Holy LED Batman!

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Nov 22, 2008
3,562
Endeavour 32 Portland, Maine
I've seen the numbers but they didn't really sink in until I got the battery monitor going.

I've converted all the cabin lights that are normally on during an evening with Ancor LED bayonet bulbs. I figured the others, like the head, weren't on long enough to justify the expense.

I just turned on all the LED cabin lights and the battery monitor was showing .65 amps. Turned on just one of the unconverted fixtures and the amp draw jumped right up to about 3.75. That does it. I'm going to replace all the others as well. I'm going to need that juice to run my laptop so I can send you all pictures and reports of my Canada cruise this summer.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,709
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
I've seen the numbers but they didn't really sink in until I got the battery monitor going.

I've converted all the cabin lights that are normally on during an evening with Ancor LED bayonet bulbs. I figured the others, like the head, weren't on long enough to justify the expense.

I just turned on all the LED cabin lights and the battery monitor was showing .65 amps. Turned on just one of the unconverted fixtures and the amp draw jumped right up to about 3.75. That does it. I'm going to replace all the others as well. I'm going to need that juice to run my laptop so I can send you all pictures and reports of my Canada cruise this summer.
I see, like many who get a battery monitor, you're now addicted....:D:D
 

DanM

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Mar 28, 2011
155
Catalina 30 Galveston Bay
Roger,

That's the great thing about the battery monitor. It's not so much whether or not you have LED lighting or an LED anchor light but it's all about how YOU use the capacity YOU have available.

Prior to installing my Victron monitor I did an electrical survey with a Fluke 23 mulitmeter (which is no easy task by the way!) and I was convinced that I needed to get an LED anchor light right away. Well, I put it off forever it seems and now that I've installed the Victron monitor I see that I never really draw my house bank down below 75% and there really isn't any great return on investment for me in converting to LED on how I currently use my boat.

Heck, I was even concerned, after anchoring out for a few nights, that the Victron wasn't really showing me "reality". I checked everything I could possibly check and then though, well, if my use of available amp hours is really like this than my house bank (lead acid golf cart batteries) should still be in excellent shape. I recently tested their specific gravity and they still tested like new, sixteen months after installing them!

For me, the Victron monitor was part of an experiment to see if I could get away with inexpensive lead acid 6vdc golf cart batteries, incandescent lights and my boat sitting on a Xantrex charger most of the time. Turns out it is an inexpensive way to go for a guy at a dock with shore power, a small alternator (35ah) and who only overnights on the boat about twice a month.

It's all about how You use the boat, and without the monitor, I think, you just don't know.

Glad to hear you've got it all squared away. Email me if you have any menu questions about it, I've spent a lot of time communicating with Victron and took good notes!

DanM.
 
Jul 17, 2009
94
Endeavour/Chrysler E-32/C-22 swimming pool
I've replaced all my lights with LED and even running an invertor to watch news plus charge computer, hand held GPS and VHF we have never had a power proplem.
just 1 135w solar panel
 

Faris

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Apr 20, 2011
232
Catalina 27 San Juan Islands
Well, I have yet to convert to LED on my boat (it's on my list), but I do a lot of caving each summer, where lighting and battery longevity is all about life and death. I know that the batteries that used to last me a day now last a full season since I switched to LED. Also, bulb failure is virtually unheard of.
 

WayneH

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Jan 22, 2008
1,095
Tartan 37 287 Pensacola, FL
Roger, I had a 15 amp circuit breaker on my cabin lights and couldn't run all the lights without tripping the breaker. We converted everything but the head to LEDs including the reading spotlights. Running 1 amp with all the lights on means I have power to spare from my solar panel now. Which may delay or even stop the purchase of a wind generator. We'll see after the admiral decides whether or not to get refrigeration.
 
Nov 22, 2008
3,562
Endeavour 32 Portland, Maine
couldn't run all the lights without tripping the breaker.
I was amazed to look at the battery monitor after turning on my fuel polishing pump and see less draw than one of my remaining dual bulb light fixtures. Electricity is fairly efficient at moving things but heating up a wire to make light is wasteful. I can pump 20 gallons of fuel in an hour with half the battery drain of two light bulbs.

I was never able to turn all my lights on before either.
 
Jan 27, 2008
3,086
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
Roger,
How much energy does it take to run the battery monitor and is that included in the measurement that the unit provides? I'd hate to have you find out you saved all this juice just to squander it running the meter that tells you how wonderful everything is.
 
Nov 22, 2008
3,562
Endeavour 32 Portland, Maine
How much energy does it take to run the battery monitor ...?
I was a little disappointed to find out that it is a parasitic load and always on, even when the battery switch is off. However, I have a little 12 volt emergency lighting battery I use for testing things. I left it on the boat for several days without running anything else and the Victron didn't show a .01 volt drop in voltage.

The Victron is a tiny little circuit board and an LED display that turns off it's backlight after a few minutes. Considering how long watches and other LED devices run with those tiny, tiny, little batteries, I don't think the load of the monitor is even measurable on two group 24's.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,709
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Roger,
How much energy does it take to run the battery monitor and is that included in the measurement that the unit provides? I'd hate to have you find out you saved all this juice just to squander it running the meter that tells you how wonderful everything is.
It's a 4mA draw or 0.004A so it draws just 0.672A per week or less than the self discharge rate of flooded batts connected to nothing in a warm environment....
 

njsail

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Feb 18, 2010
216
Bavaria Ocean 40 CC Forked River
Regarding useful lifespan of LED's. Not all LED's are created equal. Heat is the ultimate enemy. After running your LED check how hot the light is to see if you have a potential burnout problem. For the geeks in the group I attached a projecting the useful lifespan of LED's URL just for fun (enjoy). http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/solidstate/cr_projectingUsefulLife.asp

I converted to all LED's in the cabin and still get a kick out of turning them all on and watching the tri-metric monitor just barely drop. It's also cool to know when the sun comes up the solar will start to peak the monitor and recharge. but I do keep a couple spares in the desk just in case.

....time to go sailing.
 
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