solar panel and/or wind generator

Batteries, Generators, Solar, Wind and Electronics
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Hans
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solar panel and/or wind generator

Post by Hans »

On the 45 ft I have problems with the energy. Boat has a lot of systems, at anchor at daytime the draw is around 4 Amps, while sailing with instruments, chartplotter and autopilot it 's around 9-10 amps. I find it difficult to keep the batteries topped up. I run the engine twice a day for an hour for refrigeration, the 110 amp Balmar charges the batteries at the same time. To maximize I have a smart regulator which senses battery and alternator temp. This puts a lot of strain on the double V belts, I need to replace them every 150 hours. Even so, the voltage drops every day a little further till I start either the generator or start the main engine again at 11.4 Volts to top up the batteries. For a longer stay on board, which I intend to do the coming years, I find it unpleasant, the noise of the engine. Many other boats in the Caribbean have wind generators, I try to anchor not too close to them because of the noise they make when there's some wind. Recently I heard about Silent Wind Generators, they claim to make much less noise because they have less rev's like wind gen. ashore and there prop's should be better,
still they claim to be 500W. Anyone with experience about them? Are solar panels a better solution? Any observations regarding to the power need that I have?
Hans Hansen, Makkum,The Netherlands.
Freedom 45AC #47 "Scherezade".

daletournier
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Re: solar panel and/or wind generator

Post by daletournier »

Hi Hans, the following is just my opinion which based on living aboard almost full time over the last 5 years in both windy areas (Nort Queensland ) and not so windy areas ( SE Asia ). Freeform has 260w of solar panels, Airbreeze wind generator, 80amp Balmar alternator and 40amp charger combined with 1 Kva Honda generator. I dont like camping therefore electricity and water are very important to me. Not all, in fact most new wind generators are not noisy the Air X really gave wind generators a bad name in regards to noise. I have the Air breeze which is very quiet. There are better wind generators such as the D400 but value for money this is very good. I think vibration isolators are a must, they make all the difference. In saying that i would not by a wind generator again I believe that you need a consistent minimum wind of 12 knots or above ( more like 15k+ ) for them to be effective. Some wind generators such as Rutland 913 in my opinion are as good as useless! My prefered electricity generation system is as many solar panels as you can hold plus a 1kva or 2 kva Honda generator depending on size of your charger. A 2kva honda will run a 80 amp charger with ease. These Hondas are so quiet and use very little fuel. I only have a 240amp/hr battery bank, generally i only run the generator for one hour a day (unless there is no sun ).
To sumarize i dont find wind generators very effective unless there is substantial and consistent wind. Solar panels and little generator work extremely well for me, i have no electricity problems.
I find most people defend what they use ie. Solar or wind, i have tried both and definately prefer solar. I have also sailed in the Carribean and realize there is more consitent wind yet i still believe solar is more effective.
One more think is solar panels really only put outhalf of what there rated to eg. 60w panel theoretically puts out 5amp in reality 2-3A is the best you can expect.
Also i monitor inputs and outputs through a link1000 which allows me to have a pretty good idea of whats happening.
Hope this helps, Dale
Freeform.

daletournier
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Re: solar panel and/or wind generator

Post by daletournier »

Hi Hans, i believe the the future of having more useable power on a boat is in Lithium batteries. On my next boat im going to investigate this path more, very promising. I know people using them now and are very happy. Heres a article that maybe of interest http://psyberspace.com.au/lithium.html

Cheers Dale.

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GeoffSchultz
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Re: solar panel and/or wind generator

Post by GeoffSchultz »

I find that the combination of wind, solar and a generator work best for me. My solar panels aren't large enough to supply all that I need and as Dale stated, you only get 1/2 of the rated capacity as the capacity is driving a dead load and you're typically charging batteries that are at ~12V.

As far as a wind generator goes, I have a KISS, but I would get a Super Wind (http://www.superwind.com/) generator if I had to do it again. They're certainly more expensive, but are very well built, self feathering and extremely quiet.

-- Geoff
BlueJacket
1997 Freedom 40/40
http://www.GeoffSchultz.org

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Hans
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Re: solar panel and/or wind generator

Post by Hans »

Dale and Geoff, Thank you the info, this is very helpful. Always thought that Lithium batteries were far too expensive to be considered. I know now they can be bought for almost half the price. Will certainly look in that when the Trojan's need to be replaced. What sounds interesting, (when I read correctly), is that lithium batteries not only perform much more cycles but also takes up charge easier and with less loss resulting in shorter charging time. This sounds very interesting. Will try solar panels first. Can easy find space for them.
Hans Hansen, Makkum,The Netherlands.
Freedom 45AC #47 "Scherezade".

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Hans
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Location: Deventer, The Netherlands
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Re: solar panel and/or wind generator

Post by Hans »

Dale, any idea how the lithium batteries performed on Nimrod cat? Couldn't find a link to contact David Straton.
Hans Hansen, Makkum,The Netherlands.
Freedom 45AC #47 "Scherezade".

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sailmon
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Re: solar panel and/or wind generator

Post by sailmon »

Practical Sailor did a recent review of lithium batteries and opined that they are not quite ready for widespread use on boats. I can't remember which month (I'm at office) but they indicated their belief that more work needs to be done on charge management, load management, cell balancing (safety considerations) and of course cost before they would recommend them. I'll try to dig it out over the weekend.
Sailmon (Captain Bob Allenick)
S/V Her Diamond
1991 Freedom 38
Cleveland, OH

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sailmon
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Re: solar panel and/or wind generator

Post by sailmon »

Article was in Practical Sailor 2012 Gear Buying Guide.
Sailmon (Captain Bob Allenick)
S/V Her Diamond
1991 Freedom 38
Cleveland, OH

Craig
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Re: solar panel and/or wind generator

Post by Craig »

Lithium batteries....
Hmmmmm...
Aren't they the cause of the fires on the new Boeing airliners?
Not sure I want them on my boat.

daletournier
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Re: solar panel and/or wind generator

Post by daletournier »

Hi all, LiFePo batteries are a advancement on previous Lithium batteries particularly in the fire department. Its relatively new technology therefore there will be lots of opinions. Like all new technology there is and will be early adopters....there are cruisers using these batteries successfully right now. Im no expert in this area but ive seen enough success to want to research this topic abit more for the future rather than just dismiss it because its new or i dont understand. The cruisers forum has a couple of long threads about this topic ( often heated as often is the case there ). Electricity on boats is about generation and storage, in regards to the latter if we can decrease the weight while increasing usable capacity im interested.
Cheers Dale.

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