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Hello!
I have a 30’ Rawson Ketch based in Bellingham, WA. Thunderstruck 10k and 800ah 48v traction with 800ah 12v house.
I’m interested in finding a good windmill for some assistance in charging while at anchor (can they be safely run while underway?)….
I have a victron 48v solar charge controller (but I struggle to find any good spot on this boat to locate panels). Can I use this to charge from a windmill? It seems like most systems are sold as a complete package and designed to charge 12v house banks. I’d like to charge the traction battery directly. I can charge my 48v from the 12v using the buck converter or the inverter and ac charger but it’s not very efficient.
Any recommendations about windmills?
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I did some research several years ago into wind turbines. I was looking for something to charge my 1,000AH/48v LFP battery. I did find plenty to choose from - most were too large to mount on your boat. I’ll review my research to see if I can find something applicable to your boat.?
There are also hybrid controllers that handle both the solar and wind. In addition, you may need a dump load. If you have an electric hot water heater you can find a 48v element so you don’t throw away the extra energy.?
I found a 3kW unit for $400 including shipping at AliExpress. There are many to chose from.?
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Good morning!
I'm a big fan of wind power and have had Rutland on two different boats. As I'm planning my electric motor conversion, I did some research.
The one I'll be going with is the Rutland 1200 48v Terrain charger. Their tech support people say it's no different from their "marine" 1200 except for being 48v. Their charge controller looks a bit clunky but it does a great job. I do recommend the remote display if you site the controller somewhere that's not super easy to get to because you can shut the wind generator down manually with it.
Because you don't pay VAT, it can be cheaper to buy directly from them and have it shipped.
I'm not certain they sell a mount for the mizzen, but I'm sure you can find something that will work.
Best regards,
Dena Hankins
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I've done a LOT of research on windmills as well and know plenty of people who have actually deployed them and let's just say I don't have a very high OPINION of them. Admittedly anecdotal evidence but everyone I know who has gotten them has not been happy, specifically the ones from Alibaba. Do the math, you're not going to get 3000W from a 3' diameter pinwheel. A 3000W windmill for $400 is Chinese lie.?
Having said that I do believe the concept of windmills is sound and you might be able to find a high end unit that will meet your expectations but it won't be from Alibaba for a couple hundred bucks.?
Capt. Carter www.shipofimagination.com
On Monday, March 6, 2023 at 07:09:09 PM EST, Reuben Trane via groups.io <rjtrane@...> wrote:
I did some research several years ago into wind turbines. I was looking for something to charge my 1,000AH/48v LFP battery. I did find plenty to choose from - most were too large to mount on your boat. I’ll review my research to see if I can find something applicable to your boat.?
There are also hybrid controllers that handle both the solar and wind. In addition, you may need a dump load. If you have an electric hot water heater you can find a 48v element so you don’t throw away the extra energy.?
I found a 3kW unit for $400 including shipping at AliExpress. There are many to chose from.?
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Well said Cap’n. ? As example, an AIR-X or AiR403 is about a 3ft diam. windmill and rated for about 400watt peak (28mph windspeed). Folks get excited about the power rating not realizing how the power drops quickly with wind speed. At half the wind speed, a given windmill’s power output will drop by 78%!? So, even with 14mph wind speed, an AIRX or AIR403 can only be expected to deliver at most 50watts.? I can vouch for that as I have used an AIR403 on my boat and one time with a very strong (~12kts) following wind we were seeing about 50watts of power going into the battery pack.? There was an added benefit: With following winds, the drag on the windmill also helps propel the boat. I have since not used the windmill on my boat as it was a pretty sketchy setup and I tend to be a fair weather boater and avoid windy conditions. ? -MT ?
