We have now had the Outback FM40 in 24 x 7 use all year round for nearly 3 years. It has been flawless in operation and from 480W of solar it achieves 100% SOC for our 300 Ahr bank as measured by Smartgauge nearly every day. We have chosen not to upgrade our 2 off 'dumb as bovine poop' 80A
engine alternators as feel that spending far less than that considerable cost on solar is better value for
money, so we get very little
engine charging particularly in hot
weather when the
alternator output is reduced.
Loading is a 160 litre fridge, normal
navigation instruments and auto pilot,
LED lights and on occasions, lots of phones, tablets etc. Overnight the SOC drops to between 75-90% depending mainly on temperature, fridge and toy use.
We occasionally use the
inverter to heat
water via our 1600VA
inverter, usually in bursts of 5-10mins to give warm
shower in the morning.