Wind Generator Comparison

[Cheechako]

cool.... big differences!

[SimonV]

Originally Posted by s/vPainkiller

We now are going with the Air Breeze by Southwest Wind Power. They have been in the business for a long time and are a known industry player. The Breeze is acknowledged to be a large improvement over the older generation Air X which was extremely noisy. They slowed the speed down by half which quiets the blades, and is less wear and tear on the electronics. The electronics are also redesigned, and now have a limited lifetime warranty. So I feel better about this from a performance and reliability standpoint, as well as noise to which I am sensitive. The Air Breeze has an internal regulator, so no external charge controller is required. I know lots of folks favor the D400, but it’s a lot pricier and I don’t see the benefit over the Air Breeze for the money. Just my opinion.

Also I am adding 2X 135 watt Kyocera panels. I looked into cheaper panels, but I’ve been convinced from a reliability standpoint you just can’t beat Kyocera. The 20 year warranty is just money. They’ve been out there for a while, and they hold up exceptionally well. They’re durable and the output does not degrade as much over time as some of the cheaper panels. It’s a secure feeling to know that if I do have a problem (however unlikely) down the road, the manufacturer will be there to stand behind their product. You can’t say that with some of the cheaper Chinese panels (which is not to say that they are bad products or that you won’t have a good experience with them). I am going to control this with a Blue Sky Solar Boost 2000E charge controller. It’s a 25 Amp 2 stage MPPT controller which is enough to handle the 270 watt array. I considered getting a bigger array, but I think with both charge methods, we’ll be able to stay pretty much off the grid. I can always add more panels later if necessary, but I would need to also add another or larger controller since the 270 watts maxes out the 25 amp controller.


Scott

Hi Scott, that is exactly, nearly what I have had for the last couple of years. Air Breeze, Bluesky solar boost 2000E looking after 2x 130w Kyocera solar panels all feeding a 425 Amp gel Bat bank. For down wind long distance trips I tow a Hamilton Ferris water driven generator, it to has its own controller. Spending a lot of time at anchor in one place, I find I still need to use the engine to give the Bats a good hit with the Balmar 120Amp alternator as some days the wind wont blow and its cloudy all day (Thanks to a fridge freezer, 2x laptops, TV/DVD and fans). If you look at the higher out put wind generators, the power is a bit/lot redundant as you can only use some of the power generated. Alot of these gens need to have a system in place to dump all that extra power.
I dont think any one system is perfect but my set up seems to work for me and alot of people I know.

[vientoman]

Originally Posted by hoppy

Last summer I was tied up in a town quay next to a boat that had the Superwind. It was blowing 20 to 30 knots and it wasn't until the 2nd day that I looked up and noticed that they even had a wind generator (my bimimi obscured the view most of the time). It was so quiet.... I was impressed. The noise from the wind howling through and the fact that I am deaf in one ear probably helped disguise the sound.

Once I realised it was there, I tried to listen for it and whilst I could hear it, it was so quiet it would fade back into the background when not looking for the sound.

It is 100% certain that I will get a Superwind when I decide I need a wind generator. I don't see any point in paying half as much as something that is not as good. The review just reinforces my opinion

The Superwind seems like a nice unit but for the same amount of money, you could buy 15 if these:

400w Wind Turbine Generator Ce Certified - Buy Wind Turbine Ce,Wind Generator,Wind Turbine Product on Alibaba.com

let's see you can buy a Watt from China for fifty cents .......$190 / 400Watt ( fifty cents per watt )

or......buy a Watt from Germany for $8.57 ( Superwind ..........$3000 / 350Watt )

[sv Shearwater]

Originally Posted by vientoman

The Superwind seems like a nice unit but for the same amount of money, you could buy 15 if these:

400w Wind Turbine Generator Ce Certified - Buy Wind Turbine Ce,Wind Generator,Wind Turbine Product on Alibaba.com

let's see you can buy a Watt from China for fifty cents .......$190 / 400Watt ( fifty cents per watt )

or......buy a Watt from Germany for $8.57 ( Superwind ..........$3000 / 350Watt )

Which one will be quieter? This a perfect example where a Watt is not Watt, because that is only part of the equation. You pay for Watts and (lack of) decibels, not just Watts.

[dandrews]

Originally Posted by sv Shearwater

Which one will be quieter? This a perfect example where a Watt is not Watt, because that is only part of the equation. You pay for Watts and (lack of) decibels, not just Watts.

But how do we know the one from China is not quiet? Has anyone installed and checked the db level. Not all products from China are second rate. Just saying.

Don

[sv Shearwater]

Originally Posted by dandrews

But how do we know the one from China is not quiet? Has anyone installed and checked the db level. Not all products from China are second rate. Just saying.

Don

We don't know. That's why I ask the question "Which one is quieter?" They may be super quiet, but the original comment was comparing only Watts/$ which to most people (I think) contemplating wind generators is only half the question.