Is Your Boat Self-Sustaining Electrically?

[volkangorciz]

Yes there are four bracelets to be used to fix the support to the push pit. Also two ball-jointed arms to carry the whole system and extra weight put on the carrier support at the stern of the boat. No welding needed to mount the support. Images show the push pit and stern fixtures.

[Mr B]

My Gemini was fully self sustained electrically,
I had 4 X 85 AH house batterys,
1 X Engine start Battery,
2 X 85 Watt panels, sitting on the back of the Transom seat, No shade,
2 X 50 Watt panels on the roof, One was affected by shade from the main sail,
I X Rutland 913 Wind Generator,
I X 28 HP Diesel Motor with a large alternator, 80 Amps,
All nav gear is 12 volt, Chart plotter Etc,
All pumps and water maker, Fans Etc, 12 volt.
1800 Watt Xantrex Invertor,
TV, Laptop,
Gas fridge freezer,
Shower and hot water is heated by the Engine, 1/2 hour, plenty of hot water,
No air con, I had shade cloths across the top of the deck, Kept the interior cool,

PO lived on board for nearly 8 years and used it as a floating office and had it all sorted out,

New electrics will be a 5000 Watt invertor, 240 Volt, 30 amp MPPT controller, 3 X 200 AH house batterys, Any thing else needed will be upped in value from what already existed,,

[webejammin]

So MrB what is all the power for "curlng your hair" Gemini's are great with the solar pannels on the dingy davits to shade the dingy and stand up paddleboards. We have the 2 - 85 wt solar pannels and between the motor's altinator it runs everything we need. The prevous owner never plugged in to shore power in San Diago.

[Mr B]

Same here Mate,

But I had to replace mine as it all got drowned, So I just upped its ratings, Just in case,

Plus it was very cheap to do it all,

I never plugged into any thing, Marina's are purely for buying diesel,

And only once did I run the diesel for power, But that was when I first bought her, I soon learned, You cant run everything at once, or leave everything turned on, Hahahahahaha

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by SURV69

In dock I don't have to worry about it.

BUT I want my boat to be self-sustaining & self sufficient, electrically.

I want to be able to sit at a dock, or at anchor with absolutely no difference in my daily electrical usage. Or, for that matter all my daily regimen.

Soon, I'll be looking into solar panels and expect to buy a couple of 185+ watt panels for my boat(Newport 28) to keep my batteries topped off.

I'm in the process of changing all my lights to LED and chucking almost all my navigation electronics. I'll keep equipment that runs "efficiently" off of AA batteries. Even then, I expect to have a couple of small solar panels for the recharging of AA batteries and such.

I just can't stand the idea of plugging my boat in any more.

My boat is pretty much self sustaining as I'm on mooring or at anchor most of the time. It does fine with two 75 watt panels for the 12 volt house bank running an Engel in freezer mode. I might on occasion have to run the Honda 2000 generator if a there is a day or two clouds. I also use LED lighting and efficient fans for cooling when needed. I also tap into my 48 volt 210 amp propulsion bank to run my laptop using a 48 to 12 volt converter some days. This 48 volt propulsion bank is topped up by two 60 watt 48 volt solar panels and also a 48 volt wind turbine.
Actually the turbine was off the boat for the past year so it was pretty much the solar panels and some occasional Honda use. My panels are not optimized either as they are part of my solar bimini and do have some shadowing:
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: SOLAR BIMINI PART SEVEN: PANELS INSTALLED
Since I no longer have a diesel on board because I converted to electric propulsion in 2008 I also get a kick out of making fuel (energy) while sailing along:
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: HAPPY AT THE HELM!
I'm able to live comfortably on board with this setup and never have to actually bring the boat to a fuel dock since I only go through about ten gallons of gas (sometimes less) every six months for the Honda. Which I bring back with the dingy in a 2 1/2 gallon container.

