I’m sure I speak for all the blue water sailing community in that Adam’s profoundness is appreciated not just in our sphere but the wider community as a whole. ⛵️💙
SV Anahi has been LiFePo4 since 2018. One of the best upgrades ever along with Victron 3000 Multiplus. So many advantages. With 1100w of Solar I look at running heavy draws around midday to use the solar energy such as water heater, watermaker, washing machine, Ninja Foodi as batteries nearly 100% SOC. it’s a game changer for us cruisers.
80 12V Amps? Those photos of "more solar, more engines, more alternators" were hilarious" Congratulations on getting the lithium batteries, everyone I've heard of getting them loves them!
Not a sailor but travel with an RV (caravan). I upgraded to 400 amp hrs lithium batterys a few years ago. I love them. The only way to go if off grid. Keep up the good work.
Boy. Does that ever Remind me 12:35 minus the switches, relays, and circuit breakers. Of the Electrical schematics we had to learn in Ground School for, say the 727s and B-747 aircraft ✈️ 👍👌😎
Nicely done! Turning Eng-speak in to non-tech lingo, without making the recipient feel like they’re being treated as an idiot or becoming overwhelmed by an excess of ancillary knowledge, is not a gift that many have. Yes, there are other gotchas and details of both agm/lithium comparisons and of practical installation considerations, but they’re relatively unimportant in the greater scheme of things and technical deep-dives into the whole subject are available in a multitude of flavours elsewhere on the Tube. Adam, that was excellent. Cheers, R. 😎👍🍻
Your colorful graphic diagram brings back memories of high school physics and circuits and . . . My head hurts! This is another video as a reason why I will never live on a boat. Thank you for sharing and your energy is laudable.
Thanks for the lesson. I am restoring a 45 year old boat and the new electrical system will go in shortly. I appreciate the quick over view and the clear explanation. Great job on getting the 'Falcon ready for the Pacific.
This is exactly what I did!! 600 W of lithium for our house bank Starter battery 525 W of solar panels We had a wind generator but honestly, it wasn’t doing much so as of right now, it’s off the boat! It was loud and old. Might look into a newer one. If anybody has any advice, we are all ears!! 🙏🏻 Boats looking great guys, the deck looks fantastic!! Well done 👍🏻🍻
I love all your content - But I have to say, I always look forward to content like this!! TH-cam needs to change their algorithm to encourage channels to produce more of this kind of video. I am totally dumbfounded as to why such a brilliant channel has "only" 83.5k subscribers.... These people are awesome, SUBSCRIBE!!!
Excellent selection! We've had LFP batteries for over 7 years and the Victron Multiplus 3K even longer. A lot of alternators will overheat when charging Lithiums because they don't taper off, so use an alternator temperature sensor on the Balmar 614 charge controller. Also keep the batteries out of the 'knees' in the charging curve. We stop charging at 13.9v and have the low voltage alarm set at 11.5v. There's very little energy missed by stopping below the top-end voltage and the batteries last longer. This was the advice we received from a fellow who does battery systems for Volvo race boats. He just reported that some of his systems are still strong after 15 years.
Thank you Adam - I been struggling to get my head around LiFePo4 , AGM 220AH and off-take / best charge-up for my boat - you are a great help - rock on, Dafossil is paying attention in class . . . . :-)
This is honestly so awesome! Very helpful, clear and concise guys! I'm doing my own install right now and this just assured me that I'm doing things properly thank you! 🙏
Good video. Well considered and caused me to move lithium batteries up the list of To Dos for my new used boat. I was going to wait, and the change is more involved than simply swapping, but it seems well worth it. The best argument is the voltage drop and inability to use a lot of the capacity of the old batteries. It's like you can replace one for one with lithium and wind up doubling your power, but also cut your problems in half.
Totally enjoy watching your vid, as my head spins from all the technicals. I think it's terrific that folks like you and a limited few other YTers are education thousands of folks on more sustainable energy.
This has nothing to do with your LI install. But I often do major projects that take days and days and in the end are life changing. But time after time the most satisfying part of the project (for my wonderful wife and daughter) is getting the label maker out and and naming EVERYTHING 🤣..... Great upgrade to Milli....
I think the upgrade to the wind generator was the best solution after all who needs sails when you could have a propeller like that. Nice clean explanation and diagram. Well done.
Well explained and you kept it simple, as it is indeed way more complex with the fuses and controllers..Battery DOD is very important to understand and that the LiFePO4 has a very low internal resistance hence can demand huge load current and fry an alternator if no BMC and shut offs are integrated..
