My whine:
It used to be so simple in my first four boats: take everything to the boat in coolers. Get good, clear block ice, fill up the frig with the ice and the food, put something on top of the food and shut the lid. This would generally last for four days to a week depending upon all the usual factors. We would listen to the VHF (when there was VHF!), stereo (when there was stereo!) and sometimes a little TV (there was TV!), and use lights when we weren't using our oil lamps. It was rare the battery required charging and the first two boats had outboards anyway and had no way to recharge.
So then to the first boat with refrigeration in a well insulated box. It had a freezer but we didn't use it generally. At first we continued using the ice and with occasional use of the refrigeration, we got a week out of it. Later, it became nearly impossible to get good clear block ice, and the chipped packed stuff is awful. So, we used the refrigeration twice a day for about four hours. I ran the engine every other day for an hour. Stock dumb alternator.
OK, so then I learned from the AB refrigeration technicians that it is more energy efficient to have the refrigeration turned on full time and simply turn down the thermostat to save amps. I also changed the batteries out to Group 31's and added a separate start battery.
So, now in 1999 I moved up to my 1994 Hunter 40.5. When I recommissioned it, the service manager talked me out of a generator after pointing out that my use would not require it and it would just add weight and complexity. He suggested two banks of golf cart batteries, a Balmar 100 amp alternator, smart regulator & inverter/charger. The 40.5 has a separate large frig & freezer, each with its own compressor. The boat also had a nice TV, video tape player and all the other amenities of the era.
Soooo, the first thing I find is the power draw is such that I need to run the engine twice a day. The prior owner did not use the freezer as a freezer much, but my wife finds it very useful since we use the boat for long periods both at and away from the dock. Thanks to early discussions in the Hunter Forums and Rich Stidger, I learned about adding gasketing to better seal the lids which made a noticeable improvement.
Then I purchased three flexible 22 watt solar panels which I put on the bimini at anchor. This permitted me to cut down the engine run time to once a day, but still needing the occasional two. I was relying on my panel volt meter. I learned from these forums how inaccurate it could be, so I installed a Heart battery monitor. It really was off!
At a Yanmar seminar, I found out how damaging it can be to run the engine with only the alternator load, at least frequently. By this time, the full-time seasonal live aboards in the anchorage had changed to using portable generators, but they were very noisy. Then the Honda EU series came out and I purchased one.
The EU2000 works great. It takes between an hour and two per day depending on the season (remember the solar panels) and our energy appetite. However, it does drone on and I would like to cut down the run time. So, I changed all the lights (including running lights) to LCD. I changed the TV's to energy efficient ones (although we rarely watch anything more than an hour and usually less).
More recently, I added four fifty watt solar panels for a total of 266 watts of solar and a MPPT charge controller. I just came back from the island after eight days in the anchorage and this is what I found:
1. The significant solar charge was limited to 10:00 - 4:00 PM (Southern California August). Even with semi-articulating panels, it fell off rapidly before or after.
2. The theoretical output is about 19 amps. I was hoping for 12. I got maybe 9-ish.
3. So, I was only putting back about 10-15 net amp hours during the day.
4. I used about 60 amps overnight without the frig & freezer being opened and nothing else on. Add to that about 30 during the other hours the panels are not providing power and I'm still an hour to an hour and a half to charge the batteries (500 amp hours) to 80% given a power share setting of 20 amps on the panel which produces 66 amps charge from the Honda.
OK, so I'm still not happy.
So now what? The first thing I thought was that the batteries are getting weak-kneed since they are just wrapping up three years and that's about all I have ever gotten. So, I brought a good 130 amp load tester since I didn't own one and I'm sure not going to haul the batteries out to be tested. I'll test them before my next trip and replace if necessary.
What else? Well, the obvious thing is to better insulate, or re-insulate the frig & freezer. I already replaced the frig unit with a Sea Frost slim holding plate system and it's more energy efficient. I suspect the foam insulation has gotten damp and that will significantly reduce the insulation value. I'm thinking of going with closed cell foam which would keep moisture intrusion away but the cost of labor to tear out and reassemble the cabinetry would be on the order of several thousand dollars. Still, it is something to consider.
I could add more solar, but it would mean an arch and I don't want it on full time. I don't want it for races, day sails or in the slip. I can store my four 50 amp panels in the dock box and the three 22 watt flexible panels in the aft cabin. Works out well. I do notice that most of the serious cruisers in the 40'+ range have north of 400 watts solar.
I could add a wind generator into the mix and it might be a good source of energy replacement while the panels are not producing. However, the halyard-hoisted ones are no longer available and the guys tell me that 5 amps is about what I should expect in real world conditions. Of course, the wind does not blow all night either.
So maybe I should have put the damn generator in to begin with? No, the service manager was right. Most of the time I don't really need it. Increasing the battery bank gets me nothing but more weight. So, I'm guessing that a battery replacement would make life better for a while and I'll keep considering other options. But, I'm not going to go back to block ice and shut off the freezer!
