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#21
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Say, Larry
I'm glad that you decided to take my advice. If you continue, you
might turn into a respectable netizen, and earn the respect of your fellow group members. As for the issue at hand: Solar panels are better than wind for day by day power. A good wind system costs about $1500, and that buys a lot of panels. Output can be greatly improved by adjusting the panels to point toward the sun, and by avoiding shading, so anything that can facilitate that will be worth the effort. My three panels are fixed on the hardtop, and often shaded by the boom, so all I can do is move the boom from side to side. Were I to add panels, they would go on the davits where I could tilt them as a appropriate. The reason to have wind generation in addition to solar is that on those days when there is little Sun, there is often a breeze. Its frustrating to be hanging out below on a rainy day, using more power with the TV and computer going, but generating nothing. The reason I don't add wind generating now is that with our recent cruising pattern, we're often in crowded harbors where the noise would be anti-social. * NE Sailboat wrote, On 3/22/2007 10:21 AM: Larry ,, I did some research on the net about the wind generators. Most posting, stories I read were like the following which is reposted without permission or attribute ... as in I DON'T KNOW WHO WROTE THIS .. TAKE THAT JEFF. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why I would not put another wind generator on a boat: Specifically, the Southwest Power Air Power Wind Turbine, AIR-X or AIR-404/3. Noise: Everyone complains about the noise, at anchorages, crew complains underway, they make a moaning noise that is very disturbing especially if you are trying to sleep in a cabin under the generator. Power Generation: They produce amazingly little power. They require at least 15 -25 knots of apparent wind to produce any meaningful power. They don't produce power at anchorages because most anchorages by their nature are in low-wind areas, they don't produce power going downwind because the apparent wind is often low. They don't produce power at the dock because you will [?] of the noise. They only produce power going up wind in a pretty good wind. Go slow: The wind generator and mast provide a pretty good wind profile and hence wind resistance. Southwest Power's air turbines are not well built for the salt water marine environment and require significant maintenance. The Aluminum components like the generator body and mast tubes are powder-coated aluminum. After a few years the coating comes off in big potato-chip-like flakes. I sent mine back once and have had to paint it twice in five years. I put the mast tubes in heat-shrunk tubes which has worked well and they stay white. The generator body has to be painted about every year. The Stainless Steel (SS) hardware that Southwest uses is 304 SS not nearly as good as 316 SS which means that it is prone to rust and leave streaks on the deck and topside. I have removed these and bathed the hardware in mild solution of Oxalic acid which removes the rust stains and the rust from the hardware; this must be done two or three times per year. In summary don't put a wind generator on your boat, and not a Southwest Air Power turbine. Based on my experience the more solar cells the better. [It seems as if they have there drawback for sure. The noise was the biggest complaint. The other item I kept reading about them was that they needed lots of wind to make power. When in an anchorage, you don't want lots of wind .. that is why it is an anchorage. ] ================================================== =============================== This is from an ad I saw on the net .. on solar ... ad, Jeff. No author as far as I can tell.. Got it Jeff. Solar panels provide a silent dependable way to supply electricity anywhere, particularly in places where utility power is not available. Whether its a mountaintop cabin, a cruising sailboat, a roving RV, or the family home, there is a solar electric system to meet your needs. Solar power allows you to live on beautiful rural land without foregoing all the conveniences of the city, and without expensive utility line extensions or noisy generators. Thousands of photovoltaic powered homes exist throughout the country. Sailboat cruising time can be extended with a few solar modules, since precious fuel does not need to be used for charging batteries to power the bilgepump, communications equipment, lights, or refrigerator. Dockside, solar panels keeps the batteries alive and the bilge pump running without power hookups. Recreational vehicles can park anywhere with full use of lights and appliances without being disturbed