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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of twowheelinguy via groups.io
Sent: Tuesday, March 7, 2023 8:31 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [electricboats] Recommendations for a windmill/charge controller?? I've done a LOT of research on windmills as well and know plenty of people who have actually deployed them and let's just say I don't have a very high OPINION of them. Admittedly anecdotal evidence but everyone I know who has gotten them has not been happy, specifically the ones from Alibaba. Do the math, you're not going to get 3000W from a 3' diameter pinwheel. A 3000W windmill for $400 is Chinese lie.? Having said that I do believe the concept of windmills is sound and you might be able to find a high end unit that will meet your expectations but it won't be from Alibaba for a couple hundred bucks.? On Monday, March 6, 2023 at 07:09:09 PM EST, Reuben Trane via groups.io <rjtrane@...> wrote: I did some research several years ago into wind turbines. I was looking for something to charge my 1,000AH/48v LFP battery. I did find plenty to choose from - most were too large to mount on your boat. I’ll review my research to see if I can find something applicable to your boat.?
There are also hybrid controllers that handle both the solar and wind. In addition, you may need a dump load. If you have an electric hot water heater you can find a 48v element so you don’t throw away the extra energy.?
I found a 3kW unit for $400 including shipping at AliExpress. There are many to chose from.?
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Had an air-X on my boat.?
Let's get real! Even 15mph is uncomfortable at anchor. Although the generator would out preformed my (at the time 45 watt panel) in a stiff wind, it was anchor watch time.? The rest of the time the panel out preformed.?
My preference is panels, and a good anchorages in windshadows.?
Under way the vortex created a wind speed that would help charge the bank.?
The best and simple answer for voltage control is a clamping controller. That is of course my opinion.?
On Tue, Mar 7, 2023, 9:58 AM Myles Twete < matwete@...> wrote: Well said Cap’n. ? As example, an AIR-X or AiR403 is about a 3ft diam. windmill and rated for about 400watt peak (28mph windspeed). Folks get excited about the power rating not realizing how the power drops quickly with wind speed. At half the wind speed, a given windmill’s power output will drop by 78%!? So, even with 14mph wind speed, an AIRX or AIR403 can only be expected to deliver at most 50watts.? I can vouch for that as I have used an AIR403 on my boat and one time with a very strong (~12kts) following wind we were seeing about 50watts of power going into the battery pack.? There was an added benefit: With following winds, the drag on the windmill also helps propel the boat. I have since not used the windmill on my boat as it was a pretty sketchy setup and I tend to be a fair weather boater and avoid windy conditions. ? -MT ? ? I've done a LOT of research on windmills as well and know plenty of people who have actually deployed them and let's just say I don't have a very high OPINION of them. Admittedly anecdotal evidence but everyone I know who has gotten them has not been happy, specifically the ones from Alibaba. Do the math, you're not going to get 3000W from a 3' diameter pinwheel. A 3000W windmill for $400 is Chinese lie.? Having said that I do believe the concept of windmills is sound and you might be able to find a high end unit that will meet your expectations but it won't be from Alibaba for a couple hundred bucks.? On Monday, March 6, 2023 at 07:09:09 PM EST, Reuben Trane via <rjtrane@...> wrote: I did some research several years ago into wind turbines. I was looking for something to charge my 1,000AH/48v LFP battery. I did find plenty to choose from - most were too large to mount on your boat. I’ll review my research to see if I can find something applicable to your boat.?
There are also hybrid controllers that handle both the solar and wind. In addition, you may need a dump load. If you have an electric hot water heater you can find a 48v element so you don’t throw away the extra energy.?
I found a 3kW unit for $400 including shipping at AliExpress. There are many to chose from.?
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Yeah I’m with you on this I’ve seen a lot of garbage out there.?
I also see a lot of (usually nicer boats) in the marina with wind systems that are spinning like crazy and think, it can’t hurt to find out what it costs for a quality system.?
Thanks!
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On Mar 7, 2023, at 08:31, twowheelinguy via groups.io <twowheelinguy@...> wrote:
?
I've done a LOT of research on windmills as well and know plenty of people who have actually deployed them and let's just say I don't have a very high OPINION of them. Admittedly anecdotal evidence but everyone I know who has gotten them has not been happy, specifically the ones from Alibaba. Do the math, you're not going to get 3000W from a 3' diameter pinwheel. A 3000W windmill for $400 is Chinese lie.?
Having said that I do believe the concept of windmills is sound and you might be able to find a high end unit that will meet your expectations but it won't be from Alibaba for a couple hundred bucks.?
