Wind thing! (1 Viewer)

[jomel]

Lol by that I mean a wind turbine. I was looking at the 12 volt webside (St Austell) and I saw a wind turbine battery charger thingimijig. Has anyone got one of these for their motorhome? it says you can use them to charge your MH batteries, but do you actually attach them to the van? so they charge as you go along? or stick them in the ground and hope for a breeze? I know! I know! but I am new to this MH business.

 

[pappajohn]

only ever seen one and it appeared to be fixed to a bracket on the roof so it can be removed while travelling.

it will need a charge controller same as a solar panel.

sooner have a good solar panel though.

even gives a trickle charge when theres no sun......wind turbine wont if theres no wind.oh:

 

[Snowbird]

Hi,I tried one a few years ago,it was OK mounted high up on a boat but not very practical on a motorhome,unless you use it as a backup for solar panels.They nead a lot of wind to work and when they are working they are very noisy.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Douglas]

I have used them when I was into sailing but far to noisy for a motor home.

Doug...

 

[vwalan]

the favourite is a rutland something or other , people who have them say they work. there was one on the roof of a bedford army truck here in cornwall. the bloke was pleased with it. i prefer solar .3x 80 watt, 700amp battery bank .works fine. cheers alan.

 

[jomel]

Hmmmm! dont want noise really. Back to looking at solar panels and stuff. Seemed like a good idea too. Solar panels it is I think.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[jomel]

I have been looking at the Efoy Cell too. Anyone have one of these?

 

[scotjimland]

I have been looking at the Efoy Cell too. Anyone have one of these?

Hi
There is a discussion about fuel cells on this thread..

Link Removed

hth

Jim

 

[Snowbird]

I have been looking at the Efoy Cell too. Anyone have one of these?

Hi,I have a friend that had the efoy cell fitted to a new Camper in Germany.It seemed to work fine,coming on when the batteries needed charging,vertualy no noise,but from what I could gather,damned expensive.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[hilldweller]

,damned expensive.

And try asking "can I have a gallon of methanol please", well, just about anywhere. And don't ponder on carrying and storing it or you'll lose sleep.

 

[Snowbird]

And try asking "can I have a gallon of methanol please", well, just about anywhere. And don't ponder on carrying and storing it or you'll lose sleep.

Have enough problems wi the methanol wi me bio.

 

[6pm Cowboy]

Getting back to the wind thingey for a minute..... and showing my ignorance..... wouldn't you use it while you were driving ? it would generate its own wind then.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Douglas]

Getting back to the wind thingey for a minute..... and showing my ignorance..... wouldn't you use it while you were driving ? it would generate its own wind then.

Sounds like a one of those perpetual energy thingys, the van drives the fan and the fan drived the van

Doug...

 

[Snowbird]

Getting back to the wind thingey for a minute..... and showing my ignorance..... wouldn't you use it while you were driving ? it would generate its own wind then.

Hi,At motoway speeds it would probably tear the van apart.To acheave any usefull power,it would be far to big to drive down the road with.

 

[scotjimland]

Getting back to the wind thingey for a minute..... and showing my ignorance..... wouldn't you use it while you were driving ? it would generate its own wind then.

As already mentioned.. at cruising speed it would tear itself apart.. besides, you have an alternator turning out more amps than any wind mill

Solar panels are the way forward, but an expensive investment with a long pay back time unless you full time and don't use camp sites with ehu..

For occasional use and emergencies a small suitcase genny is a good investment.. hail, rain or shine you won't be short of power but you may lose friends ..

Ideally a reasonable sized solar system, say 130 watt with a 2kw genny (coupled to a decent charger) as back up is the way to go, best of both worlds .. but much depends on your style of camping and your budget.

As site fees rise, fuel becomes more expensive and (hopefully) solar panels fall in price many more will be going the 'green' way.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Snowbird]

As already mentioned.. at cruising speed it would tear itself apart.. besides, you have an alternator turning out more amps than any wind mill

Solar panels are the way forward, but an expensive investment with a long pay back time unless you full time and don't use camp sites with ehu..

For occasional use and emergencies a small suitcase genny is a good investment.. hail, rain or shine you won't be short of power but you may lose friends ..

Ideally a reasonable sized solar system, say 130 watt with a 2kw genny (coupled to a decent charger) as back up is the way to go, best of both worlds .. but much depends on your style of camping and your budget.

As site fees rise, fuel becomes more expensive and (hopefully) solar panels fall in price many more will be going the 'green' way.

