Duogen Wind/Water Powered Generator
Those of you who have heard me speaking on the spiderwebnet
chat show about the Duogen Wind/Water generator may be interested in
seeing pictures of the recently completed installation on Tao.
Keeping the boat batteries fully charged is of prime importance to a
cruising sailboat, especially those equipped with power hungry devices
like Ham radios, refrigeration etc.
The elegance, in engineering terms, of this device, is that it is very
quick and easy to effect the conversion from wind driven to towed electricity
generation. No tools are needed, you simply exchange the wind blades
for the towed impeller, extend the rigid arm and lower it into the water.
The Duogen has not been in place for long enough for me to make a thorough
assessment of it's capabilities but it has a satisfactory output in
the wind powered mode, giving a useable output at wind speeds above
10 knots.
In the towed mode the output has been up to 12amps at boat speeds around
5-6 knots (12v system). On Tao you have to remember to lash the mizzen
boom to one side when in wind mode so as not to foul the rotating wind
blades. Also in towed mode, the large quantities of seaweed floating
in the Gulf area can be a problem, although easily cleared. Not quite
so easy to clear was the pot marker with which we tangled with enroute
from Marathon to Marco.
The next move will be to install the Monitor/Regulator, which is on
order from Ferris Power Products.
As a further point of interest the manual Versa-Tuner has now been replaced
by an SG237 auto-tuner. The advantage being that it is placed right
at the fixed wire antenna base, so should improve HF communication quality
on Tao. I would appreciate signal reports, QSA and QRK from Arachnophiles.
Should anybody need a manual tuner then the Versa-Tuner 2, which is
about one year old, is available.
It only remains to wish you all a very Cool Yule and a prosperous and
QRM/QRN free 2003.
73's
Dave W4/G0TAG/MM
S/V Tao, currently playing neighbours with the Peaceful Warrior in CB's
watery backyard.
