Eclectic Energy D-400 Wind Generator Review
Our D400 Wind Generator
In a nutshell: We love it!
We did quite a bit of research before selecting the D-400. Our requirements were that it kick in at low windspeed, have high output, and be quiet.
It fulfills all of those requirements excellently. As I write this I am sitting at anchor in Portimao, Portugal in August, we haven’t had to run our engines for a full week, and currently our batteries are at 100% – and that is even with me using the laptop which consumes a lot of power.
Granted, there is a lot of sun here, and we do have two solar panels. But on the days when the wind drops, we lose about 10% of our 440Ahr battery charge. Whereas with the wind up, we are fully self sufficient.
The same was true in the Caribbean. At most anchorages, on the lee of the islands, the wind is very light. In those conditions we are probably getting just 1-2 amps from the wind generator. But once the wind is up above about 10kts, then the amps definitely rise nicely – probably giving us about 5 amps at 10kts and well above 10amps at 15kts and more.
Had we installed it on a slightly higher pole, which we should have done, then we would probably be getting another 10-20% of power.
It is exceedingly quiet.
The only downside is that at 15kgs it is heavy. That means you do need a very sturdy support. We saw one ketch with a wind generator at the top of their mizzen mast. Great for getting lots of wind, but I certainly wouldn’t want to put all the weight of a D-400 all the way up there!