wind generator

[capt lar]

this past weekend we saw a portable wind machine hung from a halward. looked slick and the idea of stowing when not needed really appeals to me. anyone know who makes and positives/negatives to this option ? capt. lar

[sv_makai]

Actually there are several and many can be configured to hang. The most common ones we have seen are:

Windbugger
Areogen
Fourwinds
and a few home made units.

My favorite was a Old Lakota with 10-11 foot arc. It generates between 900-1300 watts. Wow.

I would rather have it running full time than just part time. It is an expensive peice of equipment to leave below decks not generating power.

But it is a slick idea.

[capt lar]

thanks bil - we are weekend cruising and gunkholing so need is not constant although i hope to be in your waters in a few more years. whisper is only 31 foot mono so we do not have appropriate space. we were on the hook a few weeks ago next to one that made a horrible high speed clicking noise all night. i should also ask of the ones you list, which is quietest ? capt. lar

[sv_makai]

Actually all are very quiet. The downside is all are very expensive. We have been researching windgen for Makai and have decided to go with the KISS, for its price, quality, output, low noise, and the factory support.

It may be possible to rig one of these to hang but the cost of making a hanger may raise the cost up to the price of the ones listed above. Though a hoop hanger may do the trick.

[Vasco]

unit is the Windbugger. You would be better off getting a fixed mount unit as the blades on any good producing wind generator are large and difficult to stow. The halyard hung units are also difficult to control in squalls. Windbugger is a fixed magnet generator which today is kind of dated. I had one for fifteen years and it served me well but more maintenance was required than on some newer units such as the KISS which is an alternator with a Motorola automobile "black box" which changes the AC to DC. I have a KISS and it worked well last winter (first season with this unit). As for noise they all make a bit, Windbugger more than KISS. Aerogen is a real quiet unit as is Rutland but they don't have much output and will not keep ahead of the refrigeration.

[Vasco]

here's the KISSmounted on my arch

[sv_makai]

The orginal poster was looking to temp mount his unit and we have seen many cruisers that do this way, actually suprised at how many are setup this way. It can be more cumbersome, but depending on the boat storage it may not be an issue. The windbugger and four winds come in a 2 blade profile that makes it a bit easier to store. The Aregen owners just remove the prop.

I agree about the noise levels and the relationship to output. If you are going to spend the money it seems to me to be hardly worth it for a low AMP unit unless the demands are low. No Refrig, no TV, No COmputers, No ssb. Heck why even live that way.

For the little differnce in cost we will permanetly mount ours so we can maximize the the avaliable wind gen AMPs!

[capt lar]

well - a couple of reasons to live that way -
1. i think a lower output machine would handle our refrig needs
2. they look right permanently mounted on a big cat with arch, but no so, imo, on a small traditional sloop
3. don't need the rest of the stuff a true liveaboard would list, but ability to use an invertor and charge power tool batteries and brew coffee would be useful.
4. having another way to charge batteries if engine won't is worthwhile.
5. don't like to listen to the diesel.
6. shorter run times with no load isn't really good for a diesel.
7. for our boat, cockpit locker storage is plentiful due to no quarter berth and fix mount anything (electronics, radar, GPS, wind, davits) is in the way on a smaller boat.
8. gas hit $3.35 this morning and all other fuels will follow - i expect $5.00 within a few years. crazy ? i predicted $3.00 for this summer.

all said - the cost is high for the convenience, but remember that if i trade up in a few years, the portable units stays with me, not the boat.
capt. lar

[Vasco]

capt. lar,

There is no low output wind generator that will keep ahead of the refrigerator. Most of the dc fridges draw at least 4amps and run about half time in the summer (more if you're in the south. That's 48 amps per day. With the low out put wind generators you'll be extremely lucky to get 50 amps a day out of them. They are only good for keeping the batteries up if you're on a mooring with nothing (no fridge etc.) running. They will charge at lower wind speeds but the output is insufficient for running a fridge. Check at their sites, and their numbers are on the optimistic side (all of them are). In the real world the wind (if any) is seldom constant, the boat moves around, 2 bladed props have a lot of precession. I'v spent hours watching the amp meter while the wind generator's spinning (as you can tell I don't have tv
also the amp meter is at eye level right beside my bunk.) :-)

[capt lar]

vasco - the ice box has an added adler barbour. i cannot find specs on amps drawn, but it does spec a 10 amp breaker requirement, so it sounds like you are correct - she sucks the juice. bummer - now you have me wondering why buy other than topping off batteries. the other half of this was my understanding we could use an invertor only with diesel running since we carry only three batteries. can't think of much use for invertor if we have to listen to diesel. capt. lar

[capt lar]

looked up precession. gotcha. i would guess a non fixed mounting does not help with max output as well. if topping batteries is it, i assume that is faster off the diesel, and thats how we get domestic h.w. so end of day, when usually under power running the channel does both. capt. lar