Capt. Carter www.shipofimagination.com
On Monday, March 6, 2023 at 07:09:09 PM EST, Reuben Trane via groups.io <rjtrane@...> wrote:
I did some research several years ago into wind turbines. I was looking for something to charge my 1,000AH/48v LFP battery. I did find plenty to choose from - most were too large to mount on your boat. I’ll review my research to see if I can find something applicable to your boat.?
There are also hybrid controllers that handle both the solar and wind. In addition, you may need a dump load. If you have an electric hot water heater you can find a 48v element so you don’t throw away the extra energy.?
I found a 3kW unit for $400 including shipping at AliExpress. There are many to chose from.?
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I have an unused ?Airx 48v that I never I never installed. Had for probably 8 years. If you think that could work let me know.? -Steve
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On Mar 7, 2023, at 1:14 PM, Ryan Sweet <ryan@...> wrote:
? Yeah I’m with you on this I’ve seen a lot of garbage out there.?
I also see a lot of (usually nicer boats) in the marina with wind systems that are spinning like crazy and think, it can’t hurt to find out what it costs for a quality system.?
Thanks! On Mar 7, 2023, at 08:31, twowheelinguy via groups.io <twowheelinguy@...> wrote:
?
I've done a LOT of research on windmills as well and know plenty of people who have actually deployed them and let's just say I don't have a very high OPINION of them. Admittedly anecdotal evidence but everyone I know who has gotten them has not been happy, specifically the ones from Alibaba. Do the math, you're not going to get 3000W from a 3' diameter pinwheel. A 3000W windmill for $400 is Chinese lie.?
Having said that I do believe the concept of windmills is sound and you might be able to find a high end unit that will meet your expectations but it won't be from Alibaba for a couple hundred bucks.?
Capt. Carter www.shipofimagination.com
On Monday, March 6, 2023 at 07:09:09 PM EST, Reuben Trane via groups.io <rjtrane@...> wrote:
I did some research several years ago into wind turbines. I was looking for something to charge my 1,000AH/48v LFP battery. I did find plenty to choose from - most were too large to mount on your boat. I’ll review my research to see if I can find something applicable to your boat.?
There are also hybrid controllers that handle both the solar and wind. In addition, you may need a dump load. If you have an electric hot water heater you can find a 48v element so you don’t throw away the extra energy.?
I found a 3kW unit for $400 including shipping at AliExpress. There are many to chose from.?
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I might be interested in your airex windmill. Please message me with additional details, your asking price, and present location of the gear. Fell free to email to tvinypsi@....
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Yeah I’d be interested. I am not in a hurry but tell me more??
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On Mar 7, 2023, at 17:11, THOMAS VANDERMEULEN <tvinypsi@...> wrote:
?I might be interested in your airex windmill. Please message me with additional details, your asking price, and present location of the gear. Fell free to email to tvinypsi@....
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We had an airx. I would not recommend wind power. Very noisy, only make power in 10 knots plus, and most anchorages are not windy. When it is windy they do make a good amount of power and noise. Solar worked much better.? Maybe if your in a location with little sun and lots of wind it could be useful. But in my experience in Florida and Bahamas,? solar worked very well. Wind was not needed. I still have the tower/poles and hardware, if anyone is?interested.
On Tue, Mar 7, 2023, 8:16 PM Ryan Sweet < ryan@...> wrote: Yeah I’d be interested. I am not in a hurry but tell me more?? On Mar 7, 2023, at 17:11, THOMAS VANDERMEULEN <tvinypsi@...> wrote:
?I might be interested in your airex windmill. Please message me with additional details, your asking price, and present location of the gear. Fell free to email to tvinypsi@....
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Thanks. I guess that gets back to my question: is it safe to run the windmills when you are underway? ?Googling seems to indicate so?
All the installations I see it looks as if the entire thing is located well out of the way of crew or sheets or sails, but I’m wondering if there are other reasons that it’s simply not a good idea?
Very Correct that you don’t want an anchorage to be windy, but here in Washington it’s not uncommon for evening atavatic winds to come down from the mountains and if you are anchored with the land windward it will blow across the boat but not create uncomfortable rocking near shore.?
