Wind generator in F8 and above

[CraigB]

Hi folks, I noticed last night that my Rutland 913 wind turbine was sounding like a jet propellor and generating more current than I've ever seen before. I looked up the instructions but couldn't find much except the recommendation not to put the electric brake on in high winds, saying that it can put unnecessary strain on the system.

So, do I take it that in high winds it's okay to just let it spin ferociously? What do others do? Alternatively perhaps, do you lash the propellor in place to prevent it spinning? Is it necessary at all?

Cheers.

 

[fireball]

Personally I think I'd lash the prop .... letting it free spin still causes wear and tear ...

 

[laracaine]

I don't know much about the rutland, but if it hasn't got an auto cut out when the voltage gets too high then I would lash it to prevent the internal componenets burning out!

 

[MIKE_MCKIE]

Was unaware of any "electric brake", certainly not on my 4 year old version anyway. In 4 years I have never lashed it, no matter what the weather. For one thing how do you stop it without losing half your fingers??? I have seen some with a metre of line from the wind vane, that you can grab to turn the blades off the wind & the get them slow enough to grab, but I am always concerned that in gusts the line will get tangled with the blades, with rather expensive results. Guess you could always hook a boathook onto the windvane when required, but I cannot honestly see the point. Your charging panel should be able to handle the extra power without problems, it will just generate a bit more heat to dry the boat out during the winter months! The only thing is that if you are trying to sleep onboard, the howling of the blades in a good blow tends to keep you awake, although you are probably not going to sleep a lot anyway! Let her spin says I.

 

[fluffc]

An 'electric brake' is a fancy way of saying 'short the two output wires together'.

This significantly slows the turbine down, but in high winds the wire would heat up as it tries to dissipate the heat. It may eventually faily, resulting in a lump of melted wire - hence the recommendation not to use it in high winds.

I had the loan of an Aerogen turbine once, and it controlled its speed by the wind flexing the blade tips, causing it to stall. Worked well, but made a heck of a racket - sounded like a jet engine!

 

[jerryat]

Not sure I'd call it an electric 'brake' on the 913, but when my batteries are fully charged, the blades will only turn slowly no matter what the wind speed, at least, they turn only a tiny bit faster up to F7-8, which is the most I've been on board to see!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

We used to tie it off in high winds, but that was with the previous regulator. When that died we changed it for the latest (half egg-shaped one) and that definitely slows the blades, presumably to prevent over-charging.

Anyway, we've had no problems in this regard. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[CraigB]

Okay, as fluffc said, by electric brake I meant the thing which has a switch on the display panel - two positions - up is a spinning fan and down is a non-spinning fan. This is also what automatically kicks in and illuminates a red LED once the batteries are fully charged, to prevent overcharging I guess.

Based on your the suggestions above, in future I might try to lash the propellor before the wind picks up too much. But as noted, it's not such an easy task to slow the thing down once it gets going. I had visions of never playing the clarinet again.

 

[Sinbad2222]

Aerogen blades don't flex and are quiet.
Did you mean Airmarine?
My Aerogen 6 dumped it's excess current into two large resistors and behaved impeccably at any wind speeds.
In the winter the heat from the resistors took the chill off the cabin!

 

[Robin]

Yes we have an Aerogen 6 as well and it is quiet plus ours has a 3 battery splitter/regulator. However in order not to 'confuse' our smart regulator or the smart 220v charger we do tie off the blades. The fan is easily stopped by grabbing a line tied to the vane and turning the fan into the wind, we then slip a sail tie with a loop in it over a blade and hitch this back to the mounting pole.

 

[fluffc]

My mistake - yes, AirX (same as Airmarine)

 

[LadyInBed]

I have noticed that my 913 will go into 'free flow' in V high winds. It is then difficult / impossible to tame.
As has been said it's the regulator that tries to control things by pulsing a short circuit to the Gen output, but I guess it reaches a point where it can't cope then open circuits the Gen output and allows the 'free flow'.
I don't tether mine as the whole point of it is to keep the batteries up while I'm not there!
If I was there, I would be out sailing and in those conditions I don't have the time or agility to mess with the blades /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[kengill]

Back emf!!

 

[Ariadne]

I've an old 913 and I lash it to the pole. Not because I'm worried about overcharging, but the vibration and noise would shake the boat to pieces and keep half the marina awake.

 

[achwilan]

I remove the prop of my Aerogen during the windy winter months (a 2 minutes job => extended bearings life and no anxiety).
I acknowledge my solution is a simplistic one...

 

[pappaecho]

I have a 913 with splitter system and a red led. If the battery banks get to full voltage, the electric brake comes on automatically. There is also an over ride switch which I use when sleeping on the boat.
Went to the boat yesterday in a Force 5, after Force 9 overnight, the red LED was on, and the brake was on because the prop was turning very slowly.
Perhaps you have fault with the braking circuit. Have you spoken to Rutland about it?

 

[tugboat]

My boat is ashore but in a position where it's been blowing old boots the last few days. The Aero4gen had been left in the 'braked' mode which allows it to rotate but not at full speed. I switched it on today and according to the Adverc it's charging OK.
BTW the fact that I have my Yachtlegs deployed as well as the yard's wood props has given me great peace of mind!