Sandy
Well-known member
Buy solar.
Wind generator and controller recommendations please
- Thread starter Tinto
- Start date
Rappey
Well-known member
Rutland are not noisy and are the best ? Haha. I've yet to come across a quite one. The noise they make is horrendous.
One friend had the turbine melt. Rutland said it should not have been allowed to spin in high winds.
Another friend had his tied off in high winds and the water got in it and destroyed it. Rutland said it should have been allowed to spin ?
Another friend has the small one and it sounds like the bearings have collapsed And another friend had the charge controller fail within 6 months.
l 3 were purchasednew.
heard of a fair few Chinese ones where the charge controller has gone up in flames.
Find a used aerogen. Cheap. Beautifully made to last. Absolutely silent up to at leat 20 knts.
On a swinging mooring in Portsmouth harbour the wind generators give more than solar during the winter. 220w of solar barely gives ½ amp On an overcast and rainy day.
The low angle of the sun does not help for panels laying horizontal.
One friend had the turbine melt. Rutland said it should not have been allowed to spin in high winds.
Another friend had his tied off in high winds and the water got in it and destroyed it. Rutland said it should have been allowed to spin ?
Another friend has the small one and it sounds like the bearings have collapsed And another friend had the charge controller fail within 6 months.
l 3 were purchasednew.
heard of a fair few Chinese ones where the charge controller has gone up in flames.
Find a used aerogen. Cheap. Beautifully made to last. Absolutely silent up to at leat 20 knts.
On a swinging mooring in Portsmouth harbour the wind generators give more than solar during the winter. 220w of solar barely gives ½ amp On an overcast and rainy day.
The low angle of the sun does not help for panels laying horizontal.
Neeves
Well-known member
Its a forum and not a dissertation looking for a Nobel prize. I expect people to be as clever as me and make sensible interpretations and extrapolations and not ask daft questions - hence 'Pedant'. But you never know - maybe, but I hope unlikely, the A Pilot actually thought that the device made water
- which would place him in a very special category.Jonathan
Alex_Blackwood
Well-known member
geem
Well-known member
We have had a Duogen for the last 20 years. In wind mode it is one of the more powerful performers out there. The penalty is that wind turbines are not maintenance free. They really don't produce much power compared to solar. For what a turbine costs new you get a huge amount of maintenance free solar.
AntarcticPilot
Well-known member
I know I'm special!Its a forum and not a dissertation looking for a Nobel prize. I expect people to be as clever as me and make sensible interpretations and extrapolations and not ask daft questions - hence 'Pedant'. But you never know - maybe, but I hope unlikely, the A Pilot actually thought that the device made water
Jonathan
simonfraser
Well-known member
this wind generator is easy to control, simple
Sandy
Well-known member
How much do you need a day if you are not using the boat?
dunedin
Well-known member
By contrast our two x 50W solar panels keep the batteries topped up fine through a Scottish winter - but we are known for our dry and sunny weather up here ;-)
geem
Well-known member
We used to have 220w of solar on our catamaran that would keep our batteries topped up all through the UK winter no problem. We would go for the weekend in winter and live onboard use some battery capacity and the next weekend we would arrive to full batteries.
It maybe the difference between framed panels which seem to work well and flexible panels that in my experience work less well.
srm
Well-known member
I suspect that all the comments about internal noise are due to poor installation.
I have an AirX marine turbine, first on a smaller Prout Catamaran and now on a moderated displacement monohull. Yes, I know when it is running but have never had it stop me from sleeping or unable to have a conversation. They do need to be mounted on a solid part of the structure, in my cases close to the counter with support struts to gunwhales; cabin roofs and large decks will make wonderful sounding boxes.
The original AirX blades were very noisy in fresh conditions, but replacing them with the blue "Silent Wind" blades made all the difference giving a machine that could be comfortably lived with on deck as well as below. AirX is no longer in business, but some years ago "Silent Wind" (having started by producing blades for the AirX) produced their own turbine that looked much like the AirX.
Designs have moved on since then so look for a three blade configuration for high output with automatic overspeed control etc. Also, pay attention to where and how you mount it so as not to turn the boat into a sounding box. The smaller Superwind turbines look interesting, I have seen them on boats in our marina, but have no first hand experience.
