Which wind gen?

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fliti

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I thought I would re-start this discussion, having searched and read the relevant discussions in the last year or two. To keep it tight, I am not interested in comments ifo solar over wind as I have solar already. I am also in the caribbean and looking to replace my tatty old Rutland 913 with something from the new generation capable of powering a to-be-installed-when-the-budget-committee-approves freezer. I have a mate who has just installed a Silentwind, which I would be doing had he not had to send for 2 new bearings in as many months. Have not abandoned the idea as power output achieved by my mate was very impressive. So, would be very interested in other Silentwind owners' experience. Would also appreciate other readers' experiences of other makes with regard to output at 15-25 kts, noise and reliability, as defined by freedom from breakdown and longevity of maintained output.
 
I have an Aerogen 4 or 6 ( cant remember) still going strong @ around 25 yrs old, i have replaced the bearings once in that time, plus the boat yard supplied new blades 12 yrs ago as they broke one on launching. It is now on its second boat
 
Having owned an Air Breeze for a few years and experienced loads of trouble with the sliprings I'd stay we'll clear !!
 
Tradewinds said:
Jean Socrates on Nereida has a KISS wind turbine.

I think she is generally pretty pleased with it but has had one or two niggles (not unexpected really under the conditions she's been sailing in).

A search on her website for Kiss gives these results which might be of interest.

http://www.livejournal.com/search/?journal=synereida&q=Kiss
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It is broken at the moment I think. She is in search of some quiet water to fix it and her wind vane.
 
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC said:
If you were happy with Rutland 913, have you considered the new Rutland 914i?
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Can't say I was ever exactly thrilled by the 913. Seemed to justify most people's comments about wind power not being worth the candle compared to solar. Rarely got above 3 amps no matter how high the wind. Mostly well under 1 amp in 15-25 kts. That's why I want to change. On the 914, Marlec told me that it is not compatible with their own HRDX controller, which is what I had on the 913. A bit of a disincentive......
 
clyst said:
Having owned an Air Breeze for a few years and experienced loads of trouble with the sliprings I'd stay we'll clear !!
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Neither in this thread nor the other wind gen threads last year have Air Breeze owners had a good word to say for it. Take a look at last year's YM review of wind gens. Guess which one they recommend most highly? Funny old world....
 
fliti said:
Neither in this thread nor the other wind gen threads last year have Air Breeze owners had a good word to say for it. Take a look at last year's YM review of wind gens. Guess which one they recommend most highly? Funny old world....
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The strange thing is, I have the predecessor to the Air Breeze, the Air-X, with double the output (400W) and it still churns out the Amps after 12 years with no problems - ever. They look the same and I thought they were, other than the output, which I thought was a trivial change such as less windings to reduce the rotational resistance to keep turning in lower wind speeds.

But the OP is right in my opinion - if it's worth having a whirly thing up there it should at least have some decent output if you want more than just a trickle charge to keep the batteries topped up when not on board. I have a 100W solar panel on the pilot-house roof but I know that when I have enough wind for sailing I have enough wind for the Air-X to power the 'fridge and all the instruments on board. The solar panel is for windless days at anchor.
 
fliti said:
Can't say I was ever exactly thrilled by the 913. Seemed to justify most people's comments about wind power not being worth the candle compared to solar. Rarely got above 3 amps no matter how high the wind. Mostly well under 1 amp in 15-25 kts. That's why I want to change. On the 914, Marlec told me that it is not compatible with their own HRDX controller, which is what I had on the 913. A bit of a disincentive......
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Indeed - the best windgen is a large flat one covered with solar cells.
 
I have an Air Breeze which is coming up for a year old and I have found it fantastic. The real advantages are that it has a high output, is totally self regulating and quiet.

Maybe they have improved quality in recent years.

For what it's worth!


Tony.
 
>I have an Aerogen 4 or 6 ( cant remember) still going strong @ around 25 yrs old

We also had an Aerogen which is 20 years old and still going strong. The only thing I did was regrease the bearings on the turning into wind fitting not the blades, they were squeaking.
 
I've posted previously on this, but our inherited Air X has had various problems over the years. End of last season it went back to spinning / suddenly braking and off to the UK suppliers for repair. They were reluctant to keep replacing more parts so sent it back to Germany who had to replace the card, stator and slip rings to get it working! Thankfully they did all this under warranty as it had taken over 4 months since handing it over in the UK.

We're now keeping it tied down when not on board and hoping that more limited use will aid longevity.

Straight from the factory (and into a YM test) I'm sure they perform well but this really is the sort of product that requires long term and not bench testing.
 
SimonP85 said:
I've posted previously on this, but our inherited Air X has had various problems over the years. End of last season it went back to spinning / suddenly braking and off to the UK suppliers for repair. They were reluctant to keep replacing more parts so sent it back to Germany who had to replace the card, stator and slip rings to get it working! Thankfully they did all this under warranty as it had taken over 4 months since handing it over in the UK.

We're now keeping it tied down when not on board and hoping that more limited use will aid longevity.

Straight from the factory (and into a YM test) I'm sure they perform well but this really is the sort of product that requires long term and not bench testing.
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My Aerogen has worked non-stop for 15 yrs, it is never harnessed.
 
I too am researching wind generators. Looking at the Aero6gen blurb it's saying that it shouldn't be used in winds over 45 knots. Isn't this a problem if (a) you want to leave the boat for a few weeks and want to keep the batteries topped up or (b) you're sailing: Wouldn't fancy mucking about with 15Kgs of kit up a 3m pole with the wind rising from F8..
 
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