I'm looking for experiences and opinions on the quality, quietness, and reliability of large wattage wind generators: Marine Air-X, Aero6gen, Ampair 300, Kiss, etc. Thanks.
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Sure see a lot of the Air X units around. The old air X was pretty noisy in a breeze, but the new ones are supposed to be pretty good. They are probably the most bang for the buck.
Air X
I put an Air-X on our last boat and only used it for a season before we sold the boat. The Air-X puts out a lot of amps if the wind is 15 knots or better. We cruised the Bahamas and the wind seemed to always be 20 or better. Lots of free amp-hours. It made a bit of noise, but you get used to it. It was on the stern of the boat and we slept in the aft berth. In a storm with 30-35 knot winds it was nice to turn the switch off and slow it down. If left on in a big blow, the batteries fully charge and the unit will cycle on and off. It uses a little current to apply the brake and this causes the battery to go accept a charge after 4 or 5 minutes and it turns the generator back on for 30 seconds and on and on. I notice that you have the 420. On ours the diesel genset does a good job of batteries, hot water, etc. As long as the boom is on the 420, you will have to mount the wind generator way off the back of the boat. We have davits there and didn't want to build an arch to do everything. Bill
I put an Air-X on our last boat and only used it for a season before we sold the boat. The Air-X puts out a lot of amps if the wind is 15 knots or better. We cruised the Bahamas and the wind seemed to always be 20 or better. Lots of free amp-hours. It made a bit of noise, but you get used to it. It was on the stern of the boat and we slept in the aft berth. In a storm with 30-35 knot winds it was nice to turn the switch off and slow it down. If left on in a big blow, the batteries fully charge and the unit will cycle on and off. It uses a little current to apply the brake and this causes the battery to go accept a charge after 4 or 5 minutes and it turns the generator back on for 30 seconds and on and on. I notice that you have the 420. On ours the diesel genset does a good job of batteries, hot water, etc. As long as the boom is on the 420, you will have to mount the wind generator way off the back of the boat. We have davits there and didn't want to build an arch to do everything. Bill
Wind Gen.
The Air-X is noisey; in fact all wind generators are noisey to a degree but the Air-X is more so then most. Investigate the RUTLAND & the KISS generators. I had a Rutland two years ago on a Bahamas trip that got as far as Key West. The Rutland is a nice looking unit that is very quiet in winds up to 15 knots or so. It's other advantage is that it starts charging in very low winds speeds. However, the unit does not have a break and the manufacturer recommends to not tie it off claiming that it has been tested in "hurricane force winds". It worked great and I had no problem with it during the year I had it on my boat. I should point out that during a three day 35-40 knot blow in Georgia I was ready to throw the thing overboard about day 2 because of the hum radiating through the boat. I elected to tie it off. I understand from people who are versed in such matters that the KISS is the one to get for overall output. I don't know much about the KISS but if I were looking again I would look at that unit first.
The Air-X is noisey; in fact all wind generators are noisey to a degree but the Air-X is more so then most. Investigate the RUTLAND & the KISS generators. I had a Rutland two years ago on a Bahamas trip that got as far as Key West. The Rutland is a nice looking unit that is very quiet in winds up to 15 knots or so. It's other advantage is that it starts charging in very low winds speeds. However, the unit does not have a break and the manufacturer recommends to not tie it off claiming that it has been tested in "hurricane force winds". It worked great and I had no problem with it during the year I had it on my boat. I should point out that during a three day 35-40 knot blow in Georgia I was ready to throw the thing overboard about day 2 because of the hum radiating through the boat. I elected to tie it off. I understand from people who are versed in such matters that the KISS is the one to get for overall output. I don't know much about the KISS but if I were looking again I would look at that unit first.
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