What do you think of this wind generator?

[SHUG]

Reminiscent of the Forgen........

Forgen are still in business here : http://www.seateach.com/Details.asp?ProdID=572&redirectSrc=Forgen

Their version develops about 1.5amps at 15knots of wind and costs about £450.

See quite a few around so they must have something going for them.

 

[Sy-Revolution]

Something wrong there. I would expect 2 x 80 watt panels to provide some useful power (up to 13 amps), even in UK waters.

I wouldn't be so sure. I have four 80w panels and see about 16.5 amps maybe a little bit more, midday, blue, blue sky, in the Med.

I think they're rated at around 4.75 amps each.

C.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

I wouldn't be so sure. I have four 80w panels and see about 16.5 amps maybe a little bit more, midday, blue, blue sky, in the Med.
I think they're rated at around 4.75 amps each.
C.

Sorry, but maybe my post wasn't clear. OceanPilgrim had said "two 80w solar pannels and there not worth a dam in uk waters". I was saying that I would expect that configuration to be producing useful power (theoretically up to 13amps).
If it isn't producing anything useful then maybe something is wrong with the setup?
My modest 10watt panel certainly produces enough to justify its existence.

 

[malds]

I bought a wind generator from ebay, it was cheap and I thought I couldn't go wrong. It all produced current at 8m/s which is 16knts - it's noisey as hell! The bearings are not perfectly aligned as a result it vibrates and when the wind accelerates it moves out of the wind window.

It's useless, it's these same cheap units that maplin buys. I bought mine from ebay for £280.

 

[elton]

I bought a wind generator from ebay, it was cheap and I thought I couldn't go wrong. It all produced current at 8m/s which is 16knts - it's noisey as hell! The bearings are not perfectly aligned as a result it vibrates and when the wind accelerates it moves out of the wind window.

It's useless, it's these same cheap units that maplin buys. I bought mine from ebay for £280.

Sadly it seems to be a case of caveat emptor with these things, especially when buying from eBay. And I expect we'll see Maplin selling theirs off cheaply as 'B Grade' quite soon.

 

[oceanpilgrim]

Sorry, but maybe my post wasn't clear. OceanPilgrim had said "two 80w solar pannels and there not worth a dam in uk waters". I was saying that I would expect that configuration to be producing useful power (theoretically up to 13amps).
If it isn't producing anything useful then maybe something is wrong with the setup?
My modest 10watt panel certainly produces enough to justify its existence.

sorry got up in a bad mood day ** yes i do get 3 to6.5 out of the pannels on a good day but the wind generator is more suted to uk weather,mind you i'm just 4 miles from a large ofshore wind farm might say some thing abought local winds

 

[dougg]

Question

How are you do you calculate how many amps you are actually gererating from a. the solar panels and b. the wind gen?

Have you put an ammeter in line with both items or testing periodically with a multi meter of some sort.

 

[Sy-Revolution]

How are you do you calculate how many amps you are actually gererating from a. the solar panels and b. the wind gen?

Have you put an ammeter in line with both items or testing periodically with a multi meter of some sort.

Keep an eye on the NASA BM-1

 

[CharlesSwallow]

Forgen are still in business here : http://www.seateach.com/Details.asp?ProdID=572&redirectSrc=Forgen

Their version develops about 1.5amps at 15knots of wind and costs about £450.

See quite a few around so they must have something going for them.

YES, they certainly do. It's called misguided optimism!

Chas

 

[Allan]

How are you do you calculate how many amps you are actually gererating from a. the solar panels and b. the wind gen?

Have you put an ammeter in line with both items or testing periodically with a multi meter of some sort.

When I left my boat today, my 913 was producing ~1.5A in 15kts of wind according to my NASA BM-1. I plan to plot some figures when I have time.
Allan

 

[William_H]

Wind Generator

I have a friend who bought a Chinese wind turbine for 12v charging on a remote weekend hideaway. It is a nice well built 3 blade propeller type. However the permanent magnet seemed to lose magnetism fairly quickly such that it did not generate enough voltage to charge a 12v battery even in 20 knots of wind.
He sent it back and got another one which did the same thing now on the 3rd which also fizzled out.
It generates 3phase AC down to a 6 rectifier bridge. I built up a 6 diode bridge from Schotky diodes out of old computer power supplies. This helped enormously to improve voltage so charge. But no way could it ever produce the claimed power of 100watts in battery charging.
This generator also claimed to have a charge controller. This however turned out to be just a limited voltage generation capability which means the battery can't be over charged. (or even charged at all) The box only containing 6 diodes.
So that is one experience of wind turbines. Cheap is not always good. good luck olewill

 

[Jenaline IV]

Their 60W solar panel looks interesting. Each 15W panel can be separated and located as you wish. Seems perfect for a cabin roof project.

 

[Sy-Revolution]

Expensive though compared to the XM range from Midsummerenergy. Take a look here:

http://www.midsummerenergy.co.uk/buy/framed_solar_panels/

We have two of the XM 80w panels and so far they've been just as good as our Kyoceras.


However the Maplin 68W Flexible Solar Panel seems good value at £280.

 

[NOHOH]

Like Many Things in Life....

...the ratings of solar panels seem to me to be a bit of a con.

The manufacturers aren`t lying.....they are just telling you strictly...the truth.

The ratings are usually given at the maximum output voltage...which is something around 20 or 21 volts

Therefore 4 amps at 21 and a bit volts and ...hey presto...an 85W panel

Along comes the boater who then assumes an 85W panel will give 85/12....or 7 ish amps...and wonders why he can only get 4 amps out of it.

Rule of thumb.....look at the voltage the panels are rated at....or multiply what they say in terms of wattage by just over half.

 

[Sy-Revolution]

Yep, I get about 4.5 amps out of each of my 80w panels, midday in the sunny Med.

One of those MPPT controlers may well be my next upgrade, they're supposed to help.......

 

[CharlesSwallow]

I have a friend who bought a Chinese wind turbine for 12v charging on a remote weekend hideaway. It is a nice well built 3 blade propeller type. However the permanent magnet seemed to lose magnetism fairly quickly such that it did not generate enough voltage to charge a 12v battery even in 20 knots of wind.
He sent it back and got another one which did the same thing now on the 3rd which also fizzled out.It generates 3phase AC down to a 6 rectifier bridge. I built up a 6 diode bridge from Schotky diodes out of old computer power supplies. This helped enormously to improve voltage so charge. But no way could it ever produce the claimed power of 100watts in battery charging.
This generator also claimed to have a charge controller. This however turned out to be just a limited voltage generation capability which means the battery can't be over charged. (or even charged at all) The box only containing 6 diodes.
So that is one experience of wind turbines. Cheap is not always good. good luck olewill

** Such is the nature of Chinese goods - they LOOK the part but don't play it well at all.

Chas

 

[CharlesSwallow]

Yep, I get about 4.5 amps out of each of my 80w panels, midday in the sunny Med.

One of those MPPT controlers may well be my next upgrade, they're supposed to help.......[/QUOTE]

Unless you have a less efficient controller already, don't expect an MPPT to improve matters. I have one and I bypass it during the day. Panel output increases by around 0.4volts. I do have to remember to unclip the croc clip at night though!

Chas