It used to be so simple in my first four boats: take everything to the boat in coolers. Get good, clear block ice, fill up the frig with the ice and the food, put something on top of the food and shut the lid. This would generally last for four days to a week depending upon all the usual factors. We would listen to the VHF (when there was VHF!), stereo (when there was stereo!) and sometimes a little TV (there was TV!), and use lights when we weren't using our oil lamps. It was rare the battery required charging and the first two boats had outboards anyway and had no way to recharge.
So then to the first boat with refrigeration in a well insulated box. It had a freezer but we didn't use it generally. At first we continued using the ice and with occasional use of the refrigeration, we got a week out of it. Later, it became nearly impossible to get good clear block ice, and the chipped packed stuff is awful. So, we used the refrigeration twice a day for about four hours. I ran the engine every other day for an hour. Stock dumb alternator.
OK, so then I learned from the AB refrigeration technicians that it is more energy efficient to have the refrigeration turned on full time and simply turn down the thermostat to save amps. I also changed the batteries out to Group 31's and added a separate start battery.
So, now in 1999 I moved up to my 1994 Hunter 40.5. When I recommissioned it, the service manager talked me out of a generator after pointing out that my use would not require it and it would just add weight and complexity. He suggested two banks of golf cart batteries, a Balmar 100 amp alternator, smart regulator & inverter/charger. The 40.5 has a separate large frig & freezer, each with its own compressor. The boat also had a nice TV, video tape player and all the other amenities of the era.
Soooo, the first thing I find is the power draw is such that I need to run the engine twice a day. The prior owner did not use the freezer as a freezer much, but my wife finds it very useful since we use the boat for long periods both at and away from the dock. Thanks to early discussions in the Hunter Forums and Rich Stidger, I learned about adding gasketing to better seal the lids which made a noticeable improvement.
Then I purchased three flexible 22 watt solar panels which I put on the bimini at anchor. This permitted me to cut down the engine run time to once a day, but still needing the occasional two. I was relying on my panel volt meter. I learned from these forums how inaccurate it could be, so I installed a Heart battery monitor. It really was off!
At a Yanmar seminar, I found out how damaging it can be to run the engine with only the alternator load, at least frequently. By this time, the full-time seasonal live aboards in the anchorage had changed to using portable generators, but they were very noisy. Then the Honda EU series came out and I purchased one.
The EU2000 works great. It takes between an hour and two per day depending on the season (remember the solar panels) and our energy appetite. However, it does drone on and I would like to cut down the run time. So, I changed all the lights (including running lights) to LCD. I changed the TV's to energy efficient ones (although we rarely watch anything more than an hour and usually less).
More recently, I added four fifty watt solar panels for a total of 266 watts of solar and a MPPT charge controller. I just came back from the island after eight days in the anchorage and this is what I found:
1. The significant solar charge was limited to 10:00 - 4:00 PM (Southern California August). Even with semi-articulating panels, it fell off rapidly before or after.
2. The theoretical output is about 19 amps. I was hoping for 12. I got maybe 9-ish.
3. So, I was only putting back about 10-15 net amp hours during the day.
4. I used about 60 amps overnight without the frig & freezer being opened and nothing else on. Add to that about 30 during the other hours the panels are not providing power and I'm still an hour to an hour and a half to charge the batteries (500 amp hours) to 80% given a power share setting of 20 amps on the panel which produces 66 amps charge from the Honda.
OK, so I'm still not happy.
So now what? The first thing I thought was that the batteries are getting weak-kneed since they are just wrapping up three years and that's about all I have ever gotten. So, I brought a good 130 amp load tester since I didn't own one and I'm sure not going to haul the batteries out to be tested. I'll test them before my next trip and replace if necessary.
What else? Well, the obvious thing is to better insulate, or re-insulate the frig & freezer. I already replaced the frig unit with a Sea Frost slim holding plate system and it's more energy efficient. I suspect the foam insulation has gotten damp and that will significantly reduce the insulation value. I'm thinking of going with closed cell foam which would keep moisture intrusion away but the cost of labor to tear out and reassemble the cabinetry would be on the order of several thousand dollars. Still, it is something to consider.
I could add more solar, but it would mean an arch and I don't want it on full time. I don't want it for races, day sails or in the slip. I can store my four 50 amp panels in the dock box and the three 22 watt flexible panels in the aft cabin. Works out well. I do notice that most of the serious cruisers in the 40'+ range have north of 400 watts solar.
I could add a wind generator into the mix and it might be a good source of energy replacement while the panels are not producing. However, the halyard-hoisted ones are no longer available and the guys tell me that 5 amps is about what I should expect in real world conditions. Of course, the wind does not blow all night either.
So maybe I should have put the damn generator in to begin with? No, the service manager was right. Most of the time I don't really need it. Increasing the battery bank gets me nothing but more weight. So, I'm guessing that a battery replacement would make life better for a while and I'll keep considering other options. But, I'm not going to go back to block ice and shut off the freezer!
