Wind genertaor

[Jon D]

no they are very different from a design standpoint. also construction etc. however they are the two most common units discussed for some reason.

[irwinsailor]

In heavy winds do you need to tie off the blades? If so how do you do it? My windbugger has a handle to turn the unit around and the wind stops it so you can tie it off.

[Jon D]

Per the KISS owners manual

In practice you will probably want to shut down the generator above 25 knots.

Either you’re dragging your anchor or the sailing is getting rough.

The KISS wind generator can be turned off via the switch in the control box. This switch will stop the blades from turning in winds up to 30 knots or so. And the switch will prevent the blades from spinning in up to 42 knots.

Alternatively, the unit can be shut down manually by using a boat hook , not your hand, to pull the tail fin into the wind.

In a storm or hurricane conditions the wind generator is, of course, dismounted or securely tied.

For more detail go here

http://www.kissenergy.com/InstructionManualEnglish.html

[Euro Cruiser]

Gunner, both units can be 'electrically' disabled - e.g. with the Air-X, a switch can be put in-line that will backfeed into the stator, thereby suspressing rotation and 'braking' the blades (which will just slowly turn). As Jon says, the units are very different and a thorough reading of the specs for both would be a good idea. E.g. I believe the Air-X has the ability to manage a 3-stage charge; I don't know if that's true of the KISS.

Any wind gen you mount on your boat is going to produce two kinds of 'noise' - blade noise and vibration, the latter being transmitted via the mounting pole, rubber isolators, etc. Particuarly where wind gens are mounted above aft cabins or adjacent to the cockpit (the "crew rest area" <g>), you may have some issues with a wind gen. Your best bet is to find a sample of each aboard boats on a windy day and form your own conclusions.

Finally, these devices have a finite lifespan afterwhich some service or replacement is needed. Depending on how long you plan to use your new unit, you might want to consider who will service the unit at what cost. AirMarine has an upgrade path for their 3 generations of models, which over time might come in handy.

Jack

[irwinsailor]

I think I have made a dicision on the wind generator. After spending time with the Rolls battery people at the boat show in Chicago yesterday I will be taking all the wind generator stuff off my boat. The $1000. or so I would have spent on a generator will be used for a 160 amp charger that will be able to take care of my batteries much faster. A wind generator can not handle my battery bank. I will also install a Balmar altenator on the Westerbeke to charge my bamk faster. Thank you all for your help.

[NoTies]

Bloody hell irwinsailor How big is your battery bank that it can support 160 amp charger?
How much for the old wind gen?

[irwinsailor]

My bank is now 8 - 6 volt golf car batteries and a 8D starting battery. I plan to add another 4 - 6 volt to my system. The big charger is so I do not need to run the generator as long. The guy from Rolls said it will take 4-5 hours for a 160 amp charger to recharge my present bank.
My windbugger is about 20 years old.

[Alan Wheeler]

Sheesh Irwin sailor, with all that reserve, did you run that windbugger more than once in 20yrs
Hey Pete, I would say it's got little milage on the clock. A good buy.

[Jon D]

Gunnar

If you're going for a 160 I would consider going up to a 270 and throttle it back. This assumes as battery bank in excess of 800 aHrs.

We have a 270 amp primary alternator that using the controls on a Link 2000R regulator limit it's output to 220 amps when we are cruising full time or if just weekend sailing or motoring a lot limit it even further to to 100-150 amp range.

Reason for doing it this way is heat is the biggest killer of alternators. A larger alternator running at reduced output puts out signifcantly less heat than designed for and will run for much longer before you have any issues.

Just another thought....