In trying to avoid a diesel generator I have been looking at wind generators and or coupled with solar panels. Does anyone have any recommendations? I understand that they can potentially be quite dangerous or excessively loud in high winds. I find the engine noise bad enough but hate a genset even more in a nice quiet anchorage. Help!
- Status
re Rutland 910 experiance
To answer your concerns re: "potentially be quite dangerous" - this is true. If you stick your hand or head into a spinning propeller it will probably hurt. However, if the companies that make them ever get sued due to this type of action I'm sure they will either quit making them or put a fine screen shroud over the blades to prevent a reoccurance. But, of course, then they wouldn't work very well. Other than that, I can't think of any other "dangerous" item. Maybe someone else can come up with something. re "excessively loud in high winds": There are two parts to this; one is the mounting system and the other is the generator unit. Our Rutland 910 is reasonably quiet even under very high winds - makes a high pitch sound caused by the blades passing the wind. But we can sleep fine in the aft cabin while it's whirring away with no problem. Mounting system: Some setups will transmit noise and vibration to the boat much more than others. My first setup made the wind generator sound like a Mustang at the Reno air races. The one we have now, which is not much different, is noticably much quieter. Using both wind generators and solar panels is a good combination and I think a good way to go. Hope this helps.
To answer your concerns re: "potentially be quite dangerous" - this is true. If you stick your hand or head into a spinning propeller it will probably hurt. However, if the companies that make them ever get sued due to this type of action I'm sure they will either quit making them or put a fine screen shroud over the blades to prevent a reoccurance. But, of course, then they wouldn't work very well. Other than that, I can't think of any other "dangerous" item. Maybe someone else can come up with something. re "excessively loud in high winds": There are two parts to this; one is the mounting system and the other is the generator unit. Our Rutland 910 is reasonably quiet even under very high winds - makes a high pitch sound caused by the blades passing the wind. But we can sleep fine in the aft cabin while it's whirring away with no problem. Mounting system: Some setups will transmit noise and vibration to the boat much more than others. My first setup made the wind generator sound like a Mustang at the Reno air races. The one we have now, which is not much different, is noticably much quieter. Using both wind generators and solar panels is a good combination and I think a good way to go. Hope this helps.
Where will you be using your wind gen, Steve?
Given where you & John are both located, I would think neither wind nor solar will make substantial, consistent DC for you. I second John's criteria and especially his caution about proper insulation from vibration, and will add one more: think about long-term service and product upgrade path for any wind gen products you consider. E.g. if considering a Rutland, research whether USA product support is a one-family distributor or offers 24/7 & email access, and what kind of parts inventory and repair turnaround applies to that choice. Don't rely on generic comments about specific brands either, as even a specific model & brand may have periodic mods and one generation of product may not predict your experience. Instead, talk to folks like John and solicit known results applicable to your expected use and cruising area. Better yet, visit a few boats and look at the installations, and evalute for yourself noise levels & amp outputs. We chose an AirMarine unit because it was about the only lightweight but high-output product and I wanted to mount it on the mizzen masthead. I eliminated almost all the noise by sanding the blade surfaces, leading/trailing edges and especially the tips with 320 grit sandpaper and then waxing the blades. The new Air-X does produce less noise than the 403 models, as I understand it, but this effort with the blades would likely still prove worthwhile. One speculative comment: If you're finding your weekending & vacation cruisng is not supported by your house bank(s) capacity, there may be other ways to address this than simply buying more hardware...and especially something as intrusive and expensive as a generator. I'd encourage you to diligently do an energy budget (using a Link monitor or perhaps by temporarily adding a digital VOM, if need be) and look carefully at what consumes how much DC over the course of an appropriate period of time. The goal would be to determine if consumption can be reduced, before power generation is added. Also, are you sure you have the right battery bank capacity for your needs? While simply adding more battery capacity usually replaces one set of problems for another, perhaps you might benefit by a larger bank capacity for a given footprint. Just a thought... Jack
