Adding a wind generator. Need mounting info

Sparksvonrou wrote:
Also, I believe that there is now a new import tax on solar panels and they have gone up in price at least 30 to 50 dollars a panel. Two 100w panels are about 8.25 to 9 amps each with excellent sun for 16 and 1/2 to 18 amps total. So even if I don't get 400w from the generator, again, if I have 15 to 20 amps I'd be very satisfied. I am doing a test here where we are at as soon as I get the rest of the mounting mast finished. The drive on plate is a grand idea too. Planning on getting an anemometer and will do some Excel spreadsheet stuff to get a better Idea. I decided on 1 1/2" pipe for here for now. Anyone seriously looking to do this or wants to chat about it, PM me. Thanks everyone.

The trick with both of these is not what the peak output is. 500amps is pointless if you only get it for 2 minutes per day as you wont' add much to the battery state. What you want to look at is amp-hr (or watt-hr if you have multiple voltages you are working with)

A good rule of thumb for solar is to assume 4hrs at the rated output. So, a pair of 100w panels (200w total), will put out about 65-70amp-hr12V per day. It will vary a bit depending on how far north you are and if it is heavily overcast but it tends to be fairly consistent.

Wind...it's all over the board. If you are in a forested area, valley or just a calm day...it can be near zero. Getting 20amps, implies you are camping in fairly strong winds (depending on the unit probably 20-25mph) where noise and vibration become an issue. There really is a sweet spot around 12-17mph where you get decent output. Below that, the output drops precipitously. Above that, you want to consider locking it down to avoid damage (depends a lot on if it's gusty)

It's doable but for the average user, I would put my money on 200w of solar generating more amp-hr per year than a 400w wind generator.