I have an AirX marine turbine, first on a smaller Prout Catamaran and now on a moderated displacement monohull. Yes, I know when it is running but have never had it stop me from sleeping or unable to have a conversation. They do need to be mounted on a solid part of the structure, in my cases close to the counter with support struts to gunwhales; cabin roofs and large decks will make wonderful sounding boxes.
The original AirX blades were very noisy in fresh conditions, but replacing them with the blue "Silent Wind" blades made all the difference giving a machine that could be comfortably lived with on deck as well as below. AirX is no longer in business, but some years ago "Silent Wind" (having started by producing blades for the AirX) produced their own turbine that looked much like the AirX.
Designs have moved on since then so look for a three blade configuration for high output with automatic overspeed control etc. Also, pay attention to where and how you mount it so as not to turn the boat into a sounding box. The smaller Superwind turbines look interesting, I have seen them on boats in our marina, but have no first hand experience.
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Minerva
Well-known member
Pedant?
I cannot determine if you are serious or not
As you have a wind generator you may also have a water generator. LVM called theirs an Aero Gen and a Aqua Gen. Their device generated neither wind nor water - it was quite accepted.
Jonathan
I think you are quite wrong. The wind does not blow when the wind farm near me has stationary wind turbines, but once they turn the turbines on, there is wind. Ergo, the wind turbines must create the wind.
?
dunedin
Well-known member
My 2 x 50w panels are semi flexible panels, now over 6 years old and seriously abused but still working fine
Neeves
Well-known member
Like most things on a boat the discussion seems to be about compromise. You don't need to compromise - you can have both as neither impinges on the needs of the other and solar backs up wind and vice versa. If you yacht is big enough you can have 2 Wind Gens and transom real estate with a decent solar display. If a ketch - you can have the, or a, wind gen up the mast.
But most yachts struggle to find enough room for a decent solar display - and for those who are power hungry, they resort to a suitcase gen set - but of course they are silent
.Now if you just want to keep the battery topped up - solar is fine - but it will not run the fridge, nav lights, desalinator, iPads, autopilot, chart plotter, freezer.
Power is one of the single biggest problems for those that live aboard, our lives and comfort revolve round power, using it frugally. Its the 21st Century our children and grandchildren have lives focussed round electronics and we spend our time ensuring they have enough fresh water for 2 showers a day. No more 1950s camping for us. But then - we have both solar and wind and a large big flattish, we use flexible panels (and agree with Geem - not as good as framed) bit of cabin roof on which to house the solar.
And when on passage our wind gen converts to a hydro gen, or to those that understand - water gen
- and is absolutely marvellous.If investing again and with less limited cash, a WattnSea, a big wind gen (2 for a cat or beamy mono), and solar. No either or - and certainly no gen set (the work of the devil in a tight anchorage)
Jonathan
geem
Well-known member
Well we have a total of 760w of solar, wind generator, hydrogenerator, diesel genset. That should cover it?Like most things on a boat the discussion seems to be about compromise. You don't need to compromise - you can have both as neither impinges on the needs of the other and solar backs up wind and vice versa. If you yacht is big enough you can have 2 Wind Gens and transom real estate with a decent solar display. If a ketch - you can have the, or a, wind gen up the mast.
But most yachts struggle to find enough room for a decent solar display - and for those who are power hungry, they resort to a suitcase gen set - but of course they are silent
Now if you just want to keep the battery topped up - solar is fine - but it will not run the fridge, nav lights, desalinator, iPads, autopilot, chart plotter, freezer.
Power is one of the single biggest problems for those that live aboard, our lives and comfort revolve round power, using it frugally. Its the 21st Century our children and grandchildren have lives focussed round electronics and we spend our time ensuring they have enough fresh water for 2 showers a day. No more 1950s camping for us. But then - we have both solar and wind and a large big flattish, we use flexible panels (and agree with Geem - not as good as framed) bit of cabin roof on which to house the solar.
