I'm one oil sample result away from being a traitor.
#61
07-29-2024, 05:51 AM
When we were looking at a motorhome or a 5er to live in, we learned a lot from SKPs. We will use some of the services available from them, and we will establish a P.O. box that's convenient from the water.
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#62
07-29-2024, 05:54 AM
Laughing Gas
I'll be doing that when I get settled in. Right now, it's pretty much lead batteries, inverter, and shore power. After my experiences with being on the hook in our previous boat for days at a time, I've learned how best to handle electricity on a boat.
Generator? Small portable one, electric start and just big enough to charge batteries fast. I'll likely want to sell it later.
Puget Sound (on the water, not on shore) doesn't typically get unreasonably hot in the summer, so A/C should not be an issue. I have a plan if it gets weird. Vampire electronics are things like TVs, Alexa, USB adaptors, computers - they all suck juice even while waiting to be turned on.
Back to the first question - twin tanks at 125 gallons each. I figure my fuel burn at old man cruise speed (7 knots - 8 MPH) is 1.5 GPH per engine. My MPG can fluctuate wildly with the currents, so my retired schedule for cruising will be based on currents more than any other consideration. A long haul might be 7 hours, then anchor for 5 days - a short haul might be 3 hours, then tie to a state park buoy for 3 days.
- Lead acid still rules at high current applications - starting a diesel, macerator pump, anchor windlass, thrusters, powering an inverter for a microwave, etc.
- LiFePO4 batteries rock at capacity, charge current, and weight.
- Shipboard inverters from 22 years ago do not measure up when compared with modern portable power stations like Ecoflow, Mango Power, or Bluetti.
- Solar in Puget Sound is almost a joke to a layman - but there is juice on cloudy days... if you throw enough panels on top.
- If you don't mind easing up on the normal comforts of home, like air conditioning, having a bunch of vampire electronics plugged in, having 120VAC available only when heating water or cooking - you can get by on (good) batteries for days.
- Lightweight LFP batteries that probably match the real capacity of the old house batteries (lead battery real Ah capacity is half of the printed number, LFP is 100% or more)
- A modern inverter/charger that can charge the LFP batteries many times faster than the old lead ones can take it.
- Solar charging ports with built-in MPPT controller.
- USB ports (A and C)
- 12V slow charging for the remaining lead batteries in the boat that power the high-amp stuff
- More efficient use of the LFP batteries while the inverter is active.
Generator? Small portable one, electric start and just big enough to charge batteries fast. I'll likely want to sell it later.
Puget Sound (on the water, not on shore) doesn't typically get unreasonably hot in the summer, so A/C should not be an issue. I have a plan if it gets weird. Vampire electronics are things like TVs, Alexa, USB adaptors, computers - they all suck juice even while waiting to be turned on.
Back to the first question - twin tanks at 125 gallons each. I figure my fuel burn at old man cruise speed (7 knots - 8 MPH) is 1.5 GPH per engine. My MPG can fluctuate wildly with the currents, so my retired schedule for cruising will be based on currents more than any other consideration. A long haul might be 7 hours, then anchor for 5 days - a short haul might be 3 hours, then tie to a state park buoy for 3 days.
this link for the marine side, https://diysolarforum.com/forums/marine.10/
or
https://diysolarforum.com/forums/diy...tery-banks.22/
for the DIY battery banks.
Edit: these are not sales links, merely links to the appropriate forums spaces
I run A/C 24-7 for free in my cabin just to keep the moisture content down in the May~sept time frame. and thats a 800 sq ft cabin. it also has a fridge, freezer, and sewage pump that run 24/7 as well
with contactor based BMS's you can power your windlass and sewage macerator's as well with no issues same for engine starting. if you run the non contactor BMS, just insert a dc contactor between the negative and the BMS and have it controlled by the BMS which gives you access to the lower cost BMS's with the capacity of the contactor styled BMS's.
for BMS avoid chargery, their contactors are kind fo flaky. other than that the other ones are pretty good to go. remember class T fuse for all lithium banks, plenty fo places make class T with explosion proof covers for marine use.