[sj01]

The wife and I decided to be energy independent earlier this year. Had a custom arch built for 2 225w Sanyo HIT panels. Have 6 T-105 Trojan batteries running through a Blue Sky 3024il charge controller and all monitored with a Xantrex Link 10. All lighting was swapped out for led. We can run all electronics, a tv/dvd player, fridge, and lighting, and a couple 12v fans for sleeping comfort easily. We're in FL so sunlight is abundant but should we get a lot of cloud cover we start being frugal with electric usage, i.e. no TV. Our main goal was to run the fridge without worry and we've accomplished that plus much more.
After installing everything we took a 2 week outing, 100% at anchor. Our battery capacity never went below 80%, even with a couple days of heavy cloud cover. This has been the best and most useful upgrade ever. Keeps the wife happy too, oh so important.












A completely unobstructed view was critical.

[webejammin]

Originally Posted by Mr B

Same here Mate,

But I had to replace mine as it all got drowned, So I just upped its ratings, Just in case,

Plus it was very cheap to do it all,

I never plugged into any thing, Marina's are purely for buying diesel,

And only once did I run the diesel for power, But that was when I first bought her, I soon learned, You cant run everything at once, or leave everything turned on, Hahahahahaha

It's great to hear your getting up and running again Mr B

[belizesailor]

It all of course depends upon your actual usage (do the math), but in my case...

Both house and boat are almost alternative energy self-sufficient, but still need a little bump from the genset (of course, you could argue that is still "self sufficient" just not full alternative energy). Run 2 x 185W panels and that meets our daily needs even at home when running two laptops and fridge, but this is just keeping up with load so need to charge the batts a bit with the genset.

Another panel or two and a smarter controller and we would be there (it's on the list!).

[zeehag]

i am so energy self sufficient i have to cover my panels on occasion, unless i am sailing and using the nav lights, a hugeous energy consumer--no i have yet to go to led--then i will have enough to power a fridge while underway--omg--progress?????

[webejammin]

We changed to LED bubs when we bought our boat almost 2 years ago, I'm sure glad I changed the anchor light and tri-light to LED's because were always forgeting to turn them off early when at anchor.

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by webejammin

We changed to LED bubs when we bought our boat almost 2 years ago, I'm sure glad I changed the anchor light and tri-light to LED's because were always forgeting to turn them off early when at anchor.

I agree that's probably the first bulb to change out in terms of energy use.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by chuckr

not sure what a utectic plate is ...

It's a "cold plate" which is filled with fluid (utectic) which freezes as opposed to an "evaporator" which is simply a thin aluminum plate which refrigerant flows through.

Most 12V systems have evaporators, but there are a few with cold plates. Cold Plates are more common on larger, often engine driven, freezers.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by webejammin

...I'm sure glad I changed the anchor light and tri-light to LED's because were always forgeting to turn them off early when at anchor.

Changed my anchor and tri-color to LED a few years ago too. I have Aqua Signal fixtures and they wanted a ridiculous amount for their LED bulbs. Purchased a couple of LED "towers" from SuperBriteLEDS at a fraction of the price. They are WAY bright and draw fractions of an amp.

I've bought a number of LED things from them and had very good experience. See LED Lights, Bulbs & Accessories - SUPER BRIGHT LEDS.

[haiqu]

Originally Posted by webejammin

We changed to LED bubs when we bought our boat almost 2 years ago, I'm sure glad I changed the anchor light and tri-light to LED's because were always forgeting to turn them off early when at anchor.

A light dependent switch would fix that. As soon as dawn comes along the lights go off. They also turn on automatically at dusk. Good if you aren't aboard, or want to sleep in. :-)

Here's one that uses a 555 timer IC:



Rob

[webejammin]

Originally Posted by haiqu

A light dependent switch would fix that. As soon as dawn comes along the lights go off. They also turn on automatically at dusk. Good if you aren't aboard, or want to sleep in. :-)

Here's one that uses a 555 timer IC:



Rob

Thanks I will need to buy a switch and probably mount it where can easily clean the stinking spiders and webs off it ( our windex gets stuck in about 2 days of no wind ). I would still have the main breaker so when It is not needed I can turn it off like sailing at night or at the marina.