What about wind generators?

Hello fellow TFers!
I often see threads about solar but few about wind generators.
I saw some cheap one for around 300 to 400$ and 400w max rating but around 4 feet diameter so taking quite some real estate.
Anybody with something similar aboard?
Is this something to look at or to forget?
The way I see it is that there is no one fit all answer and that all renewable energy sources like solar and wind are complementary but would like to get your input so let go your comments on this!

L

Lou,they could be used to complement solar, or stand alone. If it`s not sunny it`s probably windy. Noise is a factor, both for you and the neighbours, I think noise levels vary. To my observation more often seen(and heard) on sailboats. PeterB has one, perhaps he will contribute.

Hey Lou, last year I saw this one in Lund and you could not hear it. I was amazed. Little pricey but its always breezy here in the PNW....


Micro Wind Turbines manufactured by Eclectic Energy Ltd | Wind and water power generation manufacturer shop

Wonder what the total cost of that unit would be with wiring, controller and such?
The unit alone is $1,500

Bay Pelican has a Seabreeze unit. We we able to dinghy through an Eastern Caribbean anchorage where every other sailboat had a wind generator and select the then quietest unit. Installed it myself. Bought a tripod stand which i bolted to the upper deck. With the winds in the Eastern Caribbean the unit paid for itself in three years by reducing generator usage substantially. Its a small quiet unit but it generates a consistent 6 amps per hour and sometimes much higher.

Usually very low outputs on the smaller, cheaper ones until the wind speed gets to 15 knots or so....may be getting better.....but not worth it to me yet.

But borderline....often the windy days here along the US Atlantic seaboard arent great solar days so 5 more amps might help.........but generally the genset will be run anyhow for hot water once a day so well planned you are only talking another 15 minutes or so grenset running in my setup.

Know some folks with these, very quiet, and it's the whole kit with controller for 1500.

MarineKinetix MK4+ - The best marine wind generator

On my river we rarely have less than 5 knots of wind, it occurs sometimes but usually we have between 4 to 6 knots all the time, a more windy day being 10 to 15 knots.
Was wondering about the efficiency of such wind turbines. Also they are coming in 12 and 24 volts, is it better to have directly 12 or to convert from 24 to 12?

L

As Nigel Calder says, "A wind generator is a useful addition to your charging system once every square inch of your deck is covered with solar cells." A wind generator puts out relatively little amperage until the wind is 20-25 kt across the deck. At that time you are probably going t be looking for an anchor with more protection, i.e. less wind.

Lou_tribal said:

Hello fellow TFers!
I often see threads about solar but few about wind generators.
I saw some cheap one for around 300 to 400$ and 400w max rating but around 4 feet diameter so taking quite some real estate.
Anybody with something similar aboard?
Is this something to look at or to forget?
The way I see it is that there is no one fit all answer and that all renewable energy sources like solar and wind are complementary but would like to get your input so let go your comments on this!

L

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Don't see them much on Trawlers .... there is really no practical space to install them esp. without giving thought to the overall height of the boat. Clearly the apparent wind created while sailing ( engine off ) makes them more practical on a sail boat. As was stated elsewhere, the small units do not make enough to justify the price. I had a " kiss " at about 52" dia. on my former sailboat. The unit just started to make something ( 3 -4 A ) at about 10kn and then it goes up exponentially, at times I could burry the 30 Amp needle in a 20+ kn blow. It did very little in a protected anchorage.

just my .02 CAD FB

Bay Pelican said:

Bay Pelican has a Seabreeze unit. We we able to dinghy through an Eastern Caribbean anchorage where every other sailboat had a wind generator and select the then quietest unit. Installed it myself. Bought a tripod stand which i bolted to the upper deck. With the winds in the Eastern Caribbean the unit paid for itself in three years by reducing generator usage substantially. Its a small quiet unit but it generates a consistent 6 amps per hour and sometimes much higher.

Click to expand...

I can see them on sailboats in the Caribbean where you have steady trade winds @ 15 kn. Sailboats usually don't have Gen Sets so a steady 6 - 10 A from wind and whatever Solar can do would work. FB

Over the years there were so many complaints about the noise that the mfg gave up some efficiency for a much quieter blase design .

A quality modern unit is fairly quiet but may still vibrate the boat its on.

A big breeze can give a strong charge rate , great if you have electric refrigeration.

Hi Lou.
I have 400w of solar on the bimini of Arcturus with an MPPT controller, and I added a 400w "Ideal" wind generator sold by a local marine retailer. I now have enough power to run our boat on the hook and in fact have removed the genset once it broke down and find for the style of boating we do, anchor for 3/4 days cruise a couple of hours and anchor again, we are completely self sufficient in terms of power. I fitted mine on the aft deck using a galvanised pole bolted to the deck on a bracket so I can lower it easily for any maintenance or low bridges. Our experience is that it is quiet enough for it not to disturb any body around us in a normal anchorage. Our only issue is the harmonics on our own boat where sound travels into our aft cabin after about 15kn of wind from the pole. A sound engineer has suggested filling the pole with sand to deaden the vibration. We will see.
Our normal boating is Sydney Harbour and the Hawkesbury-Pittwater area on the East Coast of Australia. Our boat is moored on a swing mooring and we very seldom come to a marina with shore power so being self sufficient is important to us.
Hope that helps in your thinking of renewabels. See my profile picture for the set up.
John

We looked at adding a couple to supplement solar for living aboard. The curve of power generation made them a waste of money for us. Better to add a battery bank to store more solar. Unless you have consistent winds of 15+ the ones I saw just didn't make much power.

