Wind Generator Recommendations?

[RBEmerson]

Paul Willems - that the problems (noise, reduced output (later loading)) all started after a storm suggest that your wind turbine was damaged in the storm. Either a bearing isn't working as well as it did or, more likely, one or more blades has been slightly damaged. Both might produce the effects you report, but I'd bet on the blade damage being the culprit. One quick check on the blades is to view the rotor disk (the spinning blades) from the side at varying speeds. If the blurred images of the disk seem to wobble or generally don't lie flat, there's you answer. Look, too, for nicks in the blades or for something as simple as slightly loosened bolts or screws holding the blades in place.

[Paul Willems]

Originally Posted by RBEmerson

Paul Willems - that the problems (noise, reduced output (later loading)) all started after a storm suggest that your wind turbine was damaged in the storm. Either a bearing isn't working as well as it did or, more likely, one or more blades has been slightly damaged. Both might produce the effects you report, but I'd bet on the blade damage being the culprit. One quick check on the blades is to view the rotor disk (the spinning blades) from the side at varying speeds. If the blurred images of the disk seem to wobble or generally don't lie flat, there's you answer. Look, too, for nicks in the blades or for something as simple as slightly loosened bolts or screws holding the blades in place.

Thanks RBEmerson, I will do that. I never crossed my mind that it could be something at the outside, like the blades, stupid!
I will check it and let you know.

Safe and Powerful winds
Paul
www.zilverzeiler.nl

[Southern Star]

Thanks Witzgall, you're right - the Air 'Whisper'....

[Duckonfidelis]

KISS: Great support, quiet, simple, great power in the 17-22 Kt wind range!

But, don't forget the high side of KISS's power curve and the problems that ensue. I have owned and operated two of them for the past 6 years and am now feeling forced to swap one out for a Aero6Gen. Yes, they do produce quite a bit of power between 15-22 Kts apparent, and do so relatively quietly. At 23-24 Kts my units begin to over heat and free spin. They don't do this evenly (evenly within the same unit) so as one field overheats and opens up, the other keeps trying to work and the results is a loud vibration that is quite unnerving. The stop switch functionality doesn't work on my units above 13 Kts, again you get the assymetrical field problem and a lot of noise down below. If they are in the stop position and get a gust of 18 knots or more they will start up and quickly begin making a racket. You must attend to these units by pulling their tails into the wind and securing the blades.

All of that is workable but here is my issue: If and when you get into a sustained blow you may have nothing from your solars (owing to clouds) and nothing from your KISS units as they will spend most of their time overheated. I'm not talking crazy strong winds, just anything consistently above 25 Kts apparent (ever sail 60 True in 18 Kts?). I have found that in bad weather either at sea, or on the hook I quickly run out of power.

My answer will be a KISS on one pole for raw power, and an Aero6Gen on the other to keep up my needs when the wind blows hard for a few days. I will lose a few amps in the nice 17 Kt range, but will not have a constant noisy, cycling, sometimes scary runaway issue in the stronger breeze.

My thoughts and opinions for what they are worth.

[Paul Willems]

Originally Posted by Duckonfidelis

KISS: Great support, quiet, simple, great power in the 17-22 Kt wind range!

My answer will be a KISS on one pole for raw power, and an Aero6Gen on the other to keep up my needs when the wind blows hard for a few days. I will lose a few amps in the nice 17 Kt range, but will not have a constant noisy, cycling, sometimes scary runaway issue in the stronger breeze.

My thoughts and opinions for what they are worth.

Hi Duckonfidelis, that is also a great idea, power can be a problem these days. I have ordered a D400. It’s supposed to be quiet and loads good in almost all winds. Well, its not really a small windgen, diameter 110 and it weights 15kg. So I think with this gen it is not really necessary to have additional one also because we have 4 x 85W solar panels. (I still have to buy an MPPT regulator).

Safe and Powerful winds
Paul
www.zilverzeiler.nl

[Southern Star]

Thanks Duckon for sharing your experience with the KISS.

Brad

[Vasco]

Had my KISS for 4 years now. Yes it does cut out from heat when sustained wind is 25 knots but that can be fixed by tying it off the wind slightly. It will keep on producing without the thermal switches getting hot and cutting out. When it heats up and cuts out just stop it for a few minutes and let it cool down then tie it off the wind a bit and switch it on again.

