Noisy Wind Generators

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by scotty

well as much as i would like a wind genny, for the price i will stick with my gas genny.
for a gallon of fuel i can run the genny for about 6 hours, with a good charger that 80 amps an hour or 480 amp hours of power per gallon.

I presume you're talking about a 2000 watt generator because I don't think you'll get 80 amps out of a 1000. A 2000 watt genny will not run 6 hours on a gallon of gas while putting out 80 amps. More like 3 hours or less. And you will not put in 480 amps in the 6 hours as the regulator will cut the amperage back as the batteries get charged.

Originally Posted by scotty

my charger is only 20 amps, so a gallon of gas at 4 bucks a gallon will give me 120 amp hours.

With your 20 amp charger and a 400amp battery bank down 50% it would take your genny about 15 hours to bring that bank up to 100%.

Originally Posted by scotty

and my genny cost me 150 bucks.

I don't know what generator you can get for $150 as the best price for a Honda EU2000i is about $875.

Originally Posted by scotty

personally i would rather hear a genny for 2 hours in the middle of the day, the a hum when trying to sleep, as for the exhaust i wonder what the energy of making a wind genny totals, we know solar takes a lot of power input to make.

So your assumptions have a few holes in them. If you're in a marina it's a waste of money to get a wind generator. And a Honda generator would be a waste too. However if you're cruising you can go forever on a good wind generator in a 15 knot breeze.

[highseas]

At around 4 bucks a gallon,no gas engine makes sense,no matter how you try to justify it.Not to mention maintenance,and the mess dealing with changing oil,spilled fuel.The sooner we can all get onto these new systems the better for us all!

[highseas]

Dont forget also it takes energy to produce internal combustion engines ,then it still consumes energy,it doesnt create it.

[scotty]

okay some of the math i did in my head might be wrong, but my 1000 watt genny is a chinese import bought from pepboys for 150. it has run for years now, and i picked up a second one recently for the house after relocating the old to the boat. but on my 20 amp charger it runs for about 6 hours a gallon, with no load easily 7 or 8. yes i know it would take a long time to charge at 20 amps, but i try not to run the battery down much and if i do i just run the diesel. basicly the only time i use the genny is when i need 110 volts, and my boat is on the hook no marina for me. also i only have a 110 amp house bank for now so from experience my charge will charge my battery up in about 3 hours from a 50 % charge. i know this because i had no alt on my engine for 1.5 months and it did get used then, with shore power only once.

and simple math 1000 watts at 13.5 volts is 74 amps, so call it 60 amps with out a problem as the genny is 1000 cont 1200 surge.

also the genny takes oil mix so no oil changes, it does meet cali carb BS and i dont think i have ever spilled any gas due to the annoying modern gas cans. as for maintenance the genny has to have at least 200 hours over the years due to power outages and boat use and all i have ever done is change the pull cord

i do want solar but for different reasons, it has nothing to do with gas or diesel, its all about having charged batteries when i get to the boat, using a wind genny would mean i would need to run down anytime the wind picks up to flip the stop switch or tie it off. again solar would do what i need it to do with out the rush to the boat.

as for comsumes energy everything we do does, using a computer to post here, took energy to build, takee energy to run. ever pull your boat out and power wash it, paint it etc?

[Double-Wide]

I recently installed a Rutland 913 and the results have been very good. I get practically no noise and it begins making amps at about 6-7 knots of wind. There are graphs showing the output on the emarine website.

Cameron

[scotty]

i will say one thing, if these wind genny's cost a couple hundred ( like 300 max ) i would buy one, but shut it off at night and when not on the boat. but as i said i would not want to hear one at night, and having to run to the boat to shut if off if the wind picked up is not for me.

[Simes]

We have just ordered the D400 (www.d400.co.uk), It is the quietest and one of the most powerful wind gen's around. We will fit it to the top of the fore mast and expect to be carbon neutral for 80% of the time.
Yes the D400 is big and heavy but so are we, the blades are 1.2 meters in diameter but they revolve relativly slowly.
We have spent over a year looking for the right wind gen' for us it is the D400 and possibly a Duogen (www.duogen.co.uk) for some additional power when down wind or in low wind areas.
Want to get away from running any form of fossil fuel powered system when ever possible. We are not tree huggers just after some low cost peace and quiet.

Simes
Talisman of Cowes

[coming_soon]

After having checked a lot of sites and reports (see October 2008 issue of the Trans Ocean Europe periodical), I ordered for my Air X a set of the new Air+ blades. 4 days later they arrived (220 Euros including shipping including 12%VAT). This is the same price SW dealers are charging standard blades in Europe. The blades should be cheaper (minus VAT) for yachts in transit outside Europe.

The blades came with absolutely perfect, mirror like shining surface with some kind of arrow like structure on the end part of the profile nose (turbulence breaker / fence). They have 20% less weight than standard Air X blades and are extremely stiff. You cannot compare them at all with any other blade, especially not with the rough standard Air X blades.

