Anyone know how these Aerogen wind gensets are?

[GILow]

Actually... that looks like it has been tethered. I reckon it might be the 6. There is no need to tether the 4 (except to prevent wear, but then you end up flat-spotting the bearing if you leave it tethered too long, so probably better to just let it spin.)

[GILow]

Nope, I am going back to my original view. I reckon it's a 4.

Here's the best picture of the 6 I could find in a hurry, and the blades appear much longer and thinner in relation to the body of the generator than those in the photo from the OP.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Franziska

NOW WHAT WOULD BE INTERESTING, would be a photo of the little wind speed to Amp table el Pinguino has taped to his bulkhead.

Elpinguino tows his using a prop in the water (I think). Therefore, at 6 knots boat speed, he'll be getting quite a good bit of power, possibly 8 amps or more at a guess.

Whereas the Aerogen 4 and 6 in 6 knots of wind produce absolutely nothing at all. They really don't produce much of anything until they see 10 knots of wind, and even then it's barely enough to lift the ammeter off the stop. You need 15 or more knots for meaningful output, 5 amps or so (60 watts).

So the chart would be interesting, but not helpful to you.

Also, be aware that the regulator on some models of Aerogen is not adjustable, so if you are using batteries that require higher charging voltages (like AGMs), you will find the regulator switches to dump mode too early. You may get lucky and find it is the model with the adjustable potentiometer to set the dump voltage.

Anyway, I am now sitting on the fence on the whole 4 vs 6 thing. I was confused by boatman's photos, which most certainly were a 4, yours... not sure. Possibly a 6... particularly given the blades have been tethered.

[boatman61]

I used to tie my blades in strong winds.. grab the tail and pivot to stall the fan then drop a loop over a blade and secure.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by GILow

Elpinguino tows his using a prop in the water (I think). Therefore, at 6 knots boat speed, he'll be getting quite a good bit of power, possibly 8 amps or more at a guess.

Whereas the Aerogen 4 and 6 in 6 knots of wind produce absolutely nothing at all. They really don't produce much of anything until they see 10 knots of wind, and even then it's barely enough to lift the ammeter off the stop. You need 15 or more knots for meaningful output, 5 amps or so (60 watts).

So the chart would be interesting, but not helpful to you.

Also, be aware that the regulator on some models of Aerogen is not adjustable, so if you are using batteries that require higher charging voltages (like AGMs), you will find the regulator switches to dump mode too early. You may get lucky and find it is the model with the adjustable potentiometer to set the dump voltage.

Anyway, I am now sitting on the fence on the whole 4 vs 6 thing. I was confused by boatman's photos, which most certainly were a 4, yours... not sure. Possibly a 6... particularly given the blades have been tethered.

'Chart' is little bigger than a postage stamp....
simply A/Kn, 1/10,2/13,3/15,5/19,10/28,15/40,20/60

Thats wind not water.
I only tie mine when I leave the boat laid up in windy areas. Have had it running happily 3 times in +60 knots... twice when the wind instruments were blown away... with no probs.

Re adjusting output on the 4, that is a bit of a failing, small adjustment pot on the back of the regulator, you need to take it off the bulkhead to adjust, no visual indication of what it is set for. So it is a bit 'fussy'... I think mine is set for about 13.2. I just leave mine as it is these days as you have to adjust, get a good bit of wind and full batts, and note voltage when it cuts out.. fussy..

[GILow]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

'Chart' is little bigger than a postage stamp....
simply A/Kn, 1/10,2/13,3/15,5/19,10/28,15/40,20/60

Thats wind not water.
I only tie mine when I leave the boat laid up in windy areas. Have had it running happily 3 times in +60 knots... twice when the wind instruments were blown away... with no probs.

Re adjusting output on the 4, that is a bit of a failing, small adjustment pot on the back of the regulator, you need to take it off the bulkhead to adjust, no visual indication of what it is set for. So it is a bit 'fussy'... I think mine is set for about 13.2. I just leave mine as it is these days as you have to adjust, get a good bit of wind and full batts, and note voltage when it cuts out.. fussy..

Sorry, my bad. I really thought you had yours connected to a towed prop. Must have been someone else I read about who had done that.

Those figures are very similar to our 6 at the lower wind speeds, suggesting that there is not as much benefit from the bigger model untill around 15 knots of apparent wind.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by GILow

Sorry, my bad. I really thought you had yours connected to a towed prop. Must have been someone else I read about who had done that.

Those figures are very similar to our 6 at the lower wind speeds, suggesting that there is not as much benefit from the bigger model untill around 15 knots of apparent wind.

You are correcto, On passages of over 48 hours I rig mine in toad moad and it gives a steady 5amps at 5 knots .

However it is the Aqua4Airgen which is designed for that use... dunno if it would be practical to convert a standard one.

The rope setup ( this is how it is designed to be attached to da boat... honest ) isn't really satisfactory. I'm planning to modify it so it can be mounted in a gimbaled hoop same same Aquair one.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

You are correcto, On passages of over 48 hours I rig mine in toad moad and it gives a steady 5amps at 5 knots .

However it is the Aqua4Airgen which is designed for that use... dunno if it would be practical to convert a standard one.

The rope setup ( this is how it is designed to be attached to da boat... honest ) isn't really satisfactory. I'm planning to modify it so it can be mounted in a gimbaled hoop same same Aquair one.

Ah, thank goodness. I have not completely lost my marbles. And good to see my guess at output vs water speed was close to the mark, though maybe I read that somewhere else where you posted outputs?

Regarding the conversion, the bearing on the aerogen 6 Does not appear to be designed to take significant thrust in either direction, which suprised me a little because I expected it to at least figure in the thrust from wind drag on the blades. I think to be safe, an intermediate bearing to take the load would be needed. Perhaps part of a bracket that also supports the generator housing. In this way you could have a socket that accepts the generator main shaft using the keyway.