JDCAVE
Guru
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2011
- Messages
- 2,905
- Location
- Canada
- Vessel Name
- Phoenix Hunter
- Vessel Make
- Kadey Krogen 42 (1985)
We have 435 watts of Panels, wired in parallel to a Blue sky energy MPPT controller. The house bank is 1125 AH, 10 Trojan 105's. The starter bank is isolated from the house bank with a Blue Seas ACR which is switched to off most of the time--the starter bank has its own dedicated charger and monitoring of the bank voltages indicated it was fully charged when at anchor. The power demands are typically 200-250 AH per day, depending on the outside temperature. The inverter is switched to off unless we want to use an AC appliance or lighting.
The 2017 cruising season:
May 18-August 29, 2,239 NM with 79 days off shore power. Most of that time was north of Cape Caution, with overcast skies or rain. Genset run-time was17 hours or about 13 minutes per day on average. It could have been about 2 hours less, but we ran the washer and dryer once when at anchor. I can only recall a couple of occasions when the SOC was less than 85%. I should add that I wasn't particularly anal about NOT using the genny. If I was "ultra eco" I could have ran it less. Before solar, we typically ran the genny 1.5 hours twice a day for a total of 3 hours and we never got the bank up past 90% when at anchor.
Yes, the battery bank is typically fully charged after a run and we travelled long distances this year. But we typically arrive at anchorages before 2:00 pm, so there is a considerable period when we are on solar power.
I consider the panels a worthwhile "investment" and they exceeded my expectations for success.
Jim
The 2017 cruising season:
May 18-August 29, 2,239 NM with 79 days off shore power. Most of that time was north of Cape Caution, with overcast skies or rain. Genset run-time was17 hours or about 13 minutes per day on average. It could have been about 2 hours less, but we ran the washer and dryer once when at anchor. I can only recall a couple of occasions when the SOC was less than 85%. I should add that I wasn't particularly anal about NOT using the genny. If I was "ultra eco" I could have ran it less. Before solar, we typically ran the genny 1.5 hours twice a day for a total of 3 hours and we never got the bank up past 90% when at anchor.
Yes, the battery bank is typically fully charged after a run and we travelled long distances this year. But we typically arrive at anchorages before 2:00 pm, so there is a considerable period when we are on solar power.
I consider the panels a worthwhile "investment" and they exceeded my expectations for success.
Jim
I bought $20 of angle aluminum and pre-drilled then cut off 1.5" pieces with a chop saw. I bolted 2 pieces together in a "U" with washers and nylock nuts, bolted these to the 4 corners and then glued to the pilothouse roof with 4200. Prior to positioning I put blocks of wood in place so the panel supports would rest 1/8" above the roof so all the 4200 wouldn't squish out. They are solid 2 years later. I figure if I have to rebed every 5 or so years, that's fine.