I couldn't stop laughing when the camera battery had had enough for the day and went out for a well-deserved beer. Love seeing you guys under sail again.
Super glad you made the switch! Battery tech has evolved to lithium batteries being the most cost effective for house loads! I’m an electric motor too And I’m looking forwards to that conversion from you two as well. Okay
Gotta love the Peukert Effect when it comes to lead acid type batteries... Just be aware of C* rates on your lithiums and what effect it'll have on lifespan! Independent lab degradation studies are still ongoing for lithium type battery degradation as a whole. The future is bright for Millie 🥰🌍 love your videos!!!
First of all, congratulations for your channel, which I discovered 2 months ago. You have an impressive video production, and each episode is different from another, while keeping humor, smiles, fears and uncertainties, in short, what Hollywood has been trying to do for decades. I am Francois from Paris, France. As soon as I can (2023 I think), I'm buying a boat. I am 60 years old and I weigh 110 kilos. A sailboat therefore seems a bit presumptuous to begin with. Imagining myself on top of a mast will make me a famous clown, not a respectable human. My choice therefore fell on a "Dutch speedboat", a sort of small European trawler specific to inland routes and coasts, less luxurious and lower than the American trawlers since our bridges over rivers and canals are older and lower. . (The old man has manias): I don't like the vibrations, the smell of fuel and the noise. The first project will therefore be to change the "petroleum" engine to an electric engine, as well as solar panels and lithium batteries. This new installation should allow me to envisage a modern galley, a washing machine, a water maker, and all the necessary navigation tools. My first project is to visit France. 8,800 kilometers of navigable waterways for one year. Then once the boat and I are used to each other, Paris/Istambul by European canals and rivers, and return by the coasts (from Turkey to Greece, then the Adriatic Sea (from Macedonia to Serbia ), complete tour of Italy before joining Paris, my native village. After ? I do not know yet. Change my floating "home sweet home" for a bigger one, still electric, to go and visit the wide world... Thank you for this episode which allowed me to better understand the operation of an electrical installation, with clarity and simplicity. Good winds, may the Gods of the sea protect you.
So many new doors open as you learn more about your power systems and their alternatives. "BMV"....think you meant BMS. Those batteries in parallel will balance themselves and their individual BMS protect their individual cells. With that expanded storage capability you can now work on optimizing your solar and wind generation. Having the ability to track Ahr (dis)charge helps immensely. Looking forward to seeing the first solar sails...... Never forget the sun makes all this possible.
Thanks. Nice summary and explanation. The wind gen not producing down wind? Because true wind less boat speed equals less than minimum gen needs to come on line? Is that close to understanding it?
Join both banks together lead and lithium. Get the best of both, High voltage and deep cycle storage. Just make sure both banks are at or near the same voltage. It will spark a little, but that's normal.
Hi, I enjoy watching your great videos. I wondered why you branched your alternator straight to the Lithiums. This might overheat your alternator and destroy it. Connecting it to the starter battery and use a DC to DC booster to the Lithiums might be saver. Greatings from Germany. Arnold
Sorry for bothering you again, but the problem is the other way round. Standard engine alternators and their regulators are deigned for lead acid batteries. The internal resistance of this batterys allow only a limited amount of power to get in. Lifepo4s don't have this resistance. They take what ever they can get. The cournet will be to much for the alternator and the wire to the lifepo4 batterys. This can cause so much heat that your alternator and other parts can be destroyed.
One of the most important factors with lithium batteries is to make sure they are balanced. If not it tends to take power fron only one battery. One key to keeping that from happening is to have the same cable length from each battery to bus bar. You didn’t cover that detail in the video and I wanted to bring it up for your review
Yes cable lengths are important plus using a battery balancer/equalizer. Easy to install, takes 4 screws, a half inch/13mm wrench to loosen terminals, do it in 20 minutes max. Inexpensive and gets batteries to within 0.01 volts and keeps them there. Extends battery life and efficiency. Good on SuperCaps, Lithium and LeadAcid.
Dakota Lithium sound good. I wonder if you will upgrade your alternator as others have done. That way you can run you engine for a shorter to extract the juice, although I think there issues with the size of cables involved.
