Noisy Air Breeze

[NornaBiron]

We have a one year old Air Breeze wind generator which works well but is noisy below deck. It is mounted on a three metre pole that is fixed to the pushpit at two points with bracing poles either side. There is a fair bit of resonance which we have tried to reduce by filling the mounting pole with expanding foam.

There have been several posts about the blades produced by a Portuguese company which are effective at silencing the Air X wind generator. Has anybody tried these with the Air Breeze and do they have any effect on resonance or is it just the noise of the blades turning that is reduced.

 

[rivonia]

We found that ours was getting noisy untill a friend told us to sand paper the edges of the blades. They get rough with use. Any way we did what he said and it has reduced the resonance considerably.

Peter

 

[theoldsalt]

I'm no familiar with the Air Breeze but my Aerogen is very noisy in the aft cabin. I am sure it is the bearings making the noise. My only solution has been to stop it turning at night so that the crew can get a good night's sleep.

Last winter I spent a lot of time balancing the blade assembly and ensuring each blade had exactly the same pitch. this completely removed any resonance/vibration.

 

[NornaBiron]

We found that ours was getting noisy untill a friend told us to sand paper the edges of the blades. They get rough with use. Any way we did what he said and it has reduced the resonance considerably.

Peter

The noise hasn't changed since it was fitted. The blades were new in June.

We find the noise on deck isn't too intrusive so it's probably not the blades at all, just hoping there is something that will quieten it!

 

[onesea]

I know I am not going to be appreciated for this but, I do not have one and do not want one.

The noise they make on neighboring boats is enough to do your nut in. Then I will moor as far from the gentle noise of a Webasco/ Eberspacher type heating system as for generators

So yes please make them as quite as possible keep this thread running and make them silent

Or if you in reach of electric pay for your electric and stop the dam things.

 

[CJ13]

We have Speco (Portugese) blades on our Air Breeze- we bought them as replacements when one of the original blades shattered.
They are significantly quieter than the originals and we'd recommend them. We found the noise of originals intrusive in the cockpit and while the Speco blades are not 'silent' they're much quieter, to the point where we hardly notice. Resonance has never been a big issue for us.

John

 

[BrianH]

I have had an Air-X (the 400W precursor to the Air Breeze) for seven years now, moving from my old boat to the new. In all that time I have never suffered from resonance or vibration whatsoever. The reason may be is that I ordered a mounting kit when I bought it so that all deck attachments - 40mm pole, two angled struts - fix through solid rubber blocks.

Where I attached to the pulpit I also buffered the brackets with strips of foam rubber, so that all connective components are physically insulated.

 

[NornaBiron]

I have had an Air-X (the 400W precursor to the Air Breeze) for seven years now, moving from my old boat to the new. In all that time I have never suffered from resonance or vibration whatsoever. The reason may be is that I ordered a mounting kit when I bought it so that all deck attachments - 40mm pole, two angled struts - fix through solid rubber blocks.

Where I attached to the pulpit I also buffered the brackets with strips of foam rubber, so that all connective components are physically insulated.

Our mounting pole is not directly attached to the deck and all brackets are insulated with 3-4mm rubber strips. The noise on deck is not really noticeable, just in the aft cabin, luckily we don't sleep there!

 

[clyst]

Noise is something you have to live with an Air Breeze . Just think of all those free amps!!

Oh and ear plugs help !! In our aft cabin it sounds like sleeping in a cement mixer sometimes .

 

[maxi77]

I must admit I find the noise these things make very annoying, and I am not a noise sensitive person. The problem for those not benefiting from the amps is the constant whoosh whoosh as the wind swings and gusts.

 

[clyst]

I must admit I find the noise these things make very annoying, and I am not a noise sensitive person. The problem for those not benefiting from the amps is the constant whoosh whoosh as the wind swings and gusts.

All part of the marine scene same as frapping halyards, slapping of wavelet under the transome noisey seagulls etc.

 

[maxi77]

All part of the marine scene same as frapping halyards, slapping of wavelet under the transome noisey seagulls etc.

Like halyards it is wholly avoidable, and is usually caused by the less socially aware members of our sport. As I said I am not noise sensitive wave slap is almost comforting and I can sleep happily alongside under the walls of Dunbar castle one of the worlds noisiest seagull nesting areas.

