Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 05-17-2019, 10:11 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: North of Seattle, WA
Posts: 17,288
Wind Turbines

Anyone using a wind turbine to charge batteries?

I'm starting to see units selling between $100 and $200 in the 400-500 watt output range. Some are even offered in kits with up to 4 solar panels included.

In thinking about it it might make sense if one boondocks where there's wind but sunshine is either shaded by trees or bad weather.

Just curious and if you do, share the type of controller you use.
__________________
"A wise man can change his mind. A fool never will." (Japanese Proverb)

"You only grow old when you run out of new things to do"

2018 Flagstaff Micro Lite 25BDS
2023 f-150 SCREW XLT 3.5 Ecoboost (The result of a $68,000 oil change)
TitanMike is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-17-2019, 10:57 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
dbledan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: KS
Posts: 2,369
We had turbines at an old leeds office building, 3 smaller ones. When the wind blew it sounded like you were at an airport. I am curious if they have resolved this now or not. The sound drove me nuts and I would never subject myself to that again. Do you know if the units are noisy? Just something to consider.

The 3 turbines powered exit lights and some emergency fluorescenct lights with a fairly sizable battery bank. This was 10 years ago so things have likely changed a lot by now.
dbledan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-18-2019, 12:40 AM   #3
Just as confused as you
 
Scrapper's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: south central Wisconsin
Posts: 5,108
I have a neighbor that uses a half blade wind turbine with his class c motorhome. It has a single blade with a counter balance sort of like the attached images. He parks one of the rear tires on it's base plate. VAWT's operate quieter than HAWT's but at the expense of needing higher wind speed to get started.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	maxresdefault.jpg
Views:	74
Size:	102.8 KB
ID:	204849   Click image for larger version

Name:	MBB-Monopteros-50-Wilhelmshave_02708f7344.jpg
Views:	124
Size:	12.0 KB
ID:	204850  
__________________
Richard & Jill
2014 Flagstaff 832IKBS Classic Super Lite
2018 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab Z71 4WD All Star Edition
Camping since 1989, Seasonal since 2000.
Car Shredder Op/Tech, Scrap Metal Recycling - retired
Scrapper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-18-2019, 11:34 AM   #4
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: North of Seattle, WA
Posts: 17,288
Quote:
Originally Posted by dbledan View Post
We had turbines at an old leeds office building, 3 smaller ones. When the wind blew it sounded like you were at an airport. I am curious if they have resolved this now or not. The sound drove me nuts and I would never subject myself to that again. Do you know if the units are noisy? Just something to consider.

The 3 turbines powered exit lights and some emergency fluorescenct lights with a fairly sizable battery bank. This was 10 years ago so things have likely changed a lot by now.
Some of the units I've seen advertised have 5 blades. I stayed in a park in Las Vegas last January and had a neighbor with a pair of wind turbines. They had at least 5, maybe more blades and they didn't appear to be any noisier than a house fan. They were turning pretty quick even in low wind.

I know that "The Company" which was GI slang for one of our "Alphabet Agencies" working in Vietnam during the war had an airplane with a 6 bladed prop and it was quiet. In the late 70's I watched one take off from a local airport and it was amazingly quiet.

Apparently the more blades the quieter they can be and I suppose blade shape makes a difference too.
__________________
"A wise man can change his mind. A fool never will." (Japanese Proverb)

"You only grow old when you run out of new things to do"

2018 Flagstaff Micro Lite 25BDS
2023 f-150 SCREW XLT 3.5 Ecoboost (The result of a $68,000 oil change)
TitanMike is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-18-2019, 01:53 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Iwannacamp's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 7,916
Quote:
Originally Posted by TitanMike View Post
Some of the units I've seen advertised have 5 blades. I stayed in a park in Las Vegas last January and had a neighbor with a pair of wind turbines. They had at least 5, maybe more blades and they didn't appear to be any noisier than a house fan. They were turning pretty quick even in low wind.



I know that "The Company" which was GI slang for one of our "Alphabet Agencies" working in Vietnam during the war had an airplane with a 6 bladed prop and it was quiet. In the late 70's I watched one take off from a local airport and it was amazingly quiet.



Apparently the more blades the quieter they can be and I suppose blade shape makes a difference too.


I assume less pitch angles to achieve the same thrust, but that’s really just a guess.
__________________
2017 Puma 297RLSS
2005 Ram 2500 4X4 diesel SMOKER!!
I love puns, irony and tasteless jokes...
born in Texas.... live in Arkansas
Iwannacamp is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:17 AM.