10:37 good on the SPD. but, I think the gadget you were referring to (sound like you said bmV ? ) is BMS ? Minor detail good so far. OK. I have a tiny LIOX battery system compared to yours. I have two batteries, one which says 50 amp hrs but I suspect is a little less, and another which is 100 amp hours and not much less. I'm building a battery which may be 100amp hours or more, or lets say its for sure a solid 100 amp hours. It has a 50 amp bms (yes they have different capacities of BMS/s and that relates to how much you plan on removing at any given moment in amps from your batteries. ) .. You heard that here so blame it on me if not correct. These lithium's are the real thing, absolutely amazing. Now, I wasn't exactly surprised as I watch this channel (occasionally) DIY Solar with Will Prowse and he tests them, and shows how you can charge them fully in one hour if you have a way ! And, can discharge them completely in one hour ! Totally different animals from AGM. AGM is, I suspect, a waste of energy. Now, I have seen some pretty creative things done with the panels. One boat, a racing boat, had a set up where if leaning one way or the other, since the panels were mounted right in the center top to bottom, the panels could be set up to lean at a perfect angle to the sun with one of those locking gadgets, unlock to move , and put the handle in lock. Pretty cool . His had the locking gadget in the exact center of the panel so any angle was possible ! With that amount of power you could easily have one of those excellent inverters that are available now. You could use it for a cooking plate. Thus, having at minimum a backup to your propane.
Ok, I a, guessing that you charge the phones by plugging a charger into the AC system. If that is the case, I would suggest serious consideration of adding charge ports that feed either directLy from the battery(assuming you can find them that work with your voltage which is likely.) Short explanation is that such would be much more efficient since you only have a single conversion (which always has a real cost). But, stepping down is always more efficient then up. USB is 5 volts where your AC system is likely 120 since you purchased in the States.
The biggest issues on ANY boat are the bodges from previous owners, the corrosion and lack of labels etc, therefore the best investment is a rewire as soon as you can, which WILL get rid of a whole range of issues (earth loops, high resistance shorts etc) that kill equipment in all sorts of ways... A good source of information is DIY solar guy
you very correctly identified one of the “hidden” and less understood benefits of Lithiums, a more constant and higher average voltage .. much kinder to your electroniscs, and VERY importantly your anchor winch, dingy davit winch and other power hungry devices will thank you …. the higher terminal voltage of the lithiums will ensure that after voltage drop, they still get a solid usable voltage… otherwise you get into the “voltage drop death spiral “ … the voltage drops, and to maintain power, the current must go up … and the voltage drops …
People tend to misuse and abuse AGM and lead acid batteries without realising it which is why they don't last as long as expected. They need to be kept at full charge to maintain efficiency and reduce the need for high current charging which causes them to heat up, also reducing the voltage allows sulphate to collect on the plates which over time reduces efficiency. It's not a big problem if you are day sailing and plugging into a dock every night to top the batteries up because that prevents them getting too low but if you keep draining them and are not topping them up the sulphate layer on the plates gets thicker and thicker reducing capacity and efficiency. Also if lead acid or AGM batteries drop below 11 volts they are effectively 'dead' but if you habitually allow this to happen or leave them in this condition for a few days it will be very difficult to recharge them again and if you are able to charge them at all they will not hold a charge anymore. Lithium makes more sense because they don't suffer from these problems and are easier to monitor with a good charge controller, you will get better efficiency overall but they still have a limited useful lifespan and are harder to recycle.
Those Dakota battery boxes are quite large for a 200ah capacity. You can find 200ah lithium battery for about the ssame same of a regular lead-acid one.
We actually didn't know about this at first but our friend who helped us install it said it was best practice, so it's all good! Downside is that there's now a crazy amount of wire in the battery box 😬 I'll still watch the video though, could learn something new!
Huh? 🤣 Honestly, the engineering/electrical stuff is what I fear most about the possibility of sailing. I'm a numbers guy. He said it was a "simplified version!" 😂😂😂
Something definitely doesn’t sound right there. We only have 2 AGM batteries and about 200W of solar. With fridge and charging phones and running the navigation gear I’d only have to top up once a week. Solar handles about 90 percent of usage. Perhaps you could test for high current draws on different bits of equipment?
Good video. What reference books/materials did you access for doing this DIY install? Thanks, and love following your adventures!! Fair winds to both of you!! 🙂
Congratulations on the new batteries! one question... I see you are using a Dc to Dc charger going from the lithium battery to the starter battery, Why do you do that if you installed a Multiplus Inverter/ charger which is capable of charging two different battery banks (house and starter)? I am about to install the same inverter/charger and will like to know if I can do it without the dc to dc charger
I installed the same Victron Energy System with my lithium now am so bored cause I never have to add water to my batteries and mine are always at 100% Victron is the best I would never go with out I also installed the Curb GX and the 5 inch monitor which works like a charm.
