How to manage electrical power on a sailboat using NO fossil fuels!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 พ.ค. 2020
- We now have so much solar that we can run our air conditioners off of the batteries! This video was originally going to be about the new solar power setup on our Leopard 46 catamaran, Clarity. But the more we dig into it, the more we realized we really needed to talk about all of the other charging systems and how they work together to allow us to stay off-grid indefinitely.
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Nick's Books and Audiobooks:
Get Her on Board is about getting that significant other to buy into this cruising nonsense. People seem to like it. All proceeds go to our dog Sugar.
Audiobook: www.audible.com/pd/B00CIE9I1I...
Book:
www.amazon.com/dp/0578057298/...
Live on the Margin is about making money on the go trading stocks and options. I co-wrote it with Pat Schulte of Bumfuzzle. People seem to like that one too. All proceeds donated to our boat.
Audiobook: www.audible.com/pd/B00CMCGHPQ...
Book:
www.amazon.com/dp/0578116642/...
Audiobooks:
Bumfuzzle - Just out Looking for Pirates.
You know these guys, and now you know me, so have a listen.
www.audible.com/pd/B00CWJISRE...
Bound for Distant Seas, by James Baldwin
James is the real deal and this his story of adventure aboard a small, simple boat.
www.audible.com/pd/B015HQBDWU...
Future: "Hot tub" 😂
Often it takes me a couple viewings to grasp all the tech talk when it comes to electricity, but Nick always does it in a way an electrically challenged person like me can begin to understand. Thanks guys ❤️🤙
Thanks Curt!
@@TheOKellys full transparency, I had to watch both episodes of "Top Secret" four times each trying to grasp the details. This video was a more simplistic breakdown 👍
@@TheOKellys The O'Kelly's Im wondering why... you would ditch your generator when Top Secrets your boat envy... why not take the leap... ditch (sell) your diesel drive engines for electric... upgrade you battery bank (Tesla powerbanks) & keep the genset to power you electric drives for longer power cruising... you need to talk to you friend Rean... My thoughts are for 2 x 10kw edrives to run half power for cruising off the genset & tap into the batteries for full power for emergency sutuations that need all the push... then youve got instant quiet drive for all other sailing & docking etc... gotta do it sooner or later... no regrets :-?
@The O'Kelly's I'd like your thoughts on Errol's question too. Cost is likely one reason, but if you had to re-power Clarity, would you go that route (or would Nick miss engine maintenance? ;) New to your channel and enjoying it.
@@Errol.C-nz @Carl B. the technology for long passage electric motors just isn't there yet. Hence the reason Rean from "Top Secret" switched out two of his four electric motors back to diesel ...
Nick, just listened to the audio book, "Bound for Distant Seas." I was surprised at the end of the book to see, Nick O'Kelly (Narrator). I thought, "Hey I know that guy!" Great job BTW!
Thanks Charles! I met James in Brunswick years later by coincidence. Very cool guy
Great breakout of your power grid and how it benefits your boat. As well, that was a great visual representation of your power grid. These are the types of videos I am looking for and how things are configured and gives me great insight into how to rig our Cat. Be safe and fair winds.
Loved this video! Great simple explanation of a complex topic.
This is an extremely well done report on solar panels and all the components needed to use them! This had to take a bunch of time and effort to put together. Thank you both!!
Wow I can't believe just how much I wait for these videos than you guys so much
Well done. One of the best explanations ive heard yet.
Great information, explaining how it works so anyone can understand it, you’re always so good at that. It’s fun to see the systems that keep clarity moving and comfortable.
Thanks for another great video
Timmy
Thanks Timmy!
Who on earth would ‘dislike’ such an informative segment?!
I have my suspicions and have hired a team of investigators. We plan on leaving nasty notes in their lunchboxes. Lol
By far the very best power explanation for a cruiser. Thank you for all the effort that goes into these video. Awesome.
Agree. Concise and very well informed.
Really enjoying watching the easy conversations giving quality advice. Keep it up and congrats
What a creative way to visualize electrical use. Nice work 👍
Thanks for explaining your power system. You certainly simplified the process. Cheers 🍻
Excellent tutorial on going green and giving the generator the boot! You have everyone pumped up!
