Installation

Before leaving for our two week vacation in June we ordered a wind generator.  I placed the order a month before, thinking there'd be plenty of time to do the installation.  I don't know why but my plans never work out the way I think they will.  I always tell myself to double the amount of time needed and it still comes out needing twice that.  No matter what.  By the time I got this baby installed we were already two days into our vacation.

So,I went ahead and ordered a kit that included the Air-X 400 generator, a 9' mast, 40' of  #8 wire and the e10 controller from eMarine (click here). The parts were delivered with plenty of time to do the installation.  That wasn't what held me up.  My problem was with the planning.  Once I read through the manual I came to understand that the 9' tall, 1.5" diameter stainless steel mast for this thing requires two supports (1" stainless steel tubing) placed about 2-3' down from the top and at 90 degrees to each other.  Finding a good location for this on a boat requires doing your homework.  I originally thought I'd mount it in the sugar scoop transom at the back of the boat.  Now that I had the parts in hand I realized that the 9' mast would place the blades of the generator just 6" above the Bimini cockpit cover.  Two problems with this.  First, the blades have sharp edges and when they're spinning you can't see them.  If somebody came in contact with them it'd be a disaster.  The other problem is that I want undisturbed wind and really need to get it up higher for that.  I could order a taller mast but at this point I have less than two weeks before we leave on our trip.  So without hesitation I move on to Plan B.

Now I need another location and this is a problem.  Because of the 90 degree requirement the only real place to put this thing is at one of the back corners of the deck but the railing and the stern seats are in the way.  My solution was to build a bracket using a 1/2" slab of aluminum measuring 6" x 12".  It's mounted to the toe rail and starts at the rear cleat and extends out over the sugar scoop.  I mounted it under the cleat and used the four bolts there to hold it down.  The bracket angles out slightly, maybe two degrees, so the mast can clear the railing beside the seat.  The supports are mounted to the toe rail forward and also across the stern, coming down beside the gate that's centered in the aft rail.  The foot of the mast mounts to a bracket that makes it so you can tilt the mast down to work on the generator without having to take the whole thing apart.  This works fine at the dock but we'll hafta use the dinghy if we're out on the water.

The wiring for for our application is #8 two conductor stranded.  It's fairly flexible but is still pretty bulky, something to think about when you're trying to pull it beneath the cabin sole and through confined spaces.  Our house-bank of batteries is mounted under the settee beside the Nav Station. I made a short run from there through the cabinet behind it and up to the controller which is mounted in the Nav Station equipment panel.  The run to the generator goes from there back into the cabinet and down under the sole.  I dragged it under the galley flooring and through the engine compartment, then out through the diesel generator compartment which is located beneath the cockpit.  I mounted an 8 place terminal block in the back of the port side cockpit locker and ran the cable to that.  The generator cable runs down through it's mast, loops up under the seat and then goes through the back of the cockpit combing where it connects to the terminal block.  The green ground from the generator is jumpered here to the black wire as per the instructions.

The e10 controller makes the installation pretty simple with an integrated circuit breaker acting as the on/off switch, a start/stop switch and a display that also gives a history of power generated.  Connections are simple with two in and two out, red and black.  Once the generator is mounted on the mast and all the wire is run you just turn it on and watch it go.


Things to consider:

1)  The 40' of wire that came with the kit wasn't enough.  I bought 20' more and used about half of it.  You also need to run a ground wire that ties the generator to the mast and then to the black wire going to your controller.

2)  The #8 wire cannot be hand crimped.  The lugs are heavy duty and require either a special ratchet tool or one that you pound with a hammer.  I got the one needing the hammer just because it's really great for getting out your frustrations.  You can also cut your cables to length and then take them into West Marine and they'll install the lugs for you.


3)  My battery terminals weren't the same size, something I found out after buying all my supplies.  The red side was 3/8" and the black side was 5/16".  Guess what size I bought for my lugs.

4)  It doesn't say it in the instructions but you want to have a terminal block where you can disconnect the wire going to the mast for easy removal of the generator for service.  Duh.

My first experience with this was on our two week vacation on the Chesapeake Bay.  This was at the beginning of June and the weather was mixed, half with good sailing and half with no wind at all.  I came back with the feeling that the Bay is probably not the ideal location for a wind generator.  This really requires at least 15 knots of steady breeze to put out any kind of real usable power.  I think when we get out away from the Bay and start sailing the oceans then we'll see this start to pay for itself.  For anyone on the Chesapeake looking for something to keep their batteries charged while out at anchor I would recommend the biggest solar panels you can fit.  We currently have two 85's and I'm planning to swap them out for three 135 watt panels.

Update 10-3-15:
We replaced the aluminum bracket with one made from 1/4" 316 stainless steel because the aluminum didn't hold up to salt water and corroded badly.  The new bracket is exactly the same in design but 1/4" thick instead of 1/2".  We also replaced the stock blades with carbon fiber ones that are designed to run quieter.  They do that in spades, practically silent.  These blades are kinda pricey, $360, but worth every penny.