by the sound or smell of a generator. Even if your RV spends a few weeks between trips in a storage lot, solar panels will keep the battery charged and ready to go when you are ready to go. How do they work? To be brief, energy from the sun's light strikes the solar panels crystals knocking some electrons loose and creating electricity. Each solar cell in a panel creates a potential of about .45 volts. To create a voltage sufficient to charge a 12 volt battery, 34 to 36 cells are connected in series to produce 15 to 17 volts. The current a panel is capable of producing is porportional to the area of each cell. Larger cells produce more electricity: 6" cells = 7.1 amps, 5" cells = 5 amps, 4" cells = 3.1 amps. How much output can I expect from a solar panel? We use a basic design rule that a solar panel will contributer about 30% to 35% of its wattage in amphours each day if the panel is directed toward the sun. This means that an 80 watt solar panel can be expected to produce approximately 24 to 28 amphours per day when aimed at the sun. What type panel is best? There are three main types of solar panels: Monocrystalline (Siemens), Polycrystalline (Kyocera, Solarex, PowerValue), and Thin Film or amorphous (Uni-Solar). Monocrystalline panels have uniform dark gray cells and have the highest output per cell area and tend to be the most expensive. Polycrystalline cells look somewhat like shattered glass and tend to be less expensive and only slightly less efficient per cell area. These cells are usually square and result in a slightly smaller solar panel than solar panels constructed using the more efficient monocrystalline which tend to be rounder. Monocrystalline and polycrysalline solar panels are rigid and have a glass cover. Thin Film type panels are made by depositing the active silicon on either a stainles plate or a flexible backing. Thin film type panels are about half as efficient per cell area but are consided unbreakable and shadow protected. Do solar panels require regulation? As a general rule, very small solar panels that put out 5 watts or less can get by without a regulator but a regulator should be used on all solar panels. The self-regulating panels produce less voltage and theoretically will not overcharge your batteries. We would rather use higher voltage solar panels and use a regulator which is quite inexpensive to buy and it can save your batteries. Here is something on solar.. I think the author is listed .. also from the net. From James Forsyth on SailNet liveaboard-list: In reasonably sunny climates, you can figure solar panels will produce AH roughly equal to 1/3 their rated watts without messing with them. E.g. a 45 watt panel should be expected to produce about 15 AH per day. You can increase that to about half if you fuss with them to keep them properly oriented, so you might get 22 or 23 AH from a 45 watt panel - but that's under ideal conditions. That's a useful amount of electricity, but not enough to run a boat, even with two or three panels. Wind generators vary widely in both output and noise. The small ones, such as Ampair 100's and the Fourwinds three, are virtually silent, but their output is pretty small too. We looked at a lot of different models, read a lot of reviews, and finally settled on a Fourwinds Two. The output still varies with windspeed, but it comes pretty close to the advertised values. It's quiet, but not silent. Most of the time underway the wind generator is quieter than the usual wind and water noise. In winds of under 20 knots, we actually have to look at it to be sure it's running. You can hear it at anchor, but we don't find it obnoxious. My suggestion is to find people in your area who have different brands, then go stand by their boats, or dinghy next to them, and listen. Also, put your hand on their hull or toe rail to check for vibration. We're quite satisfied with ours. If you're considering a Marine Aire, talk to people on boats near one ... With the wind generator and one solar panel we can supply most to all of our needs if it's sunny, and if the relative wind stays at 10 knots or more, and we're careful. We have a house bank of about 400 AH, and a 100 amp Powerline alternator with a Balmar 612 regulator run from our main engine. We keep our boat on a mooring in the Chesapeake, and find we never have to run the engine solely to charge the batteries. We also have a conversion kit to use the generator portion of the Four Winds as a water-powered generator when we're offshore. The wind generator doesn't work all that well going downwind, when relative wind is light. Used as a water-powered generator, it provides massive amounts of power. I believe the Ampair has a similar set up, and it too should provide lots of power offshore. So.. what to do... it seems as if a combo