And when on passage our wind gen converts to a hydro gen, or to those that understand - water gen
If investing again and with less limited cash, a WattnSea, a big wind gen (2 for a cat or beamy mono), and solar. No either or - and certainly no gen set (the work of the devil in a tight anchorage)
Jonathan
I was helping a friend out with some electrical problems on his catamaran yesterday. He has 750w of solar above his davits. They are horizontal and don't tilt. I was a little surprised how low the output was mid morning. By comparison, our 360w of solar on each side of the boat located on the guardrails produces way more power due to the ability to angle towards the sun. With prevailing wind from the East the starboard panels are left at about 60deg at this time of the year. We produce a lot of power. The port panels also tilt up to face the sun but at a shallower angle.
It's very common to see cruisers here with guardrail mounted panels
srm
Well-known member
Likewise to @Neeves. Not much space for solar but it helps especially in sheltered anchorages and we run a small fridge 24/7. Offshore, solar plus wind turbine usually means all the electronic toys incl. radar can be run as needed without power worries. 400 Ah battery bank never more than 50% discharged and rarely beyond 25% discharge (according to the batt monitor).
Neeves
Well-known member
Your installation is similar to ours. we have more space for solar, but do have the issues that our panels are fixed (and would be better if they could be angled - but also better if they were not shaded variously by mast and boom). To minimise shade you need panels transom mounted or and or side deck (accepting one side deck might be shaded).
We still need to manage power usage and (as we are not purists) everything goes onto charge if we enter an anchorage or leave as we use the engines.
We have tried to minimise power usage of the big consumers, fridge and freezer, ducting fresh air to the compressors (induced by computer fans). We specifically opted for Simrad Broadband radar because of its lower power usage.
Our wind gen in hydro mode (water gen
) if the wind is up and we are averaging 8 knots provides enough power + some from the solar for all of our needs on passage (but power needs increase at anchor).I firmly believe Parkinson's Law is relevant: "Your power needs increase to beyond your ability to generate and store power - no matter how large you ability to produce and store that power".
"Oh!, with that extra panel we could use the bread maker, maybe instal a washing machine and get rid of the mangle"
"When we get that bigger yacht we could have dishwasher..... but where will we store the ironing board"
Dreams are free, Parkinson was right..
Jonathan
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srm
Well-known member
Our fridge is water cooled with a hull mounted cooling plate (surveyor thought it was an anode!). Also, compressor mounted separate from fridge cabinet allowing extra foam board and foil insulation all round.
Minerva
Well-known member
For those that advocate for wind turbines, I accept your reasoning for having them, but I have a question;
assuming a boat with alternator, shore power battery charger, solar power and wind turbine - how do you wire all that up?
do you have the 4 sets of leads going straight onto the battery posts?
Ignoring alternator and shore power for a second, What if it’s both sunny and windy - can you harvest both sources at the same time?
I had a look at the marlec controller recommended earlier which accepts feeds from both solar and wind, but that is only PWM which surely no one would fit in 2022 as you’re loosing so much to efficiency.
Thanks
assuming a boat with alternator, shore power battery charger, solar power and wind turbine - how do you wire all that up?
do you have the 4 sets of leads going straight onto the battery posts?
Ignoring alternator and shore power for a second, What if it’s both sunny and windy - can you harvest both sources at the same time?
I had a look at the marlec controller recommended earlier which accepts feeds from both solar and wind, but that is only PWM which surely no one would fit in 2022 as you’re loosing so much to efficiency.
Thanks
srm
Well-known member
Different turbine controllers may work differently to mine. Basically, everything goes to the house batts (400Ah). Batts circuit have 100amp fuse between batts and live connection buz bar except wind turbine that has its own fuse (IIRC 50 amp) then direct to batts (following installation instructions).
Solar runs through an MPPT controler directly to the batt buz bar. Max charge voltage shows as 14v on batt monitor when only using solar.
Wind turbine has a built in controller that stops charging when it senses its max charging voltage (about 14.4v) and also has a manual shut off switch, again permanently wired through the switch to the battery via its own fuse.
Both wind and solar will charge together until each controller senses max charge voltage then shut off.
Engine charge directly to batts. When engine running wind turbine usually turned off manually but if not senses full charge voltage and shuts down. Solar regulator shows full batt light as it senses the alternator charge voltage.
Shore power smart charger directly to batts buz bar, but as this is manually operated the wind turbine can be turned off to stop them arguing with each other.
My solar and wind probably happily co-exist as they have different full charge cut off voltages. Both shutting at exactly the same voltage would probably result in incomplete charging.
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