Who Builds The Best Turbine?

[Tim McMurran]

I am looking for general ideas on which brand/version of small wind turbines seem to put up with the most harsh wind and weather conditions. Currently I have two Whisper 100 units that do not do very well. Rusting is a big issue as is cracking of the magnets, snapped bolts and twisted blades.

I currently have a little over 2kw of renewable resources, and a 5kw gas back-up, but rather do not like running the gen set. Our location is on the south coast of Newfoundland, about 5 miles from the Cape Race weather station. Conditions in spring, fall and winter are the most brutal on the turbines. Fog for days at a time, winds have been recorded at over 120km with gusts over 160 for hours or days at a time.

The reason we went for the Whisper line is due to the “high wind” rating from Southwest. The conditions we have had are still below the survival speed for the turbine, but they still can not take the beating that Southwest state they can.

Would a DIY unit be better suited, or is anyone able to offer ideas on a single unit that can take a real beating in the real world at roughly the same price as the 2 Whispers?

Heck I would even volunteer to put a vendors unit to the test and log the data. If a turbine can make it here with out the issues faced in my posting here http://www.greenpowertalk.org/showthread.php?t=7760 they would have a unit that could make it anywhere and sell without issues.

[Ralph Day]

http://www.truenorthpower.com/

Hi Tim
Your conditions sound drastic. I don't think the folks at SWWP tested in a high wind, corrosive environment!

Take a look at the above site...when my H80 from SWWP kacks out that's where I'll look.

Ralph

[Rob Beckers]

Hi Tim,

You could give our Scirocco a try: It's rated to stick together at 215 km/h, and it was tested extensively at Orkney Island, right at the coast, where they actually get those wind speeds. It costs a bit more than two W-100's though... :sad2:

More seriously, the problem is that you get what you pay for in wind turbines. SWWP machines are cheap, and they are so for a reason. That's great for people that don't mind taking their machines down regularly, and doing repairs by themselves. Not so great if you have to pay someone for doing that. In the 2kW size there are two machines that come to mind, neither are cheap. Proven makes a 2.5kW, and it is said to stay in one piece where all other wind turbines fail. For similar money there's also the ARE110, another very sturdy machine with a little more energy production.

-RoB-

[Dan Lenox]

Tim,

I agree with Rob, Scirocco, Proven or ARE are the way to go with manufacturered turbines.

Or build it yourself and save money up front. I built my 17' 3kw turbine for between $1500 - 2000.

Yearly inspection/maintenance is pretty much standard no matter which way you go.

Dan Lenox

[Tim McMurran]

I have been following your build for some time now Dan, and I am leaning more and more towards just that. But I do not know if I have the skills to pull it off. The others seem a priced a little steep, but then you get what you pay for at the end of the day. I do like the idea of knowing that I built the unit for when things go wrong. I have been able to pretty much re-build the trashed Whisper I have over the past few weeks. I have not taken it out to our other home to try it, but I feel the upgraded hardware and epoxy will prevent further damage at the extent it was in in the photo's.

Southwest stated they would send out a replacement, but so far I have not seen anything, nor heard from them since they provided the order number last week. Would have been nice to see a tracking number, but such is life.

Thank you both for your honest replies. It goes along way in helping me come up with a positive outcome and system.

[Joseph OLall]

I'm in the process of building my own unit using a Ginlong 1800LV PMG. I will post pictures and start a new thread on this.

[Tom Williams]

I bought a kit from wind turbine technologies with a plug and play inverter. Really easy to put the power back in the house. Nice turbine too. They are at

http://hurricanewindpower.com

[Rob Beckers]

Welcome at Green Power Talk Tom!
Post a few pictures when you have a chance. I see that Hurricane uses the Ginlong alternators. Those have a good reputation.

Tim (the original poster of the thread), are you still visiting the forum? I'm curious how your search for a better turbine ended. Did you build your own?

-RoB-

[Tom Levy]

I would look at the African Wind Power 3.7 -

If you have lots of cash, the cadillac of small wind turbines is the "Westwind".

[Peter Klaassen]

Regarding the best wind turbine- I have been looking on the internet at various advertising blurbs and I would suggest looking at an Iskra R9000 made by Evance in England. If you want something as big as 5 kW any way. It seems to have all the attributes necessary to survive almost any wind. I have heard that three blades are the most stable, feathering blades are the most productive and somthing with a lower tip speed is quieter. I have no idea if these are UL-certified for Canada but I am looking into this design further. It would be nice to make something yourself with these properties but how reliable would it be? Would the generator and conrtoller be properly matched? A complex machine if you want something that isn't going to cause more headaches than it solves.

