Aqua4gen

[Thomasina]

My first post, so hello all. I am heading south in June and would like any feedback from anyone who has used an Aqua4gen or other towed generator as it seems a good thing to have in following winds.
Thanks.
Norman.

 

[TigaWave]

One of the best bits of kit I've ever bought for a yacht, I had the aquair100, from Ampair. Produced loads of electric for over 10,000 miles, hoisted in the rigging in 25knots its almost silent producing a good 6 Amps. So we had a very cold fridge and no shortage of power.
And at the end of that the bearings were a bit noisy, so they were replaced free of charge. A towed generator is next to sextant for kit on my list of bits for a cruising boat. Be careful launching and retrieving, you have to stop to pull them in.
Have a good trip.

 

[jerryat]

Hi Norman,

We used an Aqua4gen on our last Pond circuit and cannot recommend it highly enough. It put in a steady measured charge, 24 hours a day, of up to 6 amps, though sometimes more. Ok, there is the slight problem of additional drag, which on a small boat like ours, is something to be considered ... but not very much - after all, who's in a hurry!! We still managed to average comfortably over over five knots for the east/west crossing and had unlimited battery power, so much so that we sometimes turned nav. lights on during the day to use it up rather than disconnect it!! We also ran the 'fridge normally for the entire time.

Should point out that we also had two solar panels and a Rutland 913 windgen going at the same time. Just a note on the latter (also an excellent bit of kit) we tied it so that it faced pretty well aft (the prevailing wind direction) and were surprised by it's input despite the lower apparent wind speed. We noted about 1-2 amps 24/7 which, though not massive, was a useful input.

I think you will be delighted with the 4gen though for short day-type trips it's probably not worth the hassle of setting it up and recovering.

Have a great time on your trip.

cheers Jerry

 

[Thomasina]

Many thanks Tigawave and Jerry. Sounds like I need to go out and spend more money, have not done that for a least 2 days. This preparation lark is so much fun!!
Norman.

 

[JerryHawkins]

Before you buy...

Do have a look at a DuoGen. Best of both worlds (water and wind generation). Much easier to deploy/recover than an Aquagen, so you'll use it more often, even on very short hops.

details at http://www.duogen.co.uk

I've been very pleased with mine.

Cheers,

Jerry

 

[jerryat]

Re: Before you buy...

But look at the prices!! You can have a 913 and an Aquagen and some change for the same cost! I'm afraid I find the whole duogen set-up incredibly ugly and awkward looking and you can't have both wind and water inputs at the same time. I also much prefer the idea that I can remove the impeller line from the Aqua4gen, coil it, and put it away. Same with the unit, which is little larger than an average alternator. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

This is all IMHO of course, but I couldn't see where I could easily stow it without a lot of dismantling, on my little boat. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Just another view,

Cheers Jerry

 

[Thomasina]

Re: Before you buy...

Would need to agree with you jerryat, also my boat is a ketch on which the boom goes aft of the pushpit, so anything above the pushpit is not on.
I will also go with a couple of solar panels, have not decided on wind generation yet as it will be difficult to fit with the only real place available on the mizzen mast, which already has a radar and reflector dangling off it.
Norman.