Silentwind Wind Generator

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

Lars, how are you figuring the math on the power increase vs. wind speed things? I ask as with everything else in terms of the wind, when you double the wind, it's force goes up 4-fold. It's a squared equation.

--> Guys, my apologies for the long "science lesson", but. There are a couple of key things which I think are missing in (some or many) peoples "experiences" with power generation vs. wind speeds.
...

Actually, the power does go up by the cube, not the square of windspeed.

Force is proportional to the square of windspeed, as we're all aware.

Power is force times speed, so it's windspeed squared times wind speed = wind speed cubed.

Of course, this is available power in the air, not the power which is extracted.

[SaltyMetals]

zboss, can you give me a few more details regarding noise/vibration suppression since you mentioned "sound baffling in the tubing". I can see how rubber bushings on the clamps and on the foot would avoid transmission of the vibration noise but "sound baffling in the tubing" ?? What on earth is that?

I have found the SilentWind 400 to be quiet in the cockpit but the problem has been the transmitted vibrations down into the aft cabin. Think this is clearly a problem of installation rather than the unit itself.

The high wind cutout works very effectively. Not sure how safe it is to leave the unit ON when leaving the boat but it will also auto-cutout if the batts are fully charged. Once the cutout activates it only turns v v slowly, whatever the wind speed. A nice unit but i think we need to fix the problems of installation.

There was a good tip by one of the guys on this thread that it helps to get a damp cloth and clean the blades from time to time since they do pick up a bit of dust which will then start making it noisy.

[zboss]

Several manufacturers coat the inside of their mast with a sound dampening material. For example:

https://www.emarineinc.com/Marine-Wi...orbs-Vibration

You should also use sound dampening material inside the clamps used to hold the generator to the rail.

McMaster Carr is a great source for such materials:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#sound-dampers/=wnmbw4

I suppose you could stuff some of the material up the tube.

[domander]

This conversation is quite old, but I'll add my 2 cents worth. Yes, I am a Silentwind customer. All in all I've been quite satisfied with my Spreco Silentwind. I've had it for 3 years now, and one thing I can say is it IS the quietest unit I've ever heard. There's no question about that in my mind. However, I did have the controller fail after about a year and a half. The good news is that even though I bought it in St. Maarten, the repair depot in Florida replaced the controller without even a sales receipt! That is impressive service!

There is no whoosh sound from the unit as is most common from wind generator blades, but the unit DOES sing when it gets producing, and when the wind gets higher, say around 25 knots, the singing becomes a 2 part harmony! However, this is not annoying for some reason.

This year I had the boat winterized and I did not adequately protect the head. It had laid all winter at an angle necessitated by having the boat lifted on a travellift, which exposed the unit to rain into the front, and even though it appears to be closed, water did get in and washed the bearings. I do not think this would be a situation which would happen to the head when oriented in a normal horizontal position. Now the bearings are noisier and I need to contact the company to see if there is a way to re-lubricate them. But the unit still works as usual.

I recently read another review in which an owner was bashing the Silentwind for being usable in only a narrow wind band, but I cannot say I have had the same experience. I've not seen the unit have any problems with wind into the 35 knot range. It WILL automatically shut down for 50 seconds (user adjustable value) when it overheats or puts out "too much" (user adjustable values) current and/or voltage, but this is correct operation. And it should start turning, but not yet producing, at around 5 knots of wind. Any other questions are welcome.

- Brian Domander

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by domander

This year I had the boat winterized and I did not adequately protect the head. It had laid all winter at an angle necessitated by having the boat lifted on a travellift, which exposed the unit to rain into the front, and even though it appears to be closed, water did get in and washed the bearings. I do not think this would be a situation which would happen to the head when oriented in a normal horizontal position. Now the bearings are noisier and I need to contact the company to see if there is a way to re-lubricate them. But the unit still works as usual.

Thanks Brian, I too have our unit laid horizontal for winter. It's under our boat cover, on deck, so shouldn't get any direct moisture, but I may take greater care to cover the head for next year's haul.

Do let us know what you learn from the company re re-lubricating.

[domander]

Mike OReilly, Silentwind confirms the bearings are sealed and cannot be lubricated. That's the bad news. The good news is the Portuguese company was quickly responsive and sent me a parts list, a PDF of how to replace the bearings myself and a link for an instructional video in English on how to do it. Nice! The job is not difficult.

