Not solar power but..... (1 Viewer)

Benni-Boy

Free Member
Feb 10, 2009
47
0
Halifax
Funster No
5,596
MH
Coachbuilt
Exp
30 years
solar power

Hi shiftzz, I used to have one on a boat I once owned before I saw the light and swapped water for tarmac! To be perfectly frank the wind generators are pretty useless. It needs to be really large and spinning like crazy to do much good. They are also noisy things when they get some speed up. I have a decent sized solar panel on the roof of my Benimar and two 110v batteries and have never had a problem. Even in our climate they are more efficient than wind power.
 

Jim

Ringleader
Jul 19, 2007
36,186
128,602
Sutton on Sea, UK
Funster No
1
MH
Adria Panel Van.
Exp
Since 1988
I saw a couple for sale at Newark but the £650 price tag kept me well away. I have been told that vibrations are a problem too. I like the idea though, coupled with a solar panel you would input into your batteries on most days

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scotjimland

LIFE MEMBER
Jul 25, 2007
2,076
8,975
Suffolk Coastal District, UK
Funster No
15
MH
Timberland
Roger is always harping on about them.. but he stays in windy Devon :roflmto:

I don't consider them practical for a motorhome, too big, too heavy and noisy.. I've only seen one on a van in France but never saw it running as we were on ehu. It was clamped onto the rear ladder and had some sort of rigging to raise it above the van roof.. not for me... solar panels and a genny for back up :thumb:
 

hilldweller

LIFE MEMBER
Dec 5, 2008
605
36,108
Macclesfield
Funster No
5,089
MH
Zilch Mk1
Exp
From Aug 2007
Driving down Spain - loads of wind turbines, of course, but now we are seeing signs of solar farms, not big but say 200 times a big MH panel and some were steerable.

Wind is fickle stuff, the number of stationary turbines I see in the UK and here make me wonder if they are being over-sold.

We drove past a single blade off one, parked in a layby, it took serious time to drive it's length, we both sort of came out with CHRIST.
 

Braunston

Free Member
May 21, 2008
1,408
7
Funster No
2,762
Hi, Drifting off the subject slightly we have had our narrow boat for just over 15 years and have never found the need for solar or wind power, all we do is run the engine for a few hours every day if we haven't been cruising, do any of you do this with the MH as it just seems the most cost effective solution, we have 3 135amp batteries, We sometimes take our small generator but that is only used if the wife wants to use her hair dryer or on the very odd occasion when the batteries have gone flat over the winter, but that has only happened 2 or 3 times in 15+ years
 

GJH

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 20, 2007
29,450
38,828
Acklam, Teesside, originally Glossop
Funster No
127
MH
None, now sold
Exp
2006 to 2022
I saw a couple for sale at Newark but the £650 price tag kept me well away. I have been told that vibrations are a problem too. I like the idea though, coupled with a solar panel you would input into your batteries on most days

I saw those as well. Apart from the price they looked a bit small and flimsy to do much good. Not sure how they would have stood up to the weather on Saturday afternoon ::bigsmile:

We are very happy with our stand-alone solar panel. We were feeding the battery all weekend, even much of Saturday.

Graham
 

hilldweller

LIFE MEMBER
Dec 5, 2008
605
36,108
Macclesfield
Funster No
5,089
MH
Zilch Mk1
Exp
From Aug 2007
but now we are seeing signs of solar farms, not big but say 200 times a big MH panel and some were steerable.

And even more now... Several solar farms using panels approx 10 feet by 15 feet. One site had at least 100 in rows across the fields. Cost that out at the price of MH panels, quite a lot.

Good news is, the more they are used the lower the prices should be.

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Douglas

Free Member
Aug 22, 2008
2,835
400
South Wales,
Funster No
3,779
Exp
6 years + 5 years in boat before that
I too have used wind power in the past, on a boat when we lived on one in the Med and Portugal, you need a lot of wind to make them effective and they are noisy and vibrate a lot.

When the weather is good for the generator ie windy, you will say its bad weather and when the weather is good you will say its no good for the generator.

To be effective they need to be erected above the height of the buildings/MH to get the best air flow and that is a problem with a MH.

If you had a fixed site in the UK there are many good point about them but if you are mobile and hopefully south of the UK I don't rate them at all.


Doug...
 

Wildman

Free Member
May 30, 2008
0
8,470
Ilfracombe, Devon
Funster No
2,913
MH
Amazon Ambassador
Exp
since 1967
Wind power is of most use in the winter when there is little sun for your solar panels. A wind generator will chuck out a few amps 24 hours a day 365 days a year if it is the right size but does need hoisting to a suitable height. Vibration can be a problem if badly engineered. I got too bogged down in Beast refurbisgment to built one this last winter so maybe next winters project. Must be light, have removeable blades and retractable tower, but then I was going to build one of those for my ham radio setup in anycase, all work and no time, isn't is hard work being retired, hee hee.
 

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