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Dulcesuenos · 01-01-2017, 13:10

Have a friend with a fourwinds ii genny, it's producing up to 14 volts in good wind, but no amperage. Not sure about its "Controller" we have no manual and cannot find one anywhere. If anyone has a manual in pdf form we would appreciate it greatly. The website for fourwinds is not operational anymore.

phorvati · 24-01-2017, 12:11

Manual was never really complete. I have what one would call a manual, but was pretty useless to me. Its size is 10Megs so I am not able to upload. By the sound of it, are you sure you have a load connected. It would seem to me you are reading an open circuit voltage. Disconnect the controller and put a dummy load, like 1ohm 250W wirewound resistor directly across generator output wires. On a windy day first verify 14V, then hook it up to resistor and see if it heats up. or better yet put a clamp-on meter and verify current output. If you have current then you know its the controller. I have the original controller but it always worked. I installed it in a hard-to-reach location so i have not looked at it since 2004.

**Jim Cate** · 24-01-2017, 13:19

We used a home brew wind and trolling generator on our previous boat. It used an old tape drive 32 V perm mag motor as a generator, and I think this is similar to the four winds commercial models. It did not have any controller in the circuit, only a blocking diode. We simply monitored the voltage at the battery and turned it off if it got too high. worked just fine for years.

So, I'd suggest that you simply bypass your controller and see if there is any output into the battery. No need for a dummy load when you have a battery to charge!

You should see a rising voltage and current as the wind speed increases. Exact values will depend on state of charge and size of the battery bank, but this test will demonstrate that the generator is at least functional. If your controller is kaput, in your place I'd simply eliminate it and use observation of voltage to tell you when to shut down (if ever!). On typical cruising boat applications, when relying upon wind generation, really full batteries are pretty rare and you will likely leave it running most of the time.

Jim

jcapo · 24-01-2017, 13:48

PM me your email address if you don't want to post it here and I will send you a manual.

If a blue plastic box about 8x4x2 or so with two analog meters and two toggle switches is not easily found, then the generator may be connected, possibly with a fuse, directly to the batteries via an isolation diode.

I have two of them. One in service and a new never installed one in storage that I bought on Ebay for $500.

boatbod · 24-01-2017, 15:30

Fourwinds II has a dc motor with brushes. Assuming connections are ok,I would check for with brushes.

double u · 25-01-2017, 02:10

broken magnets?

phorvati · 25-01-2017, 06:23

If you have 14V, inner workings of the motor are all good. In fact I was on the phone with the owner one time after i had an accident where gust of wind blew a solar panel into a Fourwinds II blade(yes it was scary). To ensure motor was still good, he said to hand spin the shaft and measure open circuit voltage. Obviously, the impact snaped the blades off. 8V+ at the open circuit terminals when spinning the shaft by hand indicates motor is good.
Also I am fairly certain my motor is Moog brushless. They are a tape backup motor. The motor was custom adapted by Moog for Fourwinds. Another type of motor good for this application is tread mill or elliptical machine. In the US, people often throw away old tread mill machines. If i see one on a side walk i would consider it a goldfind (for those that are toying with the idea of building a windgen).