I'm looking for alternatives to diesel powered generators for a new boat. My boat dealer in Seattle is trying to sell me on the Ecoflow Delta Max 2 with backup solar power. The boat has 30 amp shore power. I need it to run an electric stove, water heater and microwave. Any suggestions?
Solar Powered Boat Generators
- Thread starter Jolano
- Start date
Solarcabin Channel
Solar Addict
Ecoflow are good units and you can add batteries but not cheap.
Need to know the watts for the appliances before you can determine if that will work.
Need to know the watts for the appliances before you can determine if that will work.
Keep in mind you’re in Seattle and how many days there are in a row with cloud cover. The watts that solar panels make are during peak season, aimed at the sun during solar hours without ANY shading (rigging) on one panel of the string. Realistically, you will still need a generator. To make it the most efficient, you could use it to charge a bank of batteries at the generator’s most efficient load and shut down for peace and quiet. It’s ridiculous to start a generator to make breakfast or brewing coffee. No engine is more efficient than a turbo diesel and it you can find an inverter type, even more so. For years I ran a Honda on deck to charge the inverter batteries. 5 gallons would give me a week of endless power and 85% silence. If you go that route, you can’t have too many carbon monoxide detectors onboard. As the wind changes eventually an alarm will sound so you close windows, reposition the generator or shut it down a while. Whatever generator you use, run it hard, in its best range and get it over with. Idle is a waste.
And that Honda on deck pissed off all your neighbours for 15% of the time
chrisski
Solar Boondocker
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2020
- Messages
- 5,198
I do not recommend a solar build on a boat for this. Space on a boat is usually at a premium.
To put this in perspective, my 6 gallon electric water heater is 1400 watts and will run for 40 minutes to heat water up from 60 degrees. At 180 watts per meter squared, you’d need about 5-10 square meters of panels and to reliably get two hours of use of the products you mentioned In the Seattle area.
An easier thing would be to get enough panels to run the low wattage AC items like a TV, and then charge the batteries for 12 volt use. That might be able to be done with two to three square meters of panels.
I can run a 1400 watt appliance for 8+ hours a day in a much more solar friendly environment with 2500 watts of panels, around 14 square meters.
In my signature block, there is a link to “same system, different area—huge difference,” that is written comparing system requirements be between Seattle and Arizona. Much less in Arizona.
Solarcabin Channel
Solar Addict
Would an OD propane water heater work in a boat situation?
That is what I use at my cabin and takes pennies per shower.
jdege
New Member
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- Dec 16, 2020
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- 138
On a boat you really need to look at battery chemistry.
Most of the lithium chemistries are unsafe on a boat because they can spontaneously catch fire. A car fire you can walk away from, on a boat you don't have that choice.
The only commercially available chemistry that is safe is LiFePO4 - lithium ferro-phosphate. They're about 30% less energy dense than the other chemistries, but they won't explode.
There are power stations that use LiFePO4, but most don't.
NMC test: (watch until he opens it up - the marketing promised it was solid state, and it turns out it wasn't.}
LiFePO4 test:
Most of the lithium chemistries are unsafe on a boat because they can spontaneously catch fire. A car fire you can walk away from, on a boat you don't have that choice.
The only commercially available chemistry that is safe is LiFePO4 - lithium ferro-phosphate. They're about 30% less energy dense than the other chemistries, but they won't explode.
There are power stations that use LiFePO4, but most don't.
NMC test: (watch until he opens it up - the marketing promised it was solid state, and it turns out it wasn't.}
LiFePO4 test:
Last edited:
Half the boats in the Caribbean seem to have lithium batteries these days. I have never met anybody using anything other than LIFEPO4. The only ones I have met who have problems bought cheap drop in lithium batteries. These invariably have cells of unknown origin, passivel balancers and no Bluetooth access to cell voltage settings and status. The guys that bought multiple 12v 100Ah version of these cheap batteries are the ones that have the most problems
SparkyGage
New Member
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2019
- Messages
- 106
Planning Questions:
1. How big are your loads: Oven _____wt, water heater _____wt, microwave_____wt, fridge ____wt, total other _____wt.
2. How long are you going to be away from shore power on outings? ______hrs/days
3. How much will you use above appliances when at sea? _____hrs/day
4. What can you live without for some time-period off shore power? H20 Heater?
(My living aboard experience: Many moons ago my parents had a 60ft houseboat with full size appliances and a 3-ton heat pump [YES, I really mean a Trane 3-ton]. They had the generator to run the AC/Heat and top off the fridge and water heater. They only used the oven at shore and had a FLA battery bank that would run the microwave and marine electronics (and maybe the TV?). All 12v lighting (this was pre LED days). Oh, and a propane grill. That was my parents. I've opted for a 23' sailboat that is all electric and I "camp" on it when I can.)
