Looking for answers.
Currently under the "JANES HOUSEHOLD SKYSTREAM kWh RECORD" post there has been a discussion going as to why Eric in Wood River Illinois, Skystream is producing such low output. Eric's turbine produced less than 600 kWh over the last year and a half, while another owner that is less than 200 miles away in the same state produced 600kWh for the month of December alone. I know sounds like a high school storybook problem, but bear with me. I'd really like to get some good feedback from the community that might help Eric out.
Here's the specs from Eric's site.
Location: Wood River, Illinois
Installed by: Illinois Wind Power
Tower Height: 45'
Production: 599 kWh over 12 month period
Possible obstructions: The only obstruction directly in the plane is to the northeast and there is limited wind from that direction. Prevailing winds are from the North, South, Northwest and West. Their are tree's to the south but nothing to the North or Northwest. Most of the tree's are below the plane, and better than 300 feet away, The only major tree to the south is well over 1000 feet away.
Here's photos of the location of his Skystream:
.jpg)
Skystream--&-House
Wind-Generator---South
Wind-generator-looking-North
Wind-Generator-looking-down
Wind-generator-looking-NW
Here's the specs from Eric's site.
Location: Wood River, Illinois
Installed by: Illinois Wind Power
Tower Height: 45'
Production: 599 kWh over 12 month period
Possible obstructions: The only obstruction directly in the plane is to the northeast and there is limited wind from that direction. Prevailing winds are from the North, South, Northwest and West. Their are tree's to the south but nothing to the North or Northwest. Most of the tree's are below the plane, and better than 300 feet away, The only major tree to the south is well over 1000 feet away.
Here's photos of the location of his Skystream:
Skystream--&-House
Wind-Generator---South
Wind-generator-looking-North
Wind-Generator-looking-down
Wind-generator-looking-NW
Here's the specs from Mark's site.
Location: Champaign, Illinois
Tower Height: 70'
Tower Height: 70'
Northeast of tower
East view
South view
Meter that was installed (new) the last day of June this year, shows production made since then.
Below is a copy of the prior comments that have been posted about this issue:
Mark in illinois wrote:
December was a good month in central Illinois. I won't hold my breath but it appears the fix for our shut down problem, works. We have had low temps and high winds and the turbine has kept working hard. It produced 418 kwh in November and a record (for us) 621 kwh for December. Keeping in mind this was with the old fashion meter I had to install as the Remote is like a old married couple with the turbine, they don't communicate at all any more.
Eric Axtell wrote:
Mark, No pun intended but are you sure you understand what a KWH is? I live in Southern Illinois also, Mine over the last year and a half has created a grand total of 599 KWH. with the upgrades. Are you sure your not mistaking Watt Hrs for KWH? I won't say it's impossible, but I live in the same state and I know we don't make anywhere near that. Sorry....
Mark in Illinois wrote:
Eric: Do I understand kWh : a unit of energy equivalent to one kilowatt (1kWh) of power expended for one hour (1h) of time, vs. watt-hour (symbolized Wh) a unit of energy equivalent to one watt (1W) of power expended for one hour. No not very well. But however as per SWWP. specs. the Skystream will put out average 400 Kwh per month at a average 12 mph wind speed.
And as I (and suppose you have too) have read from the other people on this site Including Josh who has his on a chart did 472 kWh for the month of December.
I'm not sure where you live in southern Illinois, I am up by Champaign near the U of I ( go ILLINI). But any way I would imagine our weather is close. This post was to express my happiness that as opposed to this time last year when my turbine (on a 70' tower out in the country)was not turning at all in a 20mph wind for a l o n g time. Our December weather was horrible ( with numerous storms wind (a lot)and ice and snow and cold temps)but good for power production.
As also listed in the post this is on an old fashion dial meter that we had to install ( still not happy about the expensive wire less thing that I bought that don't work)that says it reads in kWhs??? Do I know ??? This is just what I have. Sorry...
Joshua wrote:
I'm wondering what Eric's site looks like and how tall of a tower he went with to get such low output? even in the 3 worst summer months we produced nearly a 100 kWh each of those months and there was barely a breeze most of the time. If you have your skystream on a 70' tower in that placement, I don't doubt it would hit those numbers. Ours is only on a 45' tower in an open field and we did 472 that same month and I bet on a 70' tower we would have hit close to the same amount as you.
