Wind generators

[sck5]

If you are in the Bahamas that is far enough south for solar panels to make much more sense than a wind generator. You will get FAR more amp hours out of panels than out of a wind generator. And there is near zero maintenance.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Hamilton Ferris gen's have consistently gotten good reviews over the years. And those with large prop's tend to have good ouput, though they're generally of the sort that you hoist aloft when you want juice, & drop them when it's time to sail. With some cruisers buying the bits to convert them to towing generators underway.

[Mike OReilly]

My first wind gen was an aging Airx. It produced decent power when the wind was up, but howled somethin' fierce. When the internal regulator died (yay!) I replaced it with a Silentwind. They are the "blue blades" makers who started to sell their own gen a number of years ago.

My top criteria for when I was looking was: quiet, power output, size (weight) and cost. I liked the D400, and probably would have got one if they weren't so heavy. They were more than 2x the price of everything else.

The Seilentwind is rated at 400 watts. It produces pretty much as per the adverrtised specs: little at low speeds, but ramps up big time as the wind speed goes past 15 knots. Pretty darn quiet as well.

BTW, I know the OP asked specifically about wind gens, but I'd be remise in not saying most people's best charging comes first from a good solar system. Our wind gen is a good supplement, but the solar does most of the amp work.

[toddster8]

Yes, weightower. I picked up the AmpAir 100 yesterday and almost instantly regretted it. The thing is truly monstrous for what it does. I may release this one back into the wild. Or put it to work on the farm somewhere.
Perhaps its only redeeming virtues are the ability to keep your lights on in a storm and since it is practically identical to the aquair model, with some creative rigging, it could probably be made to act as a hydrogenerator.

[GTom]

Looking at the available sizes I wonder if anyone mounted a 1-1.5kW monster on his/her boat?