wind generator

[kccwoodworks]

wondering if any one here has experience with wind generators? Specifically "Wind Blue Power" DC540.

[jrnymn7]

$100 off!!! That's like a $10,000 rebate in today's economy! Looks like I'm buying a Philco radio! 🙂

[westend]

In the '20's and into the '30's, when you bought some of the Philco radios. they came with a rebate coupon for $100 off on an Aero small wind set. This enabled farmers, even without grid power, to have a radio for market pricing, local news and announcements, and to keep the livestock amused. There were many small wind sets back in those days and I've seen the Aero. The prop set was akin to a windmill and about 8' diameter. They were direct DC.

[jrnymn7]

FWIW; After comparing wind and solar several years back, I came to the conclusion solar is more suitable for small, individual applications, while wind is best done on a much larger scale. I personally happened upon an engineer who had the joy of trying to educate politicians on such matters, and confirmed my conclusions.

I, too, considered going with a small VAWT on my camper, but soon realized it made way more sense to simply charge off the alternator while driving.

That said, given the right circumstances, one could go solar by day, VAWT by night (for overnight floating primarily).

[TEXAS]

Know a man outside of town. Two wind turbines and one solar panel. All three are shut down. Repair cost is almost what he paid for the system four years ago.

[j-d]

And I thought the question was about a FAN...

[09FLSTC]

TEXAS wrote:
Save your money.

X2

[westend]

US 30M and above wind maps

HAWT vs VAWT

Bird deaths and wind towers
This is for commercial generation, not to be entirely relevant to small wind installations. Posted it to displace internet myths.

I could see the application for small wind to someone that locates their RV in a fixed location but needs something transportable. For the weekender or occasional vacation trip, it doesn't make a lot of sense. It's much more convenient to apply solar power.

[MrWizard]

Do you camp at the beach a lot
Or the middle of the Texas plains
The only time a wind turbine would be useful to me, is the rare trip to beach camp once or twice a summer

Forget using one while driving
They are not designed to produce power at 60mph
In really high wind they free wheel to keep from burning something out
Even if it worked while driving it would not be free power, the increased wind drag would burn more fuel while driving

[TEXAS]

Save your money.

[PFitt]

Here's a site to check out he has solar and a small wind turbine. http://mellomikeswolfcreekcamper.blogspot.com/
http://www.freespiritenergy.com/

[2oldman]

Wind turbine post July 2014

[RoyB]

Don't know anything about your model listed but as a whole wind generators all need to have a sustained wind of 5 MPH to meet their minimum output. This is really hard to find across the country except at a few certain place like on a sea shore or next to the mountains that have up drafts.

Some ares like the ranges up from TEXAS thru OKLA and north usually have a sustained wind blowing. Areas just East of the Great Lakes also have sustained wind coming off the the Great Lakes.

The Rest of the areas only seem to have sustained wind during weather changes events.

I have looked into using a TURBINE TYPE wind detector with direct drive feeding a generators much like what are showing here.

Best results would be with the round turbine sitting on top of a motorhome for instance going down the road at 50-60MPH... The main axle bearing should be one of those high dollar ZERO DRAG MAGNETIC type bearings... The round turbine would look very much like an attic exhaust turbine...


Turbine or blade type will have to be a large footprint to produce any large KW outputs...

Most of small blade type generator are very very noisy to live with let alone what they might do with bird life...

IMO Solar Power backed up by Generator gives you much more

Roy Ken

[westend]

I have one, a DC setup, though.

That "Wind Blue" is like most commercial offerings, highly over rated for real world use. You should note that shaft speed needs to be over 130 RPM to harvest even a small bit of amps. Attaining that 130 RPM in low wind conditions is hardly attainable, you will need a very light propset but large enough to overcome the starting drag of the alternator.

If you do start with small wind power, it will become evident, early on, that harvesting power from the wind ain't easy. For a permanent household situation with a three-phase generator, typical prop diameters are around 10'. I've tried to get around the larger logistical considerations by using permanent magnet DC generators and a 7', fairly well designed aluminum three blade prop set. I am continually experimenting with different motors to achieve the best balance between wind speed and harvest totals. I'm happy with the 7' props, they are noiseless and are an elegant solution for small wind sizing.

Good luck with your wind power!