Let me tell ya, after ours was down all of last december and than ran non-stop this december in freezing rain and extremely high winds I can totally understand why you wanted to express your happiness with your skystream. I feel the same. Hope january does as well.
Eric Axtell wrote:
Josh, If I could load a pic for you to your site, I would. I live near STL just east of the bluffs. I have tree's to the south but nothing to the north or Nwest. Most of the tree's are below the plane,""just barely"" and better than 300 feet behind clear, I know the only major tree to the south is well over 1000Ft.... I'm sitting on a 45' for a pole.
My point about KWH is this, a Kilo is a thousand fold or X to the third power. My Xbee 1.6 reads in Watt hrs, 62456 is actually 62.4 KWH as an example. I have two meter's on my system, ""Remember talking about this before?"" a two way digital that reads a grand total of 194 KWH back up the line. I also have a dial type directly connected to the generator. Reads 598 KWH total. The system has been up for better than a year.
I have an older friend named DJ in his area. She is sitting on a 70' also and doesn't get that production, Sorry guys I don't agree.. I'm really not wanting to blast the man, I just hope that everyone reading these posts are familiar with what KWH stands for and how you get there.
One other thing. I have a septic tank that runs 3/4 horse, I can burn 1 KWH in ten minutes flat. The wing generator is no match for it. KWH and actual time are not at any rate the same!!!!
Joshua Janes wrote:
Hey eric, if you like, email photos to me at info@keepturning.com and I will post them along with your totals and anything else you'd like to add and maybe we could get some of the dealers and people to weigh in on what's up with your low production and why it's happening.
With the cost of a skytstream I would be upset with those production numbers myself.
Although it came across less like you were blasting the man, (Southwest Windpower) and more of attacking mark.
I'm not quite sure what you don't agree with. I get what your saying about kWh and kW usage by different types of equipment, but it doesn't change the production and usage numbers on a persons metering system. A kWh of usage or production on a dedicated meter is still just a kWh.
I still only use my dedicated meter at the base of my tower to track production and to date the system has produced 2,900kWh of electricity over the past 15 months and the digital meter on the side of my house has tracked 652kWh have been returned to the grid of that 2,900kWh.
Eric Axtell wrote:
Hi Josh,
My problem with Jeff's post is he lives just north of us. Less than 200 miles. I don't believe they produce that much. If everyone has a meter installed directly on the generator an is producing that much, then great. Mine doesn't but good for them. I had mine Installed by a Mom & Pop crew by the name of Illinois Wind Power. See the pics, the only thing directly in the plane is to the NE and we don't have wind from that direction. Mainly North, South, NorthWest and West. Sorry I didn't take the pic from the West. The problem may be that the wind bumpers off of our roof and causes circulation problems. Maybe but kinda hard to bite at + 20' above... The unit on the 1.6 exbee looks like a heartbeat, it is never flat in anything except 6-8 mph winds. The unit bouces back and forth like mad... I just Don't believe there,"southwest's hype" about production is accurate...
Eric
Below is a copy of the prior comments that have been posted about this issue:
Mark in illinois wrote:
December was a good month in central Illinois. I won't hold my breath but it appears the fix for our shut down problem, works. We have had low temps and high winds and the turbine has kept working hard. It produced 418 kwh in November and a record (for us) 621 kwh for December. Keeping in mind this was with the old fashion meter I had to install as the Remote is like a old married couple with the turbine, they don't communicate at all any more.
Eric Axtell wrote:
Mark, No pun intended but are you sure you understand what a KWH is? I live in Southern Illinois also, Mine over the last year and a half has created a grand total of 599 KWH. with the upgrades. Are you sure your not mistaking Watt Hrs for KWH? I won't say it's impossible, but I live in the same state and I know we don't make anywhere near that. Sorry....
Mark in Illinois wrote:
Eric: Do I understand kWh : a unit of energy equivalent to one kilowatt (1kWh) of power expended for one hour (1h) of time, vs. watt-hour (symbolized Wh) a unit of energy equivalent to one watt (1W) of power expended for one hour. No not very well. But however as per SWWP. specs. the Skystream will put out average 400 Kwh per month at a average 12 mph wind speed.
And as I (and suppose you have too) have read from the other people on this site Including Josh who has his on a chart did 472 kWh for the month of December.
