A Wind Generator Review

[DeepFrz]

RedFeather, use the google custom search of the site to check it out. I believe they died early lives when used as a water gen.

[RedFeather]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

RedFeather, use the google custom search of the site to check it out. I believe they died early lives when used as a water gen.

Thanks! I saw those posts, which were written in 2009. Was hoping someone had more recent experience and that perhaps the tech had been improved.

[caradow]

I have owned a Superwind for 4 years and it has functioned flawlessly, and it is super quite.
Don't have experience with any other brands but love my Superwind!

[Thin Line]

We have two boats currently and our old boat (the one for sale) has an AmpAir 100 on it, while it doesn't put out massive amounts of power it is almost completely silent. The new boat has a Sunforce on it and while it's much louder than the AmpAir it's not as bad as half the others I hear in the harbor. I haven't read anything bad about KISS or AmpAir so when replacement time comes, I'm looking at one of those two..

[Tellie]

Been dealing with SuperWind for a long time. They're not cheap price wise or build wise. But they are practically silent, put out what they are rated for and last. They just don't have the problems the less expensive units do.

[Loz]

I've got an Air Breeze with the blue blades, replaced all bearings and I'm still only getting 3-5 Amps in 15-20kn wind. The wind generator has 10 metres of wire to the house bank, so have beefed it up with additional wire to allow greater current to pass. Just have to solder the new wires. I'm hoping with the extra wire and perhaps new brushes I will achieve greater output.... is there anything else I can do to maximise my output?

[Neptune's Gear]

Hi Loz,

That's bad!! Should be well over 10amps by then. I have the same setup, and mine works much better than that!
What size wire/cables are you using? 10m is a long way... Either the windgen is faulty, or there is way too much loss in the cabling...

Could be a lot of things - rotational resistance (bearings, alignment, foreign matter) brushes, windings or connections.

Is there a voltage drop from one end of the cable (while running) to the end at the batts?

Good Luck
Matt

[zboss]

There are three air breeze wind generators on my dock. In the front that hit this weekend, all three were buzzing away nearly silently in 20-25 knots but the one air-x across on the next dock could be heard from quite a distance.

[OceansFive]

Originally Posted by zboss

There are three air breeze wind generators on my dock. In the front that hit this weekend, all three were buzzing away nearly silently in 20-25 knots but the one air-x across on the next dock could be heard from quite a distance.

I've had a Rutland for several years and it is very quiet.

[George DuBose]

I haven't found a wind generator that has higher output, such high quality marinized construction and is so quiet as a SuperWind 350. Cheaper wind generators, yes. Better ones, no. Buy cheap tools, buy them twice.

[sparrowhawk1]

Originally Posted by monte

some good info here in the yachting monthly wind gen test
http://www.windenergy.com/sites/www....ng-Monthly.pdf

Thanks. The info on that link is incredible. Pure gold.

[Neptune's Gear]

That Article is 4 years old. Things have moved on. I urge you to look at the specs for the SilentWind - quiet, really good output, hybrid controller capable of controlling over 500w of solar as standard, etc etc. See this link for a video

Silient Wind By SPreco

and HERE for specs and prices

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Neptune's Gear

That Article is 4 years old. Things have moved on. I urge you to look at the specs for the SilentWind - quiet, really good output, hybrid controller capable of controlling over 500w of solar as standard, etc etc.

I've used our Silentwind for one season, and so far am very pleased. It performs to spec, and while not exactly silent, is pretty darn quiet (especially compared to my previous Air-X). I posted my own video earlier in this thread here: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post1304328.

BTW, I've got not connection to Spreco or Matt. Just a happy owner.

[Ocean Diamond 2]

Upon the recommendation of Neptune's Gear I went to the local dealer and bought the Silent wind and followed the instructions explicitly for mounting and wiring. It was heavy to hold up to the pipe when bolting on and the wires are thick and hard to manipulate but once up, it worked really well.
The solar connected (200w) straight to the controller and I was amazed that the full sun stopped the wind generator.
We had a aerogen 4 previously and mate this silent wind is what it says it is. Really quiet and when rafted up to a Bluewater 42 with a D400, it was great to hear both were quiet but the d400 kept spinning when the silent wind stopped when charged automatically. I think the multi blade D400 was a little more noisy than the Silent wind.
Thanks Neptune Gear, I know I didn't buy it from you but its more freight to cross the ditch and the local agent ( Wolfgang) was a great bloke to deal with.
Derek

[forsailbyowner]

Heres a pic of my forsailbyowner. I made it with a pma alternator, modified airx case and raptor blades. Its been spinning for a year now. Working fairly well, I held 13 volts plus for a long stretch of stormy weather when my solar wasnt putting out much at all. i was running the fridge and watching movies most of that time. Airx was nothing but problems. Went thru 3 controllers under warranty, then switched to bridge rectifier instead of board when warranty ran out. That worked for a couple of years till I was sailing in 50kts and burnt out the stator. Swwp wanted $187. No deal. Took me a while to cobble this together but parts are cheap when something fails. Stator for this runs $35 wound for the purpose. Its much quieter than airx was. Blades are longer and it spins slower.