The Whisper 1000 Wind Powered Generator Mick Sagrillo copyright1990 Mick Sagrillo Being in the business of repairing wind generators, I've seen a lot of junk come through the door. We witnessed the "rebirth" of the wind industry in the late 1970s with about 80 wind generator companies setting up shop. Virtually all of these companies, which produced anywhere from a handful to a few hundred mostly Rube Goldberg units each, have gone bankrupt. About a half dozen have survived the shakedown. Needless to say, I'm quite skeptical when I hear of a new wind generator design. Simplicity About a year ago, I talked to Elliot Bayly of World Power Technologies about the new design he was developing. Bayly has been in the business of manufacturing wind generators for 13 years. He is one of the survivors that I mentioned. I got the lowdown from him on his new machine and decided it was worth my while to pay him a visit. Last winter, I saw what I believe is the simplest wind generator design ever developed. My definition of simplicity is related to the number of moving parts a machine has. The greater the number of moving parts, the more maintenance is involved. Bayly's design, which is a spin-off of the very successful 1930's Paris-Dunn wind generator, has only three moving parts: the rotor, the yaw. and the tilt-up governor. This, folks, is a record! The Design The Whisper 1000 is driven by a two-blade rotor, nine feet in diameter. The rotor drives a brushless permanent magnet alternator of your voltage choice. The yaw, which allows the wind generator to track the wind, clamps to a 2" pipe. But the governing mechanism, traditionally the most wear-prone component of any wind generator, is what separates the Whisper 1000 from all the rest. The Paris-Dunn design is governed by tilting the rotor up and therefore out of the wind. There are several wind generators on the market today utilizing this simple governing technique. But the Whisper 1000 accomplishes this by using the tail as the tilting counterweight. In other words, the rotor tilts up while the tail tilts down. No springs (or bunji cords) and no hydraulic or air cylinders that will eventually wear out and need replacing. Tower-top weight for the system is 55 pounds. Wonder Windings Bayly, who holds a PhD in electrical engineering, has after three years of experimentation, come up with an alternator that is remarkably versatile. This is not an alternator built for one application that has been reworked to serve as a wind generator. The alternator was designed by Bayly and built by World Power Technologies to match the power output of the rotor. The Whisper 1000 comes with either a low voltage winding, factory connected for 12, 24, 32 to 36, or 48 volts, or a high voltage winding, factory connected for 60 to 72, 120, or 240 volts. The versatility comes from the fact that the owner can reconnect the wires of either model for any voltage desired in the alternator voltage group. This means that if you purchase a 12 volt model and later decide to switch to a higher battery voltage, say 24 or 36 volts, you simply reconnect the wires in the alternator junction box for the voltage you want and "presto!", you have an alternator with the desired voltage output. This is the only alternator on the market that offers this feature. No longer do you need to purchase a complete new wind generator to upgrade your system. The Manual The Whisper 1000 comes with a very complete owners/installation manual. Besides the usual installation and maintenance instructions, the manual also covers troubleshooting, wire sizing charts for different voltages, battery sizing, and the above mentioned wiring diagrams for changing alternator voltages. A real bonus is a section on the design and construction of a tilt-up type tower up to 100' in height for the Whisper 1000. The design is for a guyed tower made of locally available parts and well casing or pipe. Controls The control box is simple, consisting of a 3-phase bridge rectifier to convert the alternator output to DC, and a switch to shut the machine off. This is known as dynamic braking and occurs by shorting the three phases of the alternator together. As a result, you can shut the Whisper 1000 down with the flick of a switch from the comfort of your home. No more running out to the tower in the middle of a thunderstorm at night! The only down side I found to the whole system is that there is no way to trickle charge your batteries with this controller. However, by adding any shunt-type PV regulator of adequate current-carrying capacity, batteries can be taper charged. Water Works and Heat, Too! With the addition of an optional control package, the Whisper 1000 can be used to pump water or for resistive heating loads. Water pumping is accomplished by incorporating a readily available 3-phase motor into the system. As the wind speed increases and decreases, the 3-phase motor will act as as variable speed pump. Power Output The factory specifications for current output (in amps) and the power curve of the Whisper 1000 are as follows: INSERT ART RELIABILITY I am often asked about the reliability of a wind generator, if it will last through the ages (or at least through a few storms). Based on the simplicity of this design and feedback I have gotten from satisfied customers, I would recommend the Whisper 1000 to anyone looking for small-scale wind. But realize that the Whisper 1000 has been commercially available for only 1990 and does not have a track record. With a year-end production of 80 units (20 sold in the USA), Elliot Bayly confided in me that he has had only one part failure, and that appears to be the result of the customer over-torquing some bolts. That's an excellent track record. Final Notes The cost of the Whisper 1000 with controller is $1290, plus shipping. It is shipped via UPS in two boxes. The Whisper 1000 comes with a full two year warranty covering materials and workmanship. Delivery is currently 60 days from the time of ordering. Access Author: Mick Sagrillo is owner of Lake Michigan Wind & Sun, E 3971 Bluebird Rd., Forestville, WI 54213 ù 414-837-2267. The Whisper 1000 is available from most wind generator dealers.