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01-04-2013, 15:52
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#1
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S/V rubber ducky
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: heading "south"
Boat: Hunter 410
Posts: 20,362
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Cost of Cold Beer
So for 4 years I have been wanting to be able to leave the refrigerator on during the week with it out on the mooring and no one around. I also wanted to get my batteries fully charged at the same time. So solar became the answer to me.
I chose solar over wind even though there are a lot more wind generator on boats out in the mooring field than there are solar panels. I also figured that it would be less expensive than wind once I did all the mounting etc. and that a 290W panel was 1/4 the cost on a wind generator.
So what is the cost of cold beer? I have the system up and running and the cost has come to $1469 which includes the panel, controller mounting, wire and connections (and 12 hours of my time).
The panel itself at $269 was the cheapest part of the whole system!
__________________
Don't ask a bunch of unknown forum people if it is OK to do something on YOUR boat. It is your boat, do what you want!
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01-04-2013, 15:54
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#2
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S/V rubber ducky
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: heading "south"
Boat: Hunter 410
Posts: 20,362
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Re: cost of cold beer
BTW the cost of cold beer is ................ priceless!
__________________
Don't ask a bunch of unknown forum people if it is OK to do something on YOUR boat. It is your boat, do what you want!
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01-04-2013, 15:55
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#3
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Presently on US East Coast
Boat: Manta 40 "Reach"
Posts: 10,108
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Re: cost of cold beer
It seems a silly question to me. The cost of cold beer is....
...priceless.
Mark
__________________
www.svreach.com
You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
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01-04-2013, 15:56
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#4
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Presently on US East Coast
Boat: Manta 40 "Reach"
Posts: 10,108
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Re: cost of cold beer
Arrgh, I'm slower than Don L (hanging my head in shame...)
__________________
www.svreach.com
You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
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01-04-2013, 15:57
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#5
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Sydney Australia
Boat: Fisher pilothouse sloop 32'
Posts: 3,413
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Re: cost of cold beer
Quote:
Originally Posted by Don L
So for 4 years I have been wanting to be able to leave the refrigerator on during the week with it out on the mooring and no one around. I also wanted to get my batteries fully charged at the same time. So solar became the answer to me.
I chose solar over wind even though there are a lot more wind generator on boats out in the mooring field than there are solar panels. I also figured that it would be less expensive than wind once I did all the mounting etc. and that a 290W panel was 1/4 the cost on a wind generator.
So what is the cost of cold beer? I have the system up and running and the cost has come to $1469 which includes the panel, controller mounting, wire and connections (and 12 hours of my time).
The panel itself at $269 was the cheapest part of the whole system!
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Don the price will be worth it many times over
__________________
Rob aka Uncle Bob Sydney Australia.
Life is 10% the cards you are dealt, 90% how you play em
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01-04-2013, 16:37
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#6
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 106
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Re: cost of cold beer
And the more you drink the cheaper it gets...
Win/Win situation!
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02-04-2013, 13:18
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#7
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Onboard Georgetown, MD.
Boat: Seidelmann, S37' 1985
Posts: 46
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Re: cost of cold beer
it will be 1000 times cheaper after you drink 167 six packs.
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02-04-2013, 13:53
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#8
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Narragansett Bay
Boat: Able 50
Posts: 3,139
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Re: cost of cold beer
Does it work out different for full strength and light ?
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02-04-2013, 13:59
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#9
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Senior Cruiser
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: gettin naughty on the beach in cornwall
Boat: 63 custom alloy sloop,macwester26,prout snowgoose 37 elite catamaran!
Posts: 10,594
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Re: cost of cold beer
Quote:
Originally Posted by Don L
So for 4 years I have been wanting to be able to leave the refrigerator on during the week with it out on the mooring and no one around. I also wanted to get my batteries fully charged at the same time. So solar became the answer to me.
I chose solar over wind even though there are a lot more wind generator on boats out in the mooring field than there are solar panels. I also figured that it would be less expensive than wind once I did all the mounting etc. and that a 290W panel was 1/4 the cost on a wind generator.
So what is the cost of cold beer? I have the system up and running and the cost has come to $1469 which includes the panel, controller mounting, wire and connections (and 12 hours of my time).
The panel itself at $269 was the cheapest part of the whole system!
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you forgot to add in the cost of the refrigerator,and depreciation on the boat
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02-04-2013, 14:01
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#10
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S/V rubber ducky
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: heading "south"
Boat: Hunter 410
Posts: 20,362
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Re: cost of cold beer
Quote:
Originally Posted by dockbumdan
it will be 1000 times cheaper after you drink 167 six packs.
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Would love to see the math on that.
I figure it will take 368 days boat use for the solar to break even with having just gotten a bag of ice for the beer.
Or around 500 hours of engine operation just to charge batteries.
But in the end it doesn't matter because cold beer is .............. priceless!
__________________
Don't ask a bunch of unknown forum people if it is OK to do something on YOUR boat. It is your boat, do what you want!
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02-04-2013, 14:07
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#11
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: On the Boat
Boat: Hunter Helsen 470
Posts: 132
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Re: cost of cold beer
I wish folks would post pics of their solar install. I am toying with the idea and just can get past where to install them that don't look like crap or in the way.
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02-04-2013, 14:19
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#12
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Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: California Coast
Boat: Beneteau Oceanis 331
Posts: 681
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Re: cost of cold beer
Quote:
Originally Posted by Don L
BTW the cost of cold beer is ................ priceless!
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I kind of disagree.
Although beer is really good when it is cold, IMHO it is almost as good when it isn't.
I nearly never worry if it is cold or not.
My old friend Skipper Mick who lived aboard the Scami 30 THE RITZ used to refer to warm beer as being, "Rodeo Temp", and drank it with gusto in enormous quantity.
I can only hope to live up to that standard.
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02-04-2013, 15:23
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#13
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Oregon
Boat: Seafarer36c
Posts: 5,563
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Re: cost of cold beer
I think you need to re-figure. Down where you really need cold beer, like Panama, El Salvadore etc. beer is only .50-.75 cents per can. It is going to take you a lot longer to pay for your system than you thought, something like over 2,000 beers? If you where down there anyway. How many years(months) of beer drinking is that anyway?
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02-04-2013, 15:32
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#14
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S/V rubber ducky
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: heading "south"
Boat: Hunter 410
Posts: 20,362
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Re: cost of cold beer
the purchse price of the beer isn't part of the costs; only the cost of keeping it cold
but if it takes drinking 2000 cold ones so be it
__________________
Don't ask a bunch of unknown forum people if it is OK to do something on YOUR boat. It is your boat, do what you want!
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02-04-2013, 15:53
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#15
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: North Carolina
Boat: Seaward 22
Posts: 1,027
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Re: cost of cold beer
If you had a big CF party on your boat you could recover the costs faster.
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