Thinking about going on a 4 year ride around the world, ona catamaran, looking at several youtubers I must say you guys are the most straight to the point of everyone else. Keep up the great job :D
How's this plan going?
Another excellent video - clear, concise, and informative. Thanks Nick & Megan!
Thank you!
extremely useful demonstration...wish there was more like this. thx
Great info and delivery as always! Thanks!!
GREAT video Nick!! Thank you! Love your set up!
Great information guys, thanks so much for sharing your time, experience and expertise. It really helps, especially when we are looking at options for our boat 👍👍👍
Thanks Allan. Appreciate the kudos!
Fantastic video. Best explanation of solar I've seen yet.
Good video man, like how everything is well organized and explained
Nice video. Lovely use of what I hope was iced tea to demonstrate.
best presentation i've seen re power consumption and resources - good job
Great job explaining your power distribution system!
Thank you for such an awesome explanation. I always enjoy your videos and appreciate you taking the time to share.
What I like of your channel guys, is it is informative, not a life telling channel like all others. I am 37yo and really considering in my 40s to try something like this, but i have absolutely no idea about boats...thanks for sharing good tips.
Hey I'm 36 and I'm thinking about starting the boat life next month. I'm in the same boat as you here. So what happened. Did you do it? What boat did you select? I'm thinking Capri 25 or something similar.
Thanks guys, very clear and informative.
Your so informative about so many things congratulations to you and thank you for sharing all your information for us all,your very appreciated by us all!
Very informative video. Well done. Few discussions on boat solar / power solutions are as straightforward and practical. I look forward to the next battery breakthrough to get the costs down so it is practical to run AC any time we want off solar.
Lithium ion battery performance is improving about 7% a year. Progress is very quick, but it's a bit slow to make its way to the marine sector. Electric drive will eventually be very common on boats and cars.
nick - thanks for this great vid, bravo and well done!
That was so helpful. Thank you.
Thank you for the information guys!!! Your experience and knowledge helps a lot!!! I hope that your eye is better nick and that your stress levels have come down :)
Thanks Tim. Yes, the eye is doing much much better thank you. I’m even more chill than before
Thanks Nick. Very insightful.
Thank you for this video, very informative!
@TheO'Kelly's THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO. I'm about to switch from condo living to boat life with my wife. We want to avoid dock time AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE because it's a hassle and costly. We are looking at a 50' Concord with tons of space for solar but have no idea about solar setups. We've researched, but the instructions made it more confusing... your video answered A LOT of of our questions.
Thanks man!
That’s awesome. Congrats on making the decision. The new tech with these charge controllers on a network....it’s brilliant. And I’m betting Elon pushes all of these companies to higher levels going forward. We live in amazing times.
Undisputedly,the best explanation about powering a boat with solar...
Thanks for the great videos. I rely on you guys for sensible information.
Good stuff! Thank you for sharing such meaningful data 🙂 Fair seas and following winds to you.
Great video. Y’all’s subject matter is important and Useful. Navigating through the solar boat field is a learning curve. I will be moving (4-5?) knots south on the FL portion of the ICW. FL has the more forgiving inland waterways. My boat will be 100% solar and maybe wind. Thanks! You’ll probably saved me a lot of R $ D time. Dan👍
Thanks for sharing realistic solar number experience. Lithium battery prices coming down. CHINS 300Ah LFP with BMS now ~ $1,100 on Amazon.
Once again, LOVE the education you provide. I plan on purchasing in the next 5-6 years so I have actually started an O’Kelly’s notebook full of all the brilliant info you provide. (Hint, I would rather buy your book then make my own). We have sailing advice, anchoring advice, power advice... see where I’m going with this? Lol. Love you guys, please keep it up. Stay safe and send us some video of sailing. We want to fantasize while being stuck at home.
That’s frigging awesome. And a huge compliment. Thank you. Hope we are still out there when you are!
Great stuff Nick! Very informative! 👌😎
Appreciate it Cliff!
Now that was the electrical overview I have been waiting for! Well done!😁💥👍. Very informative indeed! When you ditch your big gen set, consider a small Honda camping generator for another emergency power source. I like mine.