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#63
07-29-2024, 07:26 AM
Lead Driver
The following 2 users liked this post by Dan V:
#65
07-29-2024, 07:58 AM
That's good information for the windlass and thrusters, but not cranking the engine - look at the crank time available in the specs. I don't know if I'd be enthused just yet to go Lithium on a diesel starter/alternator - maybe give the technology a little more time to mature.
Those are all too small to be house batteries. If you buy just the house batteries without the power station, you are clicking links like this:
https://invertersrus.com/product/bat...n-gc3-battery/
https://www.us.sokbattery.com/produc...ed-plastic-box
Those are all too small to be house batteries. If you buy just the house batteries without the power station, you are clicking links like this:
https://invertersrus.com/product/bat...n-gc3-battery/
https://www.us.sokbattery.com/produc...ed-plastic-box
#66
07-29-2024, 08:08 AM
I power my entire cabin with solar and lifepo4 batteries. avoid stuff liike the bluetti and jackery... you can build better, higher quality, higher capcacity for a lot less. right now the battery vendors in china are having a price war and 280-315 aH cells are as low as $90/cell delivered for the good quality ones. the high quality like winston and calb are still up there as they are not involved in the price wars, but makers like EVE, CATL etc are, so plenty of good choices. check out
this link for the marine side, https://diysolarforum.com/forums/marine.10/
or
https://diysolarforum.com/forums/diy...tery-banks.22/
for the DIY battery banks.
Edit: these are not sales links, merely links to the appropriate forums spaces
I run A/C 24-7 for free in my cabin just to keep the moisture content down in the May~sept time frame. and thats a 800 sq ft cabin. it also has a fridge, freezer, and sewage pump that run 24/7 as well
with contactor based BMS's you can power your windlass and sewage macerator's as well with no issues same for engine starting. if you run the non contactor BMS, just insert a dc contactor between the negative and the BMS and have it controlled by the BMS which gives you access to the lower cost BMS's with the capacity of the contactor styled BMS's.
for BMS avoid chargery, their contactors are kind fo flaky. other than that the other ones are pretty good to go. remember class T fuse for all lithium banks, plenty fo places make class T with explosion proof covers for marine use.
this link for the marine side, https://diysolarforum.com/forums/marine.10/
or
https://diysolarforum.com/forums/diy...tery-banks.22/
for the DIY battery banks.
Edit: these are not sales links, merely links to the appropriate forums spaces
I run A/C 24-7 for free in my cabin just to keep the moisture content down in the May~sept time frame. and thats a 800 sq ft cabin. it also has a fridge, freezer, and sewage pump that run 24/7 as well
with contactor based BMS's you can power your windlass and sewage macerator's as well with no issues same for engine starting. if you run the non contactor BMS, just insert a dc contactor between the negative and the BMS and have it controlled by the BMS which gives you access to the lower cost BMS's with the capacity of the contactor styled BMS's.
for BMS avoid chargery, their contactors are kind fo flaky. other than that the other ones are pretty good to go. remember class T fuse for all lithium banks, plenty fo places make class T with explosion proof covers for marine use.
I actually do understand everything said here - it ties in with the line of work I'm retiring from, and my hobby (which is staying on a boat). I looked hard at DIY, and I know I can make a kick-*** system - but resale falls into a whirlpool. WHEN I get too old to do this, prospective buyers will look at the onboard Bluetti (or the like), and know whether they want to keep it or trade up. Nothing scary. If they see Frankenvolts under the lazarette, they will fear they'll need pay thousands to a marine electrician to sort it all out, plus the price of new power.
