Windmill Generator for Charging

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   All;

When researching what RV to go with I considered truck campers. During that research I came across the idea of a low cost windmill generator that is mounted on the RV to charge the battery.

A review article can be found here:

http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/news/tcm-checks-out-the-windwalker-wind-generator 

The web site for the product is: http://www.freespiritenergy.com 

I see this being mounted on a pole attached at the hitch and can be put up and down at the site.

Your views are invited.  Solar option in 179 is great but this would even charge at night with enough wind.

Thanks

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RescapePod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 14 Sep 2014 Location: Charleston WV Online Status: Offline Posts: 45	Topic: Windmill Generator for Charging Posted: 31 Oct 2014 at 8:35am
	All; When researching what RV to go with I considered truck campers. During that research I came across the idea of a low cost windmill generator that is mounted on the RV to charge the battery. A review article can be found here: http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/news/tcm-checks-out-the-windwalker-wind-generator The web site for the product is: http://www.freespiritenergy.com I see this being mounted on a pole attached at the hitch and can be put up and down at the site. Your views are invited. Solar option in 179 is great but this would even charge at night with enough wind. Thanks
	2015 R-Pod 179 2013 Chevy K1500

fwunder Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 04 Oct 2013 Location: New Jersey Online Status: Offline Posts: 1676	Posted: 31 Oct 2014 at 9:13am
	I'm always interested in alternative energy ideas. That said, I like my dome so much I purposely seek sites protected from the wind. I guess it really just depends on where you camp. The specs for the generator say the "start up wind speed" is 8 knots (9.2 mph) but I couldn't find output at that (constant) speed. It does produce an impressive 255 watts, 8.5 amps @ 30 volts...in a 35 knot (40 mph!) wind. That's a lot of wind! I think it is mainly geared toward truck campers, one because the height of the camper allows a good starting point for the mast and two because their are quite a few truck campers in the southwest where there are wide open spaces and lot's of wind. I'm guessing at that. Anyway, thanks for the tip and here's another pretty good review of the product. http://mellomikeswolfcreekcamper.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-windwalker-250-rv-wind-turbine.html fred
	2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits 2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6 Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!

RescapePod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 14 Sep 2014 Location: Charleston WV Online Status: Offline Posts: 45	Posted: 31 Oct 2014 at 10:53am
	FWUNder-Good points sir...thanks
	2015 R-Pod 179 2013 Chevy K1500

techntrek Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059	Posted: 31 Oct 2014 at 1:50pm
	The three biggest stumbling points for home-grown wind generation systems are height, nearby obstructions, and size. It needs to be much higher than you think, far away from trees or other objects that will create turbulence, and if you want to take advantage of winds below hurricane level it needs to be fairly big. Then you need to factor in electrical losses, and between charging, wiring, and inverter losses that will give you about 50% of the generator output actually available to run your stuff. For 12 volt stuff that will be closer to 65% since there isn't an inverter in the equation. Without even looking at the claimed specs I can guarantee you'll get very little usable energy from it. With a home installation done right, wind can be a great addition. Solar does much better for portable systems.
	Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual

WillThrill Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 04 Jul 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 298	Posted: 31 Oct 2014 at 1:52pm
	It's an interesting concept, but unless your Pod is almost constantly exposed to significant wind, it's just not practical. I'm not a huge fan of solar power due to its expense and the relatively small amounts of power it produces, but it's almost certainly more useful than wind in this instance. Wind power is more for a stationary place that is known to receive moderate to high levels of regular wind.
	"Not all those who wander are lost." Tolkien 2014 Hood River 177 2005 GMC Envoy XL