Solar or Wind???

MrBill_FLL · Mar 5, 2014

AFAIK, most wind turbines don't produce power until winds are over 8knts or so, and mostly people anchor, in sheltered areas, so unless you are on the hook or in motion, solar is the way to go... plus the wind generators can be annoying and produce harmonics throughout the boat. -then there is the placement issue.

2) 6v batteries will Normally give you much more amps.

But tell us how you plan to use the boat? weekends, day sailing, or liveaboard, or cruising?

and welcome!

Sumners website should keep you busy.
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor/macgregor-index.html

Paul F · Mar 5, 2014

Would suggest holding off adding charging equipment for only weekend use. If you can plug in during the week and use an electric charger (recommend a trickle charger) you very well may not need additional battery charging.

JonnyQuest · Mar 5, 2014

Ditto what Paul says. You may find that how you use the boat and your electrical needs may turn out different than what you originally thought.

Sumner · Mar 5, 2014

TaZ_Izzy said:
....ok so 6v in parallel it is!!!...

First welcome to the site.

Next up is that you will want the 2 6 volt batteries in series so they produce 12 volts and I agree that is the way to go if you think you are going for longer trips in the future.

Also go solar. A lot less expensive and probably a lot better deal as Mr. Bill pointed out plus trying to mount a wind generator on our small boats would be a challenge.

I'd suggest starting with an 80 or 100 watt panel as they are inexpensive and a good controller that can handle more down the road if you start cruising and need power for more than a weekend. Also the solar will keep your batteries up without the need to plug into shore power between trips.

Good luck and as Bill mentioned I have a lot about the above on our site here....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor/outside-index.html

Sum

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Fernando Martinez · Mar 5, 2014

Hey Taz_Izzy,

Welcome to the site. I suggest going Solar for all the reasons mentioned by others. i have two 10W panels from Harbor Freight connected without a regulator to a deep cycle 12 V battery group 27; i've had this setup for the past 3 years on my Mac22 and it has not overcharged the battery and has kept the battery ready for each weekend trips. I use the stereo, lights and electronics generously,, oh also use a CPAP to sleep at night, and have not experienced an issue for 3 days/2 nights outings. My worst case scenario would be that i would have to pull start my 9.9 Johnson instead of electic start. I'm in Miami/Key Largo area so there is plenty of sun as in PR. My solar panels are mounted on a stainless steel pipe arch on the back of the boat, perhaps a bit of an overkill however i use it for a secondary VHF antenna and my nav light.

Oh BTW I had the best "Pastelitos de Carne" in Bayamon!! :dance:

Best regards,

Fernando

Izzy · Mar 5, 2014

Welcome to the group. These guys have a lots of great information.

JonnyQuest · Mar 5, 2014

Fernando Martinez said:
...oh also use a CPAP to sleep at night, and have not experienced an issue for 3 days/2 nights outings. Fernando

Fernando,
How do you have your 110v cpap machine hooked up? Through a basic 12v cigarette lighter type inverter? Thanks,

JQ

Admiral · Mar 5, 2014

Welcome to the site. These guys are great help.

I was going to ask the same question and pondering what way to go. Thanks for asking and thank you guys for the input.

StinkBug · Mar 5, 2014

FWIW, I generally use my boat for weekend trips. All my lights are LED, and pretty much the only electronics are the GPS and various phone/tablet chargers plugged into cigarette lighters in the cabin. I have one small 12v car battery that I stole from an old toyota I got rid of and so far I have never had it die on me during a trip, including a couple 3 day weekend trips to Catalina.

If all you're doing is weekend trips I think 2 batteries and a charging system is way overkill. I recently added a 12v charging cord that connects to a port on my outboard, but I wouldn't have bothered if my motor didn't have that feature on it.

centerline · Mar 6, 2014

and my opinion is..... (2) 6v batts and at least a 60watt solar panel is NOT overkill.... the 2 batts maybe a bit more than you need right now, but if you have the money to do it, do it good the first time so you dont have to upgrade later... so go with the 100w panel also.
its always more expensive to do it over at a later date just to get what you really want...

you may be planning for weekends now, but in 6 months it may be 4-5 days, or longer sometimes. who knows what you may want to do in the future, but one thing about a well installed solar set up, providing the boat is sound and in good repair, a good solar charging system will add somewhat to the value of the boat. or it can very easily be taken off and used on your new upgrade boat... you wont lose by installing a good strong system the first time.

