diy solar

diy solar

Best use of a Bluetti AC200 On a sailboat?

ADVENTURE35

New Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2020
Messages
2
I just purchased an AC200 to be used for emergency service at home and to augment the existing batteries on coastal cruising trips on our Pearson 35. The generator would be primarily used on extended sailing passages which rely on prolonged auto-pilot use. I was wondering what the best way to use this new generator. Use the inverter to power an AC battery charger? Use the DC output on a dedicated Autopilot circuit? This would need a selector switch to change between the on board bank and the generator. I don't think too many other options would be needed. The engine would easily take care of everything else as it does now. My primary concern is the autopilot.
We have engine driven refrigeration and engine heated domestic hot water.
 
Here are some thoughts on the implementation of the solutions mentioned in the first post.
Inverter - battery charger - Buy and install a marine battery charger, add a Battery Charger breaker to the AC Panel (this could be harder than it sounds on my tiny panel), add a selector to switch between the shore power/generator source.

The dedicated autopilot circuit is easier (cheaper) with just running some wire and a selector switch needed, but does not make full use of the generator capabilities. Plenty of jury rig options though. The boat is just used for coastal use, so a big cash outlay is not in the cards. The generator expense was a good start, now how much more?
 
Back
Top