More electric questions - windy ones

HoratioHB

HoratioHB

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Near Plymouth
sowethereyet.blogspot.co.uk
Following on from advice requested on batterys etc, can I ask for peoples experience on wind generators? I was just going to rely on two 80w solar panels but from numbers here and my initial experiences it would seem that it gets dark at night and the panels may not work for 12 hours of the day!!

I have been in marinas and heard some really noisy things, looked at aerogen and rutland web sites but nothing beats the real experience of youlotoutherewothavedunitbefore.
 
had a rutland 912 for 18 months, bought in UK, sailed channel las summer and then down french canals and onwards to mallorca.
Had a storm last year in Cherbourg and the brushes burned out, these were replaced under warranty very promplty by marlec.
Had a storm this year in mallorca and brushed and regulator burned out again... both fixed locally as warranty was out.
In 10 knots of wind i get 1 amp, in 20 knots 1 get 3-5 amps.
we sleep in rear cabin but usually turn the genny off if its blowing as the noise is very bad , even though we rubber mounted.
after 18 months, can confirm this is the worst £500 or so spent on the boat. wish now i had bought another solar panel, or one of the bigger £1000 genny's. Air x, D400, or Kiss.

All just my opinion, but give us 400 squids and you can have the lot :-)

regards
Roy
 
2x80 sounds quite a lot, but a wind gen does work well out there, trades, if you need that much more?, I was there for a couple of years, BVI, they are not very annoying for others normally in the anchorages.
 
Might be worth waiting ,til you are there and see, pick the locals brains, see how they cope. Appreciate what you are saying, and yes the breeze is there, there! 24hrs, sun ain,t.
 
I used an Ampair Aquair 100 on last caribbean circuit, fantastic bit of kit. The best accessory bought.
Towed generator gave near 10Amps day and night when anchored we had ours hoisted in the triangle above the boom and we slept in the aft cabin, must have been the quietest in the anchorage.
We had too much power with fridge running and no shortage for laptop nav gear, and all other electrics. Never had to run the engine for electrics.
 
Totally different experience from yours! We've had our 913 whilst full time cruising and wouldn't dream of using any other in this price range except (possibly) the Ampair equivalent which we've used on another boat on a 'Pond' circuit.

Ours ran full 24/7 when we're not over-wintering (shore power then) and we have not yet had to replace a single item! Even in gales we didn't tie it off (the controller slows it down) and it supplied a big chunk of our daily power needs, though less so in the Med. where our solar panels came to the fore.

As I have posted here several times, IMHO, Marlec have one of the best customer service attitudes I've ever come across. For example, the day mine arrived (some years ago) I was checking it over in the kitchen and it fell off the table breaking a blade and damaging another. I rang them the next day and shamefully admitted what had happened. At their suggestion I returned it to them as they wanted to check the bearings etc hadn't been damaged, and waited for a enormous bill.

The unit was returned fully checked (with NEW bearings 'just in case') and replacement blades and the bill? Nothing - just a very nice note about taking care in future! A year later when we set off cruising, I bought spare rectifiers from them and again expected a sizeable bill, but the price was sensible and the verbal advice for fitting them excellent and free.

Our 913 has been 'laid up' at home for a couple of seasons now, while we decide whether to shove off cruising again, but it will definitely be among the first bits of kit to be re-fitted if we do.
 
Depends where you're going to sail.

Caribbean guys will say wind is best; they get it 24hours a day, while sun is sometimes patchy, even during the day.

Mediterranean guys will say solar. Their winds too often only blow for three or four hours in the afternoons, while the sun is continuous for 12 hours . . .

Brit cruisers will argue, and tend for wind if they're on the west coasts, or go for solar if they're on the east coasts.

And those who don't have too much strain on their system will argue that their current fit is the best choice - whether it's wind or solar.
 
We have two wind as well as solar panels. One of the wind gennies is a very elderly ampair on board when we bought her. Got the wires fixed and it works well. it's particularly good at turning in light breezes so generates a little even when not much breeze. it's on the mizzen though, so can be a pain at night and we have a 'slow down' switch retrofitted. (Too old a unit to have a cut off as standard). We tied it off if leaving the boat for long periods and rely on solar for trickle charging. Great piece of kit except when wind blows over 25 knots at sea when you think you're bieing buzzed by a helicopter.

Also have the ampair tow/wind generator which so far we've only used as a wind genny in anchorages. Then it's great (though interestingly needsa bit more breeze than the other one). Absolutely quiet. Working out the set up a little fiddly the first time and then simple.

IMHO the KISS gennies are okay for the owner, but I find the noise they make, hissing through the air, very irritating from other boats. So I wouldn't buy one, but that's just my view.

Part of the point of all this is that it's worth looking around at old units which might be marginally less efficient but hugely cheaper to acquire!
 
Ropy has it 100%. Don't scrimp, buy the biggest and best quality unit you can. We had a 913 and I hated it. Useless power output and very noisy (vibration in the boat as opposed to air noise). Now have a D400 and it's night and day better. Way more power off it and much quieter. A Jeanneau 42 is big enough to carry a D400 and as a very happy user I would direct you in that direction.
 
Thanks everyone - some useful advice. I think I'll wait until we are out there and do a straw poll of what people are using but I'v a pretty good idea of what is available on the market now. Interestingly I've yet to see a product web site that doesn't claim that their product is almost silent so why was it so ***** noisy in the marina two weeks ago when the wind got up????
 
hope ya get what ya want HB.
I will chuck my vote in for the Ampair, we have both the towed genny (permenently fixed) and the haul up wind genny which I only used once as a trial. Didnt want the hassle of altering the setup from wind to water.. the haul up seems a good all round solution as the towed sorts things on passage, non needed in marina, and the wind genny at anchor, would get some solar if the price was right but just too expensive to justify at the mo over the petrol genny.
 
we use a 913 and like it. also have 204w panels. You may be over estimating your solar capacity. 80watts / 17 volts = 4.9 amps max In med x5 for daily output of flat panel = 25 Amp hours per day. On long passages I am sure that towed generator gives highest output. At anchor our setup just about copes with lights (LED) and fridge.
 
We are using two 80w panels not one and in UK the other day with them stowed at an angle, we were getting 4.5 amps on a sunny day. In the Caribbean with them up facing the sun and assuming 6 hours full sun and 6 hours partial, a minimum of 70-80 amps should be achievable. But the windy thingy option is in case I get it all horribly wrong - not unknown!!
 
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