effectiveness of solar & wind

[tdw]

I'm pretty sure the review is in the current issue of PS which I received last week. Remember that down her in the antipodes we tend to get deliveries a litlle later than you lot in the US.

I have to say the price left me gobsmacked and they do make the point that mounting a windvane will be well nigh impossible if you have one of these things.

Apart from which they are bloody ugly.

[camaraderie]

If I may summarize PS...they said..good, well made product that gets you a lot more a/h's than fixed panels if you rotate them. Expensive...and 70-80 AH claims would be "optimistic" based on their testing....i.e. don't believe all the hype but t is a good product.

[chucklesR]

HelloSailor, by two axis was I was incorrect (better say that in this forum quick and plain.
I should have said single axis of rotation. Mine are mounted on the back of my dinghy davits and I can tilt them fore and aft - visually they look like a spoiler on the back of a car (www.mypci.net) - standard Gemini solar panel option.

I agree, having seen one - the metal fabication work is extensive and visually darn good quality - and in this forum I guess I better say I'm a trained and previously certified MIG/TIG welder and metals fabication specialist certified for NDI (previous life in the USAF-ANG, before I transfered to the Navy, after I transfered from the Marine Corp Reserve) - I've been around. Marine Corp tank driver, USAF metal fabrication specialist, USN Radioman (both submarine and surface but my electronics training is from the age of vacuum tubes) and Information Technology Chief Petty Officer, Retired, currently Database demigod.

I went home, dug out my PS issues - my wife keeps them bound in folders for me - and found the article. Good, not revolutionary, not passive.
Perfect for rich folks with small decks that can't just hang another panel on the rail and don't mind a stern looking like a pipe farm. How many rich folks have small decks?
Thanks.

[SimonV]

Are here we go, now we are talking about decks, size does not matter if you have a big deck or a small deck, its about how you use your deck, if your other half is happy with you deck and does not covert your neighbors deck, even if it is bigger, be happy with your deck. You could always clean up around your deck that would make it look bigger. Men be proud of your decks. let others use your deck it all part of the enjoyment.

[Valiente]

My wife's comment: "Who said that deck size doesn't matter? Did your mother tell you that?"

Heh.

[chucklesR]

As long as the deck is firm underfoot and fills the gap between the rails it can not be a bad deck, or an undersized deck.

[xort]

Originally Posted by chucklesR

As long as the deck is firm underfoot and fills the gap between the rails it can not be a bad deck, or an undersized deck.

RAILS??? Do you have pictures of that?

[hellosailor]

Chuckles, I think SS got into the marine market almost by accident. The whole thing just looks a whole lot more natural in the "terrestial" deployment with the heavy tripod base that it drops into. When I told them that I was waiting for a "Son of SolarStik" or "SolarStik Junior" to come out, downscaled a bit, they said "be patient". Apparently something is in the works, or at least in consideration, and marine is just a secondary market for this thing.

As a professional welder...if you took a sketch of something similar, or a photo of one, into your local "Hi we can do stainless and aluminum right" welding shop, what do you figure they'd charge for it?

Best I can figure, is that this one is most suitable for a boat around 40' OAL, and best installed inboard, with a pipe mount installed in the corner of the rear deck. (Outboard mounts just violate my boundaries, so to speak.)

[denby]

Hey, what happened, did this thread finally die? There is only 102 pages. So which is better, solar or wind?


Dennis
Somebody has to stir things up, it's to quiet around here.

[xort]

Sway will be looking for you