Lithium solar power station instead of diesel genset

[tandersonmd]

I recently purchased a newer monohull (2016 Gozzard 41) that has a dedicated compartment and is fully wired for a genset, but has no genset installed. I'm not particularly keen on installing another fuel-based engine on the boat so I had the idea to create a lithium system with separate inverter and wire it directly to the pre-wired genset circuit mentioned above. This will allow me to energize everything in the boat at the panel by switching to "Generator" power and draw directly from the lithium bank/inverter. It will also get me in to lithium without making any substantial changes to the well-implemented, custom 12v lead-acid system currently installed on the boat.

I've ordered this system: https://www.pointzeroenergy.com/prod...olar-generator for another purpose but may try it on the boat in the above scenario. The Titan is considered the best all-in-one solar power station. It's easily expandable and has built in mppt as well as direct DC and AC charging.

Thoughts?

[Pete7]

Your post does look rather spammy as if you are advertising these things, perhaps you could post a photo of yours when its installed so we know your a genuine yachtie.

Have you read the specs? seems extraordinarily expensive for the amount of power available. Also if the max draw is 100A the inverter can't have a continuous draw of 3000w no can it.

Have you noticed there is there no address on the website, are they afraid to publish their address?

I think you could do better. Have a good read of the Lithium forum on here.

[tandersonmd]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Your post does look rather spammy as if you are advertising these things, perhaps you could post a photo of yours when its installed so we know your a genuine yachtie.

Have you read the specs? seems extraordinarily expensive for the amount of power available. Also if the max draw is 100A the inverter can't have a continuous draw of 3000w no can it.

Have you noticed there is there no address on the website, are they afraid to publish their address?

I think you could do better. Have a good read of the Lithium forum on here.

I have no affiliation whatsoever with the company. It's 100A for each battery pack. If you have 2 battery packs you can reach the full continuous 3000W output of the inverter and up to 6000W for 10 seconds. More interested to hear what everyones thoughts are about the concept of a solar power station as a replacement for a genset. Solar power stations (yeti, jackery, bluetti, etc) are a growing market.

[tmarks11]

Your whole boat can be a "solar power station".

Buying one premade in a form factor that doesn't fit well into available space in your boat, and that is built from substandard generic non-marine components that isn't designed to integrate with your existing electronics? No thanks.

The concept of a solar-battery-inverter combination built into your boat is found on practically every cruising sailboat in the country.

Large battery bank (doesn't need to be lithium)? Check. Solar panels on dodger, bimini, or arch? Check. Inverter? Check. 120V distribution throughout your boat? Check.

Why would you want it self contained in an awkward box?|

Originally Posted by tandersonmd

If you have 2 battery packs you can reach the full continuous 3000W output of the inverter and up to 6000W for 10 seconds.

Who actually cares about "maximum power draw" for 10 seconds? That is a useless specification. What are your realistic continuous AC loads onboard, and what is the maximum battery life at those load levels? What is your available solar power to recharge your battery (assuming 3-4.5 hours/day total at rated power, depending on Latitude)? That is much more important.

You are still sounding like you are advertising it.

[tmarks11]

Also, if you have a Gozzard 41RC, then you already have a house battery bank that has a capacity (1000 A-hrs) that is significantly larger than that "power station" (80 A-hrs). Just install an inverter (although I am surprised a boat like that didn't come outfitted from the factory with one) and solar panels.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by tandersonmd

I recently purchased a newer monohull (2016 Gozzard 41) that has a dedicated compartment and is fully wired for a genset, but has no genset installed. I'm not particularly keen on installing another fuel-based engine on the boat so I had the idea to create a lithium system with separate inverter and wire it directly to the pre-wired genset circuit mentioned above. This will allow me to energize everything in the boat at the panel by switching to "Generator" power and draw directly from the lithium bank/inverter. It will also get me in to lithium without making any substantial changes to the well-implemented, custom 12v lead-acid system currently installed on the boat.

I've ordered this system: https://www.pointzeroenergy.com/prod...olar-generator for another purpose but may try it on the boat in the above scenario. The Titan is considered the best all-in-one solar power station. It's easily expandable and has built in mppt as well as direct DC and AC charging.

Thoughts?

My thoughts are,
Need a bigger battery,
Needs a realistic pricing,
Few are going to buy this when the credit card gets charged right away but the the 'backorder" may ship at an unknown future date.

[StuM]

Lots of these supposed "Solar power Stations" popping up on websites. They are essentially very expensive small lithium battery + inverter boxes. The only thing "solar" about them is that they have MPPT inputs so you can instal some solar panels on you boat to charge the batteries when the sun is shining.


It is NOT a replacement for a genset, regardless of the hype. (Unless you charge it up ashore, and onlly need the 2KVA for less than an hour).