I think it would be difficult to find a good place to put the wind generator on a trawler style yacht, or most motor yachts for that matter, due to the inclusion of large cabins above deck which are absent from most sailing yachts. The optimal place for a wind generator could be on stern quarters however this could present a multitude of issues when you factor in how much the wind generator would extend past the boat's beam.

saw a trawler with the turbine on a 8 foot mast at the bow.... looked strange, but I could get over it...

psneeld said:

saw a trawler with the turbine on a 8 foot mast at the bow.... looked strange, but I could get over it...

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If I was to fit one I would make it removable at the bow. When at the anchor I rarely go to the bow and it would far from my aft deck where we are spending much of the time. The only thing I cannot figure out is where to store it when not in use.

L

Bay Pelican wind generator is mounted on the port side of the upper deck. I used a decent mount with 1/4" rubber pads below feet of mount. Fairly quiet and not a problem when sleeping below.

Bay Pelican said:

Bay Pelican wind generator is mounted on the port side of the upper deck. I used a decent mount with 1/4" rubber pads below feet of mount. Fairly quiet and not a problem when sleeping below.

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You give me some ideas, I could easily fit a mast on my arch port side and mount this above.
What is the size (diameter) of the turbine propeller? Is this a 3 or 5 blade propeller?

L

This is a three bladed unit with a diameter of 46". Lou be careful with the specs on any unit you buy. The Airbreeze units have a start up wind level of 7 kts.

A bow mounted wind unit might help reduce the size of freezer space required..

Depending , fresh bird meat would be available 24/7 , just as fresh flying fish can be had on some ocean passages.

Bay Pelican said:

Bay Pelican wind generator is mounted on the port side of the upper deck. I used a decent mount with 1/4" rubber pads below feet of mount. Fairly quiet and not a problem when sleeping below.

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BP
Does your wind unit have an RPM feathering mode so it doesn't over speed in high winds?

sunchaser said:

BP
Does your wind unit have an RPM feathering mode so it doesn't over speed in high winds?

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Not sure I under "RPM feathering mode". There is a high winds feature on the Airbreeze which I believe just shuts off the generator aspect and which I then think that the blades are free wheeling.

For what it is worth i am happy with my Airbreeze. It was however purchased five years ago. I have not looked at what is currently available and therefore cannot be sure I would buy an Airbreeze today.

I think the current tech is some sort of braking using magnets or reverse power....sorry I know its more complicated but wooped and bedtime.

I had one, noisy and never did see much advantage to it. Took it down. I do have 720 watts of solar however. It is an AirX 400watt with a 5” tripod mast. It was mounted on my hardtop. $35.?

Lou_tribal said:

On my river we rarely have less than 5 knots of wind, it occurs sometimes but usually we have between 4 to 6 knots all the time, a more windy day being 10 to 15 knots.
Was wondering about the efficiency of such wind turbines. Also they are coming in 12 and 24 volts, is it better to have directly 12 or to convert from 24 to 12? L

Click to expand...

tadhana said:

As Nigel Calder says, "A wind generator is a useful addition to your charging system once every square inch of your deck is covered with solar cells." A wind generator puts out relatively little amperage until the wind is 20-25 kt across the deck. At that time you are probably going t be looking for an anchor with more protection, i.e. less wind.

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That's now a bit out of date, Tad. They do better then that generally - anything above about 8kn will generate some output.

Lou_tribal said:

If I was to fit one I would make it removable at the bow. When at the anchor I rarely go to the bow and it would far from my aft deck where we are spending much of the time. The only thing I cannot figure out is where to store it when not in use. L

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Frankly Lou, from my experience, and seeing what others have posted, I would not do it on a boat the size of yours, it would end up a PITA, or someone would get injured. For the cost, investing in a Honda 4-stroke genny would make more sense, as long as carefully placed re the fumes. If I have my time over, knowing what I know now, I would have done that. In our Moreton Bay most of the anchorages are too protected unless one anchors well out, then its not as pleasant for crew. So output not always reliable. As you can see, in my avatar pic, I managed to mount it well out of the way, so that worked. If I had to mount it like you are considering, so you had to dismount it somehow when on the move, I would say a definite NO WAY.

Kite power seems like an interesting source of wind power that may end up an excellent alternative to wind turbines. Here is a video explaining them. It's more future than current, though.

Basically, one kite uses it's lift to unspool its line and turn a generator. When it reaches maximum extension, it's reshaped to reduce lift and the other kite is released to turn the generator the opposite way and retract the first kite.