# Advice please: which wind turbine to buy?



## Willowdale (Mar 19, 2007)

Which would you buy for primary off-grid power, the Whisper 500 (5 kw) or the Bergey XL1 (1 kw)? Here's my situation:

I'm in the market for a wind turbine for my off-grid site. It's on a brackish river on the Atlantic coast, with a Class 3 wind (average 14-16 mph over the year), no tall trees or buildings, flat terrain. Winds are from offshore and wind speed can be variable depending on offshore conditions - from still (rarely) to blowin' a gale, sometimes in one day.

I'll supplement with limited solar, but the turbine will be my primary power. I'm going to hook up to an Outback FLEXware 500 power system with VFX3524 inverter. My site has *frequent* high winds and storms (Nor'easters and the occasional hurricane), so I need something tough, not a toy. 

I can keep my loads to 150 kwh/month (the well pump and mini-fridge are biggest loads), but would be more comfy with bigger capacity. My current wasteful, on-grid and all-electric lifestyle (in town, not on the farm) uses 400 kwh/month.

I'll be using wood and LP gas for heat, LP gas for cooking and hot water (tankless).

I plan to use an 80'-100' tower, which Bergey supplies - I notice the Whisper towers are shorter (makes me suspicious this is for the toy market).

I could spend up to around $10-12k for the tower, turbine, pad and anchors, etc (the rest of the power system is budgeted separately).

What wind turbine do you folks use/recommend? 

I am leaning toward a Bergey XL 1 kW system because I've been told they're more reliable than Whisper. Also reportedly produces well over a wide range of wind conditions. It's cheap enough I could add a second one later, but the output is much lower than the Whisper 500. Still, the reputation for reliability and quality of the Bergey is very high and that counts a lot with me.

Whisper 500 is the right size for me on paper, but one installer I spoke with said in his experience Whisper turbines were "more like a toy." The Whisper 500 was redesigned in 2004 for "more reliability in high winds" -- does that address the quality issue? Does anyone have experience with a Whisper 500? 

What about other manufacturers?

I know Whisper has a 5 year warranty, just like Bergey, but I'm interested in a turbine that won't *need* warranty service and can last me 20 years (we expect that from solar panels, so why not?).

Thanks!!!


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## Willowdale (Mar 19, 2007)

Also, someone at a reputable backwoods alt energy supplier said he has a Bergey XL, and got it because it produced more power at lower wind speeds than the Whispers (100 and 200) he sells. He said his Bergey starts producing power in a 5 mph wind. 

But I don't know if he considered the Whisper 500.

I have a high annual mph wind, but I'd also like to have some power on relatively calm days!


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## Willowdale (Mar 19, 2007)

There are also some suggestions that the Whisper 500 power output is optimized for a 12 mph wind, and it may not do as well with variable winds.

I'd love to see real-world tests of actual energy output performance on these systems! The idealized power curves can be kind of misleading, because performance can vary so much depending on specific conditions and what the system is optimized for!


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## no1cowboy (May 2, 2004)

> I'd love to see real-world tests of actual energy output performance on these systems! The idealized power curves can be kind of misleading, because performance can vary so much depending on specific conditions and what the system is optimized for!


http://www.detronics.net/test.htm


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## Willowdale (Mar 19, 2007)

no1cowboy said:


> http://www.detronics.net/test.htm


Good site, thanks! The Bergey looks like it produces pretty much as advertised in the real world, in lower winds than my site.

The Southwest Windpower they tested has been discontinued, but I notice it *failed* a few months into their test. Hmmmm, that's exactly what I'm looking to avoid.

Anyone know about the Wisper 500, though, or know of published tests of it? It seems to be differently contructed than SW Windpower's other models (it's a 2 vane design, for one thing, and looks different).


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## no1cowboy (May 2, 2004)

http://www.solacity.com/CompMatrix.htm ?


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## WisJim (Jan 14, 2004)

EVERYONE that I personally know that has a Whisper has had problems with it. Some have had them down and worked on or replaced multiple times. Obviously, since the company has happy customers too, not everyone has these kinds of problems, but some of these folks are professionals in renewable energy and take exceptional care of their machines, and still have problems. I don't know of anyone with a Bergey that has had any failures.

I would recommend the Bergey if your are choosing between it and a Whisper. I would also look at ARE and Proven, but they are more expensive. Time will tell if they last as long as my 1940s vintage Jacobs, but they might.

edit to add a good basic article on available machines: http://www.homepower.com/article/?file=HP122_pg28_Woofenden


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## Willowdale (Mar 19, 2007)

WisJim, that article is *excellent*, thanks! I'm looking at the ARE 110 pretty closely now. The price and output are about right for me. 

I'd like to talk to folks who own them, and I need to find a distributor on the east coast, too. They list one in Virginia but his number's disconnected


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## MountainDreams (Mar 30, 2008)

I was just watching a show on the history channel. Jay Leno is having this put on the roof of his garage. I went to the website and took a quick look. No prices, but I like the design. It will catch the wind from any direction and functions at low and high wind speeds.

http://www.pacwind.net/index.html

I'd love to hear everyone elses opinion on it...

Sharon


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Over priced Junk


other than that I have no opinion of it


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## WisJim (Jan 14, 2004)

I have not heard of a Pacwind unit that actually works. The companies marketing these kinds of machines are unable to publish power output vs. wind speed charts because the power output part is non-existent.


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## MountainDreams (Mar 30, 2008)

WisJim said:


> I have not heard of a Pacwind unit that actually works. The companies marketing these kinds of machines are unable to publish power output vs. wind speed charts because the power output part is non-existent.


Thank you. I was primarily interested after watching the program. They explained that their product could handle changing wind direction because of the vertical design. It seemed to make since at the time.:shrug:

Sharon


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

They can and do make it sound good to the folks who do not know wind.

I remember the really eye catching vertical >"machine"< that was at the MREA Energy Fair 3-4 ? years ago.
You could spot it from most any place on the fair grounds.
It was a very hot day with Very light winds------but it was slowly turning.
After I looked at it for a bit I asked where the alternator was . . .I could see where it was suppost to be . . . .
Well I got the expected Texas side step about it was in the shop for yada yada. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bottom line: It would make an excellent backyard whirlygig
Stay a head of your neighbors and install one of these Now.
As you sit and sip -guzzle- tour hot toddy, this machine will greatly inhance your alcholic stupor


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