Rutland 500, 503, 504 Wind generators.... ?

[s/v Faith]

Anyone have one or have any experience with them?

Been thinking about non-offensive wind generator that does not take over then entire stern. I really like the small wing span of these generators, (Turbine diameter of 20 inches) and wonder if the low output might increase the time between charges enough to make it worth while.

I know the stated output, and have cruised and lived with charging. 60w peak would make a real difference in my charge schedule, especially where the trades blow.

Rutland 503 Wind Generator

Anyone seen, owned, or handled one of these units?

[Capt. Tony]

Oooo!  You had to do it, didn't you, Craig?! 

I've read alot less about wind gens than you have I'd bet.   It seems everybody loves them and everybody hates them.  All models seem to have 'misleading'  claims that people gripe about on some of the boards. 

I've found the marketing department has never been bothered by the truth.  So likewise I never turn to advertisments for the truth.   If you expect output to be lower than optimal, then weight, noise and durability could be deciding factors.  Along with price I might add.   

Noise, from what I've read, is inversely proportional to blade number.  So These guys look good there.  Having saftey brakes to stop the fan in high winds sounds like one more thing to go wrong and starts to overstep the KISS principle.  Weight would be the big issue I'd guess for Faith. 

I sure hope you get one so the rest of us can see what they are like ;D

So, let's see... that'd be a solar panel, a BBQ grill, the dink o.b. and a wind turbine?  How big is 26 feet?!

[LooseMoose]

The only really anti social wind generators are the Air Marine...

All the rest are OK some make more power than others. but they all make sense.. The problem comes when trying to get all of your power from wind or solar only. Right now in the Caribbean the "hip" wind generator is the KISS which is quiet and has the best amps for the bucks. The Rutland, LVM and Ampair re also excellent systems.

Most of the complaints I've heard are from people who have unrealistic expectations on how much their wind (or solar for that matter) will provide.

Bob

http://boatbits.blogspot.com/
http://fishingundersail.blogspot.com/
http://islandgourmand.blogspot.com/

[TritonSkipper]

I guess I would want my cake and eat it too. I would want a quiet wind gen that put out decent amp numbers. But if it came down to one or the other, I would choose quiet.  I don't need enemies at a desolate anchorage  :D

[AdriftAtSea]

From what I have seen and understand, the smaller diameter wind gens are pretty much only useful for "maintenance charging" rather than being really useful for recharging th batteries. 

[s/v Faith]

From what I have seen and understand, the smaller diameter wind gens are pretty much only useful for "maintenance charging" rather than being really useful for recharging th batteries. 

That is the comment expressed in some of the reviews, but then again many of those same reviews would consider most of our boats suitable for an afternoon sail.  ::)

  I have an update on this thread. 

A friend bought a Rutland 913, and installed it on his Islander.  He said it was pretty easy to maintain 5a output, but said the charge rates you see with the larger, more obnoxious wind generators are seldom seen. (KISS, Air-X).

For me, I would gladly trade the wounded helicopter sound of the Air-x for a light hum if the power output were still sufficient (for me).

  It sounds like the Rutland 913 would be more then enough, but that makes me think the 503 (now the 513 IIRC) might be more like a 20w solar panel then a serious contributor to the overall E-budget.

[Godot]

From what I have seen and understand, the smaller diameter wind gens are pretty much only useful for "maintenance charging" rather than being really useful for recharging th batteries. 

That is the comment expressed in some of the reviews, but then again many of those same reviews would consider most of our boats suitable for an afternoon sail.  ::)

  I have an update on this thread. 

A friend bought a Rutland 913, and installed it on his Islander.  He said it was pretty easy to maintain 5a output, but said the charge rates you see with the larger, more obnoxious wind generators are seldom seen. (KISS, Air-X).

For me, I would gladly trade the wounded helicopter sound of the Air-x for a light hum if the power output were still sufficient (for me).

  It sounds like the Rutland 913 would be more then enough, but that makes me think the 503 (now the 513 IIRC) might be more like a 20w solar panel then a serious contributor to the overall E-budget.

Excuse me for bringing this back; but I've been doing a lot of thinking on systems lately. I'm going to think out loud a bit here...

Faith's friend claims that it is pretty easy to maintain 5amp. That sounds pretty good to me for the types of systems I'll be running; but doesn't make much sense from looking at the manufacturer charts as the wind would pretty much have to be blowing 40 knots to make that much. So I guess we are really talking 5 amp/hours/day, which is helpful; but pretty minimal. Figure a 20w panel, brightly lit for 5 hours a day, would probably do a little more than that.

The way I figure it, looking at the chart for the "new" Rutland 504 (which is supposed to do up to 80 watts), that is running the generator at a startup speed of ten knots for about 16 hours. That's not a lot of amps for the money.

Of course, wind generators are only valuable when the wind is blowing (just like solar panels are only useful on sunny days). If the wind increases just five knots to an excellent sailing breeze of 15 knots, the claimed output triples to 1 amp, which over a blowy 16 hours would roughly better the five hour output of 3 20watt solar panels. At twenty knots, the output almost doubles to two knots which starts being a bit useful and is just about enough to supply my theoretical energy usage (probably in the 30-35 amp/hour/day range), and maybe a little extra. At 25 knots (3amps) I'm definetely working a surplus unless I'm being extremely profligate with energy useage for some reason.

Soo...is it worth it? In theory I'd say a definite maybe. It seems like it will come into its' own on breezy/stormy days when it may just seem better to snug into an anchorage (but not a too well protected anchorage) and read a book, and when the sun is likely obscured by clouds. It will also be a welcome boost on windy sailing days when it can easily overtake the generating capacity of a modest solar bank (I have three 20 watters to install). Plus I think it will be easier to find the room for this than for a much larger solar bank on my boat. BUT, the amp/hour/day/dollar ratio seems a little shaky once you get the mounting hardware.

Interestingly, the manufacturer seems to recommend this for battery banks up to 100 amp/hours or so, which is pretty low. That is enough to make a guy go "hmmm." Still...I think this might have a place on a small boat with a modest energy budget.

The unit remains in the "future consideration" bin...

[rorik]

So I guess the answer, for me anyway, is to go all LED with no electronics and a big battery bank with a smallish solar panel.

[Godot]

So I guess the answer, for me anyway, is to go all LED with no electronics and a big battery bank with a smallish solar panel.

Sure, that should work. A minimal system doesn't need much. If you really wanted to you could probably run your whole system on dry cell batteries.

I've got a few gizmos here and there, and an autopilot that eats some electrons. I'm guessing right now as to how many. I also have a laptop which when I'm using it is probably my biggest current draw. What can I say except I'm a geek and like to have a few toys.