New wind generator install

[Nightsky]

Quite a few responses since I was last on. Thank you all. I received my new, cheap wind gen about 2 weeks ago while in Key West. Unboxed it and it all looks like an OK build. I have been unable to get any work done on it as I havent had the 2nd hub flange machined to accept a threaded pipe for mounting, nor have I sat down to figure out how to wire this unit up to my house bank yet (I don't ant to use the controller provided as it will allow charging up to 14.5v which is higher than I want for my LiFePo house bank). Since we are somewhat isolated now (social distancing, closed marinas, etc) this project is sitting on the back burner. Today I did pull the unit out of the box and decided to take an in depth look at the innards. I pulled the rotor out and count 12 magnets on it. The stator windings look fairly substantial but I have little experience in this regard so wouldn't really know good from bad. The output wires gauge seems a little small to me (1.85mm, but they are tinned) but again I don't know what it should be. The casing looks good with only one tiny paint chip. Overall, I'm not disappointed by what I see thus far. Pictures to follow. I will put this unit in my vice and spin it up with my cordless drill to see what kind of output I get at max drill (1600) rpm's using the cheapo charge controller provided with this unit.

[Nightsky]

Here are some photos of the cheapo WG. FYI, I did put the gen on the vice and cranked it up with the cordless drill. I wasn't able to get anywhere near 1600 rpm as the gen built up resistance and my 18v drill wouldn't go that high. I was able to see as much as 13.3v and as much as 9 amps as measured with my digital multimeter. This was using the supplied controller.

[Nightsky]

And a few more. This unit comes with no tools included, nor even an owner's manual. Just a simple sheet with some photos of how to assemble it. Pretty basic, reflected in the price.

[Disailor]

I have a 400w unit that is a rewired alternator similiar to the ones listed below. There are 5 long narrow blades that I treat with ArmorAll each spring & Fall. It is very quiet! Stay away from the vertical axis units-they need much more wind to generate their advertised output.

Ebay Wind Turbine
https://www.ebay.com/itm/500W-12V-Wi...e/392048214006

Charge controller
https://www.ebay.com/itm/40A-Amp-Win...r/180376970406
This is what I have. It keeps a “load” on the turbine so it never
freewheels when batteries are full.
OR
Same as above but installed in a box
Coleman air C40 - 12V/40A 40 Amp Wind/Solar Charge Controller Regulator C40-12SG

Dump resisters
http://colemanair.us/vp_asp/scripts/...ch=Yes&sppp=15
I have 5 of the 10R100w resistors wired in parallel with
#8wire & silver solder

Good folks to talk to, lots of info on their website.

DC

[Disailor]

I have 260w solar normally mounted with the option of a 130w rollup unit I deploy if there willl be a third overcast day. Solar is about 85% but it's great to get a boost on a breezy evening.

DC

[skenn_ie]

Originally Posted by Nightsky

Here are some photos of the cheapo WG. FYI, I did put the gen on the vice and cranked it up with the cordless drill. I wasn't able to get anywhere near 1600 rpm as the gen built up resistance and my 18v drill wouldn't go that high. I was able to see as much as 13.3v and as much as 9 amps as measured with my digital multimeter. This was using the supplied controller.

Was their significant drag even without any current flowing ?

[skenn_ie]

Something to keep in mind here: Try to calculate the frequency of the (usually) 3-phase AC. Then look at the efficiency Vf and turn-off time of the rectifier diodes at that frequency. Many cheap rectifiers don't do well about 100Hz. The ideal is a synchronous rectifier using mosFETs, but I haven't come across an off-the-shelf solution to that.

[Tenedos]

Reviving the thread. @Nightsky did you ever get to install this on your boat? What was the outcome?

[BoatBumm]

Yes, I installed a MK4+ from Marine Kinetix, which is in turn a division of Marine Beam, which mostly makes high quality marine LED lights. I have been very very pleased. Jeff is support person you interact with. I have a pretty strong background in low speed aircraft aerodynamics (i.e., propeller driven private aircraft - not jets), and Jeff has the best knowledge base I have encountered by far regarding WG blade design and overall wind generator design. The MK4+ blades are a work of carbon fiber art! The unit it virtually silent. In truth as the wind picks up it makes a bit more noise, but that is easily drowned out by the associated regular wind noise associated with higher wind speeds. Certainly much quieter than other brands of WGs I see on other boats. I’ll hear those running long before I hear mine. It also starts spinning long before other brands at lower wind speeds. BUT, physics kicks in. Wind energy goes up with the cube of the wind velocity, so unless and until it’s blowing around 10 knots, no one’s wind generator is going to produce much power. I have 240 watts of solar panels onboard too. What I especially like about the MK4+ was keeping my batteries topped off overnight from the draw down of the refrigerator. Also it’s one of the lightest units on the market at 18 pounds total. One of the other highly rated WGs, a German model, weighs around 40 pounds. I’d much rather have the chore of hoisting my MK4+ onto its support mast than a 40 pound one. The MK4+ has the required auto-braking if the controller senses the batteries are fully charged. It’s one of the more expensive units out there, although not the most expensive, but you’re getting quality and first-rate support. But I know many sailors are experimenting with the $400 Chinese models, which are not designed for a marine environment and for withstanding the bearing torque loads of it swinging around as the boat rocks. The MK4+ is designed to withstand all of that. And the included manual is both a good layman’s treatise of WG physics and a useful, well designed, understandable, installation and operating manual.

