Hunter 49 Solar Panel Installation Advice

[artboas]

Yes 14 gph is correct.

The previous owner did the install on the water maker, although I do like the setup and would do it the same way. The existing water manifold is under pressure, which the water make would not like. The "manifold " from the water maker is just a shutoff valve that can connect to a hose from any of the 3 tanks.

Sometimes the water tank gauges can be a bit flakey, requiring a tap on the sender to reset the float which can lead to unexpected surprises. With 3 tanks, I like keeping them separated so that I know I always have one tank full on reserve. I have on occasion allowed the water maker to fill 2 tanks at once, but I prefer to fill them and use them one tank at a time making it simpler to monitor water usage and water maker output.

With respect to the water manifold.
I think you are referring to the manifold under the waste bin in the galley.
There is another manifold under the floor just forward of the genset. It is where all 3 water tanks supply the intake to the water pump.
I’m the same way, the tanks self level through this manifold. In other words, if you fill one tank, all 3 will end up being filled.
I’m curious how your PO valved it so that he could selectively fill one tank. Perhaps you are thinking that the PO installed the manifold that was already installed by Hunter, and he simply tapped into the pipe between the manifold output, and the water filter input. That would make sense to me.
I did something a little different, but similar, on my boat.
I routed the stern dock water line so that it can actually fill the tanks by turning on a valve. So, I don’t need to take a hose to my deck fills any more.,Very convenient.
So, your water maker is 12v, not 120v. My understanding is that a large percentage are, in fact, 120 volt.
Obviously, it’s simpler, in many respects, to have a 12v system, but you need a good charging source; which you have.
How many hours does it take to fill all 3 tanks?

 

[Laid-back]

Other than being lowered from a helicopter, how do you access the wind generator? Must be a little challenging.
ratio-wise what percentage of the overall power comes from the solar panels?
Have you thought of getting wheel covers made? I have them on mine, and it’s worked out quite well.
If you’re looking to recover them, boatleather.com has terrific options for this.
The original covers were not all that attractive, and didn’t weather well.
On Lake Ontario, neither solar or wind make any sense. I’m at a yacht club dock most of the time, and if I’m cruising for 3-4 weeks, the genset is more than perfect. The amount of fuel it consumes is negligible.

-I climb onto the davits to access the wind generator, there is good access from the sten pulpit seats. I remove the generator from the pole and store it inside for hurricane season.

- The wind generator guage displays the power as it is generated, but does not provide the amount generated over time, so it is difficult to assess the percentage of power it contributes. I plan to install some type of metering for this. The output is highly variable based on wind speed but is very useful when there is no solar output. The wind generator would keep the batteries topped up enough overnight so that I could run the 120v espresso machine off the inverter in the morning without using the generator. We would go weeks without running the generator, except to run the washing machine. As the winds died down in the spring, I would have to either wait a bit for the solar to do some recharging, or run the generator to make the morning coffee.

- For your circumstances, you may not need solar, but for full time cruising, I wouldn’t be without it. Our generator sprang a leak in a cooling pipe and was out of commission for a while and without solar we would have had no power, so it is a critical backup.

- Canvas wheel covers are probably a good idea, although I would still store the wheels below for hurricane season.

 

[Laid-back]

With respect to the water manifold.
I think you are referring to the manifold under the waste bin in the galley.
There is another manifold under the floor just forward of the genset. It is where all 3 water tanks supply the intake to the water pump.
I’m the same way, the tanks self level through this manifold. In other words, if you fill one tank, all 3 will end up being filled.
I’m curious how your PO valved it so that he could selectively fill one tank. Perhaps you are thinking that the PO installed the manifold that was already installed by Hunter, and he simply tapped into the pipe between the manifold output, and the water filter input. That would make sense to me.
I did something a little different, but similar, on my boat.
I routed the stern dock water line so that it can actually fill the tanks by turning on a valve. So, I don’t need to take a hose to my deck fills any more.,Very convenient.
So, your water maker is 12v, not 120v. My understanding is that a large percentage are, in fact, 120 volt.
Obviously, it’s simpler, in many respects, to have a 12v system, but you need a good charging source; which you have.
How many hours does it take to fill all 3 tanks?

As I mentioned, "manifold" is a bit of an exaggeration. The water maker output line runs to the access area above the forward water tank on the port side. Small 1\4 inch fill hoses from each tank are also run to this area. It is simply a matter of diverting the water maker output to one of these 3 hoses, or to a bypass hose that I can put in a bucket to ensure there is a proper flow from the water maker.

The 12 volt water maker is nice because it runs from the batteries which can be charged by solar, wind, generator, or main engine, which provides a lot of redundancy. A 120v water maker can only be run from the generator, unless an inverter is used which would require a lot of power.

We would run the water make every 2 or 3 days for 2 or 3 hours to keep up with our normal usage. I would usually run it at noon while solar is at peak output and would still get the batteries back to 100%. The generator would only needed if there are a few cloudy days with no wind. It is nice not to have to be concerned with scrimping on water.

Total time to fill all tanks (two 72 gal and one 56 gal =200 US gallons) would take about 15 hours.