(You could also add 1000W of solar to your boat and make it marginally useful for a bit longer)

[LoudMusic]

That thing is puny. I have 14kWh of lithium house batteries and 2100w of solar and if we get 3 days of clouds I have to run a main engine to keep the boat powered. And that's on a catamaran where's there's plenty of space for panels. If you want to do that on a mono ... "You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat".

[sparrowhawk1]

Keep your portable unit portable. You certainly paid for it both in price and different battery chemistries. Don't you have a house bank and inverter already on the boat? As said earlier that's the way to go. If your inverter is not connected to the outlets you could utilize the generator hook up so you can switch from "generator"(house) to shore

[tandersonmd]

Originally Posted by tmarks11

Also, if you have a Gozzard 41RC, then you already have a house battery bank that has a capacity (1000 A-hrs) that is significantly larger than that "power station" (80 A-hrs). Just install an inverter (although I am surprised a boat like that didn't come outfitted from the factory with one) and solar panels.

Correct, it does have a 900ah wet lead acid house bank as well as a magnum charger/inverter. Its a really well designed system that I will not/do not want to alter for the foreseeable future. The batteries are in a custom form factor and housed in a purpose built cabinet in the salon. A totally separate lithium system with its own inverter would give me some redundancy, extra capacity and run on the genset circuit. I wouldn't need to change anything with the current factory gozzard setup. Anyway, thanks for all the replies.

[tandersonmd]

Also, really not trying to advertise for Titan, but it is an expandable system. Each battery pack is 2000 usable watt hours (24v x 74ah) and you can add as many packs as you want. Its plug and play. Yes, its expensive, but the price per usable watt hour is competitive with other lithium batteries.

[smac999]

Originally Posted by tandersonmd

Correct, it does have a 900ah wet lead acid house bank as well as a magnum charger/inverter. Its a really well designed system that I will not/do not want to alter for the foreseeable future. The batteries are in a custom form factor and housed in a purpose built cabinet in the salon. A totally separate lithium system with its own inverter would give me some redundancy, extra capacity and run on the genset circuit. I wouldn't need to change anything with the current factory gozzard setup. Anyway, thanks for all the replies.

Why? Add solar. You are already set.

If you put the new inverter into the gen switch. It would feed ac power to the magum. The magnum would charge the house from the lithuim bank creating a bad loop. Not extra capacity.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by tandersonmd

Also, really not trying to advertise for Titan, but it is an expandable system.

Sure, but $3000 for each one for a battery a bit bigger than a type 31. You could buy a lot of these for the price of one Titan and an inverter yourself.

https://sterling-power.com/products/lithium-batteries

Will Prowse on YT has reviewed a few of these power banks. Would be worth watching.

Still not sure what you gain from this. If you said you were going to buy a Honda 20i genny for rainy days just in case I could understand. In fact you could probably buy two for the price of the Titan.

Pete

[tandersonmd]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Sure, but $3000 for each one for a battery a bit bigger than a type 31. You could buy a lot of these for the price of one Titan and an inverter yourself.

https://sterling-power.com/products/lithium-batteries

Will Prowse on YT has reviewed a few of these power banks. Would be worth watching.

Still not sure what you gain from this. If you said you were going to buy a Honda 20i genny for rainy days just in case I could understand. In fact you could probably buy two for the price of the Titan.

Pete

The expansion battery packs are $1300 each once you have the control unit. Good point about the lithium bank feeding the house bank, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. The lithium setup will be able to charge at a much faster rate from shore power or a small portable genset. It will also allow me to run my ac unit (without the noise of a genny) at night for a few hours which would likely not be possible with the current magnum inverter and batteries. Admittedly, I have not had a chance to test that assumption yet. The magnum dc charger will go into float mode when the lead acid bank is topped up, so it won't be a continuous loop.

Our plans over the next few years are weekend cruising from our dock. We won't be bugging out permanently for at least 5 years, so the plans above are a stopgap that avoids major refitting of the existing electrical system or installing a permanent genset. In 5 years I anticipate that battery, solar, wind, and or hydro generation tech will have advanced significantly and I will be able to upgrade to a truly off grid system. I'll replace the current lead acid system then.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by tandersonmd

I have no affiliation whatsoever with the company. It's 100A for each battery pack. If you have 2 battery packs you can reach the full continuous 3000W output of the inverter and up to 6000W for 10 seconds. More interested to hear what everyones thoughts are about the concept of a solar power station as a replacement for a genset. Solar power stations (yeti, jackery, bluetti, etc) are a growing market.

These are just power storage devices dependent upon a source to recharge.
What is your anticipated source to recharge? Solar, shore power, wind, regen, Hydro,????

I would personally be content with a very large battery bank and a lot of solar with a Honda 2200 for the ultimate backup.