[Tim McMurran]

Welcome at Green Power Talk Tom!
Post a few pictures when you have a chance. I see that Hurricane uses the Ginlong alternators. Those have a good reputation.

Tim (the original poster of the thread), are you still visiting the forum? I'm curious how your search for a better turbine ended. Did you build your own?

-RoB-

Still sitting on the fence with a few at this time. Seems that prices are starting to come down a little which makes things all the better.

[Wolfgang Wan]

Hi Tim:

Just see your thread and we'll be very interested to have one Lakota erect to test there. Really a tough weather challenge also very good test place. Contact my email :wolfgang@zytechaerodyne.com or leave me a message.

Thanks

Wolfgang
Zytech Aerodyne (http://www.zytechaerodyne.com)

[Tim McMurran]

Hi Tim:

Just see your thread and we'll be very interested to have one Lakota erect to test there. Really a tough weather challenge also very good test place. Contact my email :wolfgang@zytechaerodyne.com or leave me a message.

Thanks

Wolfgang
Zytech Aerodyne (http://www.zytechaerodyne.com)


Just sent you an email Wolfgang. I have been very busy the past few months with work and had not been visiting the site much.

[Gerry Skinner]

TIM McMURRAN

I HAVE TO PERFECT SOLUTION TO SATISFY YOUR 2 FAILED SWWP 100 WIND TURBINES.
THE 3.5 KW WINDSPOT IS THE ONLY SMALL CLASS WIND TURBINE IN THE WORLD THAT WAS DESIGNED ESPECIALLY FOR SITES SUCH AS CAPE RACE.
I HAVE A WINDSPOT INSTALLED FOR APPROX 8 MONTHS TO SATISFY ENERGY REQUIREMENTS FOR A SMALL FISH FARM ON THE AVALON, WIND SPEEDS EXCEED 11.9 ms AVERGAGE.
THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL IMPRESS YOU AND A VISIT TO THE SITE CAN BE ARRANGED.
PLEASE RESPOND AND WE CAN MOVE AHEAD TO GET YOU INFORMED.
THANKS
GERRY SKINNER
1-866-895-6626

[Bob Gillespie]

I am looking for general ideas on which brand/version of small wind turbines seem to put up with the most harsh wind and weather conditions. Currently I have two Whisper 100 units that do not do very well. Rusting is a big issue as is cracking of the magnets, snapped bolts and twisted blades.

I currently have a little over 2kw of renewable resources, and a 5kw gas back-up, but rather do not like running the gen set. Our location is on the south coast of Newfoundland, about 5 miles from the Cape Race weather station. Conditions in spring, fall and winter are the most brutal on the turbines. Fog for days at a time, winds have been recorded at over 120km with gusts over 160 for hours or days at a time.

The reason we went for the Whisper line is due to the “high wind” rating from Southwest. The conditions we have had are still below the survival speed for the turbine, but they still can not take the beating that Southwest state they can.

Would a DIY unit be better suited, or is anyone able to offer ideas on a single unit that can take a real beating in the real world at roughly the same price as the 2 Whispers?

Heck I would even volunteer to put a vendors unit to the test and log the data. If a turbine can make it here with out the issues faced in my posting here http://www.greenpowertalk.org/showthread.php?t=7760 they would have a unit that could make it anywhere and sell without issues.

I live on an oceanfront piece of land in Hawaii. My wind conditions are not as severe as yours. However, I find that I have to replace my wind turbine about every two years due to salt air corrosion. My next wind turnine will be marine grade and I hope that will work better. These frequent replacements are getting expensive.

Bob Gillespie

[John Szegda]

Bob,

I live on Cape Cod, 500 feet from Ocean. I have been flying a 900W Turbine that is mounted on My garage for about four years. We also have trouble with corrosion. My cure for this is spraying a good quality Silicone spray every few months. We tried WD40 but you have to be careful not to saturate the sealed bearings. The solution will wash out or dilute the packed grease and that will create another set of problems.

John

[Patrick Plesko]

I agree BUT what about a fair and equitable price we the people should not have to subsidize a company or the home owner period. 30kw wind turbines with 60ft poles for $175,000.00+ ,20kw for $50,000.00+ without pole, 2kw without pole for up to 7,000.00 come on. Most companies don't get that luxury but small wind thinks their owed they say they provide jobs give back to the community but forget they take plain and simple. A company that prospers on its own merit is strong and will thrive. If a comany can only support 1 employee for the products produced at the expected profit margin thats it,thats a free market. And by what I have seen it doesn't lower the cost,the prices I have listed are on various turbine manufactures websites. And I am 100% for renewable energy its the right thing to do. But I think greed is taking over

[Dale Sheler]

Tim,

I agree with Rob, Scirocco, Proven or ARE are the way to go with manufacturered turbines.

