Wind Generators...

[southernman 73]

Yep we have 2 x Air X on our boat and they work real good on the new blades. Pete is right though make sure they are rubber mounted otherwise they will drive you mad with vibrations. I've seen up to 25 amps out of ours so far. Wheels you may have had the older version which had the problems you describe but the new ones are pretty good. When we had the old model I played around with the blades and some sandpaper and managed to make them a hell of a lot quieter.

[Fogg 427]

So why don't the manufacturers make them quieter in the first place i.e. do the sanding before selling?!

 

There are some really horribly loud machines aorund. A bit like the original jetskis were noisy as hell but the newer generation machines are almost silent.

[wheels 543]

When we had the old model I played around with the blades and some sandpaper and managed to make them a hell of a lot quieter.

Yes I did the same and it made a massive difference. The sound is more a Hiss than any other noise. Although in a strong gusty wind, the unit can go off direction and the blades will "flutter" loudly. But the noise of the Magnetic pulse when it is working hard will transmit through the pole as Pete said and you must rubber insulate the mounting or it wil drive you nuts. There is also a rubber isolator available, but I found it let the entire machine move around too much.

[Fusion 0]

Yep we have 2 x Air X on our boat and they work real good on the new blades. Pete is right though make sure they are rubber mounted otherwise they will drive you mad with vibrations. I've seen up to 25 amps out of ours so far. Wheels you may have had the older version which had the problems you describe but the new ones are pretty good. When we had the old model I played around with the blades and some sandpaper and managed to make them a hell of a lot quieter.

Yes the Mk2 is the one to have the old model had problems. the AirX Mk 2 puts out about 1 Amp per kt over 5kts I have seen 35 - 40 Amps before it cuts off.

[Guest]

Or consider the Watt & Sea Hydrogenerator.

Theyy have just introduced a new low speed propellor for those who don't own Class 40s and Open 60s.......

[wheels 543]

Jono, KM was telling me about them today. A couple just arrived in NZ and towed it behind them on the way across. They reckon they were getting 20A at 4-5kt of boat speed. Is that possible?? Some more info about it would be very interesting. KM also said the unit was really small. He was most impressed and I think quite interested in one.

[Steve Pope 243]

Wonder if the sharks will take the Hydro Gen props the way they used to gobble up the Walker trailing log ones?

[Guest]

So why don't the manufacturers make them quieter in the first place i.e. do the sanding before selling?!

As I said, "mass produced". The finishing of the blades is something that can only be done by hand which precludes mass production techniques. Rolls Royce to Hyundai.

[wheels 543]

Which when you think of the money they want for the things and that the number one complaint with wind gennies is noise, you would think someone would dress the blades. A new set of blades for the AirX is US$250-290'ish. There are some aftermarket blades that are 30% bigger that are available also. They have been made to solve many problems with the AirX, but even more expensive.

[Island Time 1,239]

want to fix the noise on an airx or air breeze? by new blades here www.silentwindgenerator.com, the difference withquality blades is amazing! They also do a wind gen now that I'd seriously consider if/when our air breeze fails...