Solar Vent placement

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alllrite

I've just purchased a solar vent for my 26s. It occured to me that placement could create some problems; such as drawing gas fumes into the cabin. So what would be the best location for a solar vent?
I'm also trying to figure out how big a battery I will need, any advice on how to calculate electrical needs would be appreciated.
thank you.
bruce
 
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Timo42

I put mine forward, nar the head...

can't be too careful ;D ,your fuel tank should be in an isolated compartment with it's own ventilation system, shouldn't be an issue. Hmmm, solar vent, battery, maybe I am reading this wrong... ;D Check the archives, many discussions on battery sizing. Tim
 
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seadaddler

Front Hatch

Try putting it in the front hatch away from fumes,also making
it draw outward will draw the air from inside the boat outward
with a vent or window in middle of boat will help draw any hot
or stale air out ward and draw in some fresh air and will draw
out any bad smell outward.
I have my solar vent in front hatch in the vee berth and works fine,
battery size you will need to add up your amp draw and than size up
your battery needs.
Nick
 
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Marcia

Solar Vent

My Nicro 24/7 solar vent came with a C cell rechargeable battery, but it was drained so low on the shelf before I bought it that I was not able to get it to recharge. I just put in a newly recharged battery and it's worked great ever since. I think the most common place is on top of a hatch, but I have mine at the bow of my PY23 and it works great there, plus it's low profile doesn't get in the way of anything. Added benny is it filled a leaky hole that was already there.
 
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johnrock

solar vent

About 15 years ago we installed two day/night solar vents. We placed one over the vee berth drawers and the second over the head. Both are set on bringing air in.
What I first noticed was that after KILLICK was 'closed' up for a week was how fresh she smelled compared to before.
One thing to be carefull of though is that under extreme conditions they do leak a little. (Hey afterall boats are floating Murphy's law)
 
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Ross

You must be sure that there are enough air leaks

in the boat to allow air in to replace the air blown out. I have two exhaust vent and two intake vents in the cabin and one of each in the lazerette.
 
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Clark

Battery sizing is not complicated; just tedious. Try this:

Make a list of everything that will run off your batteries. Do a little research on the items to see what their power consumption is. Using Power=CurrentxVoltage . . . . Power=Currentx12; solve for Current. Then, estimate how long each device will run (eg. anchor lights=12 hr.; cabin lights=5 hr., etc.). Multiply all the current values you have times the number of hours each item will run then add all that up. That is your current needs for one day. Now multiply that times the number of days away from shore power (battery charging). That will be your total current needs for an outing. Your battery then should be sized for 2x that quantity since you do not want to consume more than 50% of the available capacity from a battery. You did not mention whether you had solar or wind generation so . . . .
 
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Clark

Remember, all this is based on no charging capacity while away from dock.

One could help with recharge by running your engine with its alternator. If you have a Mac 26, just keep in mind that the outboard alternator is rated at a certain rpm; idling the engine does practically nothing to recharge batteries.
 
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Steve L

In and Out

I have two -- one is set to draw fresh air in on the port side in the afterberth. The second one is set to exhaust air out on the starboard side in the head.

Mine are Nicro solar units and I have yet to have them leak -- even in some really rough thunderstorms/wind/rain. And, the boat never gets musty, even after being gone for 3-4 weeks.

You'll like 'em.
 
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Ray T

solar vent

I had a solar vent that I installed on my cal 227. It was placed on the cabin top between the hatch and the mast under the boom vang.It was out of the way and I had no mildew, also the boat always smelled fresh even after being closed for a couple of weeks. Ray T
 
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alllrite

thank you, nice boat

thank you for your reply. You boat looks good.
 
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tcbro

Mine is in an acrylic hatch.

It was installed by the PO. I believe that the hatch is the simplest installation as there is no headliner or hidden wires to worry about when cutting. The hatch does present a security problem. All it takes to remove the vent is a good yank up. This leaves a 4" (at least in my case) hole in the hatch that somebody could easily reach their arm in and unlock the hatch to gain access to the interior of my boat.

My vent draws air out of the boat. I believe that the gaps around the companionway boards provide enough "intake area on their own but I also have the ability to "lock" the 2 small hatches under my dodger in a "cracked" position. This allows plenty of cross ventilation and my boat satys fairly fresh while we are gone.
 
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Geoffrey Kloster

Companion way?

I've seen it in the companion way slats and plan on putting mine there. (boat on the hard for 5 years; going in the water soon) The hatch/slat/door is tucked away when sailing so nothing to stub toes on or to break by a heavy crew. It can be fastened so security not a problem. Air will come in the dorades in the saloon and head and out the companionway. By the nature of the companionway doors multiples are easy so option of something other than the vent is open also. My boat is oriented bow north in it's slip so always good charging.

Geoff
 
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