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Wind Turbines...?


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I think Island Time is the one to talk to re the latest as far as silent operation goes.

From my experience (I have the AirX) you don't get the reported output from any of them unless in a real Gale. I like the AirX because of the built in regulator and it is MPPT, which as far as I know, other makes don't have. With the AirX, there are aftermarket blades available that can greatly improve performance. AirX also make the AirBreeze, which will charge at much lower wind speeds, but does not produce as much current over all.

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Superwind from Whitings are worth a look, they use mechanical speed control rather than electronic . I was considering on of them for a light house in Wellington.

 

we have used a Rutland (sorry Wetdream!) that has worked well, only issue we have had was rust from other tail vane getting into the tail pivot and it not feathering in one of the small breezes we get here, cant comment on noise becuase i'm nowhere near them when they are working at their best.

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Thanks guys. (had a "slutland"...over priced JUNK. never again!). Its amazing the plus and minus reviews and comments about on the various types available...one even said he tossed his AirX overboard! Trademe tossed up a cheap (probably not just in price!!??) chinese made knock off looking thing being sold in Silverdale. ( http://www.aasolar.co.nz/Great%20Watt%2 ... bines.html). Sounds like those chinese "greatwall" toyota copies!!? They say they are 700 watt!!! The chinglish brochure says 400w. They give a 1 year warranty and the chinese makers 3 years!? At $599....still an expensive boat anchor?

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There is a significant performance improvement by fitting a particular aftermarket blade to the AirX. But they are not that cheap for a set and the AirX is not cheap to begin with. But I certainly would not suggest throwing them overboard. They are still up near the top of the list of wind geny's. But I think it may have lost No1 position with the Superwind's arrival. I don't know what kind of regulator the Superwind employs. Many Geny's use an external shunt type load/regulator where excess energy is dumped to a Load to be wasted. The AirX uses an internal regulator and it is MPPT. This means that the best possible power curve to Wind speed to battery load is found. It is quite sophisticated. It also automatically brakes the blade speed when the battery is fully charged and when the wind gets too strong. The Blades also self feather if they spin up too fast. All in all, it is still a very good geny.

The downside of pretty much all wind geny's is that the performance specs are given for them tested in a Wind tunnel and of course we never get such perfect conditions on a Boat.

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Heard lots of good things about Superwind

But not buying so don't know if that relates to price

But you mostly get what you pay for in life.

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The Superwinds are German designed & engineered with some nice features, but they're not cheap & don't seem to produce heaps of power (although to be fair our batteries are playing silly buggers). I'm not sure how smart the controller is but they do have ballast resistors to bleed off power when the batteries are charged. They're certainly quiet as far as wind generators go.

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Yes I have heard....or not heard.... Grinnas wind geny. Um, Just to be clear, that's the Whirly thing on the pole on the stern of the Boat, not Grinna's Stern generating wind. When that happens, it's not so quiet. :wink:

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Hi all, this is my take (and post discussions with IT)

 

Hi have an airX and am happy with it.

It does what it says and is robust. It has also now done the miles.....

I have heard lots of disappointing comments with rutlands...more due to a lack of output. This is not unexpected. their start up speed is very low.

 

So...airX, air breaze, and silent wind.

I am not sure if the air X is now being manufactured.

This if it has happened was due to the fact that the start up speed was higher than what most cruising boats encounter on a day to day situation. What that means is mostly at anchor or in a marina.

The air breaze has a lower start up speed and about half the top end output. A situation that for most boats is better.

The silent wind starts up at a little less than the airX and tops out at about the same, but has a better low down power to wind curve.(to about half way) It is also much more expensive.

It is quieter, due to its blades (which is how the company started.)

 

For me (and me only).. :) I went the airX because I got it very cheap. It provides me with gobs of power when "I need it"....which is when I am sailing in full flight, at night, with all instruments, including radar, on. and plenty of wind......anything less and I will have the motor running so it dosnt matter.

 

At anchor my solar is the only thing I rely on. If the anchorage is good, then the wind speed is not going to be enough for any wind genny (except for a token battery charge).

 

As a final point, there is so many airX out there that spare parts are everywhere. Like an old holden or ford !!

 

If you dont like wind genny noise (I love it) then dont buy one :D

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Looks like AirX then! Who's the best to get one from? I saw no comments on those chinese copies? They have some nice features!!! They say "boat" use but not the magic word "marinised"...600 bucks is I assume a lot less to pay than an AirX?

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Hi Guys, Sorry (well, not really!) I've been out sailing, and outside the cellular area. WD, I sent you a PM. Give me a call if you wan to talk further, technical, selection, whatever. Allways happy to talk boats!

Cheers

Matt

0221539176

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Hi Guys, Sorry (well, not really!) I've been out sailing, and outside the cellular area. WD, I sent you a PM. Give me a call if you wan to talk further, technical, selection, whatever. Allways happy to talk boats!

Cheers

Matt

0221539176

 

 

 

:twisted:

 

We are all awaiting to read your answer/opinion on here! :D

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OK then Ash, here is the gist of it;

 

My experience with wind gens over 15 years and 30,000 miles + is this. (Feel free to disagree, but this is my opinion)

 

What you want is max power output, quiet, and low start-up speeds. + reliable of course!

 

We currently have an Air Breeze. The Air X is no longer in production - we had one of those, and replaced it with an Air Breeze when it (the Air X) exploded off the Ausy coast in 50 Knots. The Braking system failed. The Air X was good (esp in Wellington), and I have seen it produce nearly 40 amps! However, it's startup speed was high, so it only really worked when it was pretty windy, and it was noisy - screamed like a banshee in over 40 Knots, louder than the wind!! Noisy in an anchorage...

 

The Air Breeze, being the replacement for the Air X, was supposed to fix those issues, but at the same time the power output was substantially reduced. This was to circumvent their most common failure - the braking system/electronic control board. The most output I've ever seen out of our Air Breeze is about 15 amps. So it's not fantastic.

 

Both the Air X and the Air Breeze can be substantially quietened by replacing the blades with the Blue ones from Silent Wind. But they are expensive... This is what we did, as, at the time, SilentWind did not yet make a whole generator.

 

However, with the Silent Wind blades, we are very commonly asked why our wind gen is working and or quiet, when another cruisers is not going or noisy. It is rare to be able to hear our wind gen from another vessel at anchor. Of course though, it is not "silent" as the name suggests, just comparatively quiet. The noise level of our Air Breeze, with the Silent blades, is equivalent to the new Silent Wind Gen turbine, which of course comes with these blades!

 

Now, I'd buy their ( Silent Wind) Generator. Max output 450w, (2 x the Air Breeze output) low startup speed and Quiet!! The Silent Wind is a bit pricey, (not the most expensive though) - IMO it's the best there is for practical use, and still cheaper than the Air Breeze with replacement blades... Most of the other brands cannot compete on all three main fronts - Output, Startup speed, and noise. That is why I have chosen this brand to resell now. They are also good to deal with, (service and support)

 

Wind turbines are not the final answer. In the higher Lats, people tend to spend time anchored in spots out of the wind, so get little out of them. In tradewind areas, they are great, and can provide all the power you need. Near the equator they are almost useless - no wind! Combined with good batts and solar panels, they can be a great solution.

 

My Wind Gen section is http://www.neptunes-gear.com/collections/wind-generators

 

Happy to talk to anyone interested...

 

Cheers

Matt

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