Removable wind generator pole?

[Graham376]

We have solar and Aero4gen. Unlike the UK, we get more sun than wind so solar needs to be increased and Aerogen needs removing for 2 reasons - it shades one of the panels daytime and night time gets switched off because it rumbles/vibrates through the gantry and I can't be bothered replacing the bearings - again.

 

[Yellow Ballad]

Ok, ok I've been talked out of it.

I do like the idea of alternative charging methods especially with dreams of ocean crossings at some point. Towed gennys have always interested me as well especially having such a small diesel tank but ocean crossings are a long way off.

Thanks for the info, I'll look into more solar when required.

 

[Mistroma]

We have solar and Aero4gen. Unlike the UK, we get more sun than wind so solar needs to be increased and Aerogen needs removing for 2 reasons - it shades one of the panels daytime and night time gets switched off because it rumbles/vibrates through the gantry and I can't be bothered replacing the bearings - again.

I've seen lots of posts saying that they get more sun and less wind than UK so solar makes more sense for them. It is worth noting that the figures still stack up in favour of solar for UK use in the summer and by a considerable margin.

Weather here in Greece has been more like a summer in Scotland recently, lots of wind and several days with 100% cloud coverage. The daily output from my Rutland 913 jumped to 30-40 Ah/day because of pretty steady wind around 20+knots.
My solar panels averaged 20-30Ah/day from 145W PWM and 30-45Ah/day from 200W MPPT.

That means Rutland 913 was approx. equal to 200W solar (ish). Cost for a 50W rigid panel is probably £60-£70 by now. Installation cost for my deck panels was almost zero vs. wind gen (both need cable, gland, regulator).

I think Rutland 914i + mounting kit would be around £800+ vs. £60-£70 for a 50W rigid solar panel. The 50W panel should easily outperform the 914i when averaged over a UK summer.

What wind gen do you have out of interest?

Just the weight of the wind gen itself cracked the facia when I rested it on the floor. I have a 30ft boat so guess it depends on how big your storage space is Not much on mine lol

You can see from above that I have a Rutland 913 (with Marlec HRDi regulator).

 

[Neeves]

Our wind gen is now around 15 years old and produces as much power now as it did when new. We have not had need to repair bearings, we have not broken a blade.

We bought expensive Solara flexible panels the first one failed after about 5 years. LVM, from whom we bought our windgen also sold solar (which they were simply merchanting) so we had a mix of Solara and LVM. We have replaced all of our solar panels now, roughly 250W. We have also replaced our regulators, the old ones were Sunsolar I recall. Our heat sink regulators for the windgen are still operating.

The wiring for all of them are similar - but with multiple panels you do end up with as lot of wires to splice up

Our windgen converts to a water gen - which is a much more effective way of generating power from the same device but obviously depends on the yacht moving.

I do note the sorry tales of failed bearings and noise for windgens - but they are not our experience. I do note no-one has mentioned life expectancy for their solar panels - which if they come with a 'second-hand' yacht or you expect to keep the yacht for some years should be factored in to costs.

Jonathan

 

[Mistroma]

Our wind gen is now around 15 years old and produces as much power now as it did when new. We have not had need to repair bearings, we have not broken a blade.

We bought expensive Solara flexible panels the first one failed after about 5 years. LVM, from whom we bought our windgen also sold solar (which they were simply merchanting) so we had a mix of Solara and LVM. We have replaced all of our solar panels now, roughly 250W. We have also replaced our regulators, the old ones were Sunsolar I recall. Our heat sink regulators for the windgen are still operating.

The wiring for all of them are similar - but with multiple panels you do end up with as lot of wires to splice up

Our windgen converts to a water gen - which is a much more effective way of generating power from the same device but obviously depends on the yacht moving.

I do note the sorry tales of failed bearings and noise for windgens - but they are not our experience. I do note no-one has mentioned life expectancy for their solar panels - which if they come with a 'second-hand' yacht or you expect to keep the yacht for some years should be factored in to costs.

Jonathan

One set of bearings on our wind gen but that was self inflicted. I stored the wind gen dismounted outside as we get 100mph wind from time to time in winter. The cover leaked and sent water directly to the bearings. I didn't repeat that mistake and still fine 6 years after replacing the bearings.

No problems so far with our rigid panels, 3 are 7 years old with 2 additional panels fitted this year. No sign of any problems and 10-20 years doesn't seem unreasonable. I did try one flexible as an experiment and it failed after a few weeks. The replacement lasted a bit longer and we still have it as a spare. I don't rate flexible panels for longevity and cost vs. rigid panels. None of the rigid panels are "marine versions" (i.e. Added cost for dubious added quality).

 

[PaulRainbow]

I do note the sorry tales of failed bearings and noise for windgens - but they are not our experience. I do note no-one has mentioned life expectancy for their solar panels - which if they come with a 'second-hand' yacht or you expect to keep the yacht for some years should be factored in to costs.

Jonathan

When i purchased my boat it had a pair of 30w Solara panels on the coachroof, connected to a Solara controller and a 60w panel on a pole at the transom, also connected to a Solara controller. They were all fitted in 1988 and still working. I've replaced the 60w panel and the controllers (added more panels at the transom, 2x100w on an arch), the pair of 30w panels on the coachroof are still there.

The pair of 100w panels on the arch are top quality, built using American made back contact cells. They work very well. During the Summer, on the UK East Coast, the boat is pretty much self sufficient as far as electricity goes, and i'm aboard all Summer. The only exception would be if we had 2 or 3 days of little to no Sun, that might happen once in a blue moon.

Edit, the 30w coachroof panels are flexible, all of the others are rigid.

 

[Neeves]

Adding to my post 24 above - all our panels are flexible,

Our panels are located on the cabin roof - and you cannot have framed panels on a curved roof - and still be able to pack a mainsail, easily. We could have built some real estate off and over the transom - but flexible panels on the roof space (that is other wise wasted space) seems sensible - maybe the price is short life.

When the sun is shining - nothing beats a decent solar array.

Jonathan

 

[RIBW]

Dear All (with a continuing interest in windgenny bearing life/failure),

When I looked into my last bearing failure (PBO thread in July 2018 - see below), I discovered the following:-

"It seems that standard bearings are made of chrome steel and are liable to corrosion. Stainless steel versions versions are available at ~3x the price of their chrome cousins. Their description says they are suitable for the marine environment but will rust eventually".

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?503911-913-bearings&highlight=bearings.

[Given my declared negativity about wingennies in a marine environment, I guess there's no point in hoping for a job in the offshore windfarm industry!]

Cheers
Bob