Champstar Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 I was having a look at wind turbines as an alternative to solar panels or in conjuction with. did not fancy the idea of the propeller type so had a look at a vertical axis type like this www.envirotekpower.co.uk What do others think of this? Is it worth it or just rubbish. cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyman Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 did read this......... http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/ but your ones even smaller B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champstar Posted April 22, 2009 Author Share Posted April 22, 2009 had a read of this but it totally lost me...I just want a way of keeping my batteries charged for the m/home. Also living in Scotland it is quite windy!!! Would this be a better investment than a wind out awning >:-) >:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyman Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 well, it says in the first few lines that 'small windmills are a fundamentally flawed technology' You want a micro windturbine......does it mean that they are even more flawed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 What time of year do you intead using it and how much are your power needs? I have been using solar panel for 12(? ) years now, several times in scotland in summer and had no problems with flat batteries, also used to keep batteries topped up in midlands during winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron. Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 We found an 80 solar panel OK in the summer but next to useless in the winter, even in Southern Spain, when you need and use more energy. Wind power is OK, but only when the wind blows of course, so is unreliable. Best bet, and cheapest, we found where extra batteries but you do need somewhere to put them and be able to accommodate the extra weight. Alternatively, you could always lash out on an Efoy system, which would give you guaranteed power. Again though you do need space and spare payload available. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 Champstar - 2009-04-22 10:47 PM Would this be a better investment than a wind out awning >:-) >:-) Can't think of any way your wind-out awning would keep your batteries charged, other than the fact that you'd have to run the engine more often to chase across the highlands after it, which would give your alternator chance to boost it a bit!! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkc Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Hi Champstar, Just a point to consider, vertical axis models are (all things being equal) less efficient due to the fact that one of the turbine blades are in the wind shadow of the other blades, horizontal turbines expose all the blades to the wind all the time, also the question of noise should be considered,this is not a problem if you are charging the battery on a unoccupied boat say,but could be a factor in a motor home while sleeping . regards pkc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Had one on a boat many years ago and the vibration of rotating parts did not aid sleep! Maybe they are better insulated against this nowadays? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stelynn Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I'm also interested in wind power as I think it would be a better all year round solution than solar; which by its very nature only works a limited number of hours a day; and much less so out of the summer period. The vertical axis ones; whilst being less efficient; are much quieter and cause less vibration. Unfortunately I can't find a suitable one yet as those that are currently manufactured are physically too big, but I don't think it will be long before technology will provide us with a compact solution which could perhaps be fitted to the bike rack or assemblies similar to roof mounted aerials. I'll keep searching for something suitable and will post on here when I find it. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champstar Posted April 28, 2009 Author Share Posted April 28, 2009 Hi Steve Have you seen this: www.envirotekpower.co.uk/index.html This may be adaptable...I donr know if it would be worth it...what does anyone think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughmer Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Champstar, I shared your view. My interest was born of winter camping in ski areas. I.e. short days, reduced sun hours but usually plenty of wind. I'd noticed not many vehicles IN these areas had turbines fitted, so I was a bit suspicious about their efficacy. For the past year or so, each time I saw a turbine on a narrowboat or motorhome, I've asked the owner how they rate the device. I reckon I've spoken to about 20 people in different circumstances. Without exception, they've warned me off the notion of buying one. No one at all had any good words to say about the vertical axis variety. They just don't deliver. The most popular was the small Rutland, but even that takes a fair bit of space when packed for traveling. But it's >£300 and you can buy a fairly decent solar panel for that. Other factors to consider: You may not be able to site the turbine in exactly the same place relative to the van connection each time you stop so you'll need to carry spare cable, which should be high current capacity (to avoid voltage drop). You also need to think about how you'd secure the mast. Guys and so forth. When these things get going you don't want the unit falling over. I hate to admit it on these pages but I put my allocated turbine funds towards a gas powered genny. (The pros/cons of gennies have been well rehearsed on these pages before so I hope this doesn't trigger a reopening of that debate). Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porky Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 I also had a vertical type on a boat for many years and got fed up with the noise. I substantially increased my battery capacity and that made the difference. Not if your a purist who never uses the engine of course. On our van two 110amp/hr and careful use is my solution. Porky well fed and happy to avoid getting anywhere near pigs at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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