[RBEmerson]

Talking with someone about wind turbine design in general, one unexpected source of noise is the air coming from the blades and striking the mast supporting the turbine. With the right (or wrong...) circumstances, the air mass between the blade disk and mast can resonate and make any, otherwise minor, noise louder. One of the changes in the Air Marine, for example, was to slightly tilt the rotor disk slightly, relative to the mast, to avoid the worst of this resonance.

In talking with people about their Four Winds unit, they mentioned that the blades of their wind turbine were damaged in a storm; something hit them. With all of that in mind, I suggested checking your unit to see if anything happened to your blades.

[Bash]

...is that it works all night.

When we anchor I tell the crew that any noise they hear coming from the wind turbine is the sound of an engine not running.

Wise cruisers don't think of solar vrs wind. They think solar + wind.

[theonecalledtom]

Originally Posted by Bash

Wise cruisers don't think of solar vrs wind. They think solar + wind.

Sounds like the truth of the matter!

I frequently walk past a lonely Gemini with a Rutland913 on the back. If there's wind that thing is moving and if theres a gale you can hear it but it's not annoyingly loud (more of a hum than a shriek).

Seeing it create all that electricity for no reason makes me sad but perhaps its owner will return one day and make use of it.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by theonecalledtom

I frequently walk past a lonely Gemini with a Rutland913 on the back. If there's wind that thing is moving and if theres a gale you can hear it but it's not annoyingly loud (more of a hum than a shriek).

That Rutland 913 is far more quiet than my Air Breeze. But in a 20-knot wind it's only generating 90 watts, while my unit will be producing 200. Is it more quiet? Certainly. But it's more quiet much in the same way that the eight-horse outboard on my dink is more quiet than the twin 454s on the Cigarette zooming past.

Likewise, that D400 is twice as powerful as my Air Breeze. But it's also twice as heavy and more than twice as expensive. How do they compare?

[camaraderie]

A plug for the 4 winds. Great output in 10 kts. which is what you should be most concerned with. Low noise and brushless generator. You need big blade designs like the KISS and 4-winds if you want usable output in the winds you normally get in protected anchorages. Everything works great in 15kts and up...but that is not what you get in most anchorages mostr of the time. Check this 4 winds chart out:



Since it is DONE by 4 winds...I suggest you disregard their results for their unit...but look at the other brands at 10 knots. Look at the KISS vs. the Airmarine...that is 2 amps difference...in 24 hours of 10 knot winds that is the difference between 96 amp hours and 48 amp hours!!
My own experience with the 4Winds is closer to the KISS curve than is drawn but still EXCELLENT output.

Just some more food for thought.

[Bash]

...a problem with the big-blade systems is how they perform in big-wind situations. Check this out regarding KISS failure

BlueJacket: KISS Wind Generator Failure, Belize

With home waters in SF bay, I opted for the Air Breeze precisely because of how it handles wind of 25+ knots, which for me is a typical summer sailing day. But just as every boat is a compromise, so is every wind generator. So I've had to sacrifice a bit of low-wind productivity in order to assure high-wind stability for the system.

[RBEmerson]

Originally Posted by bashful

...a problem with the big-blade systems is how they perform in big-wind situations. [...]

Um, I'd take that with a grain of salt or two or three. Four Winds units have larger blade disks than the three blade units (e.g., KISS). I've spoken with Four Winds owners whose units have weathered hurricanes or at least winds strong enough to, in one case, bend the supporting mast and, in another case, hurl debris that finally broke blades. Which isn't to say I'd care to just walk off, before a storm, and leave a Four Winds to its own devices. But if it has the mechanical speed brake installed, there is some hope the unit will survive.

As to the KISS, its one big design flaw is the thermal cutout blocking the electric brake. Once the breaker pops, the only way to arrest the blades is to turn the disk parallel to the wind and grab a blade. The brake won't work until the breaker cools down and resets. Bad design flow...

[claire]

Air-X 3 year warranty: it works

We arrived in Bundaberg, Australia, shipped our Air-X to the Melbourne rep for Air-X, and got it back, fixed, 10 days later in Mooloolaba. Total shipping cost: AUD 35.
We are happy customers again, hoping the new electronics they put in will last at least another 3 years.
I am hesitating now, to order these cheaper "silent" blades: TLG Windpower Products, replacement blades for AIR 403, AIR X, AIR Marine, Land AIR, TLG-403-MM rotor blade
although I just noticed they have become "unavailable" since I last checked on them.
Anybody has experience with these blades?