AirX Wind Generator

[Doryman]

I recently discovered the Air X Marine Wind Generator and thought that it might be a better way for those of us in the cloudy PNW to recharge our house batteries. The unit will take up to 110 mph so should be OK at C-Dory speeds.

Thoughts?

Warren

 

[flrockytop]

And thought I was gadget person... I've seen these on boats before and often how they performed.

Have you activated your SOPT yet? How's it working?

 

[JamesTXSD]

I recently discovered the Air X Marine Wind Generator and thought that it might be a better way for those of us in the cloudy PNW to recharge our house batteries. The unit will take up to 110 mph so should be OK at C-Dory speeds.

Thoughts?

Warren

At C-Dory speeds??? You do have alternators on your motors, don't you, Warren? Sailboats use these wind generators, because they are not running a motor while under sail. Of course, they are effective at anchor if you have some wind blowing... but I don't see the point in using one while underway on a powerboat.

If you are in a marina, you generally have shore power - an even more effective way to recharge your batteries.

So, if you are on a mooring, I could see a reason for one of these. If you anchor out a lot, don't move and don't run your motors, likewise. But, have you ever been at anchor near a boat with one of these wind generators spinning? The promo material on them always mention how quiet they are... in real use, I've not had that experience. :disgust Whoop, whoop, whoop... all night long (if there's a breeze).

Not on my C-Dory. My 4¢... this inflation is killing me.

Best wishes,
Jim

 

[Doryman]

Thanks for that real-world report, Jim. Did not realize that noise was an issue with them. TANSTAAFL!

Warren

 

[T.R. Bauer]

Personally, I would much rather listen to the subtle wind generator noise than the noise produced by a gas genset.

 

[jlastofka]

I've been on moorings next to people with wind generators. I wouldn't say the sound is subtle. I'd say it's obnoxious. And it's continuous. Hour after hour after hour.....

A modern, small, inverter-style Yamaha or Honda 1000W generator is pretty quiet if it's lightly loaded, as it would be while just charging batteries. And it's likely to only be used a couple hours per day, and hopefully not late into the night unless the owner's inconsiderate.

In spite of what I just said, I'd like to have a wind generator to use somewhere. Home, boat, somewhere. I just like these kinds of gizmos. But I'd be aware of its noise footprint and use it accordingly.

A lot of wind and solar charging devices are rated in Watts. That's roughly the current times the output voltage. The catch is that the output voltage gets reduced to the battery charging voltage, which is somewhat less, so the usable Watts are reduced in the process. Instead of comparing Watt hours produced, we should compare Amp hours put into the battery. That's what we're after. It takes a pretty breezy place to make a wind generator worthwhile. A lot of hours in the 15 kt wind range. We just don't get that in SoCal, unless you're out at the islands a lot. Even then, it's only in some areas, and less in the summer.

Jeff

 

[rogerbum]

I<stuff clipped>

A lot of wind and solar charging devices are rated in Watts. That's roughly the current times the output voltage. The catch is that the output voltage gets reduced to the battery charging voltage, which is somewhat less, so the usable Watts are reduced in the process. Instead of comparing Watt hours produced, we should compare Amp hours put into the battery. That's what we're after. It takes a pretty breezy place to make a wind generator worthwhile. A lot of hours in the 15 kt wind range. We just don't get that in SoCal, unless you're out at the islands a lot. Even then, it's only in some areas, and less in the summer.

Jeff

When one reduces the output voltage to that of the battery charging voltage, this would usually be done with a transformer (or a modern day electronic equivalent thereof). For example, a step down transformer -which reduces voltage- will increase the available amps such that the corresponding wattage remains roughly the same (minus some loss due to resistive heating of the transformer). Typically the energy efficiencies of transformers are >85% for cheap transformers and as high as >99% for commercial units. Bottom line, as long as you adjust the voltage through the appropriate device, watts is still the relevant number.

 

[journey on]

One of the things about a wind generator is that it needs a good deal of wind. Please note that the output of the Air X Marine Wind Generator is 50 WATTS (~4 amps @ 13 VDC) @ ~17 MPH of wind. It doesn't reach 100 WATTS (~8 amps) until 20 MPH of wind. Both from their spec sheet. Since C-Dorys are power boats, I assume that one would want this output at anchor. I submit that that those wind speeds through an anchorage are not too common and somewhat uncomfortable.

At $1350 for the Air X Marine Wind Generator it seems that a small Honda/etc. gas generator would be a more prudent investment, if one needs charging whilst at anchor. Run it between 9-10 in the morn.

Boris

 

[jlastofka]

Rogerbum,

If you're talking about AC sources then using a transformer to step things down is efficient.

With solar panels and wind generators sold for boats, the specs I've seen show DC open circuit system voltages up around 15 or so, and this gets reduced inefficiently to around 12.5 or 13 at the battery for low rate charging. Not a real big deal, but it can be misleading if a person isn't aware of it while comparing technologies and products.

In the end, when you're talking about boat battery capacity, it's all about amp-hours. That's the most relevant parameter. (assuming we're all talking about 12V batteries)

Jeff

 

[oldgrowth]

A modern, small, inverter-style Yamaha or Honda 1000W generator is pretty quiet if it's lightly loaded, as it would be while just charging batteries.

