Q: The gen that you have suggested (quiet giant), is it a used, rebuilt, or a new gen?

A: 3 HP 230 VDC SERVO MOTOR Reconditioned, PEERLESS model 183-18-1165-0 permanent magnet motor with a built-in tachometer produces 19 volts per 1000 revolutions (seperate wire for the tach). Brushess that will need replacing every 2-4 years. New these motors are normally over $4000.00.

Q:. Is this a weather tight gen? Or will I have to fabricate an enclosure?

A: You will need to get a $10.00 piece of PVC/ABS tubing, with a $2.00-$4.00 cap for each end, drill a hole in one cap for the prop/shaft and four for the face mount. If you want to get fancy, put a rubber o-ring on there against the plastic, but...

I'm a certified welder and have built a few things in my day. For this I'd use 3/4 or 1 inch all thread to form a U-BOLT for the rear of the case that clamped down to a flat plate. And take the face plate to a thick stock 2-3 inch angle iron bolted to the base plate. Pretty simple and a welding shop shouldn't charge you more than $50-$200 for the entire base/mount and there isn't any welding to it - you could do it with a drill or ask Barry to make one, except he only does stainless. I don't fly this gen (too heavy for my sailboat's mast), but 1/4 inch or 3/8 plate should be fine.

Q: Would like to know the rating of this gen, .amps per rpm, rpm rating, etc.

A: 2300 watts at 1200 RPM producing 230 volts, so rule of thumb would be 12 volts at about 60 RPM and the prop I carve for that wants to run at 50-800 RPM - wider with more torque than the props we sell for gens requiring higher RPMS that run 300-2000 RPM. This gen wants lower speeds, more torque.

By carving this way you have a safety margin at the upper end. As the prop reached 700-900 RPM (70-80% of gen rating) it would be wanting to stall or level off (see graphs at site on prop characteristics when they stall/plateau off) and below that would be the power band region (see graph) rising in a rather linear manner from 60 to 600.

Q: Is there anything else I should be considering to include with an order that can be shipped with the gen?

A: Gen and prop are pretty much all we sell. Most folks buying from us are doing so to save (we do have the best prices and performance characteristics on those two pieces of gear).

So those folks with welders near them are fabricating the mount (above) and tower (we have expensive kits at the site) and hub (connects blade to shaft). The hub connects 3 blades (10 and 12 footers are 3 tip props) and fits on the 1 3/8 shaft of this gen.

If you want, Barry Breedan, Vice Chairman of the American Welding Society and one of the best welders in the country can make your hub for you - it's $250.00 for gorgeous stainless. Barry doesn't do mild steel. You can also get it done locally and it isn't hard to make.

We provide a blade with a single 3/8 hole in it, normally 6 inches from the rear/square end on center and let you determine where any other holes may go according to the hub you get. The blades for 10 and 12 footers are normally 3 1/2 inches wide, but for this slow gen they are 4 - 5 inches wide, depending on your wind speeds. Once we have your payment we go to old NASA Jerry and he does the numbers. Until then, assume 4 to 5 inches wide and if you have a preference for either the width (chord) or some other characteristic to the airfoil profile, let us know as we are the only firm that will custom carve your blade, usually at no additional charge.

Q: Bearing life expectancy, or anything you care to comment of the bearings used in this motor.

A: No clue on bearing life, but bearings are cheap compared to the cost of the motor itself. Most of our customers use the ones that come in the gens, replace them in 2-4 years with aircraft quality bearings for less than $100.00 and those usually last 5-10 years.

Q: Gen manufacturer?

A: Peerless is what the vendor says but I am not sure...another gen place had the same unit and called it something else. The specs are 2300 watts, 3 HP, 120 RPM@230VDC, permanent magnet motor. I think it may be a different brand as I have found a similar gen made by another manufacturer, but not for this price - these were 1/10th the price of new. We try to find these bargains at WindGenZen and most customers appreciate it, but no, while some gens we find are new and others are used and others a refurbished (used and rebuilt), this one isn't new in the box, but it is refurbished - and that means a tested, working gen. Our vendor is pretty good about insuring a working product right out of the box and maintenance on these is pretty inexpensive...less than $20.00 average per year.

Q: This appears to be a face mount gen, do you have any mounts or should I only be considering fabricating it? & do you have a schematic or plans for this mount?

A: See Barry above and no, I don't have a template. Pretty easy to make and we discourage folks from paying for steel shipped around the country - bad idea that quickly drives up the price of a rig...recycle...use the labor and materials you have locally...cheaper and usually a better way to go.

Q: Seems to be the consensus that the wiring should be of a 2/0 gauge copper. Is this correct and are there any other options for a 150' run?

A: FATTEST CABLE YOU CAN AFFORD! 2/0 is a good thing. I always suggest folks consider taking the DC output, light up an inverter and battery pack at the base of the tower and run the 110 VAC (or 220 VAC) the 50-500 feet to the home...less voltage losses driving the high voltage instead of 12 volts.

You may want to put batteries in your home perhaps and that's a good idea if that tower base is subject to freezing. The wire losses for such runs are at the website..

Q: Do you have any of your gens up and running in my region, something I could actually visit or talk to the operator?

A: No - we just got this gen so you, a Hawiian, a gent in New Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands will be the first to fly it. I'm pretty good about picking out gens based on specs - I've done dozens and dozens of models and haven't screwed up yet.

This was a rare find for it's price and very low RPM operation (lots of magnets and a long case/winding) and fat shaft - a jewel in the 'refurb' gen market. New this would be $3000-$5000 bucks - our customers are paying $400 - so....they can afford a new set of bearings and new or used they'd need a plate of steel with a U-Bolt and a 90 for the face mount at the other end...if that is the worst it requires, it's an easy job for a shop. We always suggest folks get this stuff locally as shipping steel never made sense.

If you want you can ship the gen to Barry, he can make a mount for you that would be pure art (and beefy) and then he can send it all to you - that would probably cost you a grand with the price of shipping this thing around, but you'd end up with the best mount you could ever ask for. If Barry can design Tomahawk Missle Launch Tubes for Submarines and Particle Linear Accelerator Mirrors he can make a wind gen motor mount (heh heh)...but he isn't cheap.

For some customers, paying an extra $3000-$5000 and getting new gives Peace of Mind. For others who have replaced a gen bearing (no big deal) it's easier than a wax ring toilet floor gasket and gives you the ability to upgrade the bearing assemblies from the manufactured equipment. For some customers, a kit with everything in it is best. Others would again prefer to have items fabricated locally and save the cost of shipping steel around the country.

We do have towers available - at 10 times the price of getting this gear at your location. We have welders/fabricators here to make mounts - at about 2-3 times the price you'll pay locally, plus you'll have to pay for shipping.

If you are going to take a community off the grid it makes sense to develop all of your supplies and fabrication locally so everyone saves, but if you'd prefer to get it from us, we can take care of it on this end.