But also, if on an eight hour sail I can keep a 400w turbine going at 50% capacity, that’s 200w/48v * 8h = 33.3ah back into my battery. Only 1/24th my total capacity, but since I haven’t been able to fit even 400w of solar panels in a non-shaded location (trouble with ketch rigs - I currently have two small 100w hanging off the stern rails) it’s better than having to always find a marina to recharge. I tend to get less than half that power input out of prop regen if sailing above 4.5 kts or against the tidal current. ?It might also exceed whatever motoring I had to do to get out of the marina or through a countervailing tide etc. I guess if I was always sailing north I could keep solar under the mainsail and it would mostly be well lit. :-). Super interested for the day when we can make sails out out flexible solar material, it will come.?
Range under battery is the reason I get anxious about taking this boat on longer trips like the inside passage. I have backups like nobody’s business including a bunch of extra batteries, small solar generator, and gasoline generator, but that sort of defeats the point. maybe I should just add another 800ah worth of lithium but that’s also another 1000lbs too. I’d have to put them in the bow somewhere to balance the boat.?
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On Mar 7, 2023, at 18:03, Kev <captainyoung@...> wrote:
? We had an airx. I would not recommend wind power. Very noisy, only make power in 10 knots plus, and most anchorages are not windy. When it is windy they do make a good amount of power and noise. Solar worked much better.? Maybe if your in a location with little sun and lots of wind it could be useful. But in my experience in Florida and Bahamas,? solar worked very well. Wind was not needed. I still have the tower/poles and hardware, if anyone is?interested. On Tue, Mar 7, 2023, 8:16 PM Ryan Sweet < ryan@...> wrote: Yeah I’d be interested. I am not in a hurry but tell me more?? On Mar 7, 2023, at 17:11, THOMAS VANDERMEULEN <tvinypsi@...> wrote:
?I might be interested in your airex windmill. Please message me with additional details, your asking price, and present location of the gear. Fell free to email to tvinypsi@....
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Yes, you can run them under way. The only time you could not run them is in very high winds. The pole kit I had is 8ft, if I remember correctly.? It was rather clunky looking on my 27ft boat.
On Tue, Mar 7, 2023, 9:38 PM Ryan Sweet < ryan@...> wrote: Thanks. I guess that gets back to my question: is it safe to run the windmills when you are underway?? Googling seems to indicate so?
All the installations I see it looks as if the entire thing is located well out of the way of crew or sheets or sails, but I’m wondering if there are other reasons that it’s simply not a good idea?
Very Correct that you don’t want an anchorage to be windy, but here in Washington it’s not uncommon for evening atavatic winds to come down from the mountains and if you are anchored with the land windward it will blow across the boat but not create uncomfortable rocking near shore.?
But also, if on an eight hour sail I can keep a 400w turbine going at 50% capacity, that’s 200w/48v * 8h = 33.3ah back into my battery. Only 1/24th my total capacity, but since I haven’t been able to fit even 400w of solar panels in a non-shaded location (trouble with ketch rigs - I currently have two small 100w hanging off the stern rails) it’s better than having to always find a marina to recharge. I tend to get less than half that power input out of prop regen if sailing above 4.5 kts or against the tidal current.? It might also exceed whatever motoring I had to do to get out of the marina or through a countervailing tide etc. I guess if I was always sailing north I could keep solar under the mainsail and it would mostly be well lit. :-). Super interested for the day when we can make sails out out flexible solar material, it will come.?
Range under battery is the reason I get anxious about taking this boat on longer trips like the inside passage. I have backups like nobody’s business including a bunch of extra batteries, small solar generator, and gasoline generator, but that sort of defeats the point. maybe I should just add another 800ah worth of lithium but that’s also another 1000lbs too. I’d have to put them in the bow somewhere to balance the boat.? ? We had an airx. I would not recommend wind power. Very noisy, only make power in 10 knots plus, and most anchorages are not windy. When it is windy they do make a good amount of power and noise. Solar worked much better.? Maybe if your in a location with little sun and lots of wind it could be useful. But in my experience in Florida and Bahamas,? solar worked very well. Wind was not needed. I still have the tower/poles and hardware, if anyone is?interested. On Tue, Mar 7, 2023, 8:16 PM Ryan Sweet < ryan@...> wrote: Yeah I’d be interested. I am not in a hurry but tell me more?? On Mar 7, 2023, at 17:11, THOMAS VANDERMEULEN <tvinypsi@...> wrote:
?I might be interested in your airex windmill. Please message me with additional details, your asking price, and present location of the gear. Fell free to email to tvinypsi@....
