Non-marine or build-it-yourself wind generators:
http://www.geocities.com/bill_dietri...tion.html#Wind

http://www.dragonflypower.com/DragonBlerb.htm
http://www.otherpower.com/
http://www.lookout2000.com/windpower/


"From Brian Engelke on SailNet liveaboard-list:
our DIY wind generator:

Just to show you all how easy this was: generator pics
Images of this build at
http://community.webshots.com/album/96862239oyxJMN

Body of generator - scrap acrylic plastic = vane blade
1 1/2" pvc and cap = vane blade arm
4" PVC and cap = motor body and end
scrap metal box fan hub = blade hub
1/4" x 3" x 24" wood = blade
scrap 2" whisker pole stock = mounting pole
scrap bimini 7/8" aluminum stock = mounting pole struts
scrap 30 VDC permanent magnet tape drive motor = generator motor
scrap industrial strength caster = pole/body swivel

The scrap motor came from www.siliconsalvage.com for $20. These motors
are great and charge at very low RPM. The rest of the parts I either
had or bought on sale and it totaled $95. I studied blade design on
the web and carved and sanded those from scratch. For this motor, the
sweep area of the blades showed that the blades needed to be 24" long
and tapered so the balance point if holding one on your finger should
be 25%-33% from the mounting end to the outside tip. This keeps the
centrifugal force working for you as opposed to slowing the blades
down. I also used a postage meter at work to sand them until they were
within .05 ounce of each other so at higher RPM they don't create
vibration and tear the whole unit apart! I am no genius, so anyone can
do this! The hardest part was definitely trying to get the mounting
pole level straight up and down on a rocking boat!!!"

Nice work Mic! Were you able to quantify the output?
Cheers, Jim

Here is another resource.. I will probably end up going with the Hornet
wind turbine...

http://www.hydrogenappliances.com

On 28 Mar 2006 01:15:45 -0800, wrote:

Nice work Mic! Were you able to quantify the output?
Cheers, Jim

Thanks, but this was not my design or build but part of the various
system research I have been doing.

While sailing in warm a climate I saw a sailboat with an old style car
generator (not marinized) and back then there werent many marine
generators.

Part of the interest in the research is the manner in which
resourceful sailors choose to resolve issues in a practical manner.

This particular built is short of tech details so I have done some
more extensive research on the subject and even a little practical
work on this issue. A more extensive listing on this topic of wind
generators will be made.

Here's just one example I like with more tech:

http://www.velacreations.com/store.html
The Chispito Wind Generator is a 100W machine. It outputs 14volts at
275 rpm, so it starts putting power into your batteries in low wind
speeds (5-7mph).
CHISPITO BARE-BONES KIT - $95 FREE SHIPPING

http://www.velacreations.com/chispitobarebones.html
Assembly instructions

http://www.velacreations.com/chispito.html
HOW TO BUILD A CHISPITO WIND GENERATOR MANUAL

I figure that my interests regarding the topics of sailing are of
interest to others and

"I wouldn’t claim the long experience of the Dashews, Pardeys, or
other fonts of nautical knowledge, but as a regular voyager on the
cyber seas, I find that the treasures uncovered actually increase in
value as they prove useful to others."

And the front of the boat is the pointy end right?

Mic 67

On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 17:25:02 GMT, (Mic) wrote:

as a regular voyager on the
cyber seas, I find that the treasures uncovered actually increase in
value as they prove useful to others.

If you gain some experience sailing on the non-cyber seas you will
also discover the value of reliability, durability and good product
support from a manufacturer.

That said, I found the homemade wind generator interesting and
thought the builder had done a good job making it look reasonably
professional looking. The permanent magnet motor-generators are
readily available on EBAY at very reasonable prices so you could
afford to buy several extras as backups for the times when salt spray
finds its way into the precision bearings, as it surely will.

As for generic wind generator issues, I've found them to be noisy and
vibration producing, not conducive to a good nights sleep in a quiet
anchorage. And there's always the safety issue of someone getting
clocked in the head with a blade. Solar panels are the way to go in
my opinion if you have the room for a decent array.

On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 13:00:44 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 17:25:02 GMT, (Mic) wrote:

as a regular voyager on the
cyber seas, I find that the treasures uncovered actually increase in
value as they prove useful to others.

If you gain some experience sailing on the non-cyber seas you will
also discover the value of reliability, durability and good product
support from a manufacturer.

That said, I found......

It has been said before and worth saying again:

"Quick comment. When I see ad hominem attacks like this, I ignore the
rest of the post as irrelevant."

"This list has a pretty good signal/noise ratio for Usenet and I'd
like to keep it that way (or improve), as it's where I get some of my
best info."
__________________________________________________ _______

"I wouldn’t claim the long experience of the Dashews, Pardeys, or
other fonts of nautical knowledge, but as a regular voyager on the
cyber seas, I find that the treasures uncovered actually increase in
value as they prove useful to others."

Actually this quote came from http://tinling.typepad.com/about.html
So maybe your comments ought to be directed at them?
But I do appreciate the effort that person made in their effort to
broaden sailing knowledge which comes without a condecending
attitude;}}

Fair winds Mic '67

On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 21:44:11 GMT, (Mic) wrote:

"Quick comment. When I see ad hominem attacks like this, I ignore the
rest of the post as irrelevant."

Your priviledge of course but I see no attack there.

Mic wrote:
[snip]
http://www.lookout2000.com/windpower/

i would like something like this one (but smaller of course) ... it has
some features i would want. i would want it to use a normal alternator
making it easy to fix with parts from a junk vehicle anywhere in the
world. i would also want it to use a belt system so you could easily
change the belt and/or diameter of the pulleys to get the right ratio
to spin the alternator at the right rpms for average wind speeds. the
belts and pulleys, again, available anywhere there are automobiles. i
wouldn't want a gear system to change the ratios since that'd be one
more thing you might have to order from halfway around the world and
ship .. time and money wasted. i think an important improvement would
be to have a metal eye on the tail of it so you can pull it around out
of the wind to stop the blades ... and a simple "one big bolt" type of
design for removing the blades would be nice too, kind of like the one
that holds the cam shaft sprocket for an engine's timing chain. if it
had that you could remove the blades whenever you wanted to, if a big
storm was coming up or something you could just use the eye to turn the
blades out of the wind, secure them with a rope or something, and if
you wanted you could even take out the bolt and put the blades in the
cabin. i don't know if there is such a thing sold ... i would imagine
most manufacturers just sell basically a one piece kind of deal with
specialized parts. that does have the advantage over the belt system
of being enclosed in fiberglass, but i don't think that's enough of an
advantage to make it better.