Question about battery power

[SV_Lusca]

We are full time live a boards, I would say we have a system that just suffices our power needs.

By that I mean we can stay at anchor for weeks without starting the engine (no genie on board)

But we do some power management as needed.

620 watts of solar, D400 wind gen, 4 x 100 amp/h battle born lithiums.

We cook with induction 80% of the time, use a toaster each morning, run the water maker each day, have 2 fridges, and cameras, laptop cells to charge.

When power is low we cook on propane, eat non toasted bread and sweep instead of using the vacuum cleaner. This usually happens when we have cloudy skies and no winds for 2 days in a row which doesn’t happen much in the Bahamas.

I have 2 solar panels and 1 mppt each to get the most out of my panels. I also have another unused mppt for future upgrades that will be hooked upped to another 300 watts.

The big change we did and what made this possible is the lithium batteries. They charge faster and use all the amps you can through at them. Id sure like to have 600 amp/h total since most days the 400amp/h are full and we cant stock up on the free energy anymore.

Oh and not running after propane has its perks. We have 2x 10lbs and 2x 5lbs filled up 3 months ago and non of them are empty yet.

Dave
SV Lusca

[captainwd40]

Car batteries are designed for cranking (high current short duration/quick recharge)

Marine batteries are deep cycle designed for steady current flow (low-medium current long duration/long recharge)

Main advantage of deep cycle batteries are bigger negative plates ..... less ceceptable to heating and sulfating.

Always use deep cycle batteries with power inverters 12 Volts DC to 110 Volts AC).

Cheers!

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by SV_Lusca

We are full time live a boards, I would say we have a system that just suffices our power needs.

By that I mean we can stay at anchor for weeks without starting the engine (no genie on board)

But we do some power management as needed.

620 watts of solar, D400 wind gen, 4 x 100 amp/h battle born lithiums.

We cook with induction 80% of the time, use a toaster each morning, run the water maker each day, have 2 fridges, and cameras, laptop cells to charge.

When power is low we cook on propane, eat non toasted bread and sweep instead of using the vacuum cleaner. This usually happens when we have cloudy skies and no winds for 2 days in a row which doesn’t happen much in the Bahamas.

I have 2 solar panels and 1 mppt each to get the most out of my panels. I also have another unused mppt for future upgrades that will be hooked upped to another 300 watts.

The big change we did and what made this possible is the lithium batteries. They charge faster and use all the amps you can through at them. Id sure like to have 600 amp/h total since most days the 400amp/h are full and we cant stock up on the free energy anymore.

Oh and not running after propane has its perks. We have 2x 10lbs and 2x 5lbs filled up 3 months ago and non of them are empty yet.

Dave
SV Lusca

Well I guess another positive vote for lithium.
Thank you very much for sharing your information.
I will search for a portable electric cooktop for when docked.
I will certainly check out your youtube videos this weekend.
Bonne fin de semaine!

[captainwd40]

Lithium batteries are definitely the way to go if you can afford them.......

Cheers!

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by captainwd40

Car batteries are designed for cranking (high current short duration/quick recharge)

Marine batteries are deep cycle designed for steady current flow (low-medium current long duration/long recharge)

Main advantage of deep cycle batteries are bigger negative plates ..... less ceceptable to heating and sulfating.

Always use deep cycle batteries with power inverters 12 Volts DC to 110 Volts AC).

Cheers!

Thanks for the information.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by captainwd40

Lithium batteries are definitely the way to go if you can afford them.......

Cheers!

I will adjust the budget accordingly or work an extra year to get it done right.

[fairwindgirl]

We are full time live aboard on a 1985 S2 11C (36 ft). Last fall we installed two 150-watt brand new solar panels that were given to us by a client (we have a marine electrician/electronics business). We have four FireFly Oasis MCF G31 batteries, 1 dedicated to engine and 3 house bank. We have a Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/20 controller/charger. We also have the batteries on a Blue Sea Systems ACR switch (highly recommended). We are in a marina right now, connected to shore power but have NOT used the shore power battery charger since installing the solar panels and charger, even with several days of clouds at a time. We do not use any AC devices except a tea kettle, Vornado 1000w space heater, and charging our MacBooks. When we are off shore power, we will put away the electric tea kettle, we're installing a small diesel heater, and use a supplemental GoalZero Yeti 200X kit to charge the MacBooks and our electric toothbrushes, etc. We have tested this and it is also working well. We are not planning to install an inverter. All our other devices can be charged with 12V. Our fridge is also the biggest power drain. We installed an Isotherm fridge which has an economy mode and seems to be quite efficient. The only other item which will be a big drain on our batteries is a water maker, but by our calculations our solar panels will easily keep up with that as well. We have a Lofrans Royal manual windlass, so no drain there, either.

