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Hello every one.My name is Dan and I am new to wind power.Please bare with me and my many questions.This is my situation.I built a small cabin in the mountians of Boquete Panama central america.When I built the cabin we were to get electric service within 3 months now we may not get it for 5 years or more.We have a steady wind year round of 15 to 20 mph. and in Nov. to March around 30 to 40 mph.I have looked into solar and the cost is around 8,500usd The cabin is wired for 110volt I am looking for a kit that includes all I would need to hook into my electric panel with 110.I will use a max of 900watt hrs a day.Any help will be greatly appreciated Thank you.(I can get batteries here if you think a good deepcycle marine batteries will work)
Downwind Guru Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333
Posted: 03:07pm 05 Apr 2010
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Welcome Dan,
Can you be a little clearer on what you want?
Is it a full kit wind generator or a full kit solar you are looking for.
I take it by you asking for a kit this means the generator or solar including a 1-2 Kw inverter for the 110 volt AC.
900 watt (0.9Kw) an hour all day is a lot of power and think you will need to look into some energy saving methods/devices if you intend to live off grid on RE.
Others are better in the know to answer this than me so will leave it to them, but the clearer you can make the question the more direct answers you will get.
Pete.Sometimes it just works
GreenD88 Senior Member Joined: 19/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 104
Posted: 03:38pm 05 Apr 2010
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We really need to know what you plan on running (Appliances, Lighting, Electronics.) 900 Watt/hrs is alot. And if your looking for a kit, that's gonna be just as expensive as the solar I would bet. If you look around you might be able to find one cheap but the batteries are what gonna kill ya price wise. 900Watt/hr for 24hrs is 48 12 volt 75Amp/hr batteries for a max of 50% Discharge level. Edited by GreenD88 2010-04-07Licensed Master Plumber / EPA 608 Universal License / 410a Safety Certified / Medical Gas Brazer/Installer
Greenbelt Guru Joined: 11/01/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 566
Posted: 08:30pm 05 Apr 2010
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HI Guys ;
I have always though a watt hour was 1 volt at 1 amp for a duration of 1 hour.
If I have a 120 volts pushing 2 amps and wind held steady for an hour, I would see this as 240 watt hours.
If the wind was cooperative for 4 hours The stated requirement is fulfilled, 960 WH.
Edited by Greenbelt 2010-04-07Time has proven that I am blind to the Obvious, some of the above may be True?
Thank you for your help. this is what I will be using.
1)5- 23 watt lights for 3hrs per day(not all on at same time)
2)1-T.V.65 watts for 4hrs per day
3)1-converted freezer to a fridge that uses 200watt hrs in a 24hr period
4)1- washing machine 350 watts for 1hr per day
The only thing on at all times is the fridge.
Hope this explains a little better thanks for any help you can give
Downwind Guru Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333
Posted: 11:22pm 05 Apr 2010
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That might have been me who got this wrong as i thought it said 900 watts an hour all day.
Wrong!!
900 watts a day total is correct.
Now thats very reasonable and doing the sums above it is even lower than that on average.
I often think people buy an inverter to small based on what they need now, and find they wished they had gone bigger to start with later.
You can always add more bateries or more solar panels and another wind generator but are stuck with a small inverter.
I would invest in a good inverter that has standby and a basic setup to boot and add extras as requirements proved needed.
Pete.
Ps. Is hydro an option where you are??
Sometimes it just works
Hi Pete thanks for the reply.I wish hydro was an option but the river that runs through the back of the property is over 500 yards away.Can you recomend any Kits I can buy that are reliable.I will be returning to the states next month and would like to bring one back if the weight is not over 100lbs I can bring it back on the plane.Do you think the Deepcycle marine batteries will work?I plan on a 2,000 watt 4,000 max inverter is this going to work?Thanks for any help you can give me on this .Im looking for wind power kit.Edited by dannoc 2010-04-07
GreenD88 Senior Member Joined: 19/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 104
How small is that fridge that only uses 200 Watt/hrs for a whole day? If that's all correct and all you use is 900Watt/hrs/Day then you won't need a very big system at all. Couple more things are How long per day is the wind blowing would you say on average? With that small of a system if you could generate 1KW for one hour then you would have enough power for the day. But if the wind is blowing constantly all day then you could spread it out over several hours say 12 hours then you would only need 100 watt generator. As for an inverter you need to know the start up load of your major appliance (washing machine). I wouldn't go to big of an inverter over your peak load because unless you get a real good inverter the bigger ones draw more on standby than a smaller one. Correct me if I'm wrong guys.... And certain motors are picky on what kind of inverter you use.Edited by GreenD88 2010-04-07Licensed Master Plumber / EPA 608 Universal License / 410a Safety Certified / Medical Gas Brazer/Installer
KarlJ Guru Joined: 19/05/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1178
Posted: 11:47am 06 Apr 2010
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with that wind "We have a steady wind year round of 15 to 20 mph"
you are the perfect candidate for an OZAXFX mill
hit up Phillm for a price.
My F&P version of the OXAXFX mill uses cheaper F&P generators in liu of the more expensive AXFX.
in low winds they make similar grunt but the AXFX is always turning ready to catch any available energy. this means over a 24hr period it will probably make alot more grunt. Being off grid the AXFX is going to be a more robust piece of kit with bigger better bearings, basically sealed generator.
At the end of the day as a light wind allrounder i think its unbeatable- price is a bargain too.
all the yanks on otherpower we blown away and they build similar AXFX mills all the time.
Go Aussie!
Oh BTW check out all my posts by doing a member search and you'll find everything there is to know about small wind.
Mine is grid connected via a 7KW battery and puts into the grid 1-1.5KW / day in what I would call a good wind site, if it were a better wind site it would be 3-5KW/day! (hoping for better output in the windier months)
My setup cost $5K or therabouts.
BIG tower is the go if you have the space 30' minimum
Oh BTW everyone......had a ripper day over easter with 600W/hr for 10Hrs straight, thus 6KW for the day.
Needless to say family members who were there and hadnt seen it before were really imprressed!!! Luck favours the well prepared
Thanks very much for the reply.The wind is constant but slacks up around midnight and picks back up around 6am.Practicallyoffthegrid.com has an article on the fridge and how to convert it.(It is a chest freezer converted to a fridge.)How to make your own high efficiency refrigeratorI will start looking for kits today I seen one that was for 900wattfor 399.00usd but it is made in China.I will look at the fridge and washer to see what the start amps are and get back to you.Again thank you all for your help and guidance.
MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329
Posted: 03:43am 07 Apr 2010
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If that stream you mentioned has a fall (vertical height difference) of at least 5 feet from where it enters to where it leaves your property, a 2" plastic pipe would divert enough water to run a small but robust Pelton wheel connected to a transmission and a.c. generator (alternator). All you would need to do is create a place at the top for the pipe to remain filled and spill it out at the bottom of the run so it re-enters the stream after you've siphoned off the kinetic energy of the flowing water.
500 yards is 1500 feet and that's quite a ways away, but if you put full-wave a.c. through the line, I'm sure it would travel the distance with only minimal losses.
I'd be interested in knowing exactly what the height difference is and knowing that, some of us may be able to help you design a system that would actually run your place on a stand-alone hydro generator.
Does that stream run year round?
. . . . . MacNothing difficult is ever easy!
Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman,
"Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!"
Copeville, Texas
Notice. New forum software under development. It's going to miss a few functions and look a bit ugly for a while, but I'm working on it full time now as the old forum was too unstable. Couple days, all good. If you notice any issues, please contact me.
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