diy solar

diy solar

Marine Wind Gens

St34mPunkPrivateer

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Joined
Feb 19, 2020
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Hi, all, curious, I really cant find much data on this topic. I have though seen a lot of anecdotal evidence. Those Chinese wind gens vs the high cost models, besides build quality and noise. Do they actually dish out the same #s ? a high cost model I am looking at runs : 400 watts @ 28 mph / 12.5 m/s wind speed, while another off amazon can match that at 1/10th the price. Arn't wind gens kind of limited by the laws of physics, if you have X size blade, and Y kind of spooling motor/gear box, you will get the same result no matter who makes it ? Of course you could lose power through poor fit gears ect and friction, maybe some wiring needs to be beefed up ( as they tend to undersize), but fundamentally I can expect the same performance ?
 
Most important question: is there enough wind? Most locations don't without a tower. See www.solacity.com/small-wind-turbine-truth/. NREL has wind maps that will give you a general idea.

...Arn't wind gens kind of limited by the laws of physics...
Yes they are (a magnus effect wind turbine could be different, but it's just using different principles for force and AFAIK there's no successful commercial version).

Why are some advertisements so astounding they seem to break the laws of physics? Some countries (like the US) have laws regarding the accuracy of information such as what might be found in a datasheet and consumer protection agencies to enforce them. Some countries don't or only pay lip service to them.

That said, even a lot of the U.S. wind generators are probably made in China. Its not that China can't make fantastic products, it's more that it's too easy for a disreputable vendor to take shortcuts or outright lie and that will leave you with a short-lived or dangerous product. That doesn't mean you can trust all U.S. companies, but at least you can go after them.
 
Well, I agree advertisements around wind gen is are kind of crazy, but if the price is right, I dont see a problem if I know what kind of performance I should expect. As far as having wind, most of the days I would rely on the wind gen would be days we would have stormy weather, which around here means decent wind speeds. Its a way to supplement my solar on off days. For the price of 300 or less, I can spring for a few amps of supplemental charging in those conditions. When you charge me 1500 for that same price, its harder to swallow, if both units are going to be give me the same power theoretically, which they should as the components are generally the same, and blade design doesn't effective the power generation , compared to just pure scaling. IT seems like the 1500 unit should be at least 2x 3x as big as the one for 300, even tho 400W out of a 300 dollar unit is still bogus advertising.
 
Well, I agree advertisements around wind gen is are kind of crazy, but if the price is right, I dont see a problem if I know what kind of performance I should expect. As far as having wind, most of the days I would rely on the wind gen would be days we would have stormy weather, which around here means decent wind speeds. Its a way to supplement my solar on off days. For the price of 300 or less, I can spring for a few amps of supplemental charging in those conditions. When you charge me 1500 for that same price, its harder to swallow, if both units are going to be give me the same power theoretically, which they should as the components are generally the same, and blade design doesn't effective the power generation , compared to just pure scaling. IT seems like the 1500 unit should be at least 2x 3x as big as the one for 300, even tho 400W out of a 300 dollar unit is still bogus advertising.
OK. To get my feet wet, which hobbyist unit would you recommend?
 
...As far as having wind, most of the days I would rely on the wind gen would be days we would have stormy weather...
Wind can complement solar as you suggest...but it'll depend on how violent your storms are. Turbines generally have a max wind speed after which they have to shut off for safety. AFAIK the only wind technology not affected by that is the magnus wind turbines mentioned above, but AFAIK there are no commercially available units.
 
Ran across this at the end of the article above, might be a place to get real-world data:

...Certification programs are under way in various places to provide real turbine performance data. In North America this is being spearheaded by the Small Wind Certification Council, which requires third-party certification of turbine performance in a standardized fashion. Manufacturers will no longer be able to fudge power curves, or specify ‘rated power’ at hurricane-force wind speeds. This will allow you, the consumer, to compare turbines on a much more even footing.
 
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