I say all that for this: To the generator (diesel, battery, whatever) a load is a load is a load. What is the total load you will put on it at once, (how big a generator - 2kwt, 3kwt?) and how long you will run it (battery Ah). You need to think of solar on a boat as a "battery extender" and not a power source. (At least not until someone makes some solar sails!)
USAGE
First: is this boat a cruiser or sail? I ask because if you have a diesel, it will be parked down under everything near the bilge water. If you use an EccoFlo, you will have to make space for it above the deck line where it can stay dry and give it some ventilation in the summer. You also have to figure placement of panels that don't interfer with operation.
If you are just making day trips on the boat and maybe staying out over night once in a while, you can make something like an EccoFlow Delta 2 work. Leave the main oven and water heater off of it and you should be good to go.
If you plan to be out days on end, you are going to need a LOT of solar because you will need 1sqft for every 15wt you produce in IDEAL conditions with almost any brand of panel. Need about 1500wt/hr? You will need a min of 100square feet of panels, which i a nice size sun canopy if you have the room. If this is a sailboat, you likely are not going to have room for more than a few panels strategically placed and the sails will be casting a shadow on them at somepoint. Again, think of the panels a battery extender.
In my ideal world, I would opt for the diesel generator AND the solar options. The diesel becomes the backup for the main uses and when you want the luxury of the large oven or recharge the water heater, the excess power can go back into the EccoFlow's battery.
Bon Voyage!
1. How big are your loads: Oven _____wt, water heater _____wt, microwave_____wt, fridge ____wt, total other _____wt.
2. How long are you going to be away from shore power on outings? ______hrs/days
3. How much will you use above appliances when at sea? _____hrs/day
4. What can you live without for some time-period off shore power? H20 Heater?
(My living aboard experience: Many moons ago my parents had a 60ft houseboat with full size appliances and a 3-ton heat pump [YES, I really mean a Trane 3-ton]. They had the generator to run the AC/Heat and top off the fridge and water heater. They only used the oven at shore and had a FLA battery bank that would run the microwave and marine electronics (and maybe the TV?). All 12v lighting (this was pre LED days). Oh, and a propane grill. That was my parents. I've opted for a 23' sailboat that is all electric and I "camp" on it when I can.)
I say all that for this: To the generator (diesel, battery, whatever) a load is a load is a load. What is the total load you will put on it at once, (how big a generator - 2kwt, 3kwt?) and how long you will run it (battery Ah). You need to think of solar on a boat as a "battery extender" and not a power source. (At least not until someone makes some solar sails!)
USAGE
First: is this boat a cruiser or sail? I ask because if you have a diesel, it will be parked down under everything near the bilge water. If you use an EccoFlo, you will have to make space for it above the deck line where it can stay dry and give it some ventilation in the summer. You also have to figure placement of panels that don't interfer with operation.
If you are just making day trips on the boat and maybe staying out over night once in a while, you can make something like an EccoFlow Delta 2 work. Leave the main oven and water heater off of it and you should be good to go.
If you plan to be out days on end, you are going to need a LOT of solar because you will need 1sqft for every 15wt you produce in IDEAL conditions with almost any brand of panel. Need about 1500wt/hr? You will need a min of 100square feet of panels, which i a nice size sun canopy if you have the room. If this is a sailboat, you likely are not going to have room for more than a few panels strategically placed and the sails will be casting a shadow on them at somepoint. Again, think of the panels a battery extender.
In my ideal world, I would opt for the diesel generator AND the solar options. The diesel becomes the backup for the main uses and when you want the luxury of the large oven or recharge the water heater, the excess power can go back into the EccoFlow's battery.
Bon Voyage!