Yes we’ve had EU2000s in the past. Wonderful little unit. Highly recommend.
Subject presented brilliantly!
Great video guys! very informative 👏🏼 You guys have a ton of solar!! 🤩
Thanks! Plenty of juice! See you up north!
Thanks for sharing your solar power experience and all the explanations. I’m a newby to solar so this was a great video explainer. Well, now I know I won’t have a/c at anchor! 😋👍👍
Excellent Nick, thank you so much
Awesome man thank you. your video was a lot of help.
Lots of similarities between sailboats and RVs when it comes to Solar. Good video! 👍
Thanks a very good tutorial!
Great video guys, I while on the hard during this lockdown doing upgrades have decided on an all electric galley in my leopard 40. I have managed to find a perfect fit 2 plate induction cook top and and nice small electric oven. I have been using the oven and boy can I not wait to rip out the force 10 gas oven. This electric one is just so efficient and nice to use.
Like you i now have fitted 600 amp hours of LiFePo4 batteries and my victron multiplus and mppt controllers are all in sync nicely now.
And sunpower panels are the only way to go Nick. Very pricey in our part of the world but reliable and hardy.
I ironically have just fitted a small3,5 Iva genset to make sure if the weathers bad I can keep up with the electricity needs but hey as you say personal choices 😊
Great minds....think alike. Need to find a good cooktop, so let me know the brand and specs!
@@jamierodg1 Induction is much safer on a boat and required for commercial ships. It's also much faster and more efficient.
Another super nice video You both are awesome! Power utilization planning is an absolute must before building your system. As long as you have some other alternate source to help charge your battery bag in case something happens like too many days of clouds and rain today and I think you’re probably be just fine without the generator. Save the weight from the battery and add one or two more lithium ion batteries.
Have a great week and a great sail
They do have a lot of redundancy, even without a generator.
An alternative (no pun intended) might be to use larger alternators in place of the generator.
Though I’m not a “sailor” and most probably will never be (a typical famous last words of mine🙈) I espescially love watching your channel. Besides respecting what you accomplish, I appreciate a lot your honest, open attitude.
As a loyal viewer of yours please let me offer you a small yet important help as a veteran sound engineer:
Your video production’s quality is really good; considering the windy environment you’re almost always in your sound quality is also good (Don’t loose that dead cat! ; ) But I strongly suggest that you must ALWAYS engage a hi-pass eq/filter (a filter/eq setting which reduces the amplitude of very low frequencies starting from 50-60 hertz ) on post production (if not on mic, which yours may have one too) My impression from your videos till this recent one that your open air dialogues are a bit plagued by very low frequency rumble caused by wind which usually requires a decent (ie:expensive) set of loudspeakers/headphones to detect/hear.
Apparently, our ancestors relied more on their ability to hear the lions rumble from further away than seeing it from near!🙈
Whish you all the best luck&fun.
Than you very much for your kind labor🖖
Thanks for the tip! Appreciate the feedback. Will try that out. Gotta tell you, we barely get these out the door most weeks. Good audio is soooooo important....but also so time consuming to get right. We need an engineer on staff. It’s a real talent!
you guys are always on point with your information. +1! You guys are awesome.
You are awesome.
Thank you. Your information and experience save time.
Excellent explanation, thanks! I'm your newest subscriber!
Welcome so glad you found us!
Nice video Nick, solar only way to go. I have always kept my solar charging separate from start batteries. Never get any issues like that. The Wynns Catamaran is a similar setup to yours and they have proven that you can travel a long distance like that. Thanks again, Steve.
did not know the wynns had it set that way. I bet Kent at Just Cats had something to do with that. Good stuff. Thanks for the note.
So informative. Thankyou.
Great explanation, thanks
Loved that video. Thx
Very practical information, super.
You should have done that years ago, but lessons learned I know...I'm not a solar guru but your old config which you figured out was the controllers and thanks for teaching me wind is minimal production. So, on a boat I wouldn't do it. Over time I believe lithium is worth it and capacity loss is very minimal...Good vid guys!
I saw a boat that put the wind generator at the top of the mast which is an interesting idea for increasing power and reducing noise, but it might actually get overpowered there too often.
