What to do with a small wind turbine

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Small Cabin Forum / Off-Grid Living / What to do with a small wind turbine


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KinAlberta Member	# Posted: 16 Oct 2020 03:47pm - Edited by: KinAlberta Reply So the other day I ended up getting a Coleman 12 volt 400 watt wind turbine still in the in the box. An impulse buy because it seemed pretty cheap. I paid under $40 USD thinking it was worth at least $100 (no ability to check online at the time). Note: We hardly use any electricity out there and are on grid. Its trouble free and we no longer use our generator. I definitely wonâ€™t be going all out to try to power the cabin and sheds with it. Now I have to figure what to do with it. IDEAS? - Just sell it? - Stick it on our off grid boathouse to power some lights? - Plug a 12 v electric heater into it to heat our outhouse? - Find a permanent or seasonal neighbour nextdoor that could use it for what? (They are all on-grid.) Other uses?

frankpaige Member	# Posted: 16 Oct 2020 05:01pm Reply Has the missus offered an opinion yet?

ICC Member	# Posted: 16 Oct 2020 05:56pm Reply Quoting: KinAlberta - Just sell it? That would be my option if I had no interest in leaving the grid. HD sells them online for just under US$500

paulz Member	# Posted: 16 Oct 2020 06:33pm Reply Put it on a boat and hook and outboard motor to it.

KinAlberta Member	# Posted: 16 Oct 2020 06:39pm Reply Quoting: frankpaige Has the missus offered an opinion yet? Its still in the back of my car. But Iâ€™m sure sheâ€™ll love it. It was a real deal (just like everything else in my eclectic collection). Yes, I know sheâ€™s said: â€œDonâ€™t bring any more crap homeâ€. But one day sheâ€™ll really appreciate my hoarding instincts.

KinAlberta Member	# Posted: 16 Oct 2020 06:44pm - Edited by: KinAlberta Reply Quoting: paulz Put it on a boat and hook and outboard motor to it. Brilliant! The faster it turns the outboardâ€™s prop, the more wind generated! . It actually does say marine use on the box. I was thinking more alone the line of powering lights and disco-ball out in a field. For the party animals. It is really cool so I would like to use it. I don't want to spend a thousand bucks on batteries and stuff though. Maybe security lighting???

FishHog Member	# Posted: 16 Oct 2020 06:49pm Reply I'll take it off your hands for $50

KinAlberta Member	# Posted: 16 Oct 2020 07:18pm - Edited by: KinAlberta Reply Maybe heat water for an outdoor shower? How much water can a 400 watt heater heat to 60 degrees.? \| Yahoo Answers If I stick a wind turbine on my house with an output of 400W then attach that to an element how much water could i expect to keep at 60 degrees. https://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070520005313AAexRhW Connecting Wind Generator to Heater â€” northernarizona-windandsun I have a lake property which I only use in the summer. In the winter we have high winds and I was wondering if I it is possible to have a small wind turbine connected to a heater so as to create heat on windy days. It matters not if the heat is consistent. Is it possible to have the wind turbine connected directly to an electric heater. This could be my first project to introduce m to wind power so I was hoping to keep it simple. ... I have the same idea, and only want heat. I don't want to cut my electricity bills. I want to cut my Propane heating bills. Solar and wind are complementary and a good strategy is using both. But, given that nighttime winds are the first choice for an energy source for home heat, I am of the same mind as the poster. It's great to see someone else with the same idea. Thanks for posting. Now let's get some real answers, rather than simple diversions. .... https://forum.solar-electric.com/discussion/10472/connecting-wind-generator-to-heater How To Heat Water With DC Solar PV. Jody Graham May 9, 2019 Hi Philip, You can make hot water with your 400 watt turbine but the rated voltage of the turbine would decide how we could do it. If it is a 12 volt turbine you could purchase a 12 volt water heating element from any RV store in different wattages. I would match it up with a 300-400 watt or so element. If your turbine is 24 or 48 volt you will need to purchase an element rated 300-400 watts at your turbineâ€™s voltage. You could simply hook the positive and negative from the turbine to the element. The danger of this is if the element fails, you will have no load on the turbine causing it to overspin and be destroyed. If it is an AIR303, AIR403, or AIRX they have an internal voltage regulator but it is still a good idea to have a backup dump load connected (or ready to be connected) to keep the turbine safe. This would require extra components that are not cheap. I have rarely seen a hot water heater element fail as long it is ALWAYS in water so your setup will likely be fine as is. Keep us updatedâ€¦Jody http://solarhomestead.com/hot-water-tank-heater-dump-load/

gcrank1 Member	# Posted: 28 Oct 2020 08:23pm Reply If I had that little in it Id likely play with it, though the height of pole and all will add complications, expense and maybe guy wires. I also expect that its output will be far less than what it is 'rated' at; that is to say, with it and some little trickle charge solar working together you might keep a lightly used 100ah battery fairly topped up. That would probably give a few LED lights, maybe a small fan, on demand for shed/shop or even cabin. That would also include some phone/small device/etc recharging, but those will recharge off the vehicle fine without even driving it. Smart thing (unless ya just gotta mess about with stuff), is sell it for a profit!