Quiet wind turbine generator?

[rassabossa]

Take a look at the videos for this model

[Ironman162]

All I can add to the above is have realistic expectations from a wind turbine.
There has to be wind and wheel diameter matters for it to work. The rest is superfluous.

A 400W rating means no more than the wire size and low wind start up means it will spin but not deliver much.

At the end of the day my solar wins hands down but at night and overcast days the wind turbine is a good back up but no more than that.

Dollar per Watt you cannot beat solar not to mention the maintenance and headaches. Honestly if you were closer I would give you mine for free! Its useless.

[skipgundlach]

Originally Posted by Ironman162

All I can add to the above is have realistic expectations from a wind turbine.
There has to be wind and wheel diameter matters for it to work. The rest is superfluous.

A 400W rating means no more than the wire size and low wind start up means it will spin but not deliver much.

At the end of the day my solar wins hands down but at night and overcast days the wind turbine is a good back up but no more than that.

Dollar per Watt you cannot beat solar not to mention the maintenance and headaches. Honestly if you were closer I would give you mine for free! Its useless.

What wind do you have? I wouldn't dream of being without my KISS, and my need for new thermostats (overspeed cutouts) after 10 years has me acutely aware of the amps I'm not getting. They arrive late today, though, so I'll have it rebuilt by tomorrow, and back up making juice for me.

L8R

Skip

[Lodesman]

Saw Marinekinetix (The best marine wind generator - MarineKinetix) at the boat show and thought it ticked all the boxes; but haven't seen them mentioned here. From walking around the docks, I can say that Air-X and related units are NOT quiet. Rutland, Superwind, D400 and Ampair are all reasonably quiet.

[Akapeterc]

I've got an Aerogen 4 & Aerogen 6, both very quiet. the 6 makes a bit of noise from humming down the support pole, so I have wrapped this in rope and that has quieted down the hum. Both need a lot of wind to pump out lots of power. Woke up in morning after a 25knt windy night to find the batteries all on float mode.

[George DuBose]

Y'all missed the boat. Superwind, 350 watts, best construction in the marketplace and the quietest. It ain't the cheapest, but it is the best and a case of you get what you pay for.

[roberthowell]

more blades more quiet

[George DuBose]

I am surprised that no one mentioned SuperWind 350. I believe it to be the most quiet, most powerful and built with the best materials available.

...only the blades are plastic.

The SuperWind is so quiet and vibration-free that I have to look at it to see if it is running.

...and the blades stop spinning by turning a switch off.

[Ironman162]

Most wind turbines can be stopped with a switch.

My regulator has solar and wind inputs and stops the wind turbine automatically by switching.

I would not buy a turbine with plastic blades but others may well feel different.

If you didnt pay in excess of $2000 dollar for the wind turbine then I suspect there will be issues with it. UV attacking the plastics etc...

The bottom line is you get what you pay for in this area and there absolutely no bargains left ...just cheapies from China

Actually that could be true for everything boat related!

[Ironman162]

I hope there is enough wind for your turbine!
My turbine is utterly useless below 10 knts ...theres now one thing money cant buy hey!

[Tellie]

The SuperWind350 blades are not plastic. They are balanced carbon fiber. Still by leaps and bounds the best made wind generator out there.

[Ironman162]

Fantastic! It sounds very nice.
But still, if there is no wind it won't generate anything and if it casts a shadow over you solar panels as it usually does, it will steal more power than it generates no mattter how well it is built.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Ironman162

Most wind turbines can be stopped with a switch.

My regulator has solar and wind inputs and stops the wind turbine automatically by switching.

I would not buy a turbine with plastic blades but others may well feel different.

If you didnt pay in excess of $2000 dollar for the wind turbine then I suspect there will be issues with it. UV attacking the plastics etc...

The bottom line is you get what you pay for in this area and there absolutely no bargains left ...just cheapies from China

Actually that could be true for everything boat related!

One of the things I liked about my Aerogen was the blades shattered on impact.
Back in the 90's I was wintering in Andratx, we were Med moored bow to behind the second breakwater and it was packed beam to beam.
A big S'ly blew up on New Years Eve and winds got to around 50kts over the top of the wall with the occasional wave breaking over the top of the B'water.
One of the YT boats being conversed in another thread was end boat.. a big Scandanavian YT converted fishing boat around 70ft.. where most of the other liveaboards had gone for a jolly including my 1 crew.
I'd was a boring git and had elected to stay with the boat.. anyway.. around 1am the sea's had built up and the boat/s were getting a bad mix of sea's from 'echo waves' and her lines had started popping.. and they were not skinny lines.
All hands turned out and folks rushed back to their own boats including my crew.
I was busy at the bow checking and adjusting the port and stbd triple lines to keep us riding so the closest we got to the wall was around 5ft.. while my crew took in slackening anchorplait at the stern..
I heard a yell and looking back I saw my crew struggling with the cleat and trying to undo the anchor line from the cleat.. looking further I saw that the fishing boat had broken away and had swung with the wind across the sterns of us all and in attempting to haul in her stern anchor hooking a few others in the process, mine included.
The anchorplait was by this time well stretched and no way would the cross wrap come undone.. I yelled back for her to just cut it but doubt she heard me as she continued struggling with the knot.
Meanwhile, aboard the Cheoy Lee 48 next to us were a young Dutch couple who we'd become friends with.. Thomas had been watching his stern and saw what had happened, ran to the midships and jumped across to help Liz.
As he crossed I yelled 'Cut it.. and watch out for the fan..!!'
He knew what I meant.. he'd been commenting on it for days..
My Aerogen.. it was mounted on the pushpit rail giving just enough headroom to work the cleats below safely.. just move back 'Before' standing up..
So.. Tom got to the stern and took a look.. then promptly stuck his head in the fan when he straightened to get his knife out..
He ended up with about 12 stitches but.. as the doctor said.. it could have been much worse if the blade had not shattered on impact.
Ended up cutting the line while Liz tended Thomas and then secured lines loosely to the boats port and stbd.. the fishing boat YT finally got the hook to hold in the harbour.
That afternoon the cost was counted.. I was lucky.. apart from the stern anchor we suffered no harm.. or broken lines.. most others suffered damaged/lost cleats, broken lines scuffs and scratches/gouges.. we at 31ft were further in and more sheltered from the sea's by the Cheoy Lee.
About a week later Thomas and I managed to find and recover the anchor..
So shatterable (is that a word?) blades have my vote..

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by Tellie

The SuperWind350 blades are not plastic. They are balanced carbon fiber.

Surely that would be "carbon fibre-reinforced plastic"?

[skipgundlach]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

Surely that would be "carbon fibre-reinforced plastic"?

Picky, picky.

My boat is FRP, my rowing shell was K(evlar)RP, but current ones are CFRP.

OTOH, my Walker Bay Genesis RIB is plastic (with tubes). Doesn't hold its shape quite as well as FRP or AL RIBs, but it IS plastic