Wind Generators - which is best

[GILow]

Those figures beat our Aerogen if true. Ours starts producing power at 5 knots in theory, but in practice you need 10 knots by which time you see 2 amps. Then it's 6 amps at 15 knots and 10 amps by 20 knots. I don't know what it does after that because by the time it is blowing over 20 knots I am not popping downstairs to watch the pretty gauges on the electrical panel. The manual says 30 amp max is reached at 45 knots, I really hope I never get to see that happening.

Matt


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[Jon Eisberg]

Originally Posted by onavegador

So I was thinking about a towing generator, a generator who many long distance sailors used to their satisfaction. A Generator who can be engaged when more power is needed and disengaged when where is enough power. A towing Generator o a catamaran makes sense as a cat sails normally in a speed range there such a Gen produces much energy. See the diagrams on the web site under the link.

There are different brands on the market prices starting for a about 1500 US for the Aquair UW, the Sailing Gen for about 1650 USD, the Duo Gen for about 1700 USD, the Ampair for about 1900 USD, the famous Watt&Sea for about 5600 USD. The Watt&Sea is largely used by racing sailors on long range races.

In my opinion the Sailing gen would be a good alternative.
The link guides you to a German web site where the different brands are compared.
Schleppgeneratoren - merger & friends

The towed generator from Hamilton Ferris should be added to that list, it's one of my favorite pieces of gear... More compact than the other offerings, its smaller size is much appreciated on a boat as small as mine. Like the Ampair/Aquair, it can be converted into a wind generator to be suspended from the rig, again the sort of dual purpose arrangement that is ideal for smaller boats, or those like myself who don't care for the appearance of a permanently mounted wind gen... Anyway, as towed generators go, it's a nice little product, and probably at the lower end of the price range of those listed...

http://www.hamiltonferris.com/categories/Water_Power/16

And, like others, I'm highly suspect of those output figures attributed to the Marine Kinetics windgen, those numbers seem hard to believe from a unit that looks no different from several other brands ...