Wind Turbine

[MM5AHO]

I gave up on wind generators after one disintegrated in a gale, and it's replacement had design problems. I now have 140 watts of PV panels. They are excellent - no noise and no moving parts. For summer use in Scotland with long hours of daylight, they're brilliant.

Its done a few seasons now on my boat, and when there's wind to sail, it powers the boat continuously. I've only had to tighten the mounting pole bolts. I've sailed a few days continuously and watched battery condition - its supplying more than my consumption. But this past summer had many windless days, but then I could not sail anyway! And if motoring, then the alternator...

 

[Blueboatman]

My Rutland 913 WG spinned for 20 years, in that time I replaced the bearings twice and they needed doing again when I removed it in favour of just PV this year, so bearings were lasting 6-7 years. The blades had lost their sheen and become out of balance causing a lot of vibration. Replacement blades were expensive and a replacement 914 would have cost in the region of £600 plus I would have had to upgrade my regulator.
For the comparatively small output it produced it was an easy choice to remove it and go solar only.
Anyone want to buy a Rutland 913 at a very competitive price ?

Some output is better than no output ?
Yet mine would run ( either) the fridge or the autopilot at night, just (!) , which I found quite useful on coastal passages.. further out obv, windvane rules..

PS How many times did you repaint that f’in mild steel tail plate???

 

[geem]

Some output is better than no output ?
Yet mine would run ( either) the fridge or the autopilot at night, just (!) , which I found quite useful on coastal passages.. further out obv, windvane rules..

PS How many times did you repaint that f’in mild steel tail plate???

How did you measure the ability of the wind turbine to cover your load?
With a 1m diameter, high output turbine, mine needs a constant 20kts to keep the batteries charged over night. Compared to solar, the Ah output is pitiful. Over a couple of years of monitoring output on a meter, my solar outperforms the wind by a huge factor.
It would seem better to me to add more battery capacity to see you through the night than fit a wind turbine. Far cheaper

 

[Rappey]

, in that time I replaced the bearings twice and they needed doing again

I would not have bought a rutland in the first place ! Seen 3 new ones all fail for different reasons within 6 months old, and they are very noisy

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I had a Rutland 913 generator; they are good generators, and have been used in the Antarctic to power remote, unattended scientific equipment. I gave mine up for several reasons, but the main one was very simply that in a marina, the output was practically nothing for 99 days out of 100! They don't start to generate until the windspeed is above 15 knots (manufacturer's figure, not mine); in the shelter of a marina it rarely gave anything. Under some circumstances, it made a lot of noise - not on deck, but there was a resonance with some part of the boat's structure that made a lot of noise below decks. I have replaced it with a 100watt solar panel lashed to my guardrails so it faces south, and the difference is like chalk and cheese. Even on a dull day I get something into my batteries, and I always arrive at the boat to find the batteries fully charged. I'm not living aboard, so I don't know how it would do keeping up with that sort of load, but it's a far better investment than the wind generator was.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I would not have bought a rutland in the first place ! Seen 3 new ones all fail for different reasons within 6 months old, and they are very noisy

I'm surprised at that; they were selected for use with unattended equipment in Antarctica because of their high reliability, and they are normally quiet (mine got noisy because the bearings were going). In Antarctica they lasted through the winter with windspeeds commonly around 100 knots! For that use, they were slightly derated by removing three blades from the turbine.

 

[Rappey]

were slightly derated by removing three blades from the turbine.

That's a clever idea as one of the three I mentioned had a complete interior melt down in strong winds.
The rutland is far from sealed, plastic and appears no seal in front of the bearings. In comparison an aerogen is completely sealed ,built from solid aluminium and even has oil seals on the rotary shaft to protect the sealed bearings better. You just remove a cover to access the slip ring brushes on one but the other has to be dismantled to fix a stuck brush .
On the other hand the rutland remote display is very impressive (wg1200 ) being able to see the live amps from solar and wind and watts generated over time.
In portsmouth harbour during winter months the wind generated far more power than the solar.
I have 240w of solar ,mppt and on an overcast drizzly day I'm lucky to see an amp.
Location is everything .

 

[Blueboatman]

How did you measure the ability of the wind turbine to cover your load?
With a 1m diameter, high output turbine, mine needs a constant 20kts to keep the batteries charged over night. Compared to solar, the Ah output is pitiful. Over a couple of years of monitoring output on a meter, my solar outperforms the wind by a huge factor.
It would seem better to me to add more battery capacity to see you through the night than fit a wind turbine. Far cheaper

LED bar display for battery bank voltages as supplied with the charging regulator , could be seen from the companionway

 

[geem]

LED bar display for battery bank voltages as supplied with the charging regulator , could be seen from the companionway

Hmm, not sure that will tell the whole story. I have meter that tells me amps, KWh, volts and watts. What is interesting is that the voltage at the wind turbine is always higher than that at the batteries. Not sure if it's a volt drop issue but suspect not as my system is 24v using large cables.
I know that my turbine has one of the best outputs of any but it's still pretty naff.

 

[Daydream believer]

No one has mentioned a Watt & Sea generator.
Expensive. But are they worth it?

 

[Laminar Flow]

I'm surprised at that; they were selected for use with unattended equipment in Antarctica because of their high reliability, and they are normally quiet (mine got noisy because the bearings were going). In Antarctica they lasted through the winter with windspeeds commonly around 100 knots! For that use, they were slightly derated by removing three blades from the turbine.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll keep that in mind should my wife and I, however unlikely, decide to overwinter in the Arctic in our Watson. Until then we'll try to get by with our current solar setup.

 

[Blueboatman]

Hmm, not sure that will tell the whole story. I have meter that tells me amps, KWh, volts and watts. What is interesting is that the voltage at the wind turbine is always higher than that at the batteries. Not sure if it's a volt drop issue but suspect not as my system is 24v using large cables.
I know that my turbine has one of the best outputs of any but it's still pretty naff.

Absolutely
But, it works ( worked) well enough ?

Some years earlier I removed a clever battery monitor system that in theory counted amps in vs amps out and amps being used now . But I prefer a simple battery voltage reading to show state at rest . And some indication of a higher voltage being achieved by engine alternator , solar, wind . Good enough it was for me for many many years

 

[LadyInBed]

I would not have bought a rutland in the first place ! Seen 3 new ones all fail for different reasons within 6 months old, and they are very noisy

The market was much narrower 20 years ago.
I only had one failure in the 20 years, that was a rectifier diode. I replaced all of them with higher voltage rated ones at about 40p a throw.

 

[Stemar]

I'm firmly in the Go Solar camp. Flexible panels tend to be fragile, though I understand the latest ones are better, but rigid panels should last for 20+ years with no more maintenance than an occasional wash.

A friend is a bit of a geek about such things, and he looked at average wind speeds on the S coast and the expected output of his Rutland wind gen, and average solar output from about 100w of panels. The panels gave several times as much power.

 

[Gerry]

We have had a KISS wind generator for over twenty years. Rebuilt it once, about eight years ago. New set of blades and bearings. Don't even know if they make it anymore but its been a terrific bit of kit. Brilliant in the Caribbean and pretty ok in the UK. As others have said very limited at low wind speeds and over 30 knots when it will just freewheel. In addition we have 300watts of solar. Between the two that makes us pretty much self-sufficient for power. Always amazed how efficient the solar panels are even in very low light UK winter conditions. Would definitely keep the two options going.