Best wind generator

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Razorc195

Hi folks! Great input....! But, I still don't see what I'm searching for here, like the original Question... Money aside... the specs Im interested are Noise, mean time between failures, the relative wind to power output... And if the cruisers could chime in that would be Great. Because that's where my intended use is....


Thanks and Cheers!


Mike
SV Argonaut

Mike, it sounds like you want some kind of scientific norms based controlled test.

Good luck with that.

There are plenty of people here offering opinions, and it is pretty simple to tell who is actually USING their boats. This will help evaluate their advice.

Failing that, go to one of the referenced articles, then take it with a grain of salt because, although it provides the kind of scientific data you want on noise etc, the tests were performed on land, so there is no real relevance to on boat use.

Matt

[Jim Cate]

Why anecdotal evidence isn't very useful:

I've had a Rutland 913 for about 16 years now and hardly ever get any usable power out of the damned thing. It stays tied off most of the time

Perhaps if you untied it you would get some power out of it! But seriously...

All the folks who report happiness with their turbines are well meaning, but their statements mean only that the unit met their expectations and specific requirements. There are such great variations in wind environments, installations and electrical demands that these reports, while interesting and sometimes entertaining, will not provide the kind of info that the OP seeks. A truly unbiased study by trained observers would be nice, but ain't likely to happen in this life. And getting a meaningful mean time between failures is not possible with individual reports, is it? Such numbers require pretty large populations of units being reported upon, not unique experiences of individual installations.

The post that listed the physical factors that limit output coupled with anecdotal noise reports from the posters should provide enough data for a reasonable choice.

And for those who extol the virtues of solely solar, well, there are situations where that fails. EG, northbound up the E coast of Oz, where one likes to have winds aft of the beam and the sun is always to the north of you, the marine layer adds cloud cover and the sails pretty much kill the solar, day after day. The turbine will do its share under those conditions, hampered somewhat by low apparent wind speeds... better than nothing IMO! Of course, a hydrogenerator is better yet, but that's another subject.

Jim

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by Eleuthera 2014

FWIW... the French Highway department bought many 1000's SUPERWIND after testing for noise, durability etc. to charge batteries on highway signs.

My best friend, a "nenneeneer" of considerable competence decided not to reinvent the wheel and installed one on his heavy cruising boat (Nauticat 515). He admits that although silent, he feels a constant vibration in his cabin. He is considering using "silent block technology" to reduce these vibes. Oh, I forgot to mention that he installed 600W solar as well.

My opinion?? Go solar. Mind you, it is my opinion... GL

Vibration isolators will solve the problem.... Engine mounts for wind generators.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Mike (Razor).

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Of course, a hydrogenerator is better yet, but that's another subject.

Jim

Yeah, darn it. The supply of old mainframe tape drive motors appears to have dried up. I have seen some promising permanent-magnet DC generators for sale on Fleebay... one day I'll give it a try.