As well, Emarine systems in Fort Lauderdale has come to my rescue for the 2nd time now. They stock the bearings and are rushing the repair kit to my boat as I type this. It should arrive comfortably before I need to depart for Panama. Emarine systems was the company which replaced my faulty controller a few years ago without charge even though I didn't have my receipt and the unit was out of warranty. I never miss an opportunity to praise them!

By the way, the bearing kit is identical to the kit for the AIR Wind generator, so that is the one you order online. This was confirmed for me by the tech Mike at Emarine. Here's the YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GDQbRK4wtM

And here is the part:

https://www.emarineinc.com/Bearing-R...eeze-and-Air-X

- Brian Domander

[alanrosens]

I installed one last year on a customer's boat. It is was a very easy installation doesn't matter where you hook the three wires up to the controller we had an issue with the paint chipping off and this year silent wind supplied a new generator for free as a replacement.

[Polux]

I was working this year improving the electric autonomy of my boat ( house AGM 350 AH plus big alternator) and I was interested on the silent wind (nice price) but I was scared away by consumers reviews. I was almost buying the German Super wind (good reviews from everybody), now with blades like the silent wind (silent), but it is much more expensive, much more heavier and the installation was expensive.

I went for removable solar panels over the bimini (200W) that will give far more power than the wind generator and that costed me just a bit more than the required set up to mount the wind generator, like 3.5 times less expensive for more power output. On normal summer sunny days I got 5A (they are rated for 11A).

[Mike OReilly]

Hi Polux, when I did my product review I didn't find much negative written about the Silentwind, but I bought mine about five years ago when they were still pretty new on the market. So far, I've had no problems with ours. Performs as advertised, and is pretty quiet. Would buy another at this point.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Hi Polux, when I did my product review I didn't find much negative written about the Silentwind, but I bought mine about five years ago when they were still pretty new on the market. So far, I've had no problems with ours. Performs as advertised, and is pretty quiet. Would buy another at this point.

Nice to know. You never know regarding reviews but on the site I use to buy stuff about 50% of the reviews are negative and pretty bad:
https://www.svb24.com/en/silent-wind...stomer-ratings
and then there was this guy:
Can not recommend Spreco Silentwind Wind Generator - S/V Gudrun V

I am glad you have a good experience with it. The price the weight and the advertised performance are very good.

[crazyhorse]

Yes, a word of WARNING about these turbines. Ours started losing its paint after only 3 years and never really reached its advertised potential. It wasn't until we stripped it for painting we discovered why, it's refurbished! They are selling "new" turbines that are made up from used components!!??? The slew ring contacts required machining as they must have been damaged in a previous life and their paint job was done without a etching primer!! Of interest, the tail part did still have primer which leads me to the inescapable truth it was sold second hand.

[Mike OReilly]

Mine is still going. None of the issues you mention Crazyhorse, but mine is now approach a decade old. It's certainly possible they've declined in quality.

[SaltyMetals]

Strange you mention the corrosion on the body, Crazyhorse. The white paint on the Silent Eind on th boat belonging to my Italian friend was drastically peeling after only 3 yrs.

As for noise, it has the blue blades but not much wind noise. Big problem is the vibration humming in the cabin directly below but i suspect this is mostly due to bad installation and no rubber brushes.

I bought the Rutland 1200 made by Marlec Engineering, UK and then used the kit of rubber-brushed brackets offered by Silent wind and marketed in the UK by Allspars. Mounted on a pole on the transom supported by my transom arch. Extremely quiet, no humming, no vibration. Starts generating when my wind sensor (top of the mast) shows 8-10 kn. Reaches about 400W when my wind sensor is showing 30kn above that it automatically slows down.

I hv a handheld wind sensor and must measure the difference between wind velocity at deck level and at the masthead which I will do next time I am aboard.

My solar cost about same as the Rutland windgen and provides 80% of the power. Not so much in the winter but then never drops below 60% even if it has been blowing like stinck overnight where you might hv expecred the windgen to catch up.
Andrew
"Genial Bee"

[julioalmeida]

Hola soy tecnico electronico de argentina, me trajeron para reparar un Silentwind hibrid 1000, y no encuentro informacion para repararlo, se explotaron los super condensadores 1f x 5.5 y no se con que reemplazarlos, agradesco la ayuda que me puedan dar.