# Wind Turbine/Solar Panel Recharging



## HappyHippy (Sep 1, 2006)

Deleted by auther.


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## tinker (Sep 2, 2006)

*Solar/Wind Power*

No, dont go the genny route. Spoils any place that you wild it. I have a two panel solar set up and find this sufficient for my needs. I have another 3' x 5' panel to add and will be able to run the PC on board when I upgrade my invertor. Remember to use a charge controller, easiest way to not ruin a new leisure battery. If you want to try wind power, try looking on eBay for the sturmey archer dynamo hub. A bridge rectifier is needed to boost the six volt to twelve, but with the right instructions these are easy to make. Benefits, 1/10 the price of a Rutland and so much more fun to use something you have made, not bought of a shelf. I am experimenting at the moment with a savonious generator, the benefits are that it takes less time to set up when you park up and is a much more compact unit.  I have eperimented with alternator style generators and the downfalls were, you need to excite with a live twelve volt connection, meaning that in time of no wind it still uses the power. There is also a minimum wind speed needed, the average rpm on a car is 900, this has to be worked out for size, pitch etc of the blades to be used and sufficient wind speed. Hope this answers your question.


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## HappyHippy (Sep 2, 2006)

Deleted by auther.


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## Journeyman (Sep 2, 2006)

tinker said:
			
		

> No, dont go the genny route. Spoils any place that you wild it. I have a two panel solar set up and find this sufficient for my needs. I have another 3' x 5' panel to add and will be able to run the PC on board when I upgrade my invertor. Remember to use a charge controller, easiest way to not ruin a new leisure battery. If you want to try wind power, try looking on eBay for the sturmey archer dynamo hub. A bridge rectifier is needed to boost the six volt to twelve, but with the right instructions these are easy to make. Benefits, 1/10 the price of a Rutland and so much more fun to use something you have made, not bought of a shelf. I am experimenting at the moment with a savonious generator, the benefits are that it takes less time to set up when you park up and is a much more compact unit.  I have eperimented with alternator style generators and the downfalls were, you need to excite with a live twelve volt connection, meaning that in time of no wind it still uses the power. There is also a minimum wind speed needed, the average rpm on a car is 900, this has to be worked out for size, pitch etc of the blades to be used and sufficient wind speed. Hope this answers your question.



Can you explain how a gene spoils a place when wilding it? I wouldn't be without my wee Honda, its been a lifesaver, especially in the winter when running gas blow heaters/tv's/computers etc. My set up is have the vehicle engine charge batteries when mobile along with a solar panel. When camped up for a couple of days let the gene take the strain with a 240v supply and a charge up for your batteries. It works for me...
Also, the constant hum of a gene and the exhaust fumes tend to send midgies towards campers not running one ( a gene that is )...


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## carman (Sep 8, 2006)

*wind gennys*

HI
    just been looking at the boats in a marina where i live ,quite a few had the wind chargers ,they were going like the clappers ,don,t know if they are 12 or 24 v  output , but i suppose they could be easily carried around in a camper, then rigged up to suit ,boat breakers or ebay may be worth look

                         mick


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## tinker (Sep 9, 2006)

*Peace and Quiet*

Hey Journeyman, its down to individual choice. (each to thier own). After years of dragging a generator in and out of various vans, I finally decided on an alternative means of power, one that could stay set up, not move around and more importantly save space and weight, not only the generator, but the fuel as well. I also find that solar and wind power means that you can enjoy, the peace and quiet of a wild spot and people dont realise that you are there. When I find these spots I tend to stay for more that a couple of days. I have stopped sometimes for up to three or four weeks. With the set up that I have now there is no need to worry about how much fuel, for how many days. Power is there as and when I need it. Hey HappyHippy, yes the panels stay on the roof all the time. I used to move them in and out, but with the advancement of years and a phyisical disability, I needed the alternative. The problems you pointed out with a savonious are correct. Its these type of problems I like to overcome. Not that I will this time. I am using a Dyno hub from a bicycle. They are easily available on eBay. There is one seller that has a book that will give you details of the bridge rectifier. Bear in mind the need for a charge controller. I destroyed a good leisure battery by not using one. Once the initial outlay has been overcome, there is no other outlay i.e. fuel, spark plugs, oil, maintenance of a generator and will last a lot longer. Have fun.


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## HappyHippy (Sep 11, 2006)

Deleted by auther.


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## sea lion (Sep 12, 2006)

I used to live on a narrowboat and would moor up for two weeks at a time relying on a rutland wind generator and a 20w solar panel and 3 leisure batteries. 

Solar panel excellent in summer when power requirements are least. Could keep going indefinitely. Pretty well useless in winter.

Wind generator (903 i think?) better in winter but intermittent. You need a good position. Drastically effected by trees/shelter. Noisey as well. The higher you mount it the better.

