Quote:
Originally Posted by Palarran
Captain Mike, I use the generator to of course recharge my battery bank which is over 1000 amp hours. Also it runs for the holding plate refrigeration. I also have a large watermaker, dive compressor, clothes washer and dryer, and air conditioning. I will have between 6 and 10 people on board at all times which is going to require a lot of power.
Palarran actually has two generators, a 12kva and 8kva. I had looked at removing the 12kva and installing a 5kva. Before, with the trade-in, the cost would be about $5000 to downsize, even though the 12kva is in new condition. Now, when I look at the price of diesel, it may make sense because most of the time I could run the 5kva unit. As a bonus the generator weighs 500 pounds less and takes up 1/2 of the space.
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Hmmmmm
Excuse me I am not being rude but it sounds like you have a floating 4 double
bed ensuite condo.
Are you using this
boat commercially or is it friends and
family.
Friends and
family tell them to be more economic.
If you have fresh
water heads with a flush tank install half flush and full flush
toilet cisterns wrap a brick in kitchen foil put it in the tank less available space for
water.
Otherwise use
salt water for the heads, Showering use seawater rinse off in fresh water, dish wash in
salt again rinse off in fresh. (NOT IF YOU ARE IN PORT dirty water)
There are fresh water makers that can be towed, they spin so no energy required from fossil
fuel.
There is
Wind Power and
Solar power, Dive compressor could be a petrol jenny.
Air con in port
plug into
shore power. Don't need it when cruising any way its bad for your
health.
Insulate the
boat put in double glazing if you must look through the ports/windows other wise good double curtains with a sun reflector on the outside.
I live in
Greece no air con for me my house is no more than 21 degrees in the summer I just set it up right shutters on the outside of the windows keeps the sun out leave the doors and windows open for ventilation if it gets really hot outside its been 48 here I shut the door and put a ceiling fan on.
The
drinking water here is €1.58 for a pack of 6 1.5 litre bottles.
Most water in
Greece can be drunk fill up at the quay with a hose pipe some of the bottled water is worse than the water supplied by the municipalities.
Who knows how long the bottled water has been left in the sun. multiples bacteria.
If you have a clothes washer and dryer then people are going to use them I bet they would not do so much
washing if they had to do it by hand.
Take them out less weight less power and use the space for something else, Sorry I got carried away I only have a
small boat so we have learned to utilise what we have.
I expect you also have a microwave,
electric kettle, the ladies use hair dryers,
Fridges Freezers. TV's lots of Lights etc. Central
heating, hot water on tap.
need I go on.
Don't think about how you can save and use the same power. Think how can I lower the power use by changing the power using items to those that use less or just get rid of some unnecessary luxuries. Then reduce the mechanics of making the power.
Holding plate refrigeration.
Insulation
How much is enough? Is more always better? The answer to these questions like so many questions is "it depends".
Insulation works on a diminishing return the first inch gives the most benefit and each additional inch provides less benefit.
Heat gets into the cabinet not only thru the insulation but also thru opening the door or putting warm things in to the
refrigerator, less than perfect
seals, the door frame, etc. The shape of the box is a huge factor since it is the surface area not simply the volume that is important.
In general the
rule of thumb goes like this:
For a
refrigerator box:
· 4 cu ft or less use a minimum of 2 inches.
· 6 cu ft will need 3 inches
· bigger than 8 cu ft needs 4 inches
For a
freezer:
· 2 cu ft or less 4 inches minimum
· 4 cu ft or less 5 inches
· larger than 4 cu ft 6 inches.
What kind of insulation? Recommended is extruded polystyrene - such as Dow Blueboard or Owens Insulpink - it is conservatively rated at R-5 per inch and will not absorb moisture so it will maintain its insulation value. It is easy to
work with, easy to obtain at a local builders supply and not expensive. Other foams may have higher initial insulation values but may quickly degrade in the wet
marine environment. Vacuum
panels can achieve much higher insulation values but they are very expensive, fragile and difficult to handle.
To summarize
· Keep the box small and an efficient shape (square is the ideal).
· A front loading box is not a problem as long as the door
seals are tight.
· If you have a separate
freezer be sure to have it well insulated and no larger than necessary - empty space in a freezer will still use power.