Wind generator

hey - great sounding idea...no idea about this method of generation though - wonder what sort of charging current they can generate - and how much etc......I guess only disadvantage that comes to mind immediately would be the fact that it would only work when vehicle is moving - thereby making it not terribly as solar for charging a dead vehicle battery if the car can't be started.

....worth poking around a bit and looking into though....

Jimbo,
How do you feel about a 1.5m dia propellor on the roof, this will possibly give the required watts.

cheers geoff.

Now Moggsey! Surely we can't be the only silly buggers on this planet. A while ago, I replaced the fan/motor assembly in our free-standing Eureka fireplace. Lovely assembly fabricated out of galvanised sheet metal; two barrel fans on bearings; a little motor in between them (stuffed motor and hence the replacement.). Now, somewhere back in history, someone told me if you pass a current through a wire wound around a nail which is mounted inside a permanent magneta, then the nail will and spin : an electric motor. Similarly, if you can find a way of spinning that armature, then electricity is generated : a generator ... be gentle with me! If I mounted that fan assembly on the roof, would it spin the motor and make electricity?! :-) ... I gotta get a hobby! This is embarrassing!.

1.5 m propeller, eh? But but what if you had a six foot length of 6inch poly pipe with a great long barrel fan mounted in it? Would a really long barrel fan somehow equal a really wide blade?

Moggs, what sort of generators were you going to use? Where sourced? I dunno why but I've just got this mistrust of fiddling with the car's electrics. Feel safer with the auxiliary power system separate from the car's system.

Hey guys!!
You already have one of these thingys - the fan behind the radiator is connected to your alternator, and when you drive along, the wind thru the front of the radiator helps turn the fan, charging the battery, and also helps the load on the engine, saving fuel!!!

Seriously, marine stores flog small wind generators for yachts, which could be used to charge batterys where there is plenty of wind, but not much sun for solar panels. They're not all that big.
I recall the old Dunlite wind generators, with 1.2m blades (2.4m dia) used to put out a whopping 120A at 28v in a good wind, but a bit impractical for a camping outfit.
Gerry

Geez, Greg. You're no fun at all. Does that wind thru the radiator trick work when you've got a radiator fan that only comes on when the egine gets hot?

Why not a mast and sail on the roof to help with fuel economy when you have a following tail wind

could put a wind generator into the seats of some of the forum readers. The amount of beer fartz, BS and crap coming out of their butts would easily power an engel

You could always point it skywards & drive really fast, & just "helicopter" your way over some of those dunes! ;)