Wind Generators

[Bowtie Jim]

Why not?
Seems like a simple solution to supplement a solar setup. Could you have both without it taking a 8 year graduate of solar and wind technology to make it work?

I'm just throwing this out there because I'm curious about a wind generator.
A friend had one on a very remote hunting cabin and it worked well . We had lights , satellite TV, Pump setup similar to an RV for water. It all ran off the wind.

[John Hilley]

It can be a good supplement to solar. takes a pretty good wind to work. There are some new designs that work fairly well and aren't too expensive. Nice if you are staying for awhile and can set up transportable tower of some tyoe. Are pretty noisy. Lots of YouTube videos on them.

[twinboat]

I moored in Boot Key Harbor for 7 years.

As time went on, wind generators were taken down and replace with solar panels.

The wind generators were noisy and very sensitive to vibration. We could hear them on boats anchored 3 boats away.

The smallest chip in a blade set them off, creating a vibration thruout the hull.

In storm conditions they needed to be tied off to prevent overspeed.

Most list their max output at 20 MPH winds. Doesn't sound like much but a steady 20 MPH wind is actually a pretty strong wind.

[ByeTheWay]

Yep, vibration mounting and storage is an issue


When you get a solar system that works, you forget about all the problems. I get full from solar even on a cloudy/overcast day.

[Alina-Simon]

Newer technologies allow lower start-up speeds, less noise, and they'll actually apply the brakes when wind speeds get too high.
The problem is that they're HUGE. For a cabin, you can just put up a big pole and leave it there, but in an RV, disassembling your rotor every time to fit into your storage is a pain.

Solar is obviously a great option, but you need a lot of it to be sufficient for long-term boondocking, especially in varying weather, where you may need heater or AC, or may have several days of cloudy or rainy weather, where your solar won't recharge your batteries fully. More battery capacity helps, but you want to recharge them too, which takes longer, the more battery capacity you have to fill back up...

I am keeping my eyes open for something I can "somewhat" easily take down and put in a storage bay (the vertical type seems best for this), but most come from China and are garbage.

And that's the biggest issue now, so much worthless stuff pouring in from China (Alibaba, AliExpress, ...) claiming 400-1000W, but under testing seems to yield 4-5W of power... May be a bad setup, but likely the actual generator used in these kits is just not good.

[Tombsy]

I’ve seen them used in the storage yard where I used to park to keep batteries charged. It’s an alternative to pulling the batteries out for the winter as solar doesn’t work too well in a couple feet of snow and we usually have some wind here in the foothills.

[Rocky ARV]

We saw this Travato at Crazy Horse Memorial earlier this month. Wind generator plus solar.

[Rocky Larson]

When I looked into them years ago they required a hefty wind to spin them at a rate that produced serious amperage. I bought a third solar panel instead.
Also if it is going to be that windy I'm not hanging around anyway.

[twogypsies]

Solar's the best overall!! Trying to rely on wind is iffy; plus the noise. Even on cloudy days our solar kept the batteries up. We even stayed in Glacier Nat'l Park in 5 days of rain and still had solar working.

[Gammel]

Seems a solution in search of a problem. Our new 21' ORV has two 170 watt panels that are more than sufficient. That said we haven't tried using them in the Pacific Northwest in November. That's why we also have a genny. Seems like setting up a windmill would be a PITA.

[GypsyCoder]

Just saw this out today, completely different design and designed to work in low air speeds. Not quite a product to buy yet, but look easier to do than solar and works when the sun is not shining, like at night.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...fe-wind-energy

And a news article about it, but you can get all the info on the kickstarter page

https://www.euronews.com/living/amp/...e-in-the-world

[twinboat]

That thing is bigger then a oil drum. Not real portable.