I'm not sure where you live in southern Illinois, I am up by Champaign near the U of I ( go ILLINI). But any way I would imagine our weather is close. This post was to express my happiness that as opposed to this time last year when my turbine (on a 70' tower out in the country)was not turning at all in a 20mph wind for a l o n g time. Our December weather was horrible ( with numerous storms wind (a lot)and ice and snow and cold temps)but good for power production.
As also listed in the post this is on an old fashion dial meter that we had to install ( still not happy about the expensive wire less thing that I bought that don't work)that says it reads in kWhs??? Do I know ??? This is just what I have. Sorry...
Joshua wrote:
I'm wondering what Eric's site looks like and how tall of a tower he went with to get such low output? even in the 3 worst summer months we produced nearly a 100 kWh each of those months and there was barely a breeze most of the time. If you have your skystream on a 70' tower in that placement, I don't doubt it would hit those numbers. Ours is only on a 45' tower in an open field and we did 472 that same month and I bet on a 70' tower we would have hit close to the same amount as you.
Let me tell ya, after ours was down all of last december and than ran non-stop this december in freezing rain and extremely high winds I can totally understand why you wanted to express your happiness with your skystream. I feel the same. Hope january does as well.
Eric Axtell wrote:
Josh, If I could load a pic for you to your site, I would. I live near STL just east of the bluffs. I have tree's to the south but nothing to the north or Nwest. Most of the tree's are below the plane,""just barely"" and better than 300 feet behind clear, I know the only major tree to the south is well over 1000Ft.... I'm sitting on a 45' for a pole.
My point about KWH is this, a Kilo is a thousand fold or X to the third power. My Xbee 1.6 reads in Watt hrs, 62456 is actually 62.4 KWH as an example. I have two meter's on my system, ""Remember talking about this before?"" a two way digital that reads a grand total of 194 KWH back up the line. I also have a dial type directly connected to the generator. Reads 598 KWH total. The system has been up for better than a year.
I have an older friend named DJ in his area. She is sitting on a 70' also and doesn't get that production, Sorry guys I don't agree.. I'm really not wanting to blast the man, I just hope that everyone reading these posts are familiar with what KWH stands for and how you get there.
One other thing. I have a septic tank that runs 3/4 horse, I can burn 1 KWH in ten minutes flat. The wing generator is no match for it. KWH and actual time are not at any rate the same!!!!
Joshua Janes wrote:
Hey eric, if you like, email photos to me at info@keepturning.com and I will post them along with your totals and anything else you'd like to add and maybe we could get some of the dealers and people to weigh in on what's up with your low production and why it's happening.
With the cost of a skytstream I would be upset with those production numbers myself.
Although it came across less like you were blasting the man, (Southwest Windpower) and more of attacking mark.
I'm not quite sure what you don't agree with. I get what your saying about kWh and kW usage by different types of equipment, but it doesn't change the production and usage numbers on a persons metering system. A kWh of usage or production on a dedicated meter is still just a kWh.
I still only use my dedicated meter at the base of my tower to track production and to date the system has produced 2,900kWh of electricity over the past 15 months and the digital meter on the side of my house has tracked 652kWh have been returned to the grid of that 2,900kWh.
Eric Axtell wrote:
Hi Josh,
My problem with Jeff's post is he lives just north of us. Less than 200 miles. I don't believe they produce that much. If everyone has a meter installed directly on the generator an is producing that much, then great. Mine doesn't but good for them. I had mine Installed by a Mom & Pop crew by the name of Illinois Wind Power. See the pics, the only thing directly in the plane is to the NE and we don't have wind from that direction. Mainly North, South, NorthWest and West. Sorry I didn't take the pic from the West. The problem may be that the wind bumpers off of our roof and causes circulation problems. Maybe but kinda hard to bite at + 20' above... The unit on the 1.6 exbee looks like a heartbeat, it is never flat in anything except 6-8 mph winds. The unit bouces back and forth like mad... I just Don't believe there,"southwest's hype" about production is accurate...
Eric
One of mine is having a bearing issue which has lowered its production. It "squeeks" in higher winds - sounds like grinding metal a little bit. The other one has a software issue and shuts down intermittantly. What Southwest doesn't tell you is that these machines can ONLY diagnose what is wrong with thme if you purchased the handheld device. Both of mine have been a PITA since almost day one. In my mind, Southwest has made these TOO sophisticated, you should see the circuit board onside one of these units.