I hope this information is helpful.

[SofaKingFishy]

Main bank of 4 Car Batteries- these act as starter too for engine & Genset. 650 watts Solar. 2 separate Car batteries forward for windlass & bow thruster.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by fairwindgirl

We are full time live aboard on a 1985 S2 11C (36 ft). Last fall we installed two 150-watt brand new solar panels that were given to us by a client (we have a marine electrician/electronics business). We have four FireFly Oasis MCF G31 batteries, 1 dedicated to engine and 3 house bank. We have a Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/20 controller/charger. We also have the batteries on a Blue Sea Systems ACR switch (highly recommended). We are in a marina right now, connected to shore power but have NOT used the shore power battery charger since installing the solar panels and charger, even with several days of clouds at a time. We do not use any AC devices except a tea kettle, Vornado 1000w space heater, and charging our MacBooks. When we are off shore power, we will put away the electric tea kettle, we're installing a small diesel heater, and use a supplemental GoalZero Yeti 200X kit to charge the MacBooks and our electric toothbrushes, etc. We have tested this and it is also working well. We are not planning to install an inverter. All our other devices can be charged with 12V. Our fridge is also the biggest power drain. We installed an Isotherm fridge which has an economy mode and seems to be quite efficient. The only other item which will be a big drain on our batteries is a water maker, but by our calculations our solar panels will easily keep up with that as well. We have a Lofrans Royal manual windlass, so no drain there, either.

I hope this information is helpful.

Well thank you for the information on your setup.
I will take good note of these.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by SofaKingFishy

Main bank of 4 Car Batteries- these act as starter too for engine & Genset. 650 watts Solar. 2 separate Car batteries forward for windlass & bow thruster.

Thank you for sharing.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by captainwd40

….



Marine batteries are deep cycle designed for steady current flow (low-medium current long duration/long recharge)

….

Be careful, Marine Batteries in the US are generally not deep cycle, they are a hybrid starting/deep cycle. They are good for motor vessels that make daily transits so they are not discharged to 50% regularly and are fully recharged most days. Also, one or 2 of them have enough CCAs to crank a large engine, even cold.

For a real deep cycle look for golfcart batteries.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by Adelie

Be careful, Marine Batteries in the US are generally not deep cycle, they are a hybrid starting/deep cycle. They are good for motor vessels that make daily transits so they are not discharged to 50% regularly and are fully recharged most days. Also, one or 2 of them have enough CCAs to crank a large engine, even cold.

For a real deep cycle look for golfcart batteries.

Thank you, that's good to know.
Will be going with lithium batteries, the advantages are just too numerous.

[dan104]

I am small (but full of electronics 8,7M) boat, small rv type refrig and all LED lighting. I have 4 - 6V golf cart batteries for house (280AH @ 12V), and an automotive 12v for start.


Like everyone tells you do an audit and see what you need, for me that lead me to the current sizing.



I have 2 x 100w solid solar cells, but mounted on coach roof so I get some shade by boom( yes I plan to remount them either over bim or over the dingy lift when I get it).


Stove is CNG and I have run for year without refilling it.

[akopac]

Located: La Paz, Mx
Solar: 400W directional
Batteries: 460W Firefly (90% usable)
Lighting: All LED
Navigation: .4A Opencpn on Raspberry pi / realVNC to iPad
Refrigeration: 25-30amps/day. Rebuilt 6 cubic foot fridge/freezer box with radiant barrier all round and 6” blue insulation. Isotherm compact SP sink drain/keel cooled.
Watermaker: spectra 200c (over 20 years old)

Batteries are usually at float by ~10:00am
Can go several days without sun.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by dan104

I am small (but full of electronics 8,7M) boat, small rv type refrig and all LED lighting. I have 4 - 6V golf cart batteries for house (280AH @ 12V), and an automotive 12v for start.


Like everyone tells you do an audit and see what you need, for me that lead me to the current sizing.



I have 2 x 100w solid solar cells, but mounted on coach roof so I get some shade by boom( yes I plan to remount them either over bim or over the dingy lift when I get it).


Stove is CNG and I have run for year without refilling it.

Thank you for sharing and will do.