Wind turbines--small--got one!

[michickenwrangler]

Anyone here have small wind turbines on their property for your own use?

What brand do you use?

You like it? Pros/cons? Worth it?

Thanks

We're planning on putting at least one up in the spring,maybe more.

 

[PotterWatch]

I would love to hear from someone who has them as well. We have been contemplating getting some to help offset costs to run the irrigation well at our new farm.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Unless you have the skill to build your own, the cost per watt is way better on solar.

 

[michickenwrangler]

Quote:
Er, not in Michigan. 70% of our days are cloudy. My property only gets about 6 hours of sun ... and even then only in 2 spots.

 

[eggbuster]

We had wind and solar. Right now we have solar because a freak windstorm blew the windmill off the pole this spring. This is where pros and cons come in. We had a whisper 500. It blew off the pole due to shoddy installation by the company selling the system.

#1 Make sure the dealer is not a franchise and therefore a glorified salesperson. That little fact was kept well hidden and when the windmill showed up, it was an entirely different person we were dealing with from then on, and that makes for some unprintable commentary. BEWARE!!!! The actual owner of the company would make a slum lord look honest.

#2 Aside from shoddy installation; missing bolts, no lock tight, improperly installed anchor points, a contributing factor to the failure of the windmill was its 2 bladed design. It causes too much vibration during high winds. Eventually the brake failed and I now know how far a wind mill will fly when it spins off the pole and how fast I can run when I need too. We found out the hard way, that the whisper 500 is prone to premature wear. These are cons.

#3 We miss our windmill. It will be replaced with a 3 bladed design which should produce less turbulence in the pole. We had a 3kw turbine, but now that we get a do over, and we know that we have a good location, we are debating paying the difference (insurance) to get a 6kw. As part of the do over, we are dealing with a different company. Big pro. Will let you know how this one (kestral) works out in about a year from now.

#4 We get the most wind during the winter which is great since that is when we use the most electricity. The real costs come into play if you have batteries ect... you can get by with hydro for a back up but for us that defeats the purpose of a reliable supply of electricity. We have hydro, till we get the kinks out of the system and then it is gone. Mostly it is a matter of keeping track of electrical usage at all times, and not overloading the system; you have to plan when/what you will be doing. Its a lifestyle that one gets used to and is not noticed after awhile. Its training visitors thats the real problem.

#5 The wind doesn't always blow. The first year it was wind and more wind, last year there was hardly anything. This year, wind again but aside from the spring, more moderate.

#6 Wind blows night or day, cloud or sun.

#7 Put the windmill on the tallest pole you possibly can. A 100' pole will get you 25% more electricity then a 70' pole for the same machine.

#8 Windmills are a real time waster. You spend the first year staring at them going round and round and so do the neighbours.

#9 Not overly noisy, although I wouldn't put one next to my house as I am picky. I want to hear birds not a windmill. Mine is out back on a hill in the horse pasture so it doesn't have any impact on us at all.

#10 Guy wires and cows are not compatible; keep them away if you value your turbine.

Hope this helps.

 

[rrrmamma]

We just bought a system from Hurricane Wind Power. We haven't got it up yet. We need to a build a pole. I will keep everyone posted on our progress and results. After purchasing from them we found out they are not the manufacturer, but a sales agent. When we find out who made the system we will let everyone know. It is 3 steel blades with 3 phase AC output not DC. We will be hooking up a grid tie inverter first without battery backup first. Batteries will come with the second and third generator. It is very well constructed for a reasonable price. DH did a lot of research before we purchased this one. PM us if you need more info. SufficientSelf.com link has good information also.

 

[michickenwrangler]

The wind turbine kit came in the mail today. DBF wants to get it up and running soon. We've had a lot of windy days this fall.

 

[sfw2]

Looking forward to hearing how you like it, MCW.

 

[Avalon1984]

I sell small wind turbines. Unless you have a great wind area (constant winds over 10-12mph) and you have a wind turbine that kicks in at about 2mph as well as great federal and state rebates- it is a waste of time and money.

 

[conny63malies]

I live in Kansas. I see the BIG ones by the hundreds when we head west where the land gets really flat. That and small oil wells too.