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Also, keep in mind that the 400 KWH in a 12mph wind is an average from SWWP and could probably only truly happen in a lab. Real world stats are much lower and I have teh spreadsheet data to prove it. The government wind speed map showing local averages lists us at 12mph and both my windmills, when operating properly, average 1200-1600 kWh per year. 400 a month is an outrageous expectation at 12mph unless you were on a 100 ft tower or better. I told SWWP about their "inconsistency" and they never replied. I put it in the same genre as average mpg on cars.
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Eric, I going to ask the obvious questions first, is your pole level and does your turbine track the wind okay or does it get stuck? What is your current software version?
In the picture "Wind Generator South", the trees appear to be fairly close and considering your turbine is actually at or below the height of most of those old growth trees, which are 50'+, you may be experiencing a lot of turbulence. When the wind blows from that direction does your turbine stay fixed or does it oscillate a lot. If it oscillates then the turbine is not getting a good "bite" on the wind thus, turbulence from the trees is the culprit which will drastically reduce output performance.
I am in NE Indiana and I have trees to the S with the turbine 25' above them. When the wind blows from that direction the turbine's performance is greatly diminished and it is always oscillating around no matter how hard the wind is blowing. All other directions are clear and the turbine runs fixed without any oscillating and produces very good results. I have logged 320+kWhrs from Oct 27th to Dec 31st.
In a nutshell, you could have one of the following issues:
1. The turbulence from the surrounding trees us affecting your turbine more than you realize. I takes wind 300' or more to reconverge and any obstacle in the way of that reconvergence only disturbs it. So by the time it reaches your turbine the wind is not fully back together and still "tumbling"
2. You have a faulty inverter.
3. The alternator may be faulty and have an open in the coil. The inverter is supposed to sense this and shutdown, but there's always a chance it wouldn't. There are ways to check the alternator but this requires lowering the turbine.
Sincerely,
Jeff
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Eric,
Have you logged data? What is your peak current, max power and max RPM on a high wind day? Have you measured current on each phase with a clamp-on ammeter?
Since I installed the new inverter with 2.02 software, I have seen up to 19.5A on each phase, almost 5000 watts and usual max RPM of 340 RPM. Prior to the new inverter and software, I was only getting about 10.5A per phase approx 340 RPM. Is your altitude set correctly?
By the way, I have noticed the "heartbeat" graph you mentioned since I installed the inverter and new software. It seemed like the old setup was smoother, although much less powerful.
Mike
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I am the SS3.7 dealer that sold "Mark in Illinois" his turbine and tower. Mark did his own install (great job) and I provided the technical assist.
The one thing that has been and will always be my mandra for years regarding wind turbines is "get them up there!" I have lost many jobs by adhering to this philosphy. I have never installed a SS3.7 turbine on a tower less than 60'. I suppose if a client has the "perfect" site, I might install a 45' or 50' but I have yet to find a "perfect" site.
Realsistc expectations prevents problems down the road.
The "second generation" SS3.7 with the 2.02v software/Xbee works very, very well.
Quite simply, in looking at the posted photo "Wind generator-south", the answer is too obvious. Your hub height is in the area prone to the most turbulence and subsequent wind speed reduction there is...below tree top height. All that wind moving through, around and over the top of the tree branches is the worst for any turbine. A significant reduction in power output will occur. Despite the fact that photos showing other areas around the turbine to be relatively open, the lower height of the turbine will affect overall power output.
In addition to this, a "compass rose" of prevailing wind direction for most of Illinois shows south to southwest as the primary area of wind flows, year round.
Overall elevation is critical also to power output. Mark is at roughly 730' above sea level. His area is in a high class 2/class 3 wind speed regime. Eric, living in southern Illinois, is in a class 2 at best and most likely class 1 if he's near any river.
Placing a wind turbine on a short tower is like putting solar panels in the shade.
Eric - to quote you: "One other thing. I have a septic tank that runs 3/4 horse, I can burn 1 KWH in ten minutes flat." 1kWh is 1,000 watt hours. 746 watts is equal to 1 horsepower. If your motor runs for one hour you will use 746 watt hours of electricity. This does not include the up to 3kW surge that you might need for 1 second or less, to spool the motor up under load.
