FAQs

Frequently asked questions

Please see below our list of frequently asked questions.

If you do not see below the answer to your questions, please contact us.

Could you please advise/confirm the Wind-Solar-Hybrid set is suitable for marine use?

Our Wind-Solar-Hybrid set is especially made for marine use, where we sell about 90% of our goods.

The solar panels will be mounted on the push pit rail aft and will need to be able to swing from vertical to horizontal. Do you include rail mountings in the package and price?

It is no problem to use our panels horizontal or vertical. Rail mountings we don’t have, because there are many different installation situations. You should check a suitable mounting system with a chandlery nearby.

I am looking at buying silent power blades for an Air X Marine. Is the adapter plate you retail the correct one for this type of turbine?

Air X generators do not need a new adapter plate (hub). The original hub is suitable.
For Air Breeze generators a new hub is necessary.

Please advise how to get the nose cone off.

To remove the nose cone, please just pull the nose cone out. The nose cone has three plugs that keep it in place.

I have an Air Breeze wind generator and 150w solar panel at my boat but need a hybrid regulator. Can I use your Hybrid Charge Controller?

Air Breeze and Air X wind generators have an integrated charge controller. The output from Air Breeze and Air X charge controller is DC and our Hybrid Charge Controller has an AC output. Therefore, it is not possible to use our Hybrid Charge Controller with Air Breeze or Air X.

Would you recommend mounting the Silentwind generator on an existing mizzen mast 9 meters above the waterline?

We even recommend that, if possible, our Silentwind generator to be installed higher. This can reduce turbulence and optimize energy gain.

Also because of the improved running stability the resulting vibrations are no problem.

The brake on the charge controller is always ON.

Secure the rotor blades to prevent the generator from turning or disconnect the 3 cables from generator to controller and connect them together to stop the generator.

Please disconnect the cables from solar panels, then the cables from wind generator and at last the cables from the Battery. On the battery output from controller make a shunt between the plus and minus terminals (connect a small cable between the plus and minus) Press two buttons at the same time for 60 sec. Leave the controller rest for at least 20m to dissipate all energy. Connect all cables by the reverse order: 1º Battery; 2º Silentwind generator; 3º Solar panels

Please check the battery charge.
Please check the cables cross section according to user’s manual.

Attention. Wrong connection from Plus and Minus will automatically destroy the charge controller.

How to perform a total reset on the charge controller?

Secure the rotor blades to prevent the generator from turning or disconnect the 3 cables from generator to controller and connect them together to stop the generator.

Please disconnect the cables from solar panels, then the cables from wind generator and at last the cables from the Battery. On the battery output from controller make a shunt between the plus and minus terminals (connect a small cable between the plus and minus) Press two buttons at the same time for 60 sec. Leave the controller rest for at least 20m to dissipate all energy. Connect all cables by the reverse order: 1º Battery; 2º Silentwind generator; 3º Solar panels

I have many vibrations on the Silentwind generator although the support is adequate.

90% of all the vibrations are due to the mast systems. Please use rubber pads on all connections from the mast system into the boat to absorb vibrations. Additionally, please check following points:

Adaptor HUB – Rotate the hub to see if it is unbalanced.
Nutt M16 – Check if uncalibrated – Replace Nutt
Rotor blades – Blades Tips must have the same distance between the 3 blades.

The Silentwind generator does not start.

– Not enough wind. Measure the wind speed (anemometer). Wait for more wind (Start up speed from 2.2 m/s).

– Charge controller stop-switch is in position STOP. Switch to RUN.

– Faulty generator. Check AC voltage. Check AC screw terminal. Check all 3 AC cables after disconnecting from charge controller as to short circuit.

In order to find the mistake, you have to check the installation chain starting at the 3 wires of the Silentwind generator connected to the Hybrid Boost Charge Controller. In case the Silentwind generator does now start (without connection to the Hybrid Boost Charge Controller) the failure is between the Hybrid Boost Charge Controller and battery. If the Silentwind generator continues to turn slowly, the failure is between the Hybrid Boost Charge Controller and Silentwind generator.

Battery is not fully charged

Old or damage battery. Test battery status and liquid of every battery. Replace battery. Refill distilled water (not necessary for gel or AGM-battery).

Check settings on the controller for correct charge end voltage.

Silentwind generator does no charge

  • Not enough wind. Measure the wind speed (anemometer). Start up of charging depends on the battery status. Check the adjustment of the charge controller.
  • Fuse is blown. Check fuse. Replace fuse. Find cause of deficiencies.
  • Electric wiring interrupted. Check wires, connections and gadgets. Replace damaged wires or gadgets.
  • Carbon brushes in the yaw bearing have no contact. Check carbon brushes and springs. Replace carbon brushes and reactivate springs.
  • Charge controller is not connected correctly. Check in line with manual. Correct installation.

The Hybrid Boost Charge Controller - No display on LCD

  • The connection between the battery and the controller is not tight. Check the wiring and reconnect it.
  • DC breaker is not on between battery and controller. Turn on the breaker.
  • Low battery voltage. The system parameters are not matched correctly. Recheck the label and parameters on the machine. The battery does not work. Change for a new one.
  • The battery is connected negatively to the controller. Need change the internal fuse in controller and reconnect to the battery.

No output on the hybrid boost charge controller

  • Flicker means overload (). Check if the load connection is normal. Remove the over load, press the set button on the load interface to recover output.
  • Load short circuit ( ). Check the load and press the set button on the load interface to recover output.

