Getting batteries to Full Charge, how often?

[sailorboy1]

You must plan your generator to last longer than I plan mine to last.but still your generator use seems more expensive than you batteries

[barnakiel]

It is a fine poll. Thank you for posting it.

We charge fully every day. Now and then, on a gray day with a rainy night, it will be every second day only - we are solar people here.

Our definition is like yours - fully up and accepting less than 1% of the bank size.

Cheers,
b.

[a64pilot]

I plan on running the generator twice a week, early in the morning. I can throw 185 amps into the bank through two chargers and the plan is once that drops down enough to begin making water and washing clothes, I am planning on 3 hours twice a week. So I plan on a full 100% charge twice a week, and an equalization charge in a Marina once a month.
I have 1 KW of Solar, but it will suffer some from shading so I do not know what I will get from it.
Issue with going Solar alone I believe is not so much how much Solar you have, but how many hours of useable light do you have?

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

You must plan your generator to last longer than I plan mine to last.but still your generator use seems more expensive than you batteries

That is a good point, it doesn't make sense to spend $10 to save $5.
It's why I hope to save up those chores we will be doing that require large amounts of AC power and do them consecutively.

[Cheechako]

Usually full only when moving. So if I stay somewhere for weeks, they never quite get full.

[brianlara 3]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

That is a good point, it doesn't make sense to spend $10 to save $5.
It's why I hope to save up those chores we will be doing that require large amounts of AC power and do them consecutively.

Think about it. Buy 4 batteries...once every 4 years or maybe longer.
Buy a generator "" "" ""
Buy fuel, get water at marina.
It's all about ......not having a car, using taxis, having 38 litres of frozen gourmet foods, TV for self treating my war neurosis.
Less than 2 dollars a day for battery and generator write off with fuel thrown in. Between 1 and 2 % of my daily income.
The Australian VA is very different to the US VA.
Electricity costs me less than coffee, tea soda, sugar & milk....
Then there are the people who drink 5 10 $20 per day in grog.
Like I said...too easy.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Usually full only when moving. So if I stay somewhere for weeks, they never quite get full.

Same here, which is why I sized my 8 x 240ah Trojan 12v AGMs to only consume 10% of capacity in 24hrs. of anchor conditions.

Without solar, I recharge for 2 hrs with 2 chargers by generator to bring SOC from 70% to 80% when chargers kick into absorbtion rates and reduces efficiency.

This while making and heating water, baking bread etc.

There are enough times during the week in the tropics when we want AirCon, so that is when it will get fully charged.

[brianlara 3]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Same here, which is why I sized my 8 x 240ah Trojan 12v AGMs to only consume 10% of capacity in 24hrs. of anchor conditions.

Without solar, I recharge for 2 hrs with 2 chargers by generator to bring SOC from 70% to 80% when chargers kick into absorbtion rates and reduces efficiency.

This while making and heating water, baking bread etc.

There are enough times during the week in the tropics when we want AirCon, so that is when it will get fully charged.

Thanks for reminding me......the electricity for the bread maker & steam iron ( occasionally) is free.

[newhaul]

An fyi saw gc2 s at sams club today for 55 USD per battery. They are duracells (one of the east penn brands)

[brianlara 3]

In Australia the going price for a Lifeline 100ah sealed is...USD $ 487.
Things ain't cheap here. My 120 agm's were dirt cheap @ US $ 280.

[sailon46]

Batteries are sensitive issue with me while sailing in the Caribb. I just put on the boat 4 new lifelines at $850 each. That was a follow up of The Marina in Grenada in Port Louis though charging me for electricity per month exorbitant charges $200 plus, after complaining to them they unplugged the power cable so they let my brand new Lifelines drop down to 7 volts and destroyed them basically. Now I am in Green Cay and I am charging trickle of the dock plus for security I have added 300 watts of solar, in case there is disruption of dock power.
While sailing from Tortolla to St Croix with the new batteries I run both 740s and 7610 Garmin chartplotters, Auto Pilot and refi, fridge and kept for the duration of sail, sunny day 12.6-12.8 volts current. Happy days finally.
Ernie on the Mary Jane

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by sailon46

Batteries are sensitive issue with me while sailing in the Caribb. I just put on the boat 4 new lifelines at $850 each.

Which specific Lifeline battery costs $850 each?

-Chris

[sailon46]

In Tortolla Nanny Cay Chandlery Lifeline 4D lists 1000 US$ but because I was getting a bottom job in the yard I got 15% off for paint and batteries. Saved me a trip to Simpson Bay St Martin where you can pick them up tax free around $685 from Budget Marine.
Ernie on the Mary Jane

[skipgundlach]

Rich Boren had a nice post about his LiFePO4 system in Facebook recently. Ask him to post it here...

[Pilot Rob]

Cruising in Nth Australia, and having Solar and Wind usually gets us up to 14.4 volts by 1:00pm out at anchor. It is not very often that it is overcast and no wind and we have to start the motor. We have found that our 1kva Generator will not keep up with the Fridge and Freezer going so it is better to start the motor on those rare occasions.