The bottom line...have a good site...use the tallest tower you can get...size your wires correctly.
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Sorry for the double post....new guy on the blog. Joshua-if you want to, please delete the duplicate and this one. Thanks
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Our Turbine is on a 70 foot tower. you have listed a 45 listed under mark's specs
Unlike Eric's pictures obviously it from the ground looking up. You can not get an idea how much higher the turbine is than the near by trees.
Also you can not tell how flat it is where we live.
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Greetings Joshua,
Apologies about contacting you this way!
I am an installer in New Zealand, and I want to tap into the knowledge of the guys on the site.
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new guy here. just browsing around.
1-are you getting the rpms?
2-are you using the power you generate, if your inverter isnt using the power the meter wont show much, even if you're generating a billion watts.
just my two cents, i'm a meter tech for mid american energy.
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Rick - I'm curious what meter you would recommend? We have to have a dedicated meter out here in CA, and the meter shows much lower production than the internal meter on the Skystream when checked with the handheld device. It seems when the wind blows lightly it is not enough to record on the meter, although the SS internal meter is recording it. We have tried both digital and analog meters and neither seem to accurately record the production. This may mean that the customers are not getting the correct credit from the utility.
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Dec 08 produced 590 kw (I have a second meter so I am sure that this is correct) However, my hydro bill was quite a bit higher. How can I tell if the house is actually using this power? It seems that the more power we produce the higher my bill. I don't need any b.s. just a simple way to prove that the power is being used by me and not the grid. (I have a digital smart meter installed on the house,so if there is excess power the grid keeps it)...MRJ
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When my electric coop installed the net metering meter at my location, they also temporarily installed a recording device underneath it to record and track the output from my turbine. This recorder has the ability to simultaneously display a graph of power produced by my turbine, power supplied from the power company, power used by my residence, etc... Using this device, when my turbine was producing more power than my residence was using, the gragh would show a negative production of power from the utility company. If my unit was producing less power than was needed, the gragh would show a positive value of power being supplied from the utility. Your utility probably has one of these recorders to check the new digital smart meters. If you believe the power you are producing is not being credited to you but instead is being added to your usage from the power company, then this recorder would show an increase in power supplied from the utility anytime there was an increase in production from your turbine and would never show a negative value no matter how much power you were producing. You might try contacting the utility and asking if they have or will they check this out for you.
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Where can I find an owners manual that defines all the options and data on the Skyview 101?
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I bought a Skystream in aug08 it quit Feb09 I did all that SWWP asked and found that they will not back this product if it is a serious problem you are on your own BEWARE of SWWP
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I am curious who you talked to at SWWP and what exactly what was the problem you are experiencing. I also had some problems with my turbine which have since been resolved. I was experiencing erronious shutdowns on my turbine in winds of 20-25 mph and very low power production. I discovered that the tech department does not field calls on Fridays. Apparently this is the day they use to answer e-mails. The two gentlemen I talked to (several times)in the tech department were Bo and Ross. The engineer I talked to which was finally able to help me was Dereck. Be persistent. If they say they will call you back, ask for a specific time. If they don't call back, call them again. The old adage, "the squeeky wheel gets the grease" really does apply here. The problems I was experiencing were strickly software related issues and a "fried" remote interface. Knowing the exact nature of your problems with your turbine would be very helpful for the members of this forum as your problem may be one that they have experienced themselves. Also, keep a journal of all phone calls, e-mails and any other correspondence you may have had with SWWP. It might help you get expidited service if you make them aware that you have all of this information on hand.
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Looks like I spoke too soon. I installed the new 2.0.2 firmware on 4/12/2009 and all seemed well for a while. I had an increase in production and no more erronious shutdowns in 20 - 25 mph winds. Unfortunately, all was not well. On 5/15/2009 my unit shutdown for good. After much persistent calling, I was finally able to get in touch with SWWP and talked to them about the problem. I was told I would need a new hatch cover and that I would have to get in touch with my dealer to get the repairs completed. I contacted my dealer and he has sent in for a return authorization for the new hatch cover. It is now 6/17/2009 and neither my dealer nor I have recieved a return authorization from SSWP as of yet. Thirty-two days with a broken unit and counting.
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Here is an update to my Skystream situation. I received an e-mail from my dealer on 7/22/09 which was forwarded from SWWP stating that a new hatch cover for my Skystream was ready to ship. The unit was received by my dealer and we scheduled the repairs to be completed on 7/31/09....rain delays. My dealer arrived on 7/31/09 and we lowered the tower to replace the hatch cover. Upon opening the unit, we discovered that the problem was much more severe than just replacing the hatch cover could repair. The inside of the unit had condensation on all of the electronics and there was extensive corrosion on the curcuit boards and lugs. The unit apparently had a bad seal which had allowed water to infiltrate to the inside of the unit. My dealer contacted Ellis Stacey and arranged for a return authorization on the entire unit...although he could not give a specific date for shipment. So, I am still without a working Skystream but at least I am more encouraged by the fact that SWWP seams to be trying to stand behind their product. I am currently waitng for contact from SWWP for instructions on how to proceed with returning the damaged unit. As a side note, if you start to lower a wind turbine tower and discover that you have too much slack in the lift line once the tower reaches the tipping point....DON'T try to slow its descent by pulling on the lift line. Trust me on this one. You are not strong enough and do not weigh enough to have much (if any) effect on the towers descent. I found this out the hard way today when the lift line launched my 265 lb carcass about 12 feet in the air before I took a not so graceful descent back to Earth. Fortunately, no broken bones...just a few minor cuts, scrapes, bruises and rope burns. Ah yes, the joys of wind power.
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Received my new replacement turbine on 9/30/2009. Swapped it out with the old one in a couple of hours. When I opened the package that should have contained the new antennae I found that I had in fact received 6 Allen screws like the ones that hold on the nose cone instead. Also discovered that the new skyview USB kit was not included. I called SWWP customer service and to my delight was able to get through in just under a minute! Shortly thereafter, the missing items had been scheduled for delivery. On October 6, 2009 I received my package and when I opened it I discovered that it did not contain the new antennae just the USB kit. Called SWWP again and informed them that the antennae was missing from the order. I also asked if SWWP could overnight the antennae so I could get my unit up and running again. Here's the rub...I was told that it could not be sent overnight without the CEO's approval. Let me get this straight for clarity... I spend $10,000 on defective wind turbine and tower kit and 3 months of my summer installing it and they cannot send me an antennae overnight because it is going to cost around $26.00 to do so? And this is after me suffering a down unit for 5 months? Anyway, needless to say, I was not happy but we did manage to get the antennae in route to my location. Antennae arrived on October 13, 2009 and fifteen minutes after arrival I had it installed, the tower raised, and the unit was back in operation once more. Keeping my fingers crossed but it seems to be working OK so far. Wish me Luck.
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Hi, I would like to get ahold of Mark in IL. I am in contact with a local magazine that would like to talk to him about his skystream. Just for a quick figure, We installed a 2.02 skystream on a 50' monopole in a solid class 3 wind site, last month-April, saw production of 692kWh. Verified by dedicated digital meter, powercompany meter, and skyview software.
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Josh if you have the ability to give HIM my e-mail it is mark.doman@provena.org
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I have a 3.7 installed at 52 feet. I don't get much production (kWh) for 4 months) but those blades turn an awful lot. My installer is confused by the low output but states when he contacts Sky stream they do not reply.
My contacts with Skystream sending data logs have not been answered in 10 days. I did notice that when the RPM's fall below 100 the output drops to zero. As a science treacher that doen't strike me as appropiate. My dealer states installers are having real issues with the Skystream 3.7 (and the company) and many are dropping them.
They state that lack of support and output discrepencies are turning them off. Barry
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I just install my skystream last week and I am also seeing the output drops to zero, when the RPM's fall below 100.
I email support early this week to find out if this is nornal, so far no respond.
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Hi Rick,
I send about 4 e-mails,wait 7 to 10 days,and get a partial answer. I'm ready to get a lawyer and sue. Also a group of installers might ask the state to remove skystream from the list of approved units until they demonstrate the can support their product. My unit has been a big joke. Lots of people stop and I tell them to look at a different company. When I tell them what I am going through they thank me for warning them.
Barry
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here's the down and dirty. swwp has a total of 3 technicians for the entire country so good luck in getting answers quickly. and when you do get someone to reply they speak down to you like you're some kind of idiot, with exception of a supervisor will answer your questions.
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NREL wind map for Illinois shows Class III is equal to 14.3mph to 15.7mph @ 50m (164')tower height. Average wind speed for Illinois at 50m is 15.2mph, at 30m is 13.3mph.
At 15m (50') how fast must the wind average be to obtain 700kWh for a month from a SS 3.7? The answer is roughly 18mph. All day, for 24 hrs a day, all month.
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is anyone seeing any issues when the turbine stops it stops in the same place everytime. my level is less than 1% and it seems when the wind blows from the direction my nose is facing it takes alot of wind to get the turbine spinning again (10-15mph). i hope this does not turn into a bearing issue, there should be some software or something to get the turbine facing another direction?
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The top of the pole is not level. You will have to raise the side where the nose cone is and lower the opposite side. You may not have to move it much, because a little at the bottom is a lot at the top. You may have to play with for awhile until you get it level. The best way I found is to get a digital level.
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Jeffrey,
Thanks for the tip, I suspected this to be the case but did not want to tinker and affect the other wind directions where i'm getting excellent production with on 5-10 mph wind.
Thanks Again,
Ken
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Thanks, I have a Sky stream installed by a company in England and think that I have the same problem - The blades run backwards on occasion and it is reluctant to yaw. So far I have not done anything myself as I paid the company to install it.
The other problem I ve had early on was that it worked fine for all of 4 days then repeatedly tripped the earth (ground current) leakage breaker. After some discussion the company came out to investigate, by then there was a "ticking" noise in step with the rotor. The blades were checked and then they opened the power head itself only to find that a loose cable had been rubbing on a large retaining nut at the inboard end of the generator shaft. There was considerable sign of arcing and burnt insulation. this was "temporally repaired with tape.
I am, told that Sky stream were very reluctant to replace the unit. My concern is that the fault current will have damaged the bearings. Indeed there is now some bearing noise and I am still waiting for a replacement three months later - though I do think this is the fault of Sky stream rather than the UK based company that I bought the machine from.
I would be interested to hear from anyone who has had similar problems. I am an engineer (retired now) and do think that this is a design fault.
Going back to tower leveling, I think that it is clear that leveling is critical. It must be the top mounting flange that needs to be level, so that leveling the bottom flange may not be enough as I doubt that a 45 foot steel fabricated pole will be dead straight - or stay straight in use. Especially the unstayed "monopole" has considerable "wippiness".
I am just beginning to wonder what effect the sun has on a hot day warming up one side of the tower I know that the conductivity of the steel will limit temperature differentials. However, bearing in mind the length of the tower and how critical the leveling seems to be I do believe that this could be significant.
At the risk of trying to redesign it I do wonder if it really needs a skeg or fin under the housing to help it yaw. Indeed there is at least one UK based manufacturer(Proven) of down wind rotor small scale turbines that DO have skegs.
Certainly my personal experience so far has been not entirely satisfactory. Both with the initial cable fault and Sky streams apparent reluctance to do anything. and it is clear that the yaw problem means that lightish winds from the wrong direction are wasted when I know that the turbine generates several hundred watts in the same wind strength from the favored direction. Clearly if the wind is strong then it will yaw and generate OK.
All comments and news of similar experience very welcome.
I do hope that it can be sorted because basically I think it should be a good product.
At present, unless the wind is in the right direction I just have a rather expensive perch for barn swallows.
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ReDriven has a controller that you can manually position, this could help but not a permanent fix for out of level towers. I'm not sure if the turbine mfg are taken into consideration the load of the turbine in their directions for leveling initially?
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The tower will always tip away from the sun. The side facing the sun expands and bends the tower. This is a well-known and significant phenomenom. That's why there are no black towers. It would look like a banana on a sunny day.
You can only level a tower on a very cloudy day or at night. Attempting it on a sunny day is hearding cats.
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Unfortunately during my research of obtaining a small wind unit I found many BAD comments about SWWP and their products. Have a read from one of the employees...
http://www.wind-sun.com/ForumVB/showthread.php?t=4981
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I have some pictures of a Skystream 3.7 that fell off its tower due to an electronic brake failure. You can see them at http://www.windenergytruth.com
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Would you be able to repost those pictures or send them to me. I am interested in seeing what the pictures look like. Thank you
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I installed our skystream a few months ago. I leveled the tower and the wind generator tended to stop in the same direction when the wind stopped. I adjusted the tower a little bit at a time until now it will turn with a light breeze in any direction. The towers top plate are not leveled very well or the vibration isolators effect the top level
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Thanks for this. It really helped me out!