 

[clyst]

Like halyards it is wholly avoidable, and is usually caused by the less socially aware members of our sport. As I said I am not noise sensitive wave slap is almost comforting and I can sleep happily alongside under the walls of Dunbar castle one of the worlds noisiest seagull nesting areas.

All the above I can cope with ----now jet skis

 

[onesea]

Halyard frapp is not just preventable it should be prevented. Would you want to bet your mast with a tiny hammer day in day out? Bad for the rope and bad for the mast.

Jet skis and water skiers do not bother me if they go past once they are no different to power boats, unless they start doing loops through the anchorage.

Wind Generators/ Diesel Generators to me there is little difference, except people tend to stop generators.

Waking up in an anchorage being rattled by any of the above, my partner has the same view "breakfast underway then?"

People get so used to constant noise they do not know what real quite is. I had myself till I spent some time on the north coast of Scotland again it took some time to adjust.

 

[BrianH]

All part of the marine scene same as frapping halyards, slapping of wavelet under the transome noisey seagulls etc.

I frap my halyards to stop them slapping the mast
From the concise OED:

frap
· v. (frapped, frapping) Nautical bind tightly.
– ORIGIN ME (in the sense ‘strike’, now only dial.): from OFr. fraper ‘to bind, strike’.

Unfrapped halyards are the bane of my life when living aboard in my Italian marina. No one there seems to have been instructed in the basic nautical courtesy of ensuring they are well secured. I spend a lot of nights flitting from boat to boat tying off slapping lines on metal masts that cause a terrible cacophony as the wind gets up.

I remember when I was first granted a harbour mooring in Whitby a lifetime or two ago. I had a firm lecture on the importance of not disturbing the local inhabitants by mast halyards - and that was before metal masts were near universal.

My Air-X is really not so noisy, and it has quite a bad reputation and one the Air Breeze was supposed to address. As another poster mentioned, it helps to sand the moulding irregularities off the blades and replacement by the Portuguese ones eliminates even more.

It is used only while sailing or at anchor, usually with no near neighbours. In the marina with shore power there is no need anyway and the 'Stop' switch is always engaged when the blades just slowly windmill with no noise.

 

[clyst]

I frap my halyards to stop them slapping the mast
From the concise OED:

frap
· v. (frapped, frapping) Nautical bind tightly.
– ORIGIN ME (in the sense ‘strike’, now only dial.): from OFr. fraper ‘to bind, strike’.

Unfrapped halyards are the bane of my life when living aboard in my Italian marina. No one there seems to have been instructed in the basic nautical courtesy of ensuring they are well secured. I spend a lot of nights flitting from boat to boat tying off slapping lines on metal masts that cause a terrible cacophony as the wind gets up.

I remember when I was first granted a harbour mooring in Whitby a lifetime or two ago. I had a firm lecture on the importance of not disturbing the local inhabitants by mast halyards - and that was before metal masts were near universal.

My Air-X is really not so noisy, and it has quite a bad reputation and one the Air Breeze was supposed to address. As another poster mentioned, it helps to sand the moulding irregularities off the blades and replacement by the Portuguese ones eliminates even more.

It is used only while sailing or at anchor, usually with no near neighbours. In the marina with shore power there is no need anyway and the 'Stop' switch is always engaged when the blades just slowly windmill with no noise.

Thanks for that !

As liveaboards (dont tell the marina!!) we have a boat berthed 2 pontoons away which has had its inmast furling sail taking off . You can imagine how noisey that is with the spindle clanking around inside the mast . Gentle winds are worse when the boat is just lazily rolling. You can hear it all over the marina !! Have informed the marina staff but FA done .

 

[OldBawley]

Long time ago, in Kortgene Netherlands. Big 600 berth marina. Not one boat with slapping halyards. The reason : the habourmaster was living on the grounds of the marina. He maid it clear to all new clients that any frapping halyard would be taken away. He came and warned once, then you discovered your halyard coiled up in the cockpit. Last time I spoke to him he was way over 90 and still living there. He told me living there was hell now, hundreds of yachts on the hard right next to his house and he no longer in charge and to old to climb the yachts and pulling the halyards out.

Some of the noise made by windgens is caused by passing of the magnets by the coils. The stronger the magnets, the harder the humming. My Aerogen 4 makes no noise at all until the revs are high enough and he starts charging. He than makes a faint humming noise. Its not the bearings, it is some electrical humming one hears sometimes be made by big transformers. Once the wind reaches 3Bf, the humming sound is lost in the general wind noise.