

A couple of tips....

Make sure you get a unit that either has an automatic or electric (switch) brake that retards or stops the blades in winds above 30 - 35 knots.

Use 3/8" or 1/2" rubber pads between the pole that the wind generator is mounted on, and also the support poles (if they mount to the hull) to deaden any vibration.

If you have an SSB...use lots of toroids.

Most of these units come with PWM charge controllers. There is some debate as to whether PWM or MPPT is better for wind generators, but MPPT is more efficient for solar. If you use the PWM for your wind, use MPPT for your intended solar panels.

Just a note on noise/vibration isolation: KISS (John Gambill) made/may still make isolation mounts which are VERY good, to the degree that D400 recommends them.

We have them on our early-generation KISS spinning the new blades he's building, tied to a KISS Accumulator (control which eliminates the need for a power shunt to some form of heat dump in full-charge conditions); it manages my BiPAP and freezer overnight in a good breeze (no wind generator owner ever sez "I hate my XXX" waking up to a full battery and a zero degree freezer).

A tip, however: Being absolutely anal about balancing your blades will both minimize vibration (read: noise) and blade noise. Our new blades are admittedly quieter, but being brutal about accurate balancing had our originals very quiet, too.

Now, even in elevated winds, it's WHISSSSH rather than HOOOWWWWLLLL as is the case with many around us...

[skenn_ie]

I would buy a cheap one, dismantle and evaluate which parts are likely to fail. Replace those parts. Replace the bearings anyway, with good quality ones. I suspect the nacelle would be fairly light on the Chinese ones. Reinforce internally with GRP, and paint the outside with a UV inhibitor.

[skenn_ie]

[QUOTE=

Now, even in elevated winds, it's WHISSSSH rather than HOOOWWWWLLLL as is the case with many around us...
[/QUOTE]
Mine WHISSSSSH when it isn't charging, then the alternator itself moans when it is. It is a larger one (1.6m) though, theoretically, 1000RMP max though I don't believe it has come anywhere near that. I have a large variable resistor which I wind down to a dead short in high winds. The turbine doesn't produce much power at low revs, so a dead short is OK, possibly 5A as opposed to 40A if it ran at full power. Eventually, I will get a heater in a water tank to benefit from high winds, but will still need a dead-short option.

[skipgundlach]

Originally Posted by skenn_ie

Mine WHISSSSSH when it isn't charging, then the alternator itself moans when it is. It is a larger one (1.6m) though, theoretically, 1000RMP max though I don't believe it has come anywhere near that. I have a large variable resistor which I wind down to a dead short in high winds. The turbine doesn't produce much power at low revs, so a dead short is OK, possibly 5A as opposed to 40A if it ran at full power. Eventually, I will get a heater in a water tank to benefit from high winds, but will still need a dead-short option.

The KISS units, as shipped, had a simple rectifier, which you could short circuit (or whatever the modus was) to turn it off. Otherwise, it relied on heat shutdown (thermostats in both power legs). In a true gale, it would still rotate noisily, and if it got to that point before shutdown, it would roar as it ran unpowered, until the braking took effect.

The KISS Accumulator has logic which causes a shutdown before it would otherwise shut down due to overheat. As yet we have not encountered winds strong enough to overcome that presumptive braking. One adjusts the setpoint (12.6, 13.5 or 14.2V) to cause those shutdowns. No drama; the blade just stops turning other than that, if strong enough wind, slowly and quietly. That device also allows, once started, continued charging at lower winds (it still takes whatever - I don't recall - to get it started, but as the wind slows, it charges below that speed)...

[skenn_ie]

Originally Posted by skipgundlach

The KISS units, as shipped, had a simple rectifier, which you could short circuit (or whatever the modus was) to turn it off. Otherwise, it relied on heat shutdown (thermostats in both power legs). In a true gale, it would still rotate noisily, and if it got to that point before shutdown, it would roar as it ran unpowered, until the braking took effect.

