My Primus (formally Southwest Wind Power) 48 volt wind generator stop working last
year. It had been in operation 365 days a year for the past 8 years so it was probably
due for some refurbishing. The wind generator has a sophisticated regulator circuit.
Which I imagine had failed. So sending the unit for refurbishing back to factory seemed
like a good investment.
Unfortunately, I got some bad news along with some photos of the damage:
year. It had been in operation 365 days a year for the past 8 years so it was probably
due for some refurbishing. The wind generator has a sophisticated regulator circuit.
Which I imagine had failed. So sending the unit for refurbishing back to factory seemed
like a good investment.
Unfortunately, I got some bad news along with some photos of the damage:
“The technician was able to begin working on your unit, unfortunately we found some bad news. Please see attached pictures. The stator in your turbine overheated which leaks the varnish from the stator throughout the entire turbine. In these instances, the turbine is not repairable (or not worth repairing due to how much it would cost).”
After discussions with the technicians at the factory I asked how this failure occurred.
He explained that too much wind can cause this type of damage. Though the
wind generator was advertised as having circuitry that protected it from excessive
winds obviously it failed.
Since the generator was out of warranty I was only offered at discount at purchasing
a new on which was still in the thousand-dollar range. Even with a new 5-year warranty
the reality was there's no guarantee but the unit would not fail again once the warranty
was up. While I liked having the wind generator as part of a multi energy approach to
charging my electric propulsion battery bank. In the end I thought the cost of a new
generator was not worth it and the money might better be spent on additional solar
panels.
He explained that too much wind can cause this type of damage. Though the
wind generator was advertised as having circuitry that protected it from excessive
winds obviously it failed.
Since the generator was out of warranty I was only offered at discount at purchasing
a new on which was still in the thousand-dollar range. Even with a new 5-year warranty
the reality was there's no guarantee but the unit would not fail again once the warranty
was up. While I liked having the wind generator as part of a multi energy approach to
charging my electric propulsion battery bank. In the end I thought the cost of a new
generator was not worth it and the money might better be spent on additional solar
panels.
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2 comments:
YAY! I can't stand being near a boat
with a wind generator. The noise is
very bothersome. Glad you're going
with more solar panels instead.
Yeah it did have a bit of noise at some speeds. Ironically, it got quieter as the wind increased. I had planned to also get the newer quieter blades as part of this refurbishing. So far I don't miss it. As you mentions solar is quieter and no moving parts.
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