I have a 33 feet sailboat. I will like to power it with a wind generator for all our needs, including a little fridge and an ac its possible? How powerful should it be? Where can I learn more about it?
No a wind bugger will not keep the battery's charged with the draw U have as the wind doesn't always blow.U will need other sources. A/C will need a generator.They make a 12v A/C don't know anything about them.
For me boating is a lot like lifemore about the journey than the destination. Thus a sailor I am. I started sailing in high school racing dingies - then sailed in college and now enjoy the occasional weekend cruise. It is great to get out on the water and go where ever or no where and just enjoy the time on the water.
My friend has a Westsail 32. He powers it with a AroGen 6 wind generator and two 125watt solar panels. So what does this power? 34 inch screen, with Satellite TV, laptop computer, mac mini computer, playstation 3, xBox, 32 inch monitor connect to a power mac tower with 4 very large hard drives busing all night long (Lol), LED through out the boat, stereo system, water maker, water pumps, and other miscellaneous stuff. Of course this equipment is not all on at one time but he has had it all turn on once before just to see if he could do it. What you need to have with the wind generator and solar panels is a large bank of batteries. Typically about 4 times the capacity of your daily consumption. The reason for this is to make your batteries last longer. Up to 7 years before you need to replace them. If you only have one bank you may need to replace them yearly. We did that and it get expensive. It's key to have at least 3 to 4 times the capacity. You'll also need an inverter. It take your DC batteries and creates AC for all your electronics. Yes you can by DC appliances and some of your navigation equipment will run on DC, but you'll find is cheaper to buy AC appliances and you'll also have more selection. He has a inverter with the brand name Outback which we found one of the best. It's pricey, but it has a built in computer that thinks about everything. It's great for when you forget to flip some damn switch, it will take steps to protect it's self and/or pull power from some other source. It even helps you make coffee in the morning. Please feel free to contact me if you need more information. Wind is an awesome power source and best of all it's completely free until the feds figure out a way to tax it. hahah Captain Jack