No charging on the hybrid boost charge controller

  • The connection cable between wind turbine and controller is loose. Reconnect the cable tightly.
  • Wind turbine output voltage do not reach the charging voltage. Check if the system voltage is correct.
  • The connection cable between solar panel and controller is loose. Reconnect the cable tightly.
  • Wind turbine is in “Brake” status. If it brakes automatically, wait the wind turbine to recover. if it brakes manually, press the button for 5s to release the brake status.
  • The solar panel is connected wrongly to the controller. Reconnect the cables.
  • Solar Panel output voltage is not in accordance with the system voltage. Check the Solar Panel output and system parameters.
  • Battery is already fully charged. See if the battery has reached its over voltage point.

Can the Silentwind be stopped with the switch on the regulator and be left off for extended periods?

The Silentwind can be stopped by the switch on the charge controller. However we advise all customers to secure the rotor blades with a rope for more safety and to avoid stressing the wind generator and the controller useless.

What power does the charge controller consume when left on?

Power consumption depending of the model:
Hybrid 600 – appr. 140mA
Hybrid 1000 – appr. 180mA
Hybrid Boost Controller – appr. 30mA

When the batteries are fully charged, or powered by another source such as shore power, should the Silentwind stop or will it always turn, charging or not?

The Silenwind stops as soon as the charge controller measures the adjusted charge end voltage at the battery output. We advise to stop the wind generator when using shore power to load the batteries. Due to the charging process of shore power the battery voltage goes up and the wind generator will go into brake modus.

When the batteries are fully charged with strong winds, can the Silentwind be left on and unattended. Will the batteries overcharge, will the Silentwind stop?

The Silentwind, once the battery charge end voltage is reached, will be braked by the charge controller.

Can the output on the regulator be used for a night light even if no solar power is available, is there an amp limit to the output?

The user output can be set to the desired parameters also without solar panels. The user output is limited to a load of 10A.

Only 50mm tube with wall thickness of 1,5mm is available locally, should this be sufficient with the proper support arms?

The usual recommended mast is 48mm with 2.5mm wall thickness. The 50mm tube is also suitable on the Silentwind’ s Yaw shaft and strong enough.

Does the on off switch on the regulator stop the Silentwind with the resistors as with the automatic stop (when the batteries are fully charged) or is a different process?

The process is the same. When the switch is turned off the resistors will break the Silentwind thru the resistors and cause a soft short circuit.

When an onboard generator is started, the Silentwind stops after a period of time but when the generator is stopped the Silentwind takes a long time to restart. Is this normal?

When another charger is connected to the batteries the Hybrid charge controller detects, after a while, that the charge end voltage is reached and brakes the Silentwind. After the onboard charger is disconnected, and if there is wind, the resistors are still hot and only when the temperature sinks will the charge controller release the brake. This is the normal procedure of the charge controller.

Could you advise on the correct setting for the brake option on a 24V Silentwind with 400Ah 24V batteries. The max voltage of the batteries is 29.6V.

The Brake On parameter for 24V systems can be set as follows:

  • 450W (Max. power Silentwind 24V)/29.6V (Max. voltage of the batteries)=15.2A – for a battery bank with 400Ah the setting can be between 16A and 18A

Brake On parameter for 12V systems:

  • 420W (Max. power Silentwind 12V)/14.8V (Max. voltage of the batteries)=28.3A – the settings can go between 28A and 30A according to the dimensions of the battery bank.

How do I install a remote break for my Silentwind with the hybrid 1000 charge controller?

The installation can be fully customized according to the needs on the sailboat or other application.

The components for the remote break installation can be bought in any electric/electronics store.

You must buy a 3.5 mm plug with two poles (stereo jack), a normal switch suitable for the instrument panel and the desired cable length (cable with 2×0,5mm²).

What will happen if the main protecting fuse (50Amp) between the controller, and the battery opens (Blow)? Does it mean like mentioned in the operation manual: Never disconnect the battery wires while the silentwind Generator is charging. This will immediately destroy the charge controller! Maybe better not to install a fuse in this case!?

The fuse between the controller and battery is there to protect the complete electrical installation. It is better to have a damaged controller than to have a major fault or even a fire on board.

The fuse only blows if a major problem on the system occurs.

The controller will get damaged if the connection to battery goes off for several minutes and the generator is producing power. The generator is turning and producing. The controller can not get rid of the energy to the battery and will get some components damaged.

During onboard engine operation, meaning alternator charging also in parallel the batteries, or batteries been charged by Batt. charger is the “Silentwind” system compatible to operate with an outside supply source in parallel simultaneously without been damaged?

Yes, you can have several power sources connected to the battery at the same time. Of course, probably the Silentwind will go in to brake earlier because the controller will detect a rise on the battery voltage. The charge controller will not allow power to come in the reverse way.

Before disconnecting the solar generation system from the hybrid charge controller, do I need to open this one like the wind generator before disconnecting the Battery bank?

For the wind generator: You can secure the blades to stop them from turning or you can remove the 3 cables from generator to controller and then connect them together to stop the generator.

For the Solar panels: You can cover the solar panel surface to stop producing power or you can remove the 2 cables from controller before you disconnect the battery. Please pay attention not to connect plus and minus together. If the sun is shinning current will flow on the cables!

Important is to avoid at all time that no power input go to the controller as long as the connection to the battery is not made!!