are you happy with your wind turbine?

 I'd like to swap experiences with owners of home wind turbines. There's a lot of
chatter on the newsgroups about wind turbines but
it's mostly theoretical.. I own an Aero4gen-F 12v turbine and I'm not entirley
happy with it and I'm thinking of upgrading so I'd
value opinions from other turbine owners. Here is a picture of the installation
I have:
http://www.zen73857.zen.co.uk/turbine/situ.htm
Here is a clearer picture of the Aero4gen-F turbine.
http://www.lvmshop.co.uk/item.asp?ls=&v~BA94CA50E743DAB4FA9CDA450CE787&id&40
Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the aero4gen, it's a well made little
turbine but it's too small for my needs. Not enough
power for what it cost me. This is my first turbine and it's my own fault for
starting with something too small. I was thinking of
upgrading to the Aero6gen-F
http://www.lvmshop.co.uk/item.asp?ls=&v~BA94CA50E743DAB4FA9CDA450CE787&id&52
but first I'd like to get some feedback from owners of other turbines for
comparison. I use a stainless steel 38mm (2inch) pole
(5mm wall thickness) for the turbine.
The aero4gen 12v specs boast 10A max output but I've never seen it produce that.
5A is the maximum I've ever seen. In upgrading I
can't go too big because the installation I have for a turbine isn't strong
enough to hold a big blade machine, and it's the only
location I have so 1.5m max blade diameter is my limit, and I want to stay with
12v. The pole is top clamped at 1.4m below the
turbine. I could easily fit a stronger pole if need be.
What I like about the aerogen turbine is that it's well made and it's all metal
apart from the blades. It has nice big bearings and
the moving parts are beefy and strong. This is one reason for staying with the
aerogen brand but that's because I know nothing
about other brands of home-based turbines.
So, are you happy with your turbine? Tell me about it.

 

I have:

            Rather than upgrading, is there enough room to
add a second generator?


            38 mm is not 2 inches, 2 inches is 50.8 mm.


            That small a pipe would definitely not carry a larger
generator, in fact, a fabricated tower might be better.


          I like the idea of 12 volt everything, with multiple
units, both for redundancy and utility of being common
with automotive equipment.


          It sounds like a much larger diameter than 38 mm
would be needed for a larger machine.


            Are you sure you can;t keep that system and
add another larger one?


            I don't have enough wind.       And I don't have
enough sun, so I should move.

Joe Fischer

 

typing error. I should have typed 48mm, which is very close to 2inches. It is a
2 inch pipe so it would take a slightly bigger
turbine.

 
of chatter on the newsgroups about wind turbines but

happy with it and I'm thinking of upgrading so I'd

installation I have:

You are in an ideal position to know how to compute the output of a new
turbine.

Look at the output graph for your existing turbine vs windspeed.
Now, look at the new turbines graph, and work out how much power you'd
get out at the same windspeed.

See if this is enough for you.

 

            I think he mentioned 12 volts and rated 10 Amps,
but that is only 120 watts, so maybe thinking more of
watts output will help in any decision.

Joe Fischer