I have no connection to Marine Kinetix at all, except for being a very satisfied customer.

[Wolfgang.Schau]

I have a D400 and it is much quieter than any other generator I have seen and heard.
Make sure you mount it with rubber shock absorbing mounts to avoid noise coming in the hull through the pole holding it.
I had people on board and they heard a wind generator noise. It was from a wispher wind generator 5 boats down, they could not hear my D400, it was so quiet.

Make sure you always check your connections to the dump resistor. Once I had a corroded connection and a storm killed the batteries with 17++ Volts overcharging.

Solar, yes, absolutely! I currently have my D400 down because of the hurricanes in Florida, and we have enough sun there. With 750W panels I power the board electrics and refrigerator all year long. I even have a small A/C which I can run from it. But it requires 1,000Ah batteries to run in the evening.

I keep the D400 on board and on a longer trip, with several over casted days, I may put it up again.

[Nightsky]

Originally Posted by Tenedos

Reviving the thread. @Nightsky did you ever get to install this on your boat? What was the outcome?

Hello Tenedos. Thanks for bumping the thread. Yes I did install the cheapo Chinese unit last August. It does produce some power, at times, though I have no one else's WG numbers to compare it to. We have been in the Bahamas since early January. The peak output I have seen in the last 30 days is 270 watts, with 2.04kWh produced that day. 46 kWh since install. Doesn't take much wind to get the blades spinning but have to have sustained wind to get any output. Variable wind speed, even moderate, variable wind speed doesn't produce too much. Not sure if that is a function of the charge controller or not. Looking at other boats in the anchorages we have been, that also have WG's, I notice that mine always spins the fastest. Some spin slowly, while others not at all, so no idea if theirs are not working, braked because batteries already full or they just turn slower to produce the same amount of output. Since I have no one to compare to in a real-time situation, I cant give you a good evaluation of this product. It is not noisy (to my hearing anyway) and I have received no complaints from any neighbors. I have had a wobble issue with it in the past and had to take the hub off to balance the blades. I believe I have it as good as this unit is going to get. If I decide to upgrade to a quality, marine unit in the future, I will at least have the infrastructure in place to make it easy to do. One thing I did with this setup, which I have been told can't be done, is to hook up the DC output of the bridge rectifier to a Victron BlueSolar charge controller. I saw a youtuber do the same thing so figured I try it too. Been setup this way since the getgo and nothing has blown up (yet). One thing about the Victron is that it needs at least +5v above battery voltage. I believe that the variable wind speeds is impacting this voltage differential requirement. Perhaps a different type of charge controller would be better, but I have the same charge controllers for my 3 solar panel arrays and wanted to have them all the same so that if one of them went down, I could always disable the WG and swap that charge controller in its place. Solar by far produces more so I wouldn't really miss the WG that much. Hope this answers your question.

[Wolfgang.Schau]

Originally Posted by Nightsky

Hello all. I am researching different wind generators/turbines. There are the "marine" units such as SilentWind (more $$$) and much cheaper, Chinese mini wind turbines, in the same rated wattages (400 watts and up) as the marine models. Has anyone here tried one of these cheaper, Chinese turbines? If so, how have they performed/held up? Typically, you get what you pay for, so would I just be throwing money away with a Chinese turbine or is there some good value turbine out there that you have found? I am thinking of just taking a chance on one of these cheap turbines, and if it didn't last, or was too noisy, then I would at least have some gained knowledge and infrastructure already in place when I upgraded to a high quality marine unit. Looking forward to hearing about your experiences with Chinese turbines on your boat.

One thing you all have to be aware: At winds speeds below 12kn, these turbines spin, but don't produce significant power. To get the nominal power out of it, the wind has to blow at, or above 20kn.

[Nightsky]

Originally Posted by Wolfgang.Schau

One thing you all have to be aware: At winds speeds below 12kn, these turbines spin, but don't produce significant power. To get the nominal power out of it, the wind has to blow at, or above 20kn.

Thanks for that. I have been in sustained, 30 kts plus wind but never saw anywhere near it's rated 400W output (guess that was just wishful marketing), I did see a max of 270W. As I mentioned in the OP, this was a very low price unit so I had no illusions as to its' abilities. I am not too dissatisfied with its performance so far. Don't know if there are other WG's that will produce rated output, and at what sustained wind speeds they have to have to do that. And at what cost?

[Mr B]

$156-00 delivered with controller, No directions, 3 blades,
Wire colour code wrong,
Its on the pole, But pouring rain and very high winds, Blades currently tied down,
So dont even know if its noisy,
It looks the goods and reasonable good quality,

It was cheaper than buying a new $300-00 controller from Marlec for my Rutland 913, Which I accidentally got wet in the forward locker and its now Kaput,
Bottom piccy is the Rutland 913, Still works perfectly, But no controller with it,

Will update when the weather improves,

Cheers Brian,

[Nightsky]

Winds this morning between 13-16 kts. Charge going in to the battery bank is anywhere from from 2-4 amps. Is this OK or not very good output?