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Old 01-07-2013, 03:21 PM   #1
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wind generators

I have a question. Been researching and looking into wind generators. .ow with a smaller wind generator how much does it put out on a decent day. Dont start talking amps and what not as i understand somewhat how that goes. My question is what can it power saaaya small fridge ?? Charge a phone??? Run a small fan at night?? Let me know your experiences.
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Old 01-07-2013, 03:33 PM   #2
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All the wind generators I've seen are used to charge the batteries. I've not seen one dedicated to running something like a fan or fridge.

Don't forget solar as a duplicate option for a power source to charge something.
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Old 01-07-2013, 03:39 PM   #3
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I understand batteries i guess im asking over the period of a day what could i run?? I plan on living off the grid for up to a week or two so alternative energy is a necessity and a must so im not stranded. Also capturing rain water. Thats another topic though
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Old 01-07-2013, 03:41 PM   #4
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I had a wind generator on the sailboat, but took it down (sold it to another cruiser in Isla Mujeres) and replaced it with a couple of solar panels. At night, when the wind would pick up, it would sound as if a jet airplane were warming up on deck. And, as previously indicated, you would only want to use a wind generator to charge batteries, as the output is too unreliable to run an appliance directly. Solar panels are cheap these days, thanks to the Chinese.

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Old 01-07-2013, 03:57 PM   #5
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Noise really don't bother me to much, just wondering if they really help all that much, i mean they will save my ass im sure bc ill drain the batteries a few times im sure.
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Old 01-07-2013, 04:07 PM   #6
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I had one on my sailboat and yes, in the tradewinds it did run the small NovaCool fridge. No ice made and just beer and uncooked fish. The wind generator was a AirX brand which I got from Northern Tool Co. rated @ 400W @ 28mph.
Out of the tradewinds, I think not. 1) The problem is that without steady winds the batteries will start to run a deficit which will be hard to make up without running the engine. 2) The NovaCool can be setup to shut down below a certain battery voltage so you don't ruin your batteries but then you will have warm stuff on windless days. 3) The wind generator would not start below 7.5 MPH so this energy can't be captured at all. 4) The noise both aboard your boat and anchor neighbors boats can be an issue.
That all being said, a cold beer and living off the sea made it worth it for me at that time.
I still have the AirX and I think it was about $500. back in the day.
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Old 01-07-2013, 04:57 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by justinclay View Post
I understand batteries i guess im asking over the period of a day what could i run?? I plan on living off the grid for up to a week or two so alternative energy is a necessity and a must so im not stranded.
Work out 1) what you want/need to run 2)what it draws,3)calculate battery needs. Then go back and modify 1) to suit the amount of battery you can/would actually fit.
Can`t see how wind could power a fridge, with output rising and falling. Solar, combined with battery, definitely can. If you worry about getting "stranded", you need generator backup, be it a built in genset or a Honda type portable.
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Old 01-07-2013, 05:12 PM   #8
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I dont plan on getting stranded but im planing on it just in case. Generator is a great idea and thats why they have them but still want renewable energy to save on costs ya know??
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Old 01-07-2013, 05:52 PM   #9
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A buddy of mine has them on his Sea Ray down in Florida. You can read about them or ask him some questions via his blog at: swingsetonthehook@blogspot.com
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Old 01-07-2013, 06:08 PM   #10
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Thank you jolly.
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Old 01-07-2013, 06:38 PM   #11
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[QUOTE=Can`t see how wind could power a fridge, with output rising and falling. Solar, combined with battery, definitely can. If you worry about getting "stranded", you need generator backup, be it a built in genset or a Honda type portable.[/QUOTE]


I assumed, and there must be, a battery in the circuit. You can get a lot of solar wattage for the price of a wind generator nowadays. Solar, however, uses a lot of space & the wind blows at night too. Solar is just as iffy out of the tropics as wind is out of the trades where it blows 15-20 most of every day.

Thread starter didn't say where he would be operating and asked specifically about wind power.
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Old 01-07-2013, 07:28 PM   #12
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Ok let e break it down for ya. I plan on a command bridge in the higher 20s in length. Preferably its been repowered with a diesel. Im going to start in Illinois on the Illinois river, make my way to the Mississippi river and down to the golf. And from there i haven't decided if I'm going to California or Florida. I wanna be pretty self sufficient. Catching rain water and either a cpl decent panels or wind generators.
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Old 01-07-2013, 07:31 PM   #13
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The German/Portuguese brand "Silentwind generator" will not disturb you at night - silent as a whisper...been through several comparison test and always comes out at the top. Works 24 hours ....if windy...

It comes with its own controller that also has an input for solar panels - so it's easy to team up with a solar panel or two (recommend the German brand "Sunware" - which is flexible and can be shaded without loosing charging due to excess number of solar cells).

This way you will have the best chances of keeping your batteries topped up..
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Old 01-07-2013, 07:31 PM   #14
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Brooksie, I can see a combination of all 3 (solar/wind/battery) covers all bases. What I had in mind was the ability to power something directly off a solar controller instead of via the battery, though I think the appliance still gets supplementary flow from the battery if solar generation is inadequate, until the battery reaches a set point. I just could not see powering say a fridge by wind alone, but via a battery,yes. Wind and sun both come free once you buy the capture equipment, I like my solar as much as my batteries do.
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Old 01-07-2013, 07:48 PM   #15
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Very good imput. I also dont want a cluttery mess. So whats the better option. Sometimes here in illinois region we have cloudy days.....and calm days. Usually theres always wind
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Old 01-07-2013, 07:54 PM   #16
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The German/Portuguese brand "Silentwind generator" will not disturb you at night - silent as a whisper...been through several comparison test and always comes out at the top. Works 24 hours ....if windy...

It comes with its own controller that also has an input for solar panels - so it's easy to team up with a solar panel or two (recommend the German brand "Sunware" - which is flexible and can be shaded without loosing charging due to excess number of solar cells).

This way you will have the best chances of keeping your batteries topped up..
Absolutely right. I use a combination of Airbreeze wind genny and Uni-solar flexible panels, which therefore don't have to be huge because of the wind genny. We went for this to be all 12v - no AC power used when underway. We can run 12v frig and all lights and equipement, (propane for cooking), and still the batts stay topped up, even after days at anchor without any engine charging - which we also have of course.
Suggest you search for previous posts of mine re this set-up Justinclay
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Old 01-07-2013, 07:57 PM   #17
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thank you
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Old 01-07-2013, 08:52 PM   #18
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Probably a bayliner ciera, yes i know thats nlt.a command but a little more roomy. Anyways thanks for everyones imput its greatly appreciated
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Old 01-08-2013, 04:43 AM   #19
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ill drain the batteries a few times im sure.

First thing to purchase and install is a SOC meter.

A State of Charge meter is like a gas gauge for the batt bank, watches the juice leave and get pushed in from any source .

KILLING batts is really bad as they shrink in overall capacity every time!

Trojan 6V golf cart batts are $90 each here and should go 5 years of intelligent use, A SOC meter will help protect the batt life.

Here is one , there are many others,

Bogart Engineering | manufacturer of the TriMetric battery monitor ...

www.bogartengineering.com/

I would go to the Trojan web site and read about how many cycles you can expect from a bank.
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Old 01-08-2013, 06:57 AM   #20
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Yea ive read all abkut the batteries. Thats why i was thinking of hooking up a wind generator up to a battery by itself and running bs stuff aith that cell phones, beer fridge, little fan and so on.
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