is the answer. But that is expensive for a coastal cruiser. I have decided that the wind unit is out. Too much for too little. And my boat is too small. The solar panel will only work between 10am and 3pm. In bright sunlight. The remainder of the time, it takes up space. does nothing. Then,, it hit me. A solar panel that can be put up like a sail .. use it when the conditions are right. A moveable, temporay solar panel. Not fixed. One I can store, just like I would an anchor. If I find one in the 45-55 watt range .. and I get 1/3 of the watts in amp hours per day.. would be something like 15 amp hours per day. Right? Now ,, looking at Casey's book .. that is Don Casey for Jeff. Casey give a daily amp-hour consumption of about 15 amp hours for cabin lights [ the at anchor ligts in the cabin, etc ] and the anchor light together. That isn't bad. So,, my plan or thought is to get a solar panel but not attach it. Move it around from place to place so it gets the sun. And,, only use it when it is worthwhile. When the sun is shining. Now the question .. where to store it? What else to use it for? The size of the panel? About 25" by 25" for a 50 watt Kyocera panel. That is a little over 2' x 2'. If I sew a piece of Sunbrella up to make a cover, and have the panel in some type of something that will allow me to take it out and set it up to get the sunlight .. Doesn't this make some sense? What do you think and do you have any ideas? |
#22
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Say, Larry
"NE Sailboat" wrote in news:OhwMh.4762$zN.1202
@trndny03: Doesn't this make some sense? What do you think and do you have any ideas? The solar cell is like a brittle piece of thin glass. If it cracks, even a tiny one, it's toast. So, they mount them in heavy frames and lose some power with the protective glass or lexan covers, that absorb some of the solar energy as it passes through. Being fragile and the frames quite heavy, I doubt they'd take being hauled up the mast over and over for very long and they are WAY too expensive to frequently replace. I'm sure it's being done, though..... I don't understand why we cannot produce a quite, SLOW TURNING, boat wind genny. I agree these whirly-bird generators spin way too fast, generating vibration and noise that radiate from the hull. Why they are solidly mounted, with no sound deadening is probably about profit. I see a great UNUSED solution, at the HOME anchorage: http://www.otherpower.com/20page1.html You put one of these on top of a piling that you tie the boat to. The boat would be powered FROM THE PILIING, giving you an almost limitless power supply at your anchorage, without all those naughty dock fees. Up above where you tie the boat, like USCG does to the lighted day markers, a platform with the large battery box and inverter provides the boat with AC power and direct DC power for use and charging. Of course, this only works at HOME. But, let's face it, the damned boats spend 90% of their time at home, anyways. No noise in the boat, at all! These machines turn very slowly their 3 blades and produce immense power at the wind in any anchorage....up 30-40 feet off the water. Why aren't the entrepreneurs renting you wind-powered anchorage pilings in exotic places? One wind machine could supply many boats, anyplace. Larry -- Message for Comcrap Internet Customers: http://tinyurl.com/3ayl9c Unlimited Service my ass.....(d^ |
#23
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Say, Larry
Jeff wrote in news:icqdnQzyBcVxL5
: The reason I don't add wind generating now is that with our recent cruising pattern, we're often in crowded harbors where the noise would be anti-social. "Is my wind machine bothering you? Ok, I'll shut it down and crank the diesel genset, instead. Waitaminute.".....(c; Larry -- Message for Comcrap Internet Customers: http://tinyurl.com/3ayl9c Unlimited Service my ass.....(d^ |
#24
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Say, Larry
On Mar 22, 3:22 pm, Larry wrote:
Jeff wrote in news:icqdnQzyBcVxL5 : The reason I don't add wind generating now is that with our recent cruising pattern, we're often in crowded harbors where the noise would be anti-social. "Is my wind machine bothering you? Ok, I'll shut it down and crank the diesel genset, instead. Waitaminute.".....(c; Larry -- Message for Comcrap Internet Customers:http://tinyurl.com/3ayl9c Unlimited Service my ass.....(d^ umm what about a thin film sola;r Errr top sail or something like that? 2MT (trying out his vocab) |
#25
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Say, Larry