Given where you & John are both located, I would think neither wind nor solar will make substantial, consistent DC for you. I second John's criteria and especially his caution about proper insulation from vibration, and will add one more: think about long-term service and product upgrade path for any wind gen products you consider. E.g. if considering a Rutland, research whether USA product support is a one-family distributor or offers 24/7 & email access, and what kind of parts inventory and repair turnaround applies to that choice. Don't rely on generic comments about specific brands either, as even a specific model & brand may have periodic mods and one generation of product may not predict your experience. Instead, talk to folks like John and solicit known results applicable to your expected use and cruising area. Better yet, visit a few boats and look at the installations, and evalute for yourself noise levels & amp outputs. We chose an AirMarine unit because it was about the only lightweight but high-output product and I wanted to mount it on the mizzen masthead. I eliminated almost all the noise by sanding the blade surfaces, leading/trailing edges and especially the tips with 320 grit sandpaper and then waxing the blades. The new Air-X does produce less noise than the 403 models, as I understand it, but this effort with the blades would likely still prove worthwhile. One speculative comment: If you're finding your weekending & vacation cruisng is not supported by your house bank(s) capacity, there may be other ways to address this than simply buying more hardware...and especially something as intrusive and expensive as a generator. I'd encourage you to diligently do an energy budget (using a Link monitor or perhaps by temporarily adding a digital VOM, if need be) and look carefully at what consumes how much DC over the course of an appropriate period of time. The goal would be to determine if consumption can be reduced, before power generation is added. Also, are you sure you have the right battery bank capacity for your needs? While simply adding more battery capacity usually replaces one set of problems for another, perhaps you might benefit by a larger bank capacity for a given footprint. Just a thought... Jack
Noisy!
Where we have our mooring in Cat Harbor, Catalina Island, there are many boats with wind generators because of the predictable 15 knot afternoon wind. However, I have noticed a trend to more solar and Honda gas generators. In some respects, I'd rather have an hour of a Honda next to me than the wind generator howling all day. However, some are a whole lot noisier than others. Rick D.
Where we have our mooring in Cat Harbor, Catalina Island, there are many boats with wind generators because of the predictable 15 knot afternoon wind. However, I have noticed a trend to more solar and Honda gas generators. In some respects, I'd rather have an hour of a Honda next to me than the wind generator howling all day. However, some are a whole lot noisier than others. Rick D.
Thanks for Responses
Thank you everyone for the advice. It sounds as if I need to reevaluate my entire electrical supply system before diving in head first!
Thank you everyone for the advice. It sounds as if I need to reevaluate my entire electrical supply system before diving in head first!
not in a marina
we have a couple of boats on our dock that have them. the people are never there. there is shore power available at the slip. if i ever see these inconsiderate people, i will let them have it. the noise is deafening at times. while it may be possible to sleep below when there is one on your boat, it is no fun at all to sit in the cockpit while a boat next to you just WHINES all the time!!!
we have a couple of boats on our dock that have them. the people are never there. there is shore power available at the slip. if i ever see these inconsiderate people, i will let them have it. the noise is deafening at times. while it may be possible to sleep below when there is one on your boat, it is no fun at all to sit in the cockpit while a boat next to you just WHINES all the time!!!
Ampair
Steve.. My boat suffered a fire in the engine compartment before I bought, had an ampair 100 and solar panel on it. The fire fused the wires from the Ampair together and it sat that way for over a year. I hooked it up through a new regulator and it worked fine (will produce power in any wind thus the need for a regulator with a diverter plus you need one if using both wind gen and solar panel). It is super quite in any wind. It will still produce power with one or two blades missing (haven’t tried that yet). My only complaint is vibration transmitted to the boat. I have an aft cabin and wakes me sometimes, more often in gusty winds. See link for Ampair web site..
Steve.. My boat suffered a fire in the engine compartment before I bought, had an ampair 100 and solar panel on it. The fire fused the wires from the Ampair together and it sat that way for over a year. I hooked it up through a new regulator and it worked fine (will produce power in any wind thus the need for a regulator with a diverter plus you need one if using both wind gen and solar panel). It is super quite in any wind. It will still produce power with one or two blades missing (haven’t tried that yet). My only complaint is vibration transmitted to the boat. I have an aft cabin and wakes me sometimes, more often in gusty winds. See link for Ampair web site..
- Status