Not a big deal but, You two have accents that seem different than most Australians. One guy offered this " Khiara is from England originally. ". I've lived in "new england" and the accents are broken up into little neighborhoods, at least in the towns, and you can go across Worcestershire and see different accents which is really interesting for a guy from California. I think you've got an interesting mix and just curious about it. Different than typical Aussies I think.
-80 amps per day is a lot. The solar is pushing atleast some 20+ amps addition to that so you are using minimum 100 + amps per day. I have 2 fridges and some phones, instruments etc. also here in the nordic you need to use your heater often. I use 30 - 40 amps per day if I use the heater part time and run 1 fridge. I have a 150w solar panel and in the summer it keeps the fridges alive. Autopilot is the biggest power hungry thing in my boat. I think 100 amps a day is so much that there is something wrong in the setup. Is the isolation of the fridge ok etc. I would try to find where the amps are really going. In my setup I had an issue with the fridges, threre was good isolation, but the heat was not going anywhere from the things running the fridges. I added a small fan from a computer and made some holes for air to circulate and the modifications reduced the amp consumption by over 60% in a warm climate. The fan uses like 0,3 amps and you need to run it about 50% of the time.
Does your alternator have an external regulator so it outputs an appropriate charging profile for lithium and limits charging amps to what the alternator can handle? My alternator doesn't have an external regulator. So when I installed my lithium house bank I left the alternator wired to the flooded lead acid start batteries and put the DC:DC charger between the start bank and the lithiums. That protected my alternator, but it did limit my ability to charge the lithium batteries via the alternator to the capacity of the DC:DC charger. That was OK with me since my main charging is solar which is effectively unshaded (powerboat). One comment about your content. You should have mentioned why you kept the lead acid starting batteries. A lot of people have no concept of how many amps a diesel takes to crank over and that unless you have a huge lithium battery bank or the specialized lithium starting batteries you can't reliably start diesels from lithium.
Love your channel but regarding the Batteries you missed something, perhaps you listened too much to the Dakota Li Salesman ? To say that you can only use 50% discharge for any lead Battery is simply not true. Remember "deep cycle" Lead Acid Batteries ? what do you think deep cycle stands for ? Granted the Li batteries outperform the deep cycle on any Lead Acid Battery but it would be more correct that deep cycle batteries can be drawn down to around 20 to 30% depending on their specific specs. Li Batteries, because of the electrinic BMS are finicky, sensitive and outright scary as the BMS can just shut the power down, imagine loosing all instruments in the middle of a storm, anyhow, you guys are great , keep it up...... cheers from Sechelt BC Canada
Why not charge the starter battery with the alternator and ditch both the SSP and the DC to DC charger? Just add an isolation device between the banks so it doesn't discharge.
![Boat Saloon Overhaul BEFORE vs AFTER [EP 220]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/i7ybBeXK7_I/mqdefault.jpg)
![Boat Saloon Overhaul BEFORE vs AFTER [EP 220]](/img/tr.png)
![Staying WARM on a Sailboat - Dickinsons Diesel Heater Install [EP 221]](/img/n.gif)
I’m sure I speak for all the blue water sailing community in that Adam’s profoundness is appreciated not just in our sphere but the wider community as a whole. ⛵️💙
Thank you, that's very kind of you to say! ☺️
Adam is a true engineer. Everything laid out neatly, color coded, all right angles, etc. as if it was nothing special.
SV Anahi has been LiFePo4 since 2018. One of the best upgrades ever along with Victron 3000 Multiplus. So many advantages. With 1100w of Solar I look at running heavy draws around midday to use the solar energy such as water heater, watermaker, washing machine, Ninja Foodi as batteries nearly 100% SOC. it’s a game changer for us cruisers.
80 12V Amps? Those photos of "more solar, more engines, more alternators" were hilarious" Congratulations on getting the lithium batteries, everyone I've heard of getting them loves them!
Not a sailor but travel with an RV (caravan). I upgraded to 400 amp hrs lithium batterys a few years ago. I love them. The only way to go if off grid. Keep up the good work.
Boy. Does that ever Remind me 12:35 minus the switches, relays, and circuit breakers.
Of the Electrical schematics we had to learn in Ground School for, say the 727s and B-747 aircraft ✈️ 👍👌😎
Nicely done!
Turning Eng-speak in to non-tech lingo, without making the recipient feel like they’re being treated as an idiot or becoming overwhelmed by an excess of ancillary knowledge, is not a gift that many have.
Yes, there are other gotchas and details of both agm/lithium comparisons and of practical installation considerations, but they’re relatively unimportant in the greater scheme of things and technical deep-dives into the whole subject are available in a multitude of flavours elsewhere on the Tube.
Adam, that was excellent.