"Larry" wrote in message ... Jeff wrote in news:icqdnQzyBcVxL5 : The reason I don't add wind generating now is that with our recent cruising pattern, we're often in crowded harbors where the noise would be anti-social. "Is my wind machine bothering you? Ok, I'll shut it down and crank the diesel genset, instead. Waitaminute.".....(c; Larry -- Message for Comcrap Internet Customers: http://tinyurl.com/3ayl9c Unlimited Service my ass.....(d^ I'm working up plans for a VAWT (vertical axis wind turbine) for mounting on Essie which should give (assuming all goes well) about 10 amps of charging current into the batteries turning at 120 rpm. Should be very very quiet (virtually silent, actually). The only part of it that is really unique to my own design is the wind turbine itself, which is as streamlined as I can make it to reduce drag loss, while maintaining optimum wind cupping. Don't know if or when it will be finished, but I'll post progress here if and when it occurs. |
#26
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Say, Larry
"Two meter troll" wrote in message oups.com... On Mar 22, 3:22 pm, Larry wrote: Jeff wrote in news:icqdnQzyBcVxL5 : The reason I don't add wind generating now is that with our recent cruising pattern, we're often in crowded harbors where the noise would be anti-social. "Is my wind machine bothering you? Ok, I'll shut it down and crank the diesel genset, instead. Waitaminute.".....(c; Larry -- Message for Comcrap Internet Customers:http://tinyurl.com/3ayl9c Unlimited Service my ass.....(d^ umm what about a thin film sola;r Errr top sail or something like that? 2MT (trying out his vocab) Essie's solar panels are US32's, flexible panels mounted directly to the coachroof. You can walk on them and they can't break. Amorphous film, they don't stop putting out current just because some cells are in shadow. Two of these give me, theoretically, 64 watts at optimum sun exposure. In reality much less, but they're better than nothing, and much better than fixing large glass panels, IMO. |
#27
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Say, Larry
KLC ,, when I was goofing, looking on the net for wind power for sailboats
... I found some site that had a web link that showed how to make your own wind generator for a sailboat. It only cost about $300 dollars as I recall for the parts etc. The big negative for me is the size of the blades. According to most of what I read and looked at, the blades must be fairly large to produce much of anything in power. One unit I looked at .. the blade was 46" long. That is almost four feet. The way I figure it, the bigger the boat, the less of a problem the wind generator. On a 100' yacht, I doubt the crew even knows the thing is up there. On a 32' boat, big difference. ================================ "KLC Lewis" wrote in message ... "Larry" wrote in message ... Jeff wrote in news:icqdnQzyBcVxL5 : The reason I don't add wind generating now is that with our recent cruising pattern, we're often in crowded harbors where the noise would be anti-social. "Is my wind machine bothering you? Ok, I'll shut it down and crank the diesel genset, instead. Waitaminute.".....(c; Larry -- Message for Comcrap Internet Customers: http://tinyurl.com/3ayl9c Unlimited Service my ass.....(d^ I'm working up plans for a VAWT (vertical axis wind turbine) for mounting on Essie which should give (assuming all goes well) about 10 amps of charging current into the batteries turning at 120 rpm. Should be very very quiet (virtually silent, actually). The only part of it that is really unique to my own design is the wind turbine itself, which is as streamlined as I can make it to reduce drag loss, while maintaining optimum wind cupping. Don't know if or when it will be finished, but I'll post progress here if and when it occurs. |
#28
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Say, Larry
Yah, the advantage of VAWT's is that the rotate on a vertical axis and don't
necessarily use blades as such. They need to be kinda tall, but not wide. "NE Sailboat" wrote in message news:k2FMh.12829$FS5.12620@trndny09... KLC ,, when I was goofing, looking on the net for wind power for sailboats .. I found some site that had a web link that showed how to make your own wind generator for a sailboat. It only cost about $300 dollars as I recall for the parts etc. The big negative for me is the size of the blades. According to most of what I read and looked at, the blades must be fairly large to produce much of anything in power. One unit I looked at .. the blade was 46" long. That is almost four feet. The way I figure it, the bigger the boat, the less of a problem the wind generator. On a 100' yacht, I doubt the crew even knows the thing is up there. On a 32' boat, big difference. ================================ "KLC Lewis" wrote in message ... "Larry" wrote in message ... Jeff wrote in news:icqdnQzyBcVxL5 : The reason I don't add wind generating now is that with our recent cruising pattern, we're often in crowded harbors where the noise would be anti-social. "Is my wind machine bothering you? Ok, I'll shut it down and crank the diesel genset, instead. Waitaminute.".....