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“8ft…It was rather clunky looking on my 27ft boat.” ? That sounds exactly like my situation when I ran my AIR403 on my boat.? I had maybe an 8’ galvanized tube that fit the AIR fitting, rotated it vertical from my 26ft boat’s cabin, secured it and guy-wired it and plugged ‘er in…I remember thinking it was pretty cool.? It just was not a quick thing to setup.? And just 1 vintage solar panel will put out almost the same power as the AIR403 in a 12kt wind. ? ?
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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kev
Sent: Tuesday, March 7, 2023 6:49 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [electricboats] Recommendations for a windmill/charge controller? ? Yes, you can run them under way. The only time you could not run them is in very high winds. The pole kit I had is 8ft, if I remember correctly.? It was rather clunky looking on my 27ft boat. ? On Tue, Mar 7, 2023, 9:38 PM Ryan Sweet <ryan@...> wrote: Thanks. I guess that gets back to my question: is it safe to run the windmills when you are underway?? Googling seems to indicate so? All the installations I see it looks as if the entire thing is located well out of the way of crew or sheets or sails, but I’m wondering if there are other reasons that it’s simply not a good idea? Very Correct that you don’t want an anchorage to be windy, but here in Washington it’s not uncommon for evening atavatic winds to come down from the mountains and if you are anchored with the land windward it will blow across the boat but not create uncomfortable rocking near shore.? But also, if on an eight hour sail I can keep a 400w turbine going at 50% capacity, that’s 200w/48v * 8h = 33.3ah back into my battery. Only 1/24th my total capacity, but since I haven’t been able to fit even 400w of solar panels in a non-shaded location (trouble with ketch rigs - I currently have two small 100w hanging off the stern rails) it’s better than having to always find a marina to recharge. I tend to get less than half that power input out of prop regen if sailing above 4.5 kts or against the tidal current.? It might also exceed whatever motoring I had to do to get out of the marina or through a countervailing tide etc. I guess if I was always sailing north I could keep solar under the mainsail and it would mostly be well lit. :-). Super interested for the day when we can make sails out out flexible solar material, it will come.? Range under battery is the reason I get anxious about taking this boat on longer trips like the inside passage. I have backups like nobody’s business including a bunch of extra batteries, small solar generator, and gasoline generator, but that sort of defeats the point. maybe I should just add another 800ah worth of lithium but that’s also another 1000lbs too. I’d have to put them in the bow somewhere to balance the boat.? ? We had an airx. I would not recommend wind power. Very noisy, only make power in 10 knots plus, and most anchorages are not windy. When it is windy they do make a good amount of power and noise. Solar worked much better.? Maybe if your in a location with little sun and lots of wind it could be useful. But in my experience in Florida and Bahamas,? solar worked very well. Wind was not needed. I still have the tower/poles and hardware, if anyone is?interested. ? On Tue, Mar 7, 2023, 8:16 PM Ryan Sweet <ryan@...> wrote: Yeah I’d be interested. I am not in a hurry but tell me more??
On Mar 7, 2023, at 17:11, THOMAS VANDERMEULEN <tvinypsi@...> wrote:
?I might be interested in your airex windmill.
Please message me with additional details, your asking price, and present location of the gear.
Fell free to email to tvinypsi@....
|
Sure, you can do it.? And it’s free.? And it will give you power w/o sun. However, 200watts from a 400watt AIRX is unrealistic.? Why? Power scales with the cube of the windspeed and the 400watt rating is at 24kts as I recall. P ~ 400*(kts/24)^3 So, for 200watts, you would need: kts = 24*(1/2)^ 1/3 = 19kts And that’s wind speed relative to the gennie of course. I suppose if you expect to sail for 8hrs in 20-30kt winds the calculation works. ? -MT ? ?
