Wind Turbine

Well I have been on this energy kick for about 3 months now; really watching amp/hours.* First it was an inverter, then a solar panel came into play but I wished to complete this process.

A new 600 watt wind turbine has been added to our trawler and I'll be giving her a 5 day shake down this week.

i was a little concerned about how it would affect my trawler's profile initially but* Ido now think it makes her more saltly looking......stay tuned for technical performance details in a few days.

*

Damn, but I think yours is bigger than mine, MT.

definitively looking forward to hearing how this works for you.

Mike,***** Not to worry. I don't see how a wind generator could do any damage to your "profile". And I sincerely hope no one ever Moore's their boat near me w one of those things. The sound those things make is worse that a mosquito in the ear. Go w the solar panel and forget the wind gen. In Everett Wa I remember sailboaters seemed to go for those things.

nomadwilly wrote:
...*And I sincerely hope no one ever Moore's their boat near me w one of those things. The sound those things make is worse that a mosquito in the ear. ...

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The guy on the end of our dock has two of those things and man do they make some noise!* hopefully they are producing some electricity as well!!

Our marina, and most others here in Oz, do not allow wind gens on in the marina, and they all come with brake switches. That is why I do allow myself the indulgence of tapping into the shore power just for charging thru a Ctek marine house batt charger which has a start batt top-up charger, as well. That means I can leave the frig (with cold drinks etc) on and still leave the wind gen braked at the dock. Then between engine charge on the move, and wind and solar on the pick, I am self-sufficient for power without a motor driven genny. Out on the pick in an anchorage, the bit of whirring the wind gen makes is much less noticeable than in the confines of a marina and bothers no-one.

We are still working on this project. Am installing an inline amp meter to see what she is producing.
Amazing how quite she is, at about 10 mph you cannot even hear it.

What make of turbine is that, Trader...? I don't recognise it. it is not a Rutland, or an Air Breeze, or any of the other makes that I know. The nearest guess I can make is a Sun Force...?

Peter B,
That rule re wind generators in marinas does that apply down your way as I have never heard of it in any of the marinas on the Qld coast . Bris north that is..
A lot of people lock them out when in marina as they are on shore power but there is no rule governing this.

How does your wind generator perform , are you happy with its output.
I am sticking with solar at present and being a live aboard do like my 240 V equipment so the gen set with back up is a must.
Toaster, coffee makers, microwave/convection etc. and gas for cooking and hot water.

Yes, it woks well, Benn. Very happy with it. I think the rule re wind gennies in marinas is one addressed marina by marina. It is not a blanket thing. However, I know our marina frowns upon it, as there are a number of live-aboards who complain about the noise at night. They, like you, (and me, but in my case for batt charge only), hook into shore power at the dock, so we set our turbines to the braked mode, where it spins, (not rigidly braked), but the power they generate is turned back on themselves by a special switch to act as the brake.
Yes, I love being independent of motor power to keep up with all our power needs out on the pick. And I'm not even a Greenie, really, it just makes good sense, and is quieter. Modern turbines spin quite quietly really. It's all in the blade design - quite a science nowadays. It would be sufficient along with the solar, to run a modest microwave and a coffee maker off an inverter, I would think, however, we use gas for all heating cooking needs - it's quicker for a start. So only lights, radios, bilgies, and frig come off the 12v. We have a small inverter only for topping up laptops at present.


-- Edited by Peter B on Saturday 9th of July 2011 08:57:22 PM

Wind turbine has been installed and it works very well, was producing 10 amps yesterday and about 12 mph winds. And by the way, at 5 mph she flutters a bit, nothing annoying at all. At 10 mph she makes NO NOISE......absolutely quite. Unit is provided with an electronic brake that engages when batteries are full; you can also manually engage it.

MT what I like about them is the way they changed my attitude to wind. Whereas before, having dispensed with sail many yrs ago, I enjoyed wind-free weather. You know, hassles free - no anchoring worries, no wind in the rigging type of thing. Now, when the wind comes up a bit, the last thing on my mind is how much chain I have out, but rather how many amps was that last gust? Free power...I love it.

Mike,

What piece of hardware did you settle on? New or used? What vendor did you buy from? Can we get some close-up pics of the install?

Tom-


-- Edited by GonzoF1 on Monday 18th of July 2011 08:07:41 AM

I was on a mooring all last week on Block Island.

2 moorings away was a sailboat who's owner lives aboard all summer. He had two wind turbines.

Since it is almost always windy at Block, the turbines ran almost non stop the entire week.

Yet...he still fired up his Honda gas generator and ran it a couple hours each morning and evening.

I didn't talk to him, but I'm now of the impression that wind turbines don't do much.

jleonard wrote:
I was on a mooring all last week on Block Island.

2 moorings away was a sailboat who's owner lives aboard all summer. He had two wind turbines.

Since it is almost always windy at Block, the turbines ran almost non stop the entire week.

Yet...he still fired up his Honda gas generator and ran it a couple hours each morning and evening.

I didn't talk to him, but I'm now of the impression that wind turbines don't do much.

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*He may have huge power requirements; a grow op comes to mind....

marinetrader, are you going to give up more info?

i read that wind is much more productive than solar, actually surprised you were only getting 10 amps from the mill at 10 mph wind..

i dunno, would have to experience the noise level before i commit to anything like that.
perhaps you can run it and record a small video from your phone and post it on youtube?

Go see if there is any info on his website.

http://www.paradiseyachtsales.net/index.html (new window)

I am been swamped with boat buyers and sellers of late but have a detailed update with photos and video that I'll be posting shortly....hang with me.

But to answer a few of you, I settled on a Sunforce 600 amp marine wind turbine.

I have been pleased with the unit and the companies email support for my questions was great.

Well I have completed the installation of my wind turbine.* As requested, I have also shot some photos and produced a video.*

You can view them all at the link to my website, Selecting and Installing a Wind Turbine Aboard your Trawler.

Thanks Mike.

thanks for the video, great way to produce energy for sure.
i have heard of a new type wind turbine called a windspire or windsphire.

here is a shot of it, apparently very city friendly and efficient.
i could imagine a similar design would do well on a boat.

What else is needed besides the turbine?
Do you need battery isolators or anything like that?
Do you just put this across the battery treminals?

Thanks in advance.

Tony.....all you need to do is wire the turbine directly to your battery bank. A controller and breaker are placed in the circuit on the "hot" side.

Yesterday I had a good test of the turbine; we has an approaching storm with 15-10 mph winds. I engaged the unit, turned on a some DC lights down below to draw a little amperage to allow the turbine brake to reset then watched. At about 20 mph the turbine was screaming, not loud however, and was producing 12 amps. Nice!

marinetrader wrote:
Tony.....all you need to do is wire the turbine directly to your battery bank. A controller and breaker are placed in the circuit on the "hot" side.

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*These things have come a long way since I thought about them last. At one time you had to get a regulator, isolators etc.

Thanks

*

Yesterday I had another chance to further test the turbine. W had a big storm bearing down on us; I turned on the turbine in 35 mph winds and it pegged the amp meter. We had over 25 amps coming from the unit. By the way, I clocked 57 knot winds in the height of the storm.