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US RV As-is · 03-31-2018, 01:29 PM

I am thinking of an add on wind generator to charge my batteries on those rainy/cloudy days. I have four 6v batteries I charge on a 100w solar panel and works fine by me, but if I want to watch TV on a cloudy night or if its too windy for a camp fire, I would be watching a movie and the flat screen or batteries last about 3-4 hours. So I am thinking wind mill as well, I understand the process but one problem I can't solve. Where do i store it without damaging the blades? I don't want to have to screw on/off blades to store it. So RV'ers, show me those video links and pictures on ideas to mount it easy and break it down and store it easy ideas so I can get to my fishing and beer drinking faster rather waisting an hour screwing on blades and mounting, etc. OH and if you want to give me the name or price of yours, thats fine. One last question--- does it matter what size wind generator I get or do I need a specific wattage for my batteries. I see them on amazon for about $200-$300 and thats a good price for me and they are all about 400 watts. Does it matter if i have four 6v batteries versus a 12v battery?

twogypsies · 03-31-2018, 01:51 PM

That's a lot to go through to watch a movie!

BuzzWolfAR · 03-31-2018, 02:00 PM

I knew alot of people who had wind generators on sailboats. All hated the noise they create. Be careful.

450Donn · 03-31-2018, 02:13 PM

Your going to need a tall pole, guy wires and a lot of open ground for a wind generator to be of much good. Why not add more solar? I have 250W on my roof and even on semi cloudy days I have enough power to run the furnwce and watch TV

keymastr · 03-31-2018, 11:08 PM

I agree, you will hate the noise and vibration of a wind generator. More solar is needed for sure. If the 100 watt panel is your only means of charging you can't use much power and your batteries will never get full.

US RV As-is · 03-31-2018, 11:30 PM

Because soloar does not work at night or on cloudy/rainy days

US RV As-is · 03-31-2018, 11:32 PM

I doubt it would be any louder than my flags flapping in the wind when i am tying to sleep

US RV As-is · 03-31-2018, 11:34 PM

you may have something on a cloudy day but what about a rainy day or during the night time? Your reply does not help me on generating through the night

US RV As-is · 03-31-2018, 11:35 PM

they will stay fully charged through out the night with wind? Wont they?

twinboat · 04-01-2018, 04:52 AM

Check the specs of the wind generator before you spend a bunch of money.

You may find, as many boaters have, that its not worth it, unless your in the tradewinds. Most are going to solar, now that its affordable.

If you plan on storing the wind generator, you need to be extremely careful of the fragile blades. One nick, that upsets the balance, and you'll be throwing a rope around it to stop the vibration.

twinboat · 04-01-2018, 05:04 AM

Here are some specs on a 400 watt one.

You need 27 MPH winds to develop 400 watts. A more typical 15 MPH wind develops less then 100 watts.

keymastr · 04-01-2018, 10:35 AM

To make it through the night you just need more batteries. If enough solar is out of reach at the moment a cheap 1000 watt inverter generator will charge the batteries. I got mine delivered from Amazon for $200 and it goes 5 hours on less than 1/2 a gallon. Runs the onboard charger just fine. And it is very quiet.