After a week of testing against nearly the whole load of (serial) competitors:

The combination of Air X (because of power, weight and price) and the new Air+ blades (because being nearly noiseless) makes the best wind generator set you can buy at the moment:

Air X having Air+ blades: very silent, very powerful, light and reasonable priced.
Air X standard: very noisy, very powerful, light and reasonable priced.
Air Breeze: Less noisy, low power, light and reasonable priced.
Superwind: Less noisy, powerful, light and higher priced (US$ - Euro).
Kiss: Less noisy than Air Breeze and Superwind, less powerful than Air X, heavy and less reasonable priced than Air X (for me best choice after Air X and Air+ blades).
Ruthland: Silent, low power, heavy and reasonable priced.
D-400: Silent, very powerful, extremely heavy and extremely high priced.

Please remember: This is MY PERSONAL opinion.

On the other hand, my opinion is congruent to the opinion of all of those, who reported about those Air+ blades until now.

[Fezela 32]

CSY man, do you still have the fourwinds for sale? I'm very intersted in buying it. Can you contact me somehow, I'm new to this. Thanks :-)

[coming_soon]

Air+ blades for Air X report from CaptCharles, moderator of SSCA discussion board, energy section:

“Blades work as advertised! Almost totally silent!! We are able to sit and have a low volume conversation in the cockpit now. There is still a slight "Whistle" sound, but other than that just the sound of the unit speeding up/slowing down.

Very happy with them so far. Did great in 10-15 kts of wind with higher gusts.

These are a must have if you are tired of the noise pollution of the stock blades. I will no longer need to shut down the unit at sundown/night anymore in a crowded anchorage.”

SSCA Discussion Board :: View topic - Air X Noise issues

[camaraderie]

Comingsoon...where are you getting "Kiss: less powerful than Air X" from?
The AirX published power curve shows only 1.9 amps at 10 knots which is typical anchorage conditions...and about 6 amps at 15knots. KISS puts out 4amps at 10kts and 10 amps at 15 knots both of which are HUGE differences in performance AND the difference between satisfaction and dissatisfaction in a full time cruising situation IMO.

At 10 knots average speed...a KISS will deliver 50amp hours more per day to your batteries...or 100ah's vs. 50ah's. TWICE the output at way less than twice the cost. More importantly...it works in typical daily anchorage winds and saves you from running your engine for an hour to make up for low output.

BTW...I am a 4Winds owner which I prefer to even KISS...but I see so many people disappointed with their wind generators due to low output in TYPICAL anchorage winds. They look at impressive output curves at 15-20-25knots and think that is what they'll get. Most of the time...there's more days with less than 10 knots than over 10 knots in most anchorages. Buy a unit with impressive 10kt. output....they all perform well in 20 knots and you shut them all down as 30 approaches!

[coming_soon]

Hello camaraderie,

I forgot to mention that I am sailing the Caribbean since 15 years. I saw the development of a couple of wind generators. I know both the Kiss manufacturer and the Kiss company in Trinidad since many years. For me the Kiss is the best generator after the Air X. But I do not know anything about the Four Winds except it’s shape. It is everything but common in the Caribbean .

Also, I do not have any 10 knots wind generator behaviour experience, because most of us switch them off below 12-14 knots (Air X, Superwind and so on), because they do not produce any real power, only noise.

“My” winds are always between 15 and 25 knots, sometimes 12 for a couple of hours, sometimes 30 for several days. Sheltered in a bay, from the point of power, I like winds between 18 and 28 knots most. You can see, how the batteries are flooded.

As we Caribbean boaters depend on our wind generator output, we do not trust manufacturer information. We run many tests moving with amp-meters from boat to boat to check the real output. You can find that out very well if the wind is blowing steadily day and night with 22 to 24 knots. In “our” winds the Air X was the most powerful machine, but by far noise producer no. 1 in each anchorage. Therefore heaven sent the new blades. That does not mean, it is the best machine in moderate winds with its thin, sharp blades. In those conditions I expect a generator with more blade area to be better. In an area with less than 15 knots I would sell my Air X.

[camaraderie]

I spent some time with my fourwinds down there too. Got up to 185 knots one night! (Ivan) . With the trades you have mach more reliable wind...but in many anchorages that wind does not exist and it certainly is not common in the Bahamas or East coast. My experience is that MOST wind generators do exactly as you say below 10 knots...which is why I only favor the KISS and the 4winds. Their actual output at 10 knots has been verified only slightly below their own graphs. Anyway...as you say...just my opinion.

[Captain Bill]

Does anyone out there have any experience with Windside vertical axis wind turbines? The web site claims 0 db for noise output. Vertical axis turbines don't require reorienting a gyroscope when the wind changes direction which produces a torque that must be absorbed by the mount thus causing the vibration some have reported. For those interested in taking a look here is the web site.

www.windside.com

[Vasco]

Had a look at these a long time ago. The output is very, very low. Wouldn't work if you're cruising. Might be ok for a trickle charge on a mooring but then a solar panel would do a better job.