Or build it yourself and save money up front. I built my 17' 3kw turbine for between $1500 - 2000.

Yearly inspection/maintenance is pretty much standard no matter which way you go.

Dan Lenox

Dan, the magnets alone for a 17 foot otherpower style machine now cost $1100 bux.

[Dale Sheler]

TIM McMURRAN

I HAVE TO PERFECT SOLUTION TO SATISFY YOUR 2 FAILED SWWP 100 WIND TURBINES.
THE 3.5 KW WINDSPOT IS THE ONLY SMALL CLASS WIND TURBINE IN THE WORLD THAT WAS DESIGNED ESPECIALLY FOR SITES SUCH AS CAPE RACE.
I HAVE A WINDSPOT INSTALLED FOR APPROX 8 MONTHS TO SATISFY ENERGY REQUIREMENTS FOR A SMALL FISH FARM ON THE AVALON, WIND SPEEDS EXCEED 11.9 ms AVERGAGE.
THIS TECHNOLOGY WILL IMPRESS YOU AND A VISIT TO THE SITE CAN BE ARRANGED.
PLEASE RESPOND AND WE CAN MOVE AHEAD TO GET YOU INFORMED.
THANKS
GERRY SKINNER
1-866-895-6626

Posting in all capital letters is considered rude as it implies yelling, especially in a post that is borderline spam.

[Rob Beckers]

I agree BUT what about a fair and equitable price we the people should not have to subsidize a company or the home owner period. 30kw wind turbines with 60ft poles for $175,000.00+ ,20kw for $50,000.00+ without pole, 2kw without pole for up to 7,000.00 come on. Most companies don't get that luxury but small wind thinks their owed they say they provide jobs give back to the community but forget they take plain and simple. A company that prospers on its own merit is strong and will thrive. If a comany can only support 1 employee for the products produced at the expected profit margin thats it,thats a free market. And by what I have seen it doesn't lower the cost,the prices I have listed are on various turbine manufactures websites. And I am 100% for renewable energy its the right thing to do. But I think greed is taking over

Hi Patrick,

Welcome to the forum!

Being on the distribution/sales/installation end of the small wind business I happen to know actual cost of small wind turbines. Unfortunately they are not cheap to make. If small wind turbines were produced at the scale of cars they would cost a fraction of their current price, but reality is that most manufacturers sell less than 200 of them a year. The ones that sell 500+ can be counted on the fingers of one hand (talking about 10kW and below in size)! The only ones that have serious profits IMO are the makers of the very small turbines (300W and below, margins there are obscene), and the total junk (mainly from China). Almost all other small turbine makers are struggling to make ends meet.

That situation is not likely to change either; while 80% or more of home owners in the US has a roof suitable for some solar PV, for wind that number is likely under 1% (and for wind I don't mean the roof, but backyard, with enough wind and space to make it worthwhile).

China's monopoly on rare-earths is not helping. Prices of permanent magnet alternators are going up quickly; the cost of the neodymium used in those magnets has gone up over 1000% in the past year-and-a-half! Copper prices are rising too.

Your point is well taken though: Maybe small wind energy should not be subsidized. It is not main-stream technology and won't be, it is not useful for the vast majority of people (they just don't have the wind), it will always be prone to break-downs and maintenance. As much as I like wind turbines that is the reality (and now I'll put on my flame-proof suit!:target:).

-RoB-

[John Szegda]

Hi Rob,

You have to admit, Wind is fun and panels lull you to sleep. People spend a lot of money on junk and get nothing out of it.

John

[Dale Sheler]

For the most part I build turbines for fun, I'm going on 52 years old and there is no way I'll ever see any kind of ROI,(unless they invent the methusala pill in the next couple years:cheesy:) especially since I keep building new improved models, everybody needs a hobby.

[Peter Klaassen]

I have been considering the options for small wind turbines and how to get my foot in the door. I agree that a wind turbine can be fun but I don't want to end up with a PITA piece of mobile art either. It seems that the price you pay is a reflection of it's reliability. More money means more reliability. If you are going to invest in one it will be just that - an investment. A good investment in a good market (lots of wind) will perform well. I wonder what the reliability is on a home made turbine. Those will depend more on the abilities of the individual builder. I would be interested to see what Dale is putting together. I did not realize that those magnets were so expensive.
Pete

[Dale Sheler]

If you are interested in DIY Chris Olson is the man, he can sell you a kit or a complete turbine and his machines are built to last, they are a geared machine, not direct drive so you get more power from lower wind speeds, Chris is where I got my ideas from, here is his web site http://dairylandwindpower.us/ I know he just installed two twelve footers way the hell up on the edge of the map in Canada someplace.