Review By: Michael Merritt

Product Star Rating:

The world’s number one selling marine wind turbine is by far the Air-X Marine.  It is a small wind turbine designed for sailboats and other watercraft.  This was designed with the weather elements in mind for this marine-grade wind turbine for boats has a marine powder coating and stainless steel fittings for corrosion protection in a marine environment.  The Air-X Marine is easy to install and all that is need for mounting is a 1.5” schedule 40 pipe (1.9” OD, 48 mm), which is not included.

The Air-X Marine has a start-up wind speed of only 6 Knots (7 mph, 2.7 m/s).  At wind speeds of 28 mph with the Air-X Marine producing 400 Watts of power the powering possibilities are endless.  With blue water cruisers selling over 70,000 turbines worldwide in just a few short years, the AIR X Marine has become the standard wind turbine.  The AIR-X Marine is capable of supplying power for the refrigerator, auto-pilot, your water maker, lights, navigational equipment, and your communication equipment.

Click Here for our Authorized AIR-X Marine Dealer

The AIR-X Marine features patented peak power tracking for maximum power no matter how high the wind speeds.  Other users have operated all of the equipment aboard their 40 ft (12 m) sailboat including (with an inverter) a microwave, coffee pot, bread maker, TV, VCR, and toaster as well as 12 volt system radio, radar, lights, loran, and refrigerator.  The AIR-X Marine was their only source of recharging aside from occasional engine motoring.

Previous AIR wind modules relied on their aero-elastic blade design for protection in high winds, causing loud flutter noise in winds above 35 mph (16 m/s).  The Air-X Marines blades are made of carbon fiber composite plus there is a new microprocessor-based speed control which results in increased performance, improved battery charging capability, and the reduction of “flutter” noise commonly found with most small wind turbines.

The turbine’s smart controller allows it to actually control blade rotation speed eliminating the buzzing noise.  The controller allows for peak-power tracking of the wind by optimizing the alternator’s output on all points of the cubic curve and then efficiently delivers the energy to the battery.  Furthermore, the new series of carbon-reinforced blades with a modified pitch angle further increases power production.  The new electronics are a considerable improvement over the AIR 403 controller that consists of diode-rectification and a simple on/off voltage switch.

Click Here for our Authorized AIR-X Marine Dealer

The engineers seemed to have also developed a much lower stress design.  The new AIR-X limits power on the input side of the electronics by controlling the torque from the blades.  The power no longer has to be dissipated by the electronics resulting in lower stress on the circuit, bearings, and other materials.  Furthermore, stress on wind turbines occurs primarily in high winds.  Under these conditions, the electronic stall design reduces the blade speed to 600 rpm, thereby significantly reducing turbine and tower loading while still producing power.  The benefit is the greater confidence in turbine operation in high wind conditions without having to manually operate the stop switch.

Air-X Marine seems to have improved resistance to the effects of the sun, wind, and water by vastly improving body preparation and the applications of the marine paint during manufacturing ensuring a more durable powder-coat protection to the body and internal components.  Even when subjected to the most extreme sun, wind, and water conditions the Air-X Marine seems to outperform the rest.

The Air-X Marine also has improved battery charging where previous AIR designs required 300-400 amp-hour battery banks so the trickle charge of the wind turbine could be adequately absorbed.  The AIR-X’s charge controller periodically stops charging and reads the battery voltage then compares it to the voltage setting to see if the battery is charged then it completely shuts off all current going to the battery.  This function is performed within a few milliseconds.  The closer the battery is to reaching its full state of charge, the more often the AIR-X’s circuit repeats this action.  What this ultimately means is any size battery bank from 25 to 25,000 amp-hours or higher can be charged safely.  When the battery has reached its fully charged state, the AIR-X will come to almost a complete stop.  Only when the battery has dropped below its voltage set point will it startup again and resume charging.  This creates a huge benefit by extending the battery life and not overcharging it.

Specifications for this product:

Tracking Body: Cast aluminum (AirX Marine is powder coated for corrosion protection)Improved powder coating protection, as the body is acid etched and treated with alodine before powder coating with a UV resistant marine paint.

• Voltage:  12, 24 and 48 VDC available
• Rated Power:  400 watts at 24 Knots (28 mph, 12.5 m/s)
• Turbine Controller:  Microprocessor-based smart internal regulator with peak power
• Tracking Body: Cast aluminum (AirX Marine is powder coated for corrosion protection)Improved powder coating protection, as the body is acid etched and treated with alodine before powder coating with a UV resistant marine paint
• Blades:  Three Carbon Fiber Composite Blades
• Assembly includes: “Tef-gel” compound to resist corrosive activity between dissimilar metals like stainless steel and aluminum
• Over speed Protection: Electronic torque control
• Kilowatt Hours: 38 kWh/mo @12 mph (5.4 m/s)
• Survival Wind Speed: 110 mph (49.2 m/s)

The AIR-X Marine carries a 3 year warranty and is produced by Southwest Windpower.  The AIR series wind turbine was introduced to the public in 1994 and now approximately 18,000 Air Marine, Air Wind Module, and Air Industrial wind turbines are produced and shipped to over 100 countries, making it the best selling battery charging wind turbine in history.  Click the link below to go to an Authorized AIR-X Marine dealer.

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