Excellent! This makes sense.
Nice presentation, thanks!
Thanks for sharing your electrical setup - very informative. We have an induction cooktop here in the house and love it. I've been wondering why we don't see more of them on cats, but I've also never paid much attention to their energy consumption, which I suspect is fairly large.
I like the new electric sailboat setups. No combustion engines (no fuel/oil), no solar panels, and no wind generators. Sailing along charges the batteries from the small dual propellers spinning freely.
Great as long as you are sailing. But if you stay at one place for a few days, you will run out of energy.
Great explanation. Curious as to what your RV power set-ups were like. Thank you!
I left you a message on Patreon. Thanks a bunch for this episode, it truly helps with planning.
Great video! Thank you very much. Can you say which Inverter you use to cope with this? (power etc)?
Brilliant information, thanks
great job with that solar setup
Thank you!
Well now it all makes sense thank you. Tried, tested and explained. But using your set up at a reduced size because of the differential in real estate between a mono and cat can you add an addendum that says an coffee maker will empty 1/27th of a batter per brew, an electric fry pan will flatten a fully charged battery in 3 hrs, a portable freezer will use a battery on its own in 16 hrs assuming it is a cloudy day. This knowledge let’s us (the ignorant) work backwards from the appliances we would like compared with the space available. But whatever you do your lessons are real, simple and really entertaining. Thank you.
Love the idea Brodie. It is so true that that’s how it ends up when you’re using here power hungry appliances.
Lots of info here. Thanks
Very nice presentation.
Ive seen "portions" of this from other video break downs you have done.. i love each and every one. Because this not only works for boats.. but ANY power needs for a place.. ie cabins, rv's etc.
People that live in homes, just look at your electric bill, it tells you your avg daily consumption (at least mine does). i typically run 1200 watts a day.. between central air and electronics i have not to mention my stove is electric.
i plan on moving to a boat full time in the future.. which this just preps me and shows me i can make a full solar /wind (i dont mind noise) and make it so i wont need fossil fuels for my power.
That interview you did with the owner of Top Secret was awesome. i love all your videos.. but im an i.t. geek.. and i have studied solar for a long time.. and this lets me geek out. lol.
Thanks for such great video content and the way you explain it with the tea and jug.
Awesome! Glad to hear you like the geeky stuff! Man solar is so cool
@@TheOKellys Yea an its getting better. Once they finish the full spectrum solar thats going to change the industry. Right now panels convert about 30 percent of the light they get.. imagine being able to do 80+ percent.. your 5-6 hour solar refill will be able to be 30 mins to an hour. because their is WAY more energy in an hr of sun than what we are currently able to capture with current solar tech.
@@N0body247 This is very much of interest for those of us in 100+ degree cities that may have roaming electrical shut off during wildfire season. We are not interested in a gas generator, but for health and safety, are starting to think about solar+lithium batteries to run A/C and refrigerator/freezers. I've heard someone also mention "soft-starters" in that kind of configuration ... needed to handle the load of starting the appliances on lithium/solar? I'll try to learn more about the full spectrum solar; thanks for the mention.
exploring life soft starters are capacitors that go before the electronic that holds the amount of charge to start that device. So if an air conditioner needs 1500 to start then drops to 800 to run you put let’s say a 2k cap to the power and when it needs that draw it pulls it from the cap and then the. Battery recharge the cap for the next use .
They do this in automotive as well for the start of the gas vehicle because it easier to pull from a cap vs battery on high draw
@@exploringlife738 (disclaimer: not an expert.. just watched a video) @gonewiththewynns does some really nice deep dive sinto "soft-start" stuff. Worth a look.
Good update and explanation. It really is a matter of doing a thorough analysis of both supply and demand (i.e., generation and loads). At the end of the day, it is a math problem and understanding what those loads are (both peak/starting and continuous run) is a big part of it, whether talking about a small sailboat of a big warship. You maximize supply and minimize demand to the extent you can. With older boats (and they don't have to be that old) things like replacing lighting with LED lighting can pay HUGE dividends in power loads. Some really odd things can be big electric loads...heating elements (hot water heater for example) can have huge continuous loads while running while big motors (winch for example) can have big peak/start load (current draw). The klystron/magnetron on a radar can be another big load. Older electronics also tend to draw more power than newer, solid state stuff (depends on how old your stuff is). An easystart can also reduce start loads for things like the A/Cs and sometimes make them options on batteries...