Jeff - I thought this also, but my Yamaha 1000 has to run at full power to charge the batteries. At low power or economy mode it will only maintain the batteries if they already have a charge. If the batteries are run down or you have a load on the batteries when you are trying to charge them, you need full power.
_______
Dave

 

[captd]

If I remember correctly my Honda 1000 puts out a charge of 8 amps max. It will take more than an hour in the morning to top off your batteries. Deep cycle batteries can not handle the hot charge so plan on running your gen set for hours.
The wind bugger will put out up to 10 amps. Florida and the Bahamas has plenty of wind. I would like one of those toys. On a small boat it would give you a hair cut from time to time. We anchor out for weeks at a time and battery power has always been a problem. Every year it seemed like we always had to buy batteries. I used 3 8D's in the 45 Chris. It is all about amp hours. It takes darn near as long to put power in as it does taking it out.

I am planning on getting two Odysseys, model 2250. I truly believe that they finally got it right. You can cram the power to them and not hurt them. They say an 80% discharge can be back to full charge in an hour if you have a big enough charger. Solar would be the best if there was a good place to mount it on the Ranger.

As far as noise from the generator....By putting a twenty foot hose
( swimming pool hose ) off the exhaust with a float out on the end, sure does quit it down. I could not hear boats anchored with the generator running 50 ft from me. All I could hear was the spitting water. Too bad it would not work with a portable Honda. With my hearing it wouldn't bother me anyway. Mis Dee can hear and she wants me to do the hose trick.

captd

 

[Anonymous]

I've been interested in wind power generation for my boat. I've heard complaints on many forums regarding the Air-X generators and their ilk regarding the noise; particularly in a marina setting.

I'd found a vertical turbine unit that is touted to be particularly quiet; a Seahawk from Pacwind (http://pacwind.net/products.html#sea). The noise specs sounded good to me: Sound (Noise) Pressure Level 4.5 dB (at 5ft).

Might be worth a look for your application.

 

[JamesTXSD]

We use a Honda 2000i to charge the house batteries when necessary. The onboard Guest charger is wussy (technical term), so I use a 3 stage automotive charger (20 amp) and the Honda accessory cable (8 amp) to charge up the batteries... still takes a few hours if the batteries are really low. The Guest charger works fine when you're at a dock with shore-power and have plenty of time. Running almost everyday (which we do) eliminates the problem. If push came to shove, you can always run the outboard locked in neutral with the throttle advanced.

On our previous sailboat, we used solar panels (better in sunny south Texas than the rainy PNW) as our only charging source and never had a problem. I'm just not a big fan of the wind generators; continuously noisy or they aren't doing any good.

 

[journey on]

The Pacwind Seahawk wind generator puts out 1000 watts @ 43 mph, cut in speed is 8 mph. I don't know about anyone else but if I'm in a 43 MPH wind (and I have been) I'm not thinking of charging the batteries. They also require a 30' minimum tower but recommend a 60' tower. It weighs 80#. All from the Seahawk manual. It doesn't appear suitable for marine use.

Regarding using the Honda 1000 to charge batteries: the 8 amps is the 12 VDC output. That's essentially useless. I would think a better way to charge batteries is to get an 20 amp DC (output) AC charger and use the Honda to run that, as JamesTXSD mentions. Actually I have a 40 amp 3 stage charger to charge the golf cart batteries. The charge will start off at ~30 amps and then taper off in 1/2 hr. down to 10 amps. That's when you use the generator econo mode, which is VERY quite. On Journey On, no matter how long we are anchored out, 1 hr/day is adequate, with the 40 amp charger. The water tank empties before the batteries run down.

Wind generators are great when you're sailing in the trade winds, but they just require too much wind whilest at anchor.

Boris

 

[Doryman]

At C-Dory speeds??? You do have alternators on your motors, don't you, Warren? Sailboats use these wind generators, because they are not running a motor while under sail. Of course, they are effective at anchor if you have some wind blowing... but I don't see the point in using one while underway on a powerboat.

I am electrically-challenged, so please make the appropriate allowances. That said, would it make sense to charge the house batteries with the output of the outboard alternators together with a device like the SeaHawk (which seems to address the noise and haircut issues quite nicely, not to mention real estate on the cabintop.) Or can only one be used at a time?

Warren

 

[thataway]

Not only noise, but vibration from the blade type of wind generators.

We use a 30 amp multip stage charger with the honda generator for battery charging--not as pointed out the 8 amp output.
There are way too many practical considerations (such as mounting and limited output at low speeds) to make the wind generators paractical in a C Dory.

There are some cruising boats which have two wind generators and a number of solar cells, in the caribbean--were the wind is nearly constant in the 20 knot range, plus high sunlight capacity and these are barely supplying enough power to have full maintance.

 

[Doryman]

There are some cruising boats which have two wind generators and a number of solar cells, in the caribbean--were the wind is nearly constant in the 20 knot range, plus high sunlight capacity and these are barely supplying enough power to have full maintance.

OK, thanks Bob. Sounds like the benefits of a solar array and/or a wind generator are very minimal, and that running the Honda 2000i for a couple of hours in the morning is the most practical solution.

Warren