Output said to be 400 watts.
Costco Windmill for $400? Sounds too good....
- Thread starter Christian Williams
- Start date
The consensus seems to be that these small turbines, depending on use and location, can make a good supplement to other power generation methods, but don’t really replace them. They may be able to pick up some slack during conditions when solar generation peters out, but solar is overall more reliable and cheaper. (And they are about the same price as a little suitcase gas generator that produces much more power.)
But the prices have been coming down in recent years, so it’s not excessively costly to experiment with. I believe that “deal” is about the same price as the “Nature Power” units, although I got one on an ”Amazon Day Special” for $300. With all of these small turbines, the issues seem to be the power/wind curve, and the noise factor. To get the 400 watts, you generally need >20 knots sustained. Some also seem to have issues with shutting down when a gust exceeds their maximum, and then not automatically restarting.
I have to admit that I’ve collected two - an ancient AmpAir Pacific 100 (Craigslist) and the NaturePower 400. The intent was to set them up to test in the back yard. But it turns out that though I have plenty of wind at the house, there is too much turbulence near the ground. They would probably need to be about 40 feet off the ground to get into clear air. Not generally an issue on the water, although I have occasionally seen it in the turbines installed at and around the marina as well. Even though there seems to be a good breeze, the vane “hunts” around to find a direction and the blades remained stalled out. Then I got busy with other projects and never did get a decent test run.
My expectations are that the AmpAir will never produce a lot of power at one time, and it’s quite heavy, but it has no maximum speed, is very simple, and pretty much bulletproof. The NaturePower is more compact, very lightweight, but may react poorly to big gusts. Certainly no more than one of them will ever make it to the boat. Also worth looking at how they disassemble for storage. The AmpAir makes a pretty big pile of components compared to the newer units.
The NaturePower did come with its own MPPT charge controller. The AmpAir has a built-in rectifier but needs a third-party charge controller.
But the prices have been coming down in recent years, so it’s not excessively costly to experiment with. I believe that “deal” is about the same price as the “Nature Power” units, although I got one on an ”Amazon Day Special” for $300. With all of these small turbines, the issues seem to be the power/wind curve, and the noise factor. To get the 400 watts, you generally need >20 knots sustained. Some also seem to have issues with shutting down when a gust exceeds their maximum, and then not automatically restarting.
I have to admit that I’ve collected two - an ancient AmpAir Pacific 100 (Craigslist) and the NaturePower 400. The intent was to set them up to test in the back yard. But it turns out that though I have plenty of wind at the house, there is too much turbulence near the ground. They would probably need to be about 40 feet off the ground to get into clear air. Not generally an issue on the water, although I have occasionally seen it in the turbines installed at and around the marina as well. Even though there seems to be a good breeze, the vane “hunts” around to find a direction and the blades remained stalled out. Then I got busy with other projects and never did get a decent test run.
My expectations are that the AmpAir will never produce a lot of power at one time, and it’s quite heavy, but it has no maximum speed, is very simple, and pretty much bulletproof. The NaturePower is more compact, very lightweight, but may react poorly to big gusts. Certainly no more than one of them will ever make it to the boat. Also worth looking at how they disassemble for storage. The AmpAir makes a pretty big pile of components compared to the newer units.
The NaturePower did come with its own MPPT charge controller. The AmpAir has a built-in rectifier but needs a third-party charge controller.
Alan Gomes
Sustaining Partner
Depending on the unit, it can be extremely annoying to be anchored or moored next to a boat that has one of these. Ditto for folks who run generators.