its always comforting to know you can hang out as long as you want AWAY from the dock, and not have to ever worry about power consumption... and if you trailer to a spot that has no dock power, your solar set up will take care of you...

myself, I am not much of a dock lover, so on my 25 I have (1) 12v battery with a 130watt panel, and we can run all the lights, have the ipod on the stereo going all night, and use the computer for several hours everynight, and monitor the VHF.... I dont ever worry about power consumption, because I know when morning comes, I will recharge even on a cloudy day..... (I know I am sacrificing my single battery with the deep discharges, but it doesnt happen often. (2) 6v's would be better)

and it charges fast enough that even if I ran the single battery down pretty low the night before, I can run all my nav equipment and the autopilot as soon as I am ready to sail in the morning....AND bring my battery to full charge before the sun goes down, all without worry or wonder....

when I first bought the boat, I tried the charging up all week, and then running the battery completely dead a few times on the weekends, and personally, I didnt like it.

so for an investment of $450 I bought a system that works like magic to keep the battery amped up, and should last 15-20 years....

so in my opinion, its not overkill... its proper planning and getting the most stress free enjoyment out of your boat that time will allow.... yea, it does cost another few dollars up front, but its absolutely worth it if you are going to spend a lot of time on the boat away from the dock.

Admiral · Mar 6, 2014

I have a question about installation. I have some solar panels around that I may be able to use. How should a panel be added? Does one need to install a diode in line? What do the "controllers that are on retail sites do?

What is the least expensive way to go and what is the best way?

Maine Sail · Mar 6, 2014

Admiral said:
I have a question about installation. I have some solar panels around that I may be able to use. How should a panel be added? Does one need to install a diode in line? What do the "controllers that are on retail sites do?

What is the least expensive way to go and what is the best way?

Controllers limit the voltage to a safe level. In any system capable of actually doing anything useful they are necessary.

When actively using the boat you may never get the voltage to the danger zone without a controller but if left unattended you can pretty easily cook your batteries. Controllers have blocking diodes built into them..

Many sites out there give blatantly incorrect advice on "controller-less solar". The West Marine Advisor is absolute rubbish on this subject. Their advice on this is so far off the mark that it is simply laughable.

Course I suppose they just want to sell more batteries at a 195% mark up, beyond other retailers, selling the same exact battery. (BTW that WM mark up on batteries is not a joke and is accurate data based on a Group 31 deep cycle.)

...

Suffice it to say that if you have a panel that is actually capable of "recharging" you will need a controller. Don't buy a "shunting" or "on/off" controller you want a PWM at the very least.

Mick · Mar 6, 2014

Solar

I have been using a solar panel from Harbor freight , about $50, and it has kept my 12 volt battery on the Mac 26 topped off . It starts the 40hp Honda without a problem. I just leave it sitting on the seat when we are not using the boat, and store below during sailing.

centerline · Mar 6, 2014

Admiral said:
I have a question about installation. I have some solar panels around that I may be able to use. How should a panel be added? Does one need to install a diode in line? What do the "controllers that are on retail sites do?

What is the least expensive way to go and what is the best way?

the least expensive way to go is to build the system yourself.... you can buy kits, but the kit price is nearly double the cost of buying a controller and a panel separately....

you only need a panel, the charge controller, and the wire.... dont cheap out on the wire. get heavy wire so you keep the resistance loss to a minimum.
you also need mounting brackets.... and a larger panel should have a support/protector frame around it.

have patience and shop hard and you can find fairly good quality stuff at an affordable price.

do a "search" on this site for solar... you will find more information than you have time to read... Sumner and Maine Sail both have a lot of enlightening information posted regarding solar power...

Maine Sail · Mar 6, 2014

I suppose I should have given this link earlier:

Installing A Small Marine Solar System

willsnow · Mar 6, 2014

here's a 100w solar kit with pwm controller, output gauge, and wiring for $240. 100w is more than most of us need - especially in the sun-rich waters of puerto rico. and if you're looking at a 225ah battery bank, (2 trojan t105's) you should be able to power led lights, monitor vhf and play a stereo for about 3 days without going below a 50% charge with zero recharging. (discharging below a 50% charge dramatically lowers the life span of your bank)

http://www.solarblvd.com/Solar-Pane...anel-Kit-with-FREE-SHIPPING/product_info.html

Solar or Wind???

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