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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ryan Sweet
Sent: Tuesday, March 7, 2023 6:39 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [electricboats] Recommendations for a windmill/charge controller?? Thanks. I guess that gets back to my question: is it safe to run the windmills when you are underway? ?Googling seems to indicate so? All the installations I see it looks as if the entire thing is located well out of the way of crew or sheets or sails, but I’m wondering if there are other reasons that it’s simply not a good idea? Very Correct that you don’t want an anchorage to be windy, but here in Washington it’s not uncommon for evening atavatic winds to come down from the mountains and if you are anchored with the land windward it will blow across the boat but not create uncomfortable rocking near shore.? But also, if on an eight hour sail I can keep a 400w turbine going at 50% capacity, that’s 200w/48v * 8h = 33.3ah back into my battery. Only 1/24th my total capacity, but since I haven’t been able to fit even 400w of solar panels in a non-shaded location (trouble with ketch rigs - I currently have two small 100w hanging off the stern rails) it’s better than having to always find a marina to recharge. I tend to get less than half that power input out of prop regen if sailing above 4.5 kts or against the tidal current. ?It might also exceed whatever motoring I had to do to get out of the marina or through a countervailing tide etc. I guess if I was always sailing north I could keep solar under the mainsail and it would mostly be well lit. :-). Super interested for the day when we can make sails out out flexible solar material, it will come.? Range under battery is the reason I get anxious about taking this boat on longer trips like the inside passage. I have backups like nobody’s business including a bunch of extra batteries, small solar generator, and gasoline generator, but that sort of defeats the point. maybe I should just add another 800ah worth of lithium but that’s also another 1000lbs too. I’d have to put them in the bow somewhere to balance the boat.? ? We had an airx. I would not recommend wind power. Very noisy, only make power in 10 knots plus, and most anchorages are not windy. When it is windy they do make a good amount of power and noise. Solar worked much better.? Maybe if your in a location with little sun and lots of wind it could be useful. But in my experience in Florida and Bahamas,? solar worked very well. Wind was not needed. I still have the tower/poles and hardware, if anyone is?interested. ? On Tue, Mar 7, 2023, 8:16 PM Ryan Sweet <ryan@...> wrote: Yeah I’d be interested. I am not in a hurry but tell me more??
On Mar 7, 2023, at 17:11, THOMAS VANDERMEULEN <tvinypsi@...> wrote:
?I might be interested in your airex windmill.
Please message me with additional details, your asking price, and present location of the gear.
Fell free to email to tvinypsi@....
|
Imho wind mills are not worth their investment unless you go to real high latitudes. I have mppt boost controllers so you don't have to put a lot of solar panels in series to charge your batteries. I have these working fine now for almost 3 years. I must admit they produce a lot of electrical noise and interfere with my incoming ais signal. My boat came with a wind generator which can be taken apart, and I have also used this solar charger icm with the wind generator. This only works from 20 kts onwards tho and the wind generator maxes out at 100 watts anyway which is probably at about 30 knots or more. It's the amp air 100. If you don't have space for fixed panels on your boat maybe foldable ones would help out. I have 2x 200 watt foldable ones as spare or extra and they work really well. If I have in total 5 of these mppt solar chargers with all sorts of different panels. Hope this helps Op ma 6 mrt. 2023 18:29 schreef Ryan Sweet < ryan@...>:
Hello!
I have a 30’ Rawson Ketch based in Bellingham, WA. Thunderstruck 10k and 800ah 48v traction with 800ah 12v house.
I’m interested in finding a good windmill for some assistance in charging while at anchor (can they be safely run while underway?)….
I have a victron 48v solar charge controller (but I struggle to find any good spot on this boat to locate panels).? Can I use this to charge from a windmill? It seems like most systems are sold as a complete package and designed to charge 12v house banks. I’d like to charge the traction battery directly. I can charge my 48v from the 12v using the buck converter or the inverter and ac charger but it’s not very efficient.
