Rutland 504 or not?

[James W]

Evening all,

I bought a second hand, good condition Rutland 504 last year for the boat, complete with regulator and pole, and never quite got round to fitting it. I did however fit a 10 watt solar panel and it's kept the battery (75ah) topped up nicely over the winter.

My plan for this season is to increase the amount of electronics (currently i'm only powering depth gauge, nav and cabin lights) so the question is will I need the wind generator, or will the solar panel be sufficient to keep the battery topped up with the increase in workload when I add more cabin lights, wind speed and direction gauge, VHF, tiller pilot, battery gauge and GPS.

I could fit more solar panels, but space is at a bit of a premium as it's only a Hurley 20. I unfortunately don't have an outboard with a charging circuit.

So should I fit the Rutland, or sell it on and put the money towards something else?

Thanks all,

James

 

[jac]

Rule of thumb is to divide the output of your panel in watts by 4 to get the average daily AH figure. Obviously will get more on sunny day in June than a grey January but realistically 10w will only really keep a battery bank topped up.

If you don't have alternative charging then it's wind or solar.

I suspect on a 20 footer that you may struggle to meet all your needs just from solar in the uk. Wind is ok but the 504 is a fairly small unit 914i is more powerful or one of the aerogen.

 

[Ric]

The 504 will not making any worthwhile contribution for to your needs when aboard. It is just a trickle charger, designed to charge the batteries while the boat is left on a mooring.

 

[rob2]

You don't give any details of what extra electronics, or how often and for ow long you intend to sail, so the question cannot be answered. Assuming you are on a swimging mooring, so no shore power, somewhere in the UK, so usually plenty of wind power, the 504 will give a useful output for a single battery installation such as yours. As the solar panel has done the job in winter, when its output is limited by weather conditions and short daylight hours, you may find it sufficient when sailing. The real battery killers are not usually fitted on a 20 ft boat, e.g. fridge compressor and anchor winch. For weekend use, instruments and VHF should be OK as you are, although lighting is always an issue.

If I were you, I would start the new season as you are but hang on to the wind generator so as to keep that option open should you find you need it. If not, then you can easily seel it later. It has been said that the UK's wind makes wind power an ideal option, though. The 504 is fairly easy to live with, not too noisy and the ring around the blades make it acceptably safe, whereas the 914 must be mounted with more thought for safety and its output would be more than enough for a single battery.

Rob.

 

[FullCircle]

The 504 will not making any worthwhile contribution for to your needs when aboard. It is just a trickle charger, designed to charge the batteries while the boat is left on a mooring.

I had a 503 on my boat (swinging mooring) for 5 years, and it always topped up the batteries for me during the week.

 

[James W]

Great stuff, thanks guys. I'll hang onto it for now and hopefully that and the solar panel will manage the extra workload.

 

[Rothko]

I’m looking for a 504 if you decided to part with it? Regards.

 

[ghostlymoron]

I'd sell the windmill and fit more solar. With a twenty footer (like mine) your requirements are likely to be small but the autopilot uses quite a bit. Only you can decide how much power you need depending on your sailing profile. You should start with an energy audit.

 

[Rothko]

Ok I’m interested to buy your Rutland, please pm me. (I’m new on here hard figuring out how to privately message you!)

 

[MM5AHO]

I have a 504. It will almost run all the electric supply when sailing at night long distance, and then top things up during the day. The exception is sailing downwind, when it's output is zilch!
But then my boat is frugal. Radio(VHF), instruments, including depth, speed and location, 2 x GPS, nav lights (all LED) cabin lights (also LED), AIS (trancseiver) and Navtex. No fridge, no incandescent bulbs, no powder hungry devices.

 

[James W]

Sorry guys, this thread is 4 years old and the Rutland 504 is long gone.

 

[Seajet]

Sorry guys, this thread is 4 years old and the Rutland 504 is long gone.

In case of interest, the Rutland wind charger was originally designed by P1127 Harrier prototype Test Pilot Hugh Merewether; when his engine exploded over West Sussex, Hugh spotted a gap in the cloud over Tangmere and went for it - there's a famous voice tape of him saying ' I'm going for it now '.

When Test Pilot Mike Oliver went to collect Hugh - no such thing as stress or PTSD in those days - Mike found he was following a series of molten metal discs along the runway, from Hugh's burning engine.

Hugh had a Nicholson 38 and on retirement from test flying went blue water sailing, when he designed the Rutland wind charger.

https://dunsfoldairfield.org/hugh-merewether-fraes/

 

[MM5AHO]

Sorry guys, this thread is 4 years old and the Rutland 504 is long gone.

Well they still advertise it as available...
https://www.marlec.co.uk/product/12v-rutland-504-windcharger/?v=79cba1185463

 

[Mistroma]

Well they still advertise it as available...
https://www.marlec.co.uk/product/12v-rutland-504-windcharger/?v=79cba1185463

OP was replying to someone asking if he still had the Rutland 504. Not surprising that he doesn't have it any longer.

I have a 504. It will almost run all the electric supply when sailing at night long distance, and then top things up during the day. The exception is sailing downwind, when it's output is zilch!
But then my boat is frugal. Radio(VHF), instruments, including depth, speed and location, 2 x GPS, nav lights (all LED) cabin lights (also LED), AIS (trancseiver) and Navtex. No fridge, no incandescent bulbs, no powder hungry devices.

Certainly must be frugal with power. My 913 averaged. 7-10Ah per day each summer from 2010-2015. Lots of output on a couple of very windy days but not a lot most days. I'd only expect a 504 to average 2-3 Ah per day in summer months. A 5-10W solar panel would beat it for output. Unless you are keen on night sailing in gales .

 

[thepadd]

Just a thought, a test rig I built to monitor a solar panel, showed that in winter, the charge controller was consuming just about all the output of the solar panel, so you could end up with a battery that was seriously compromised.
I am looking at wind power to add the extra juice when its windy to give the solar a fighting chance during the winter months.
Then in summer, you'll have loads of juice for all the extra gizmos you may want to run.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

Solar technology has improved so much; you could add a small solar panel instead of a Rutland 504 or 913.