Thom Price
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2020
- Messages
- 35
I'm in the process of buying a 53' Hatteras as my new home. We're planning on living aboard in a marina, and will probably not take it out more than a few times a year because the fuel consumption on this baby is ridiculous (twin Detroit Diesel V8s). These old Hatts have 32 volt systems on them where most other boats have 12 or 24. Not sure how they came up with that voltage, but evidently some golf carts use 8V batteries and this has 4 of them. There is also 110/220V onboard as well for outlets and appliances, but the 32V is for all of the lighting, starter motors, and any original equipment. There's also a step-down transformer for newer 12V equipment. It has an 8KW diesel generator and a 3.2KW inverter/charger for the shore power.
The boat currently has lead-acid batteries, naturally, but I am wanting to swap them out for lifepo4 when the time comes. Eventually, I'd like to add some solar panels as well, as the shore power is about $0.25/kWh and I'm estimating that we'll use around 1500 kWh/month, based on friends who liveaboard the same model boat. The big consumers are the heat pumps, water heater, microwave/convection oven, and the full-size fridge. I'll be swapping out all of the incandescent bulbs with LEDs.
My questions are:
Stay healthy at home,
Thom
The boat currently has lead-acid batteries, naturally, but I am wanting to swap them out for lifepo4 when the time comes. Eventually, I'd like to add some solar panels as well, as the shore power is about $0.25/kWh and I'm estimating that we'll use around 1500 kWh/month, based on friends who liveaboard the same model boat. The big consumers are the heat pumps, water heater, microwave/convection oven, and the full-size fridge. I'll be swapping out all of the incandescent bulbs with LEDs.
My questions are:
- What cells should I use to build a 32V battery bank for marine use?
- What BMS should I get?
- What's the best enclosure for protecting the cells?
- What components would you suggest for a 4KW solar system?
- What am I not asking about that I should?
Stay healthy at home,
Thom
Last edited: