Most of the wind generators in my marina have broken blades.....I think the sun and ozone kills the plastic pretty fast....odd. Maybe they're old and unused?
leinfam@earthlink.net
LED Anchor Light Design, 101 .....
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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John R.
Re: No worry, the blades all fall off in the sun!
True.......the UV does destroy the blades and then the vibration makes it's effects known. I have a LVM Aerogen 3 and it wasn't long after it was in service that I had to completely redo the blades. I scraped the UV damaged plastic from the blade surfaces, then sanded them down, then applied two coats of West epoxy, sanded and then applied 3 coats of Interthane. They are now better then new. Surprisingly these blades were made of glass reinforced plastic, similar to Marelon fittings. The sun really took a toll on them. I think they have changed the blades on the newest units. Good little wind generator though, very quiet.
JimL wrote: Most of the wind generators in my marina have broken blades.....I think the sun and ozone kills the plastic pretty fast....odd. Maybe they're old and unused?
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Larry DeMers
Re: No worry, the blades all fall off in the sun!
Hi John,
How much output do you get on average? Do you have a feel for how many aH you replace with that Aerogen? Also, I think you shot me a photo of your boat once upon a time, but I don't recall the specifics on how you mounted the windgen. Care to elaborate on that aspect please? (I am considering this addition sometime)
Thanks & Cheers,
Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 Lake Superior
demers@sgi.com
How much output do you get on average? Do you have a feel for how many aH you replace with that Aerogen? Also, I think you shot me a photo of your boat once upon a time, but I don't recall the specifics on how you mounted the windgen. Care to elaborate on that aspect please? (I am considering this addition sometime)
Thanks & Cheers,
Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 Lake Superior
John R. wrote: True.......the UV does destroy the blades and then the vibration makes it's effects known. I have a LVM Aerogen 3 and it wasn't long after it was in service that I had to completely redo the blades. I scraped the UV damaged plastic from the blade surfaces, then sanded them down, then applied two coats of West epoxy, sanded and then applied 3 coats of Interthane. They are now better then new. Surprisingly these blades were made of glass reinforced plastic, similar to Marelon fittings. The sun really took a toll on them. I think they have changed the blades on the newest units. Good little wind generator though, very quiet.
JimL wrote: Most of the wind generators in my marina have broken blades.....I think the sun and ozone kills the plastic pretty fast....odd. Maybe they're old and unused?
demers@sgi.com
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John R.
Re: No worry, the blades all fall off in the sun!
Average output I would say runs about 3 - 4 amps at winds in the mid teens. I noted about 10 amps once when it was gusting pretty good over 25. Never kept detailed tabs on the amp hour replacement, I have a Cruising equipment amp hour meter that relieves me of that burden, just a quick glance at the display and I know where the banks stand.
The Aerogen is a very compact wind generator and I designed a 2" stainless stern mount pole with a 1" mount stud and had it fabricated for the unit. Similar to what some people use for a radar dome pole. The pole I designed attaches to the lower and upper stern pulpit rails and also fastens to a stainless plate on the deck. There are no guy wires or angled support rails, they are not necessary with the design. the compactness of the generator with the short blades allows for aesthetic and safe mounting on a stern pole.
The Aerogen is a very compact wind generator and I designed a 2" stainless stern mount pole with a 1" mount stud and had it fabricated for the unit. Similar to what some people use for a radar dome pole. The pole I designed attaches to the lower and upper stern pulpit rails and also fastens to a stainless plate on the deck. There are no guy wires or angled support rails, they are not necessary with the design. the compactness of the generator with the short blades allows for aesthetic and safe mounting on a stern pole.
Larry DeMers wrote: Hi John,
How much output do you get on average? Do you have a feel for how many aH you replace with that Aerogen? Also, I think you shot me a photo of your boat once upon a time, but I don't recall the specifics on how you mounted the windgen. Care to elaborate on that aspect please? (I am considering this addition sometime)
Thanks & Cheers,
Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 Lake Superior
John R. wrote: True.......the UV does destroy the blades and then the vibration makes it's effects known. I have a LVM Aerogen 3 and it wasn't long after it was in service that I had to completely redo the blades. I scraped the UV damaged plastic from the blade surfaces, then sanded them down, then applied two coats of West epoxy, sanded and then applied 3 coats of Interthane. They are now better then new. Surprisingly these blades were made of glass reinforced plastic, similar to Marelon fittings. The sun really took a toll on them. I think they have changed the blades on the newest units. Good little wind generator though, very quiet.
JimL wrote: Most of the wind generators in my marina have broken blades.....I think the sun and ozone kills the plastic pretty fast....odd. Maybe they're old and unused?