My advice would be to concentrate on reducing power consumption as well as how to generate. LED lighting, LCD tv, no inverters, that kind of thing. I also used oil lamps. Maybe not so practical in a motorhome.

I have also found it very dificult to charge a 12v battery from a petrol generator. You get very little output from the charger (square as oppposed to sine wave output?)

Might be worth considering adding extra leisure battery capacity and a high output alternator so that when you do run out (and you will at some time), a boost from the engine would be quickest.

Hope this helps....


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## tinker (Sep 19, 2006)

*Wind n Solar*

Hi again, the panels I use at the moment are a 60 and an 80 watt. I too have looked at low energy lights etc. Have found cold cathode tubes work well as they consume very small amounts of power. I use a lcd tv for short periods of time, the inverter is for short use of the computer to download photos. Small batteries for camera, shaver can be charged via small solar panel battery charger. I even use a wind up torch. The quote you had was a tad expensive, almost all of my kit has been bought from ebay. I am planning a trip to Scotland at the end of October at can help with fitting any panels etc that you have bought. I usually tour for a couple of months.


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## David & Ann (Dec 3, 2006)

*Generators*

I have a Medusa 950 gene. I use it daily not because of my batteries, because I run a 240V 17" TV with DVD and Tape Recorder combi: 12v TV's are small and expensive to buy. I usually park 50m away and I have no complaints of noise as it is quite quiet. The smoke is usually caused due to a build up in the exhaust which eventually creates the situation. Remove exhaust, use a blow torch to soften the build up and wire brush it.


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## carol25singer (Jun 2, 2007)

*Solar Panels*

We invested in a briefcase type 28W solar panel which works great - he wired it up and put a regulator in the line, apparently it prevents the solar panel from overcharging the battery.  
However we are thinking of relying more on our own power and investing in another briefcase, or a solar panel, probably stick with the briefcase type one as they a easier to install and store plus he doesn't fancy drilling holes in the roof.
We have a compressor fridge which will only run off 12v i.e. not a 3 way and a 15" LCD TV which we would probably use about 3 hours at most. He was deliberating about replacing the fridge with a 3 way one until he found out the cost!
Does anyone have any advice as to how to link up a 2nd solar briefcase thing please?


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## autosleeper (Jun 2, 2007)

HappyHippy said:
			
		

> Has anyone got any experience of using a small wind turbine like a Rutland 503 or those sleek but expensive thin flexible stick-on solar panels you can get for the roof of the van? The idea is to be able to keep a leisure battery charged indefinitely without a mains hook-up or running the engine. This is not cheap kit, so I would like to hear from anyone who has tried this kind of thing. Would I just be better off with a small genny? I have even toyed with the idea of building my own windmill using an automotive alternator of the same type as my engine uses which could then simply be connected in parallel with the existing alternator to charge both the leisure and the vehicle battery at once, as if running the engine but without using any fuel. Probably a good bit cheaper than a Rutland, but probably not as efficient though.



Hi Happy.  We have a large solid Solar Panel on the roof. It is a Kyocera 120watt.We have removed the original zig unit & replaced it with a battery to battery charger. from Sterling Products.  We have an under bonnett battery, & two leisure batteries.  The alternator & the solar panel are wired to charge the main underbonnett battery, & the battery to battery charger,then feeds the leisure batteries.   On a sunny day we get enough power from the Solar Panel to supply normal services,  We do not have a microwave or any such appliances.  only the normal everyday things.  We find that the batteries are always kept up to around 13.6
We also have a normal battery charger wired in circuit, so if we are plugged into the mains. this charges everything just the same.
If you would like any further information, or wiring diagrams.  please let me know.  my email  is JdthFrth@aol.com   regards  Judi.


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## Nosha (Jun 10, 2007)

*Wind Power*

MANY boats use a turbine but they are often moored up for long periods with only weekend use.

And hopefully in the summer it won't be windy... so I would suggest the solar route as the most modern units still produce power on a cloudy day.


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## GARY ENGLISH (Jun 14, 2007)

*Recharging*

Hi all ,intresting reading what every one thinks this is a problem for some.Obviously depends on how much power you need a day.The solar panels seems to be the way foreward at the moment,the jennies have got quiet to what they were ,especially the slim line hondas.Plenty of advice on here with people using many different set ups.Hope you get sorted ,with the hel[p of these people.


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## gordon (Jun 15, 2007)

hi i've set up a wind turbine to charge batterys but i have used a bank of traction batterys which gives me 600 mh and can run my m/h for more than two weeks when fully charged. and every thing is run through a inverter.
traction batterys are found in forktrucks boats subs ect they are not cheap but will last 5 times longer than leisure batterys.
gordon.


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