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Old 24-12-2014, 06:24   #1
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Batteries

Question for everyone. How many batteries do you guy's have on your boats. What's a good amount to have to run a fridge and the normal boat electronics. I have no clue as to how many and what you can run on them.
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Old 24-12-2014, 06:31   #2
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Re: Batteries

Depends totally on the equipment you want to run, and how you use the boat. What sort of a boat? How long do you stay at anchor w/o running the main engine? Do you have a generator? How big a fridge? etc etc. You have to add up the amp hour requirements of the various electricity users between charges.

For my 26-footer with no generator and a small fridge I have a house bank of 2 g31 AGM's, and two g34 AGM's for a diesel start bank.
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Old 24-12-2014, 06:38   #3
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Re: Batteries

People write books about this subject. You are best served by reading some and drawing your own conclusions based on your need rather than numerous opinions, all varied by knowledge and need.

Note one thing - it's a system. You need to consider charging system changes warranted by battery capacity size so don't just thinking terms of type and number of batteries
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Old 24-12-2014, 06:52   #4
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Re: Batteries

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Originally Posted by NewMoon View Post
Depends totally on the equipment you want to run, and how you use the boat. What sort of a boat? How long do you stay at anchor w/o running the main engine? Do you have a generator? How big a fridge? etc etc. You have to add up the amp hour requirements of the various electricity users between charges.

For my 26-footer with no generator and a small fridge I have a house bank of 2 g31 AGM's, and two g34 AGM's for a diesel start bank.
Hey thanks for the reply I really don't have any clue on this I'm looking in to . sailing
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Old 24-12-2014, 11:12   #5
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Re: Batteries

I have five batteries on my boat. One to start the engine and four for a house bank. They are all group 31 AGM batteries.
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Old 24-12-2014, 11:20   #6
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Re: Batteries

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Originally Posted by mattnone View Post
Hey thanks for the reply I really don't have any clue on this I'm looking in to . sailing
Hi, and welcome.

You could buy a book, Charlie Wing's is very well respected.

You could also start here:

Electrical Systems 101 Electrical Systems 101
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Old 24-12-2014, 12:11   #7
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Re: Batteries

Advising the thread starter to read one of the great books available on this subject is good advice. I really like electronics and found the reading and analysis of my system a lot of fun.

However, this is still a great thread for discussion. I always like to hear how others are dealing with power while away from the dock. Discussion of the "proper" use of deep cycle batteries never gets old. I use two Trojan T105, 6 volters in series for house needs. I don't have a refer, microwave or other electric appliances, but use an AC box fan and inverter at night to keep the interior cooled down. At 0.8 amps at 110 volts (plus inverter losses) I can use over 50% of the house capacity (220 amp-hours) in one night. If I had the money and place to put them, I would get a pair of the big capacity 6 volt Surrettes (over 400 amp-hours). Is it possible to lust after battery capacity?
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Old 24-12-2014, 12:28   #8
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Re: Batteries

for a 30-40 footer around here 4-8 golf carts is the norm for a house bank. or 2-4 L16's.


plus starting battery(s)


with a 2000w inverter / charger to charge them.


this is for a boat that will leave the dock for a few days and then come back to plug in.


but it entirely depends on the boat and it's use.
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Old 24-12-2014, 12:35   #9
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Re: Batteries

My thought is you must first determine useage in Watt hours or Amp hours.
Once you know that, then size your bank to where on average you use less than 50% of it's capacity per charge cycle if lead acid may not be daily.
Deterime what type of battery chemistry you desire.
Determine charge sources, shore power, Alt, Generator, Solar, wind, hydo etc.

I am sure I have missed some things, seems most of it is interrelated also. So doing considerable research before you start buying would help a lot, but I believ determineing how much power you need you can start doing at any time, it is relevant because of course it must all be stored and replaced
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Old 24-12-2014, 12:41   #10
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Re: Batteries

The fact is that when you first get a boat, it will already have a baseline set of electronics, batteries, etc that someone else, for better or for worse, figured out.

Before you go changing anything, you should follow the recommendations here, learn a little about boat electronics from some of the basic books (the Wing book is pretty good), and do some basic calculations of the energy consumption on your boat.

Like many of the topics related to cruising, there isn't a one-size fits all answer here, because it will vary by the size, type, and equipment configuration on the boat.
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Old 24-12-2014, 12:52   #11
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Re: Batteries

Only ONE 200 aH LiFePo4 bank for everything including engine start.
320 watts solar with MPPT controller.

Fridge/freezer, GPS/chartplotter/radar, HAM, autopilot, Spectra watermaker, 1500 watt sinewave inverter, diesel furnace, long distance wifi, laptop, fans etc.
Never need to run engine for electricity.
Hot water? Turn on the inverter for 20 minutes a day for 130 f. water in PNW.
Love those lithiums !!!
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Old 24-12-2014, 13:03   #12
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Re: Batteries

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Originally Posted by senormechanico View Post
Only ONE 200 aH LiFePo4 bank for everything including engine start.
320 watts solar with MPPT controller.

Fridge/freezer, GPS/chartplotter/radar, HAM, autopilot, Spectra watermaker, 1500 watt sinewave inverter, diesel furnace, long distance wifi, laptop, fans etc.
Never need to run engine for electricity.
Hot water? Turn on the inverter for 20 minutes a day for 130 f. water in PNW.
Love those lithiums !!!
Lead is dead.
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Old 24-12-2014, 13:08   #13
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Re: Batteries

senormechanico, where are you located, do you live aboard, what kind of solar cells do you have, and how many watt-hours can you collect in one day? Am I correct in saying that lithiums can be regularly fully discharged without hurting them? I obviously can't do that with my lead-acid Trojans.
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Old 24-12-2014, 13:11   #14
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Re: Batteries

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.......... I don't have a refer, microwave or other electric appliances, but use an AC box fan and inverter at night to keep the interior cooled down. .........
It would be more efficient to use a 12 volt DC fan and do away with the losses associated with converting 12 volts DC to 120 volts AC just to turn a motor.
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Old 24-12-2014, 13:14   #15
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Re: Batteries

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It would be more efficient to use a 12 volt DC fan and do away with the losses associated with converting 12 volts DC to 120 volts AC just to turn a motor.
100% correct. My inverter takes 15 watts just to be on, let alone the losses of conversion. I think a DC fan is the only way to go.
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