In planning an electrical configuration upgrade (as you are effectively doing/have done) it helps to map out each item on the boat and what it draws (simple multimeter and lots of switch flipping can help measure things out) and give you an accurate power budget planning input.
I am really curious about the going 100% solar option and dumping the generator idea. As you say it gets rid of weight, noise and fuel use but really removes surge capacity unless you use the engines and cross-connect your system. It would seem the air conditioners are the big units that right now you don't have the ability to run for extended periods without supplemental generating power you would lose if you get rid of the genset. Are you thinking you just don't use the a/c that much (and are not likely to in the future) or that you really can cover them with solar? Certainly that is a lot of weight (but capability) that makes the Leopards so comfortable that it would be a shame to lose them. Do you think it's possible to get enough solar generation to also accommodate using the A/C (at least on one side of the boat) most of the time? Maybe with the addition of one or two more Lithium-Ion batteries vice getting rid of one of yours? Curious about your thoughts and appreciate the video!
We don’t use the AC much when cruising. It’s not good for the interior to cool it down then warm it up over and over in the tropics. You get a lot of condensation and mold. But we can run AC off batteries. Future video topic.
@@TheOKellys Looking forward to it!
In case of need, you also have lots of vertical real estate on the sides to add some panels, and possibly flexible panels to add to the sails. But that’s some budget.
Fascinating how you can get so much power. I bet the output would go down if you visited the UK!
Thanks guys, we are refitting a 60ft steel mono (all the gear no idea) and are thinking about the best way to repower it, our genny is cooked and we are trying to suss out best solar/ controller set up to go with, this is super handy! Yeow
The most brilliant idea I heard for a generator is what Silent Yachts did: connect a standard marine engine only to an electric motor used only as a generator. They used the same type of AC electric motor and controller as their propulsion electric motors. (To be clear, the engine is not connected to a prop in any way, just the electric motor used as a generator.)
Even if you don't use electric propulsion, this is a great solution for a generator: standard marine engine parts, support and maintenance, plus highly efficient and relatively low cost electric generator. This should be much cheaper, better supported, more efficient than using a genset.
Electric motors for this purpose are widely available in the DIY electric vehicle market. They're a great value, efficient, modern, compact, reliable, etc.
Agree with everything the Kelly's recommended in this video. It's great advice.
Great video. HydroPower propellers should also be interesting to look at. Might it be a stand alone, or an electric motor with recoperation.
Another great episode! Just a suggestion. Keep the Northern Lights (best quality marine generator made in my opinion) until it breaks down and is too expensive to fix. You can use it for the really hot and humid times in the tropics for the air conditioner and to quickly get your batteries charged during long periods of low sunlight.
Might just do that. But we really really don’t need it and it weighs a lot. Stay tuned.
There are pros and cons on the each type of solar panels. Really depends on where you want to place them. Some drastically drop current and efficiency with a little shading. Really look into the types when buying solar panels. Gone with the winds done a good comparison video about solar panels.
Awesome video Nick! I understand all of the complicated little gold nuggets in this video because I'm building a house right now. I'm actually clearing the ground for a 16,600 watt array with 20kw of batteries. Living in the Inland Northwest makes it tough to get through the winter on solar!
Sounds massive. Very cool. Make a video so we can see it. Depending on where you are, wind might work for you too.
@@TheOKellys I never wanted to put a TH-cam video up unless it had a unique value. I feel like this one would. In Colville WA we only get 1.25hrs of solar insolation per winter day! So I feel like an "O'Kelly" style video might be very useful as a worst case scenario for people who may be looking into going off of the grid. We are going to be all electric too. No propane which is unusual for off gridders. I guess that heat pump water heaters are a thing now too! Maybe you need one on the boat??? I'll let you know when I get a video of it on TH-cam.
@@TheOKellys Oh, and wind power will be coming down the road. You're right on the money. We live on a mountain...
Clean 🌞 sun FTW!