Any recommendations about windmills?
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Well that would be a tiring day! Yikes. Color me convinced that more battery and fuel based generator backup is the way.?
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On Mar 8, 2023, at 12:19 PM, Myles Twete <matwete@...> wrote:
Sure, you can do it.? And it’s free.? And it will give you power w/o sun. However, 200watts from a 400watt AIRX is unrealistic.? Why? Power scales with the cube of the windspeed and the 400watt rating is at 24kts as I recall. P ~ 400*(kts/24)^3 So, for 200watts, you would need: kts = 24*(1/2)^ 1/3 = 19kts And that’s wind speed relative to the gennie of course. I suppose if you expect to sail for 8hrs in 20-30kt winds the calculation works. ? -MT ? ? ? Thanks. I guess that gets back to my question: is it safe to run the windmills when you are underway? ?Googling seems to indicate so? All the installations I see it looks as if the entire thing is located well out of the way of crew or sheets or sails, but I’m wondering if there are other reasons that it’s simply not a good idea? Very Correct that you don’t want an anchorage to be windy, but here in Washington it’s not uncommon for evening atavatic winds to come down from the mountains and if you are anchored with the land windward it will blow across the boat but not create uncomfortable rocking near shore.? But also, if on an eight hour sail I can keep a 400w turbine going at 50% capacity, that’s 200w/48v * 8h = 33.3ah back into my battery. Only 1/24th my total capacity, but since I haven’t been able to fit even 400w of solar panels in a non-shaded location (trouble with ketch rigs - I currently have two small 100w hanging off the stern rails) it’s better than having to always find a marina to recharge. I tend to get less than half that power input out of prop regen if sailing above 4.5 kts or against the tidal current. ?It might also exceed whatever motoring I had to do to get out of the marina or through a countervailing tide etc. I guess if I was always sailing north I could keep solar under the mainsail and it would mostly be well lit. :-). Super interested for the day when we can make sails out out flexible solar material, it will come.? Range under battery is the reason I get anxious about taking this boat on longer trips like the inside passage. I have backups like nobody’s business including a bunch of extra batteries, small solar generator, and gasoline generator, but that sort of defeats the point. maybe I should just add another 800ah worth of lithium but that’s also another 1000lbs too. I’d have to put them in the bow somewhere to balance the boat.? ? We had an airx. I would not recommend wind power. Very noisy, only make power in 10 knots plus, and most anchorages are not windy. When it is windy they do make a good amount of power and noise. Solar worked much better.? Maybe if your in a location with little sun and lots of wind it could be useful. But in my experience in Florida and Bahamas,? solar worked very well. Wind was not needed. I still have the tower/poles and hardware, if anyone is?interested. ? On Tue, Mar 7, 2023, 8:16 PM Ryan Sweet < ryan@...> wrote: Yeah I’d be interested. I am not in a hurry but tell me more??
On Mar 7, 2023, at 17:11, THOMAS VANDERMEULEN <tvinypsi@...> wrote:
?I might be interested in your airex windmill. Please message me with additional details, your asking price, and present location of the gear. Fell free to email to ?tvinypsi@.... ?
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That boost charge controller from AliExpress looks interesting. Do you use one for each solar panel or can you connect multiple panels to one controller as long as you don't exceed the power rating (looks like they sell 300 W and 600 W versions)?
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As long as you don't exceed the controllers max wattage you will be?fine I use Epever controllers on my panels. One set is 1440 watts the other is 1015. They are about 5 years old and are easy?to read and hook up got them on Amazon about $70 each
That boost charge controller from AliExpress looks interesting. Do you use one for each solar panel or can you connect multiple panels to one controller as long as you don't exceed the power rating (looks like they sell 300 W and 600 W versions)?
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What are the voltages of your solar panels and battery bank? I have bough a 48 volt 10 kW thunderstruck motor and now need to figure out how to charge the 48 volt battery bank using my two 12 volt (or 18 volt whatever the maximum output voltage is) solar panels. It seems this boost mppt charge controller could be the answer.
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Reuben Trane
THOMAS VANDERMEULEN
SVTwister