Ampair 100 regulator.

[rotrax]

Our wind genny has never worked since we have had our boat.

As we are spending more time on her now we are retired I have diagnosed the system and have a duff regulator.

Ampair have no stock, its 3 weeks untill they make some more and with the dreaded VAT and postage they are well over £230.00.

Any experience of a suitable replacement from our esteemed forum members?

The difference appears to be that Ampair rectify the AC at the head and up to 120v DC open circuit is fed down the two wires.

Most wind genny's seem to send single or three phase AC down to the regulator.

Any practical help please?

 

[Neil_Y]

I ran mine for a year without a regulator just switching it in/out and monitoring batteries voltage. I had the aquair so used it as a towed gen when on passages.

 

[rotrax]

Thanks for that- useful knowledge.

 

[duncan99210]

Most wind generators work on with a rectifier in the turbine, feeding unregulated voltage through the slip rings and so to the battery. Regulators measure the voltage across the battery and allow current to pass through to the batteries when required: if the batteries are fully charged, then the regulator switches the current into a resistance load rather than overcharging the batteries. The resistance load will then get hot, so it needs careful mounting so as not to cause damage. We also have the Aquair but don't have a regulator: on the odd occasion when our batteries are fully charged and the wind is blowing, we turn the fridge down to increase consumption!

 

[Cardo]

We also have an Aquair. As per previous recommendations from the forum, we run it without a regulator. The supply is switched, so we just turn it off on the rare occasion the batteries appear full.