Nice set top
Love your videos. I know absolutely nothing about sailing, but from watching your channel as well as a few others I am becoming very interested. have you considered using a hydro vane?
Had a hydrovane on Low Pressure, two boats ago. It worked...poorly. Love the concept though.
That’s how I set our boat up. Although a much smaller scale I don’t want to mess with my cranking batteries while at anchor. I want to keep them separate, fresh, and hot for when I start the motor. You said not many people do that but I like that better than relying on “house” batteries when you’re ready to move. I’m not sure exactly how lithium works but I assume if they are highly discharged you still have the 12 volts needed to fire off the motors.
Nice! Very informative. In the Seattle area Puget sound, I have seen it cloudy for months at a time. I wonder what system would work for a catamaran in these waters.
You know the newest MPPT controllers can squeeze a lot more juice from panels than you might think. Up there though, you’ll probably need a genset or some big alternators if you’ve got a big boat and lots of comforts.
My dream cruiser is 100% solar, no generator. Plug in available for shore power. Electric outboard motor for the dinghy. A/C, hot water, water maker, electric induction cooktop, infrared oven, 2 fridges, freezer, washer/dryer, plus the standard items. Still not sure about dishwasher. Yes, it's a cat, probably 45'-50'Thank you
Hey Paul... Buy a Silent Yachts 55. They have 10kw of panels! They're only 2 mill or so. Make us some videos so we can see how they perform in real life. And... since I gave you the idea you should probably have me aboard as a finder's fee reward 😉
I would highly recommend against an electric outboard. My catamaran is stored at the Marina docks, because im still in the process of fixing it up. Just in the last few months ive heard multiple people tell me they bought into an electric dingy motor, only for it to be stolen. They are more valuable than your typical gas outboard, so appear to be high on the theft list.
@@williamhustonrn6160 maybe you need some image change? Tip I got from pro photographer that goes often in 3rd world countries. If it screams expensive it's gonna be nicked but put it in banged up scraped old housing and noone is gonna look twice at it, so he scrapes off brands, tapes it up with electric or duck tape doing everything to look uninteresting
For a sailboat you don't even need full solar. If it sails often enough, you can hydrogenerate if you have AC motors, and recharge the battery bank simply by sailing.
@@justfly2525 great idea! Start the TH-cam and Patreon Channels!! I keep looking for real-world, real-time responses about how they perform.
I agree...separate those banks. Start battery bank will do just fine if charged solely from alternator.
Thanks 🙏
Super great video thanks for the info. quick question what type a fridge do use AC or DC? Also what is your power consumption total for your boat? I’m in the market for a 40 foot…
Hey...you are in our "neck-of-the-woods". I see you filmed this in St. Augustine, FL north of the Bridge of Lions. We love going over there and spending time in this beautiful city! :) Thanks for this very informative video on power!
We love st Augy. Tough to leave!
Love the thought of getting rid of gen set but seen way too many videos now where in that one emergency you need what your removed. I might replace it with newer smaller model if it exists...sounds like the worry is the high hours and weight.
I am using a Renogy 50A DC to DC charger between each engine bank and the house. It is made to charge LiFePO4 batteries. So, when the engines are running, each one can provide up to 50A of staged , controlled charging to the house.
Very informative and useful tips, so many thanks 2 u 2 , would a selective Butteries (to Lithium or not 2 Lithium) would be a game changer?
Very well explained and insightful Nick... you could have been a science teacher! 🎓 But glad you're a sailor instead. ⛵️
That’s very kind of you to say. Hey maybe that’s my next career.
With the new bi-facial panels, you could get up to 30% more on the rear panels from reflection, or 450W per panel.
Yep. Will watch that tech. I like proven stuff.
LOVE watching your videos and find them very informative while we plan our next adventure! When you do get rid of your genset, will you be adding more lithium Ion batteries? I thought it was common practice to size your battery bank to your incoming power - So, with your recent upgrades, you now have a lot (2400W) of production capacity with smaller storage....
No, same amount of storage. Best to size your battery based on usage. We are good there, for now. Removing the genset would mean we want more battery to deal with times without sun. These batteries are $3300 each. So since everything is working well right now, going to continue as-is.