Cheers, R. 😎👍🍻
4:05 Thanks for the laugh with those graphics. It totally reminded me of the main tenet of Kerbal Space Program : IT NEEDS MORE BOOSTERS!
Your colorful graphic diagram brings back memories of high school physics and circuits and . . .
My head hurts! This is another video as a reason why I will never live on a boat.
Thank you for sharing and your energy is laudable.
Fair play, Adam. That was a very clear explanation. Props to Ryan and Sophie for the batteries!
Thanks for the lesson. I am restoring a 45 year old boat and the new electrical system will go in shortly. I appreciate the quick over view and the clear explanation. Great job on getting the 'Falcon ready for the Pacific.
This is exactly what I did!!
600 W of lithium for our house bank
Starter battery
525 W of solar panels
We had a wind generator but honestly, it wasn’t doing much so as of right now, it’s off the boat! It was loud and old. Might look into a newer one. If anybody has any advice, we are all ears!! 🙏🏻
Boats looking great guys, the deck looks fantastic!!
Well done 👍🏻🍻
Thank you guys that was a great episode on getting the seeing nuts, bolts, and batteries at work in order to keep sailing, very valuable information!
I love all your content - But I have to say, I always look forward to content like this!! TH-cam needs to change their algorithm to encourage channels to produce more of this kind of video. I am totally dumbfounded as to why such a brilliant channel has "only" 83.5k subscribers.... These people are awesome, SUBSCRIBE!!!
Excellent selection! We've had LFP batteries for over 7 years and the Victron Multiplus 3K even longer. A lot of alternators will overheat when charging Lithiums because they don't taper off, so use an alternator temperature sensor on the Balmar 614 charge controller. Also keep the batteries out of the 'knees' in the charging curve. We stop charging at 13.9v and have the low voltage alarm set at 11.5v. There's very little energy missed by stopping below the top-end voltage and the batteries last longer. This was the advice we received from a fellow who does battery systems for Volvo race boats. He just reported that some of his systems are still strong after 15 years.
Thank you Adam - I been struggling to get my head around LiFePo4 , AGM 220AH and off-take / best charge-up for my boat - you are a great help - rock on, Dafossil is paying attention in class . . . . :-)
Adam, that was badass! You made it simple.
Happy dayz, how exciting, new batteries, wish I had lithium in our van,
This is honestly so awesome! Very helpful, clear and concise guys! I'm doing my own install right now and this just assured me that I'm doing things properly thank you! 🙏
Good video. Well considered and caused me to move lithium batteries up the list of To Dos for my new used boat. I was going to wait, and the change is more involved than simply swapping, but it seems well worth it. The best argument is the voltage drop and inability to use a lot of the capacity of the old batteries. It's like you can replace one for one with lithium and wind up doubling your power, but also cut your problems in half.
Good explanation Adam . Good luck with the new batteries.
Totally enjoy watching your vid, as my head spins from all the technicals. I think it's terrific that folks like you and a limited few other YTers are education thousands of folks on more sustainable energy.
This has nothing to do with your LI install. But I often do major projects that take days and days and in the end are life changing. But time after time the most satisfying part of the project (for my wonderful wife and daughter) is getting the label maker out and and naming EVERYTHING 🤣..... Great upgrade to Milli....
I think the upgrade to the wind generator was the best solution after all who needs sails when you could have a propeller like that. Nice clean explanation and diagram. Well done.
Adam,you are one amazingly talented man. x
Long live LiFePo- it's a big step forward. Also, I liked your 'get more' graphics...
Thanks Kiara for clearing all that up 😂. And I might add all good projects end at 0’dark 30.
So glad your back & things are coming together for you.
Well explained and you kept it simple, as it is indeed way more complex with the fuses and controllers..Battery DOD is very important to understand and that the LiFePO4 has a very low internal resistance hence can demand huge load current and fry an alternator if no BMC and shut offs are integrated..
I couldn't stop laughing when the camera battery had had enough for the day and went out for a well-deserved beer. Love seeing you guys under sail again.
Remember with great power, comes great responsibility!
I have Dakota batteries on my golf cart. They're great. Made this unit a ripper!
Clear and informative - thanks for sharing this hard earned knowlodge!
Super glad you made the switch! Battery tech has evolved to lithium batteries being the most cost effective for house loads! I’m an electric motor too And I’m looking forwards to that conversion from you two as well. Okay
MRBFs? Looking forward to your alternator decision. Nice video. Good job on explaining.
We just installed lithium batteries. Awesome!
Very informative. Keep up the good work.
Gotta love the Peukert Effect