(c; Larry -- Message for Comcrap Internet Customers: http://tinyurl.com/3ayl9c Unlimited Service my ass.....(d^ I'm working up plans for a VAWT (vertical axis wind turbine) for mounting on Essie which should give (assuming all goes well) about 10 amps of charging current into the batteries turning at 120 rpm. Should be very very quiet (virtually silent, actually). The only part of it that is really unique to my own design is the wind turbine itself, which is as streamlined as I can make it to reduce drag loss, while maintaining optimum wind cupping. Don't know if or when it will be finished, but I'll post progress here if and when it occurs. |
#29
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Say, Larry
"KLC Lewis" wrote in
: I'm working up plans for a VAWT (vertical axis wind turbine) for mounting on Essie which should give (assuming all goes well) about 10 amps of charging current into the batteries turning at 120 rpm. Should be very very quiet (virtually silent, actually). The only part of it that is really unique to my own design is the wind turbine itself, which is as streamlined as I can make it to reduce drag loss, while maintaining optimum wind cupping. Don't know if or when it will be finished, but I'll post progress here if and when it occurs. The incredibly efficient and simple design of the permanent magnet, multiphase alternators used by the mountain men on otherpower.com is well suited to your purpose. A vertical axis turbine directly pulling the magnets across those sealed coils just above the deck would work fantastic, if you can keep the turbine from broaching over. Here's a free patent you might be interested in looking at: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4274011.pdf Of course, new boat technologies, like S/V "Revelation II" look promising. This boat sails fastest STRAIGHT INTO THE WIND, something sailors have longed for for centuries. It's direct drive, but I'd like to see a more practical use of a large alternator driving high voltage nanotechnology lithium-ion storage batteries like Toshiba has invented. The power generated by this slow-turning beast is many kilowatts in even small winds, I'd bet, not those little turbines boaters curse at. A blade this large driving a simple PM multiphase alternator the mountain men on otherpower.com, rectified and stored in Li-Ion quick charging batteries would give you an immense living power both at anchor or at sea, with the boat, instead of this direct drive, being powered by traction motors, like drive electric cars/trains/buses/trucks. It would be much more versatile than Revelation II....in any point of "sail". Having power STORAGE in the batteries would also make a docking engine unnecessary. The power storage would also drive her fore and aft thrusters for parking...(c;....even if the wind were completely calm. When you come alongside your homeport dock space, you plug the windmill into the pedestal, forcing the local power company, under Federal Law, to buy power FROM the boat, which should offset the dock fees to the point of a small profit in windy months....(c; Not a bad side effect to an electric powered boat, either. Larry -- Message for Comcrap Internet Customers: http://tinyurl.com/3ayl9c Unlimited Service my ass.....(d^ |
#30
posted to rec.boats.cruising
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Say, Larry
"Larry" wrote in message ... "KLC Lewis" wrote in : I'm working up plans for a VAWT (vertical axis wind turbine) for mounting on Essie which should give (assuming all goes well) about 10 amps of charging current into the batteries turning at 120 rpm. Should be very very quiet (virtually silent, actually). The only part of it that is really unique to my own design is the wind turbine itself, which is as streamlined as I can make it to reduce drag loss, while maintaining optimum wind cupping. Don't know if or when it will be finished, but I'll post progress here if and when it occurs. The incredibly efficient and simple design of the permanent magnet, multiphase alternators used by the mountain men on otherpower.com is well suited to your purpose. A vertical axis turbine directly pulling the magnets across those sealed coils just above the deck would work fantastic, if you can keep the turbine from broaching over. Yah, axial flux alternators are the only way to go. I'll use a 3 phase axial flux, currently weighing the benefits of using Halbach Array magnets (imitation monopoles) although they tend to be rather expensive. This, of course, is offset by making iron backing plates redundant, so you eliminate the expense and weight of them. |
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