 

[HandsOnTech]

Further to our earlier discussion on where to locate the solar charger:

The Victron I bought does not come with a battery temperature sensor. I suspect one may be available as an option, but the documentation is not clear. The user manual does point out that if the controller is located in a cooler environment than the batteries, it may overcharge them. Charge rate should diminish as temperature increases.

 

[Zencra]

So, my big question is “why?”
I’m guessing your boat has the FP generator, which when run for about 1 hour a day will completely charge the batteries.
I looked at putting panels on my boat, but couldn’t justify it being on the Great Lakes.
Now, if your boat is in the Caribbean, etc., then that’s a different story.
I’ve only seen one other 49 with solar panels.
Don’t forget, that by lying them flat on top of the framework, you aren’t aiming them at the sun, (except at noon), and this greatly reduces efficiency.
So, I’d take a serious look at if the excercise is going to be efficient, and meet your power needs.

 

[leo310]

Our location is Vancouver island and we use solar panels with no problems, we don't use shore power from March to November. When sailing we'll anchor for 3 weeks with no power problems, batteries are always charged . BTW we don't run the engine while at anchor so I can't see not having solar even on the great lakes as its free power.

 

[Zencra]

Yes we're seeing around 4kw per day. Were away for around 8 years or more so running generator isn't something we want to do it's purely back up.
We fill up our diesel about once a year.

 

[JR19454]

Our water maker is a Spectra Catalina 340 Z that runs off of 12 volt producing 14 gpm. The main unit is installed under the forward starboard settee shown in the photo along with 2 boxes of filters and parts. The output runs to a small manifold where I can choose which of the 3 water tanks to fill. The fresh water flush and prefilters are mounted in the forward area of the central bilge above the seacocks. A nice feature of the Hunter 49/50 is that there is lots of room for everything. I also included a closeup of the frame system supporting the solar panel, wind generator and davit system. Other than food we were very comfortably self sufficient during months of lockdown in Martinique.

View attachment 185476View attachment 185477

Thank you for posting. Very interesting set up.

 

[JR19454]

The pictures really help when thinking about my install. Thank you for taking the time to send them.

Daze -

I'm really interested in hearing how this worked out for you. I have a 2014 MH 50 and plan to install 3 or 4 large (390W) panels for much the same reason (US East Coast and south, starting full-time in Fall 2026). Considering a solid bimini from the arch aft, with the panels integrated. Would love to see your design.

 

[Daze]

Daze -

I'm really interested in hearing how this worked out for you. I have a 2014 MH 50 and plan to install 3 or 4 large (390W) panels for much the same reason (US East Coast and south, starting full-time in Fall 2026). Considering a solid bimini from the arch aft, with the panels integrated. Would love to see your design.

I have not installed a water maker yet. Are you looking for info my solar panel installation?

 

[JR19454]

I have not installed a water maker yet. Are you looking for info my solar panel installation?

Yes, your solar array.

 

[Daze]

Here are some pics of my installation back in the spring of '21. I installed four 200 watt panels. All bimini connections are riveted with stainless rivets in place of the set screws (at least one per connection) which I did post assembly and after these pictures were taken. I mounted the panels as far back as I could to avoid shading and they remain outside of my winter cover. The wiring runs down the outside of the port davit support and then into stern through the bottom of the boat up to the nav table area. I installed my solar controller and a Blue Sea on/off switch below the nav table on the removable panel insert. From there it is a short run to the house bank. The install has been in place for over 4 years with no issues.

 

[JR19454]

Here are some pics of my installation back in the spring of '21. I installed four 200 watt panels. All bimini connections are riveted with stainless rivets in place of the set screws (at least one per connection) which I did post assembly and after these pictures were taken. I mounted the panels as far back as I could to avoid shading and they remain outside of my winter cover. The wiring runs down the outside of the port davit support and then into stern through the bottom of the boat up to the nav table area. I installed my solar controller and a Blue Sea on/off switch below the nav table on the removable panel insert. From there it is a short run to the house bank. The install has been in place for over 4 years with no issues.

Very nice looking install. Thanks for the details.

I have the same rear davit arch and may do something very similar. My panels are a fair bit bigger, so I'm still considering a solid bimini from the Mainsail Traveler Arch aft.

 

[jssailem]

That is a lovely piece of hardware. I can imagine sailing in fair weather, enjoying being on the water, and having all of that electrical support.

That sailboat has a lot of "freeboard." Even with the sails down, the boat is going to be pushed strongly by the wind. This will influence the boat's movement while attempting to dock, and cause the boat to careen out of control in big seas and storm winds. Breaking waves over the stern are likely to carry the panels away.

As we add to our boats, we need to consider what types of conditions we might experience during sailing and adjust our plans accordingly.

 

[tkwhalen]

I put my controller under the floor boards hanging vertical on the forward end of the bilge. One hole through the board it is mounted on and from there it was easy to connect it to the batteries. Not in town for at least 2 weeks but can send pictures later this month if you are interested. My only problem running the wire was the little hole in the plate inside the arch. Again if you are interested in hearing more let me know. Good Luck