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Humm... interesting,
could you show a production table
Thanks for writing about it
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Hello, I had a skystream installed in mid Aug 09 in South Western, NH on a 60' tower. I'm located about 1600' on the side of a mountain. Prevailing winds from the west are wide open with nothing but a great view for 50 miles. The east, however, is blocked by the rest of the mountain top. To date, Oct 20th., i've only produced about 90 kwh on the dedicated meter. Only 90 kwh for 2 and a half months is unacceptable. According to my skyview software the turbine is in working order. My installer can't account for the low production, other than to say that it's too early to make any analysis. The average winds are supposed to be 10-12 mph in my area. I never expected 400kwh per month, however, I would be happy with half that. Any thoughts would greatly be appreciated. Like all of you, I have invested a lot of time and money in this project in the hopes of becoming more energy independent and doing my part for the environment.
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You may check your level of your tower.
When my was installed, I noticed that my turbine would move to the same spot every time the wind stop. They did find it was off. Now the turbine will adjust at 3- 4 miles per hour winds. Just yesterday on 29th of Oct it produced
23kwh in Central Texas.
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Please contact me
http://www.wind-sun.com/ForumVB/
I am nurmom, the thread I am under is Skystream $20,000 lawn ornament.
My Skystream has been up since Feb 2009. I have generated only 290kWh in 10 months.
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I have been going around and around with my installer and SWWP for a year now. My installer estimated 3,371 kwh per year and SWWP said 240-300 is more realistic. I'm ready to get a lawyer and let them both settle this in court. I would be happy if they got together and bought back my turbine. It would be cheaper for them than going to court. In the beginning when I first contacted SWWP they ignored my e-mails. My installer said they ignored their e-mails,letters, and phone calls. This company seems only interested in money(profits) and not service. The installers in my area want nothing to do with skystream and I don't blame them.
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Did your installer measure the wind at your site before making an estimate? I guess not.
It's very unlikely that the Skystream is the problem. Most likely you have a very poor wind resource with a lot of turbulence. Every "problem" Skystream I've investigated is due to poor siting, a short tower and/or poor wind resource. Dealers aren't wind assessors - they are installers. They don't have the equipment or training to assess wind. A dealer has NEVER overestimated a wind site.
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we have to the foundations wrong wireing wrong bolts wrong if want we are going to get a attorney we live in idaho and have 2 of them
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i have a skystream and it seems to stop when the winds are heavy (>15 mph) then start again swwp said it was the wire thickness which i upgraded but it still
happens any ideas and can it be fixed with a software update from the ground.
has anyone else seen this problem. john
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I am very like this post ,no question.
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Do you have 2.0.2 software installed? If not, that's likely your problem.
Look at the voltages and line frequency on Skyview. Occasionally the voltage legs get out of whack and will cause a shutdown.
If the voltages are suddenly going to zero or 4000 volts, the yaw brushes have probably failed or there is a loose connection at the head. Watch for voltage dropouts at certain wind angles. That's a brush failure and the entire unit must be replaced.
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Dealers have got skystream going again (fried internals)- It has been going for a week now and meter (not skyview) says 150 KWh have been generated. Looking good !
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My Skystream was installed 9-29-09 and not happy with production.It is 500 ft from my meter.I own a farm in wisconsin ans have some high ridge ground.To get it to the ridge would require moving the turbine about 2500 feet from meter.Is there a way to do this using a tranformer?Thanks Mike
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Sure. Step it up to 480 or 960, run aluminum wire underground (just like the utility companies do), step it back down and hook to your breaker. You'd have to look at the tradeoff between the transformer cost and the wire cost. Aluminum wire needs to be 2 sizes bigger than copper (8 ga Al = 6 ga copper) for the same power loss. Even with the gage change, it costs less than half of copper. I'm guessing you'll need 1/0 or 2/0 Al.
A good windsite will pay back quickly.
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Does any one have a list of error codes? We put up a unit in Sept, in SW Washington. It is working fine. But would be interested in error codes for future reference.
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