Wind Generator Shopping

[tkwhalen]

I've begun wind generator shopping research reading etc. My main objective is spread out the time between generator runs allowing for a longer over night sleep. I have 2 frigs and 2 freezers on board running them along with my anchor light and cabin fans I hit 11.9 volts about 6AM after going to bed at 11PM with a full charge. I don't really want to expand my battery bank so I'm intrigued with a wind generator that may give me and the crew a few hours more sleep. I've sailed on boats with wind generators many years ago and they were very noisy. So I'd like to find one that is as quite as possible. All that said what brands / models have you had or experienced and what were the pros and cons. Would you recommend the model you bought and avoid the next time around. Ever time I read on line reviews the top 5 or 10 models listed are always completely different. So I figured I be better off getting ideas from the group.

 

[Rich Stidger]

Everything is a compromise. I have an Air-X 400 watt unit. I bought it many years ago before solar became more efficient and more affordable. If I was making a purchase today I would go with solar rather than a wind generator. Run a pro/con list for both types of systems to help decide.
The Air-X is a bit noisy but if you have lots of wind over 20 kts it will put out a lot of power. It does nothing below 8-10kt. I have always been disappointed in the overall output due to the average winds that I experience. But it will generate overnight with wind while solar does nothing.
I bought the Air-X because my boat was on a mooring and I wanted a power source that would top off my batteries between weekends so I would not have to run my generator for hours before leaving for a week. It worked perfectly for that task. But it was just a top-off, I wasn't running loads.
Probably the best setup would be both wind and solar, but that was not your question.
Look very carefully at the wind profile in your area so that your expectations are satisfied. Air-X makes a 200 watt unit that is supposed to begin charging at a lower wind speed than the 400 watt unit I have. If your winds are in a lower range you could do much better with the smaller unit with winds that are mostly below 20 kts.
As for what wind generators are the quietest, I only have experience with the Air-X.
BTW, these wind generators are not maintenance-free. You can expect to replace bearings and possibly blades every 5-8 years.

 

[All U Get]

I would just echo what Rich said. Unless you have steady, clean air above 12 kts there is little power from a wind generator. If you’re anchored out chances are you’ll be swinging back and forth again disturbing any constant power generating. We’ve found ours doing the best generating during storms where wind speeds were around 20 kts for several hours, but the noise level increases also.

The maintenance is another factor which means you have to inspect it as part of the annual routine. We’ve replaced bearings, internal wiring, and controllers on ours. There is also the charging brain factor (for lack of an official term). With several different charging systems, one system will be charging while the other is on idle. (Wind generator running while motoring all day at 6 kts. Either the wind generator is producing 1 or 2 amps and the main engine alternator is idle, or the main engine is producing a lot of amps and the wind generator brake is on all day….for example). I tie our blades off now when we travel.

For the same money, you can get a lot of solar and it’s quiet.

 

[tkwhalen]

Agree with all your input and understand the limitations I'm facing but my current sole objective is more sleep at anchor. In a couple of years I plan to move the boat south from the great lakes; at that point I will be shopping solar and long term cruising solutions and the wind generator will become secondary. The 2 I'm looking at (Eclectric Energy D400 and marine kinetex MK4+) both claim they are quite and have low start up speeds and claim to start charging at 7-8 knots, low watts, but charging. If the claims are true that would extend my sleep at anchor about 50% of the time. All that said I still take any advice folks have

 

[ice breaker]

Might be time for more batteries too.

 

[John Nantz]

We've had a wind generator for over two decades and it has been very useful. This is in combination with the alternator and a couple 130W solar panels. Sometimes we're overpowered but with three means of power generation we haven't had a problem running all our electrical devices. And there are a lot! Refrigeration, forced air heat, computers, lights, hair blowers, ..... you name it.

Like many here, the solar panels are really helpful to capture power from the sun ... during daylight hours. Night time? Wind can be a good source. We've had a Rutland 910 wind generator for over 20 years. This is a 6-blade model about 1-meter in diameter that can generate a nice 25W or more.

The Rutland itself, does not make bothersome noise, in my opinion, but your mileage may vary. If it is really windy there will be more noise, but then the sea state will be making a lot of noise too. Several years ago we were anchored out for about three days, west coast of Vancouver Island, and had 2 to 3-ft wave rolling through the inlet. So, yea, it made more noise but all the other noise (whistling in the rigging, waves, etc.) was much worse. In the meantime we had all our lights on, refrigeration, forced air heater, radio, etc. running. Even used a 600W hot plate instead of the CNG and dumped excess power into the hot water heater via the inverter. Speaking of which, I remember coming across a water heater

The mounting setup is something to look at because this is where noise can be telegraphed to the boat. We had ours on pole, stern rail mounted, with a couple diagonal braces and it worked fine. This is an area where a little bit of isolation can help mitigate vibration noise if there is any.

The controller is an important part of the system and a MPPT type would be preferable for when there is low output. Running it when sailing to weather is great for good output! The MPPT controller should be capable of handling the wattage output.

For your situation it seems a wind generator would be a good solution.

 

[seadaddler]

I recently was looking at wind Gen for same reason multi ref that we have and wanted charging at night when not getting solar panel charging at night and after thinking big investment for wind Gen and than maybe no wind at night and was told by a few sailors that yes quiet but vibration from mounting poles is a bigger problem and one guy told me vibration kept guest up in rear berth.
I decided to add 2 more 6 volt batteries to my already have 4-6 volt T-105’s and so far working good and do run my Gen before going to sleep.
Nick