Wilderness Power

[DaveK]

Then again, it seems half of the time we camp it is in sustained 20+MPH winds...

Ain't that the truth!!!

[gon2srf]

Dave-

Wind turbines are readily found on cruisers and live-a-boards throughout the world. I have slept in dozens of anchorages up and down the North American west coast and on occasion had the unfortunate opportunity to have a boat or two with turbines anchor nearby (and not so near). The problem is noise, the higher the wind speed the noisier they get. The noise is not caused solely by the blades but also is caused by the generator that produces the power as the blades turn around. I'm not sure if the units you are looking at have this option but some sophisticated units electronically slow the blades at the point in which damage may be caused or where there is a diminished return on blade speed. The turbine naturally resonates through whatever it is connected to and on boats that is usually a steel or aluminum mast of some type which then transfers to the hull and other rigging. Isolating the pole or mast is key to reducing noise and in your case if you could possibly insert it into the ground where the earth will absorb the vibration that would be best. Attaching it to your rig means more than likely you will hear and feel the vibration especially at night while trying to sleep. Since you tend to camp in isolated areas the noise may not be of a large concern. However just be aware that the noise from a wind turbine might be a novelty the first night at camp but as days pass it can become downright irritating to you and others. On another note and this is very obvious but mounting the turbine as high as possible to allow for clean air is important for efficiency. Too bad you aren't planning to go to Surf n' Turf this weekend to try one out, I can guarantee you there will be plenty of wind there. Good luck with your research.


Scott

[OLLIE]

Then again, it seems half of the time we camp it is in sustained 20+MPH winds...

Ain't that the truth!!!

Especially when Dave and Larry start to jabber at one another...

[cruiserlarry]

Then again, it seems half of the time we camp it is in sustained 20+MPH winds...

Ain't that the truth!!!

Especially when Dave and Larry start to jabber at one another...

At least it's hot air

[DaveK]

Interesting development.

Southwest Windpower makes a "compact" wind turbine called the Air X, comparable to the Tycon model. Produces twice the power (400 watts), costs about $600.00 (about $100.00 more than Tycon), and weighs about 13 pounds (6 less than Tycon). See: http://www.windenergy.com/documents/spe ... X_Spec.pdf

One other important difference is the diameter of the blades. The Tycon is 36 inches and the Air X is 46 inches. It also reaches top generating power at 26mph.

Scott: there is one difference that addresses your comments about noise. It seems that the Air X limits blade speed when top generating power is reached and the unit is slowed down almost to zero when the battery is fully charged. It would be nice to get some dB numbers to compare each unit.