Alternate battery charging besides solar

[NavyLCDR]

Originally Posted by Bob K4TAX

If I were considering alternate power, my choice would be about 1 kW of wind power plus 2 x 100AH AGM batteries. Wind doesn't involve any chemicals, such as those used in solar panel production. It is available 24 hrs/a day, unlike solar which is only available a limited number of hours per day.

Bob

Wind is available 24/7? No it is not. It's only available when there is enough wind blowing to turn the blades at the location where the blades are.

[Aussieguy]

I think he's saying the wind in some places you can have 24/7 good wind energy.
But I reckon these places are few and far apart
then , when you try and build a turbine in these good areas .... "Not in my backyard"


I see a bunch of windfarms whenever I go from Indiana to Ohio
always mention to Mrs Aussieguy, ' look at how many of them are NOT turning '

If we want to be real picky... wind is a form of SOLAR energy
wind is produced by the sun heating up some places , while other places remain cooler.
Land gets hotter faster ... Ocean remains fairly cool = Nice Ocean Breeze in the afternoons..

[NavyLCDR]

Originally Posted by Aussieguy

I think he's saying the wind in some places you can have 24/7 good wind energy.
But I reckon these places are few and far apart
then , when you try and build a turbine in these good areas .... "Not in my backyard"


I see a bunch of windfarms whenever I go from Indiana to Ohio
always mention to Mrs Aussieguy, ' look at how many of them are NOT turning '

If we want to be real picky... wind is a form of SOLAR energy
wind is produced by the sun heating up some places , while other places remain cooler.
Land gets hotter faster ... Ocean remains fairly cool = Nice Ocean Breeze in the afternoons..

Right now my home solar is generating 7.4 kW of electricity in western Oregon. Yesterday it produced a total of 46.91 kWh (I use about 29 kWh/day for my house). I would not even be able to pump water out of my well with a windmill the last 2 days (no wind). I rest my case.

[jimmarako]

Originally Posted by NavyLCDR

Right now my home solar is generating 7.4 kW of electricity in western Oregon. Yesterday it produced a total of 46.91 kWh (I use about 29 kWh/day for my house). I would not even be able to pump water out of my well with a windmill the last 2 days (no wind). I rest my case.

What size is your solar system and how much of your house is electric?

I have electric dryer, hot water, AC, and well pump. Oven and heat are natural gas. I wish my house only used 29KWH per day. At least it doesn't in the winter (have tank heaters for the horses, and some electric heat in spots) or the summer when the AC is cranking.

Jim M.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Bob K4TAX

Wind doesn't involve any chemicals, such as those used in solar panel production.



Bob

You do realize that the generator in a wind turbine often uses rare earth magnets, the manufacture of which has their own impact on the environment. Blades are also environmentally "unfriendly", often made of polymers.

Both of course are less impactful than a gasoline generator, or for that matter the vehicle that takes us into the great outdoors.

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by Bob K4TAX

If I were considering alternate power, my choice would be about 1 kW of wind power plus 2 x 100AH AGM batteries. Wind doesn't involve any chemicals, such as those used in solar panel production. It is available 24 hrs/a day, unlike solar which is only available a limited number of hours per day. Of course, it would require some assembly and disassembly when moving around, unlike solar which is typically mounted to the roof. Not excluding those portable solar setups which do require some assembly and disassembly.

A 1 kW wind power system is relatively inexpensive and reliable. And there is nothing like generating power while I sleep.

Bob

How do you figure? Wind may be available but does not means it blowing enough to generate power . Guess you spend your time and Kansas or Wyoming . where the wind can blow 24hrs or Not . sun is up everyday

[NavyLCDR]

Not to mention size. Can you imagine toting around a windmill in your pass through storage?

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by MR.M

sun is up everyday

Ever spend much time in WA State, specifically the West side?

The sun may "come up" but here it's known to "not come out" , covered by clouds of varying density even during the summer months.

It's amazing how many people here call in sick on days the sun isn't shrouded in clouds.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by NavyLCDR

Not to mention size. Can you imagine toting around a windmill in your pass through storage?

Not to mention the amount of time spent assembling, setting up, taking down, disassembling, just so it will fit through the door of the pass-through.

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Ever spend much time in WA State, specifically the West side?

The sun may "come up" but here it's known to "not come out" , covered by clouds of varying density even during the summer months.

It's amazing how many people here call in sick on days the sun isn't shrouded in clouds.

Hey it may not peer through the clouds but it's rises everyday . wind is much less reliable depending where you will be . same as the sun, can be very reliable depending are where you are . looked into wind and the amount of wind needed to make it a worth while investment made it a no go . Moving water works day and night but unless you live on a good flowing creek not much help for boondocking around the country . solar and generators are still the best for dry camping ie boondocking .


By the way my 2 190 watt panels are doing great keeping up with usage . run the residential fridge, all 12v light and items in camper along with 2 5watt landsacpe lights that are on all night and one 12v photo cell . 2 cloudy days in a row will have me turning on converter for a few hrs to charge the 2 100 amp lithiums , on the partly cloudy and sunny day no need for converter . 10 days max without converter so far then total clouds ruin it

[itat]

The OP started this thread asking about a water-powered generator. You can be guaranteed the water turbine will produce power in a flowing river 24 hours a day unless there’s a drought that dries up the river. So it would be more reliable than solar or wind, but is there anything commercially available that can be carried around in an RV and generate sufficient electricity to recover, say, 100 AH per day?

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by itat

The OP started this thread asking about a water-powered generator. You can be guaranteed the water turbine will produce power in a flowing river 24 hours a day unless there’s a drought that dries up the river. So it would be more reliable than solar or wind, but is there anything commercially available that can be carried around in an RV and generate sufficient electricity to recover, say, 100 AH per day?

You can buy any one of dozens of "water powered generators" but nothing really suitable for packing in an RV that will generate more than 2 amps @14.6 volts. (Water Lily spec's)

If you want to recover that 100 ah per day you'll need to carry a lot of pipe so you can tap the stream a lot higher than your campsite to provide the necessary "head" to spin a turbine larger than the "Water Lily" mentioned earlier in this thread.

Unless you can channel the flow of a stream into a turbine essentially it will just divert water flow around it as it tries to spin blades that are under increased load of generating.

Almost all small turbine generators require water to be piped from upstream via a "penstock" to provide enough force to generate enough power to do much more than charge a cell phone or provide a trickle charge to a battery.


If one does invest in something like a Water Lily don't forget to also buy a good set of hip waders because you'll either be wading in some deep water to set it up --------- or wading out to recover or clean it out if it's fouled by all the stuff that floats down a steam.