Thom Price
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2020
- Messages
- 35
So I've been living aboard the Hatteras in Baltimore for a few months now, and am starting to get my head wrapped around all of the various systems. I've had it out in the harbor a few times for short trips, but mostly I'm using it as a condo. My goal is to eventually use it for more cruising in a few years, but for now I'll be attached to shore power most of the time. I pay $0.25 per KWH for electricity here in the marina, so reducing the amount of shore power I need will both save on the electric bill when I'm "home" and reduce the need to run the generator when I'm out cruising. BTW, my background is in residential energy auditing and building small boats.
What I have:
This boat has a 32V system, which includes some lights, the three macerating heads, starter motors for the Detroit 8V-71 engines, hydraulics, and a few other items. Then there is a 120/240V AC system which includes the kitchen appliances, laundry, HVAC, water heater, some other lights, and outlets throughout. Then there is a 12V system for some of the instruments, the starter for the generator, and a few other things here and there. I have AC shore power, a 32V charger/inverter, two 32V 980AH FLA battery banks, an 8KW generator (AC), two 32V alternators, and now, as if things aren't complicated enough, I'm going to be adding solar panels.
What I've done:
Before I tackle the project of adding solar to the already complex electrical system of the big boat, I decided to start off small. I bought a wonderful little wooden dinghy that has a sail rig and rows like a dream (11" Shellback Dinghy). I mounted a 55 lb. thrust Minn Kota motor-mount electric motor on the rudder, which is powered by a 50AH Renogy LiFePo4 drop-in. It draws about 1.5 amps running wide open. I am charging that with a 100 W panel and a Renogy Wanderer charge controller. I put together a nice little ammo box that holds the battery, charge controller, a circuit breaker, volt meter, and has various outlets to connect the motor, USB charging, and 12V accessories. I also bought a little 300W pure sine wave inverter with a 12V accessory plug (for TV and anything else), a 12V charger for my laptop, and a 12V electric blanket. I haven't mounted the solar panel yet, as I am still trying to figure out where and how to do that, as well as how many other panels I'll be buying for the big system. For now, I'm just trying to figure out how much energy I can create/store/use with this little mini system.
What I'm planning on doing:
I've ordered ten 3.2V 280AH LiFePo4 cells off of Alibaba, which should get here in a month or so. I'll be replacing one of my 32V battery banks with those, while using the remaining FLA bank to provide the 980CCA needed to get the engines started when it's cold out. I'm converting the water heater (19 gal.) from AC to 32V DC by installing a 36V 1200W element (should work just fine). Once I get all of that installed, I'll keep track of my 32V system usage and size my panels accordingly. To start off with, I'll use the shore power (or generator when out cruising) for large AC appliances and the solar for all of the DC needs. Then I'll see about expanding the solar to handle the AC appliances as well. I like the idea of keeping all of these systems separated, rather than one big system.
Oh, I'm also installing a little 5KW diesel heater like they use in RVs. (5KW is the energy rating, not the electricity it uses.) I'm curious to see how it will compare to using the reverse cycle AC units (and electric space heaters) at various temperatures. I may add a second one at a later date.
That's where I am for now with the solar conversion. I'm anxious to hear people's thoughts on the project and am happy to hear about any ideas you may have.
Thanks for taking the time to read all of this.
Thom
What I have:
This boat has a 32V system, which includes some lights, the three macerating heads, starter motors for the Detroit 8V-71 engines, hydraulics, and a few other items. Then there is a 120/240V AC system which includes the kitchen appliances, laundry, HVAC, water heater, some other lights, and outlets throughout. Then there is a 12V system for some of the instruments, the starter for the generator, and a few other things here and there. I have AC shore power, a 32V charger/inverter, two 32V 980AH FLA battery banks, an 8KW generator (AC), two 32V alternators, and now, as if things aren't complicated enough, I'm going to be adding solar panels.
What I've done:
Before I tackle the project of adding solar to the already complex electrical system of the big boat, I decided to start off small. I bought a wonderful little wooden dinghy that has a sail rig and rows like a dream (11" Shellback Dinghy). I mounted a 55 lb. thrust Minn Kota motor-mount electric motor on the rudder, which is powered by a 50AH Renogy LiFePo4 drop-in. It draws about 1.5 amps running wide open. I am charging that with a 100 W panel and a Renogy Wanderer charge controller. I put together a nice little ammo box that holds the battery, charge controller, a circuit breaker, volt meter, and has various outlets to connect the motor, USB charging, and 12V accessories. I also bought a little 300W pure sine wave inverter with a 12V accessory plug (for TV and anything else), a 12V charger for my laptop, and a 12V electric blanket. I haven't mounted the solar panel yet, as I am still trying to figure out where and how to do that, as well as how many other panels I'll be buying for the big system. For now, I'm just trying to figure out how much energy I can create/store/use with this little mini system.
What I'm planning on doing:
I've ordered ten 3.2V 280AH LiFePo4 cells off of Alibaba, which should get here in a month or so. I'll be replacing one of my 32V battery banks with those, while using the remaining FLA bank to provide the 980CCA needed to get the engines started when it's cold out. I'm converting the water heater (19 gal.) from AC to 32V DC by installing a 36V 1200W element (should work just fine). Once I get all of that installed, I'll keep track of my 32V system usage and size my panels accordingly. To start off with, I'll use the shore power (or generator when out cruising) for large AC appliances and the solar for all of the DC needs. Then I'll see about expanding the solar to handle the AC appliances as well. I like the idea of keeping all of these systems separated, rather than one big system.
Oh, I'm also installing a little 5KW diesel heater like they use in RVs. (5KW is the energy rating, not the electricity it uses.) I'm curious to see how it will compare to using the reverse cycle AC units (and electric space heaters) at various temperatures. I may add a second one at a later date.
That's where I am for now with the solar conversion. I'm anxious to hear people's thoughts on the project and am happy to hear about any ideas you may have.
Thanks for taking the time to read all of this.
Thom