The KISS Accumulator has logic which causes a shutdown before it would otherwise shut down due to overheat. As yet we have not encountered winds strong enough to overcome that presumptive braking. One adjusts the setpoint (12.6, 13.5 or 14.2V) to cause those shutdowns. No drama; the blade just stops turning other than that, if strong enough wind, slowly and quietly. That device also allows, once started, continued charging at lower winds (it still takes whatever - I don't recall - to get it started, but as the wind slows, it charges below that speed)...

The heating factor is why I don't go straight to short-circuit. The variable resistor (or an adjustable PWM, slows the turbine gradually, AND, the alternator/rectifier can handle more power than the turbine can generate. When shorted, it does about 50RPM, i.e. blades are pretty much aerodynamically stalled.

[mnh]

We've had a silent wind on our mizzen for four seasons. It is truly silent. Output is very reasonable at 12 knots and greater of wind speed. I bought their controller too, which gives you the amps going into the batteries. Their controller also has a separate input for solar. I have a "mobile" solar panel (120 w) that I move around on deck when at anchor for the most favorable sun angle, and plug it into the silent wind controller. Works beautifully!

In addition, we also have 400 w of "fixed" (zippered) flexible solbian panels.

I would highly recommend the silent wind. It works at night when the wind speed is reasonable. There is something very comforting knowing that that wind is charging up the battery banks while you are sleeping, and there is no noise to speak of.
mnh

[SaltyMetals]

I have had exactly the same experience as Mike. About 80-85% of the energy comes from my solar (3 x 50W) to which i am now adding another 144W on the fixed section of the bimini. You need to install the absolute max of solar.

I have an Italian friend who installed a Silentwind. I dont think his support system was any good since it was not rubber-bushed on the base nor on brackets higher up. Main cabin was in the stern and the humming at night (when a windgen has advantage over solar) was so bad he had to switch it OFF. The casing of the Silentwind was totally corroded after about 3 years with all the paint peeling off.

I hv installed the Rutland 400 on my boat and i bought the rubber-bushed bracket set sold by Silentwind. Perfect. No more noise than the wind in the trees. Starts generating at about 8 kn of wind. Was it worth it? The windgen cost me as much as the 3 x 50W solar but only gives max 20% of the solar but as Mike says it fills in the gaps. I must emphasise that if what you hv chosen is noisy you will eventually get fed up with it.

On yr solar installation i find it is best to wire in parrallel so that shading of one panel by yr rig does not affect the other panels. Both my solar and windgen go through the same MPPT which i got from Marlec, UK.
Andrew

[thecapt2029]

our KISS turbine blew up in Caribbean (it was pretty loud) and bought an unknown quality Coleman generator(chinese made?). It looked goofy but came with excellent wiring and controller and was quiet! the other alternative was very $$ and was very heavy. We had 400 watts solar but the wind gen helped on cloudy/rainy days/nights as well as helped MOST nights as trade winds still turned it

[skenn_ie]

I have been trying to summon up the motivation to design and build a DC-DC converter to charge batteries of either 12 or 24V from solar of anywhere between 6 and 36V. That would allow you to wire several panels together in parallel configuration, regardless (within limits) of voltages.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by mnh

We've had a silent wind on our mizzen for four seasons. It is truly silent. Output is very reasonable at 12 knots and greater of wind speed. I bought their controller too, which gives you the amps going into the batteries. Their controller also has a separate input for solar. I have a "mobile" solar panel (120 w) that I move around on deck when at anchor for the most favorable sun angle, and plug it into the silent wind controller. Works beautifully!

In addition, we also have 400 w of "fixed" (zippered) flexible solbian panels.

I would highly recommend the silent wind. It works at night when the wind speed is reasonable. There is something very comforting knowing that that wind is charging up the battery banks while you are sleeping, and there is no noise to speak of.
mnh

Agreed about the SilentWind output. I've not had any corrosion problems that some SW owners have mentioned. Mine is getting quite old now (~8 years I think). I wonder if new ones are made differently...

The controllers SW sells do indeed accept solar, but the one I bought from them (Hybrid 1000) turned out to be a terrible solar controller. It worked, but since it functions with a simple voltage or amperage cutt-off mechanism, it ended up doing a piss poor job of charging my batteries.

It works well as a bulk charge controller (which is what wind is good at), but not good for solar or for really getting the batteries full. For that you need a 3-stage charger.

[BoatBumm]

I suggest you also include the MK4+ wind generator in your list of serious marine quality wind generators. It’s made by Marine Kinetics which in turn is a division of Marine Beam, mostly known for their marine LED lights. I have a strong background in aerodynamics and their chief technical person, Jeff, is the first wind generator designer that I’ve spoken with who understands propeller aerodynamics. I put about 6,000 nmiles on my Crealock 34 sailboat over 2018-19 with the MK4+ installed. It performed flawlessly. It is unbelievably quiet. Marine Kinetics claims it’s the quietest WG on the market and I easily believe them. I have a Bimini pretty much always up which usually blocks my view of the MK4+, and I’d have to bend to look to see how much it was spinning. If there was another boat nearby with a spinning WG I invariably heard that one, not mine. I agree with others that the first place to spend your money is on good quality solar panels with an MPPT controller, but I like having the MK4+ spinning away at night replenishing what power the frig was using up all night long. And in bad weather I usually got more power from the MK4+ rather than my 250 watts of solar panels. The other advantage is the MK4+ weighs only 18 pounds, much lighter than the other marine units. Highly recommended. And I’m just a satisfied customer. I have no company connection.

[bermynick]

I picked Rutland out of UK because of good generation for wind speed; I found their 6 blade design near silent; all the 3 blade ones I've come across 'whistle' even if they're quiet. I'd echo earlier comment about going heavier with wire gage and also put more into solar.
I wouldn't sweat expensive calibration equipment, just volts and amps in/out of house bank; your gut will tell you the rest

[byo]

Hi Nightsky, I installed a $250 AUD Chinese 400 watt wind generator 2 years ago. It does not put out anywhere near 400 watts but helps as a top up for the solar. I put watt/amp meter on it and the highest I've seen is 120 watts at high wind speed, it is a 5 blade unit that starts at low wind speed. Seems to be quite well made but whistles a bit at low speed, virtually no noise at winds over 15 knots, I turn it off when in a marina, ( use shore power anyway ) but leave it on at anchorages, not had any complaints yet. Although it doesn't make the advertised 400 watts it makes enough to make it worthwhile, especially when the sun don't shine, I wouldn't be without it when living aboard, we have 780 watts of solar but the wind generator was good for keeping the batteries topped un overnight.

[michaelmrc]

i live on board my 37ft sailboat. last year i installed a new air breeze wind generator. have been very happy with its performance and its noise level. i researched a loy before purchasing read reviews practical sailors review etc. some things i liked about the air breeze was the slower wind speed required to start it up. makes a bit of power at 10knots decent power at 15 and im getting 15-18 amps at speeds over 20knots. noise level is wuite good with the new redesigned blades. support has been excellent ive had several presale questions as well as installation and operational questions. support was very helpful.

[skenn_ie]

Originally Posted by michaelmrc

i live on board my 37ft sailboat. last year i installed a new air breeze wind generator. have been very happy with its performance and its noise level. i researched a loy before purchasing read reviews practical sailors review etc. some things i liked about the air breeze was the slower wind speed required to start it up. makes a bit of power at 10knots decent power at 15 and im getting 15-18 amps at speeds over 20knots. noise level is wuite good with the new redesigned blades. support has been excellent ive had several presale questions as well as installation and operational questions. support was very helpful.

12 or 24V electrics ?