I agree entirely,There is so much conflicting reports,ideas,etc,regarding charging of leasure batteries,the only way to go is LISTEN to people that use there mhomes without hookup.The system I have is 3X75watt solars charging 3X110amp UPS batts.Wifey watches at least one movie per night,and all the rest of the stuff in van.Onan genny ONLY used for microwave & toaster.We NEVER nead hookups not even if we are away for months.That system is tried and tested and WORKS.Regards,Dave.

 

[scotjimland]

I have is 3X75watt solars charging 3X110amp UPS batts.

Regards,Dave.

Hi Dave, sounds like a good set up. :thumb:

I forgot to mention storage capacity, goes without say really .. but that is the first step.. install a decent sized battery bank.. can't have too much .. this is one department where size does matter..

I have 4 x 85ah batteries that last us about a week or more in summer and use a 2kw Honda genny via the 70A Victron charger to recharge .. takes about four hours if the batteries are down to 12.0v or thereabouts, I try never let them get any lower. :Blush:

As we are planning to downsize I haven't invested in solar, but my next van will definitely have it as we plan to do a lot more off EHU camping..


jim

 

[scotjimland]

I have is 3X75watt solars charging 3X110amp UPS batts.

Regards,Dave.

Hi Dave, sounds like a good set up. :thumb:

I forgot to mention storage capacity, goes without say really .. but that is the first step.. install a decent sized battery bank.. can't have too much .. this is one department where size does matter..

I have 4 x 85ah batteries that last us about a week or more in summer and use a 2kw Honda genny via the 70A Victron charger to recharge .. takes about four hours if the batteries are down to 12.0v or thereabouts, I try never let them get any lower. :Blush:

As we are planning to downsize I haven't invested in solar, but my next van will definitely have it as we plan to do a lot more 'off EHU camping' ..


jim

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Snowbird]

Hi Dave, sounds like a good set up. :thumb:

I forgot to mention storage capacity, goes without say really .. but that is the first step.. install a decent sized battery bank.. can't have too much .. this is one department where size does matter..

I have 4 x 85ah batteries that last us about a week or more in summer and use a 2kw Honda genny via the 70A Victron charger to recharge .. takes about four hours if the batteries are down to 12.0v or thereabouts, I try never let them get any lower. :Blush:

As we are planning to downsize I haven't invested in solar, but my next van will definitely have it as we plan to do a lot more 'off EHU camping' ..


jim

Exactly,no good having a roof full of solars and nowhere to store the free juice you collect.Same with the genny,better to have large battery bank,and if you MUST run genny at least its got something to store the juice in.:thumb:

 

[jomel]

Thanks everyone. I wondered about the wind thing as it shall be called , operating whilst the van is in motion.
It seems a shame not to harness all that energy.
I thought about designing some sort of external tubular system to sit where the awning housing would sit, but with a series of micro roters inside. Ouch! that hurt me brain actually! but there must be a way. Getting the empty tubes of loo roll she sets about making a prototype.
Some boffin might read this, develop it and be a billionaire.

 

[hilldweller]

It seems a shame not to harness all that energy.

Regretfully you are not. Pushing the wind generator through the air takes energy, that energy is provided by the engine. So it's not free energy at all.

You may have seen very early aeroplanes with a little generator propeller but that was because it was too difficult to fix a generator to the engine.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[vwalan]

even the dynamo/alternator on your engines zap energy .when we drag raced vw,s we always took the dynamo belt off at the last minute. even worse with the air cooled as dynamo drives a big fan .at full revs the fan shifted 27 cubic ft a second .lots power wasted. always slip an elastic one on quick after race or end of engine..solar is the answer n lots batteries .

 

[spindrifter]

Hi Jomel

I've done a lot of research re: wind turbine/generators on a motorhome, as I was seriously thinking about installing a Rutland 503/504.

Leave aside the erection/fitting dilemma to your MH - the noise (and they are noisy) - conduiting the supply to the battery via a regulator - the wind to turn the vanes ( a wind speed of 5mph minimum is needed before you even start to produce electricity). I'm afraid they are just not efficient on a MH over the long term.

Much better to fit a solar panel - one with the the biggest output you can afford/fit to your MH. Which is what I did in the end.

Link Removed

Link Removed

Cheers

David.........(Spindrifter)

 

[vwalan]

i think dont get the biggest one you can afford .slit it into 2or 3 panels.if one gets damaged you can still use the others .if you damage a big one you are ffffff.i use3 x80watt panels nice size to handle . there is some cheap ones on e bay these days. only takes one stone from a kid on a bridge to break a panel.have fun .alan

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}