Date: 10 October 2021. Adding an Air-Breeze
Wind Generator (#2 in series)
©
janice142
This became a multi-part series on power for an off-grid life
afloat. It details the order in
which I added power to Seaweed. In the series I cover both the mistakes made,
and the choices that were spot on. Feel free to learn from my
mistakes.
For those with slower connections I am splitting the series
into smaller portions. It is far easier to download a smaller webpage
especially when the connection is iffy at best. This is Part Two.
For those that prefer everything
on one page, this is the link you want:
Power from None to Now (the complete
series)
|
As described in part one of this series
Power, Initial Purchases,
I first added a single 75 watt solar panel to Seaweed back in 2010.
Later friends passed along two batteries which I added to my system.
Though better than where I started by a wide margin, I knew that
more would be better. In that regard there were other options to
explore.
Fortunately
I was offered a SouthWinds Air-Breeze wind generator at an entirely
reasonable price. Thanks to Ken on Sparrow who installed same,
Seaweed was on the river to self-sufficiency at anchor.
This is my friend Ken.
Solar panels when combined with a wind generator meant I had
redundancy. This is important because if the sun isn't shining often
the breeze is often blowing. If I were to run down my batteries,
having the ability to sit tight and have them recharge via wind or
sun is a comforting matter.
Memory Lane:
Growing up aboard our 40'er, one of the things we strove for and
eventually achieved was abundance. We had three belt sanders,
two alternators, two anchors, a spare shaft, spare prop, extra
pieces of steel, two welders (one regular, one TIG), and just
one child. Hey, they hit it right the first time -- no need for
a replacement, eh?!? Although if I were to be completely honest,
Daddy did say one of me was quite sufficient. |
But I digress...
Now the stats according to literature
at SouthWinds stated that this unit would produce a peek of 40aH.
Although I have yet to see those results, I am not complaining.
Experience has lead me to believe companies tend to provide best case scenarios
when describing their gear. On the east coast where sea breezes are the norm the
wind generator was a Great addition to my power situation.
Here on the west coast the Gulfport anchorage has good breezes. As a matter of fact, I have seen more sailboats actually
sailing in that area than any other since leaving Pensacola. A bit about the
town can be found in the
Gulfport, FL weekend dockmaster Tom
article.
The wind generator post is just aft of my initial 75
watt solar panel.
One gent had given me
the Schedule 40 (heavy duty pipe, with thick walls) stainless
support that holds my wind generator.
And then Dale (you met him in the
Birds and my friend Dale the Welder
article) welded the piece together. Dale added a davit I had found
by the side of the road to the wind-gen post. He went above and
beyond to create a cleat for me to use. That cleat has been even more
useful than I had originally imagined. I am grateful.
A night heron is perched on the dinghy davit Dale
welded to the wind generator post for me. Note the cleat too.
|
When Ken sold the Air-Breeze unit to me he said he'd supplied
Air-X blades as his kitties were annoyed by the sound of those
blades on his unit. I thought that was a mite strange and let it
pass. It was wonderful to have a working wind generator and
blades are blades, aren't they?!?
Then a square wave inverter was installed aboard Seaweed. It
had the worst tone/hum... the sound of the unit running was
beyond annoying. Though I love having an inverter I almost
always shut mine off at night so the noise won't disturb me.
Ken's crew, Erin and Lessa
I am in league with kitties. I too
know
empirically certain sounds can be annoying. |
|
So a few years into the journey I am making progress. At that point
I had
one 75 watt solar panel with a Morningstar 10 solar regulator.
Friends passed along two great batteries which doubled my battery
bank. And then I purchased the Air-Breeze wind generator. I am on my
way to a self-sufficient life at anchor, thanks to friends both new
and old.
Free Advice:
Make sure before you opt for a wind generator that your cruising
area has strong prevailing winds.
There are going to be more additions... those will be detailed in
the next article in this series. Thank you for reading.
Do you have a wind generator? If so, what kinds is
yours?
Knowing what you know now, would you purchase this unit again?
Regarding the Comments Section,
found at the end of every article:
-
Before you type in each block be
sure to hit the backspace key. Coding inserts a space in every box.
Your email address will come back as malformed unless you remove
that space. (You don't have to include your email address.)
-
The capcha is case sensitive.
|
COMMENTS:
© 2021, © 2023
Categories: Anchorages,
Boats,
Characters,
Gear,
Locations,
Memory Lane,
Pets,
Wild Things,
Power, Initial Purchases (#1 in
series) ~
Previous Post ...
... Next Post
~
Gasoline Generator Added (starting
the wrong way) (#3 in series)
|