My master plan is to get some combined system off the shelf, then augment it with more storage with something like the marine SOK 200 Ah. I have one of those in the camper (that I'm selling), and it's awesome. I will absolutely set up the bimini and smother the top of it with semi-rigid solar panels. I also plan to adorn the foredeck with solar panels, but I will put insulating sheets under them to avoid creating heat damage on the fiberglass.
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#67
07-29-2024, 08:38 AM
There's a new Lithium starting battery available for Sprinter for a whopping $1,349.99 but the very intelligent folks on the Sprinter forum said about the same you did, and I don't know of anyone who has tried one. The biggest advantage is for storage but that's easily solved with a battery disconnect or a smart battery maintainer on the factory AGM. It will probably do a decent job cranking the small 3l Sprinter diesel though, and the new 2l diesel in the newer vans. https://owlvans.com/products/antigra...rinter-battery
- Engine and house batteries - plain 'ol flooded deep cycle batteries (one for use, one for backup).
- I bought a portable LiFePO4 "solar generator" (1300 watts, 1300 Wh), along with 340 watts of folding solar panels (three units).
- I rigged wiring so I could plug the solar panels into the dash, and it would feed the "generator" in the cabin.
- I wired the 12 volt output from the generator to the cigarette lighter circuit on the boat (10 amp fuse).
- When I turned on the generator, it would charge the house/engine battery faster than I used the juice for the fridge and satellite radio.
- Charge current to the generator was 240 watts max, so I put out the two 120 watt panels on sunny days - and they delivered as advertised. On cloudy days, I added an additional 100W solar panel to make up for the loss in capacity - the panels were matched for this purpose.
- Each solar panel and the generator had USB A and USB C ports, so I could charge a fleet of phones and tablets simultaneously.
This worked so well, I plan to do something similar with the big boat. I don't need big amps from the generator, I just need deep capacity to charge the heavy hitters (lead batteries). I can put in a less expensive marine battery that delivers CCA, without worrying about capacity.
This plan works just as well for any RV that needs heavy current - like engine starting, a winch, whatever. Don't redo the rig, just add capacity/solar/wind with a portable solar generator.
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#69
07-29-2024, 11:29 AM
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#70
07-29-2024, 11:31 AM
To be honest, my RAM is exceeded right now. The oil sample results will have me pulling the trigger - or pulling the plug. I can't go down the rabbit hole of what goes in the boat, until I have a boat.
#72
07-29-2024, 07:02 PM
@kenn_chan Maybe when Tugly's ram clears, and he is a go on the boat, and is back searching for his soul-ar set up, you can maybe repeat your delicious sounding recipe in English for Dan V, Walleye, and I.
In the meantime, did you ever get your underground feeder line sorted? Feel free respond in the thread that you started on that topic.
In the meantime, did you ever get your underground feeder line sorted? Feel free respond in the thread that you started on that topic.
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#73
07-30-2024, 02:03 AM
Laughing Gas
@kenn_chan Maybe when Tugly's ram clears, and he is a go on the boat, and is back searching for his soul-ar set up, you can maybe repeat your delicious sounding recipe in English for Dan V, Walleye, and I.
In the meantime, did you ever get your underground feeder line sorted? Feel free respond in the thread that you started on that topic.
In the meantime, did you ever get your underground feeder line sorted? Feel free respond in the thread that you started on that topic.
I will be happy to answer any questions i can. been doing solar for over a decade, not a save the world guy, more save some bucks and guarantee power if something happens type.
don't want to plug up Tugly's thread was just offering to help on a subject I can speak with some experience in compared to my normal posts on this forum.
#74
07-30-2024, 03:39 AM
Cargo Master
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#75
07-30-2024, 05:13 AM
Laughing Gas
This is at my cabin as it is my families bolt hole if SHTF, it has no grid power to it and runs 24-7 on solar and batteries. I also have a Denyo diesel 10kw diesel genset w/welder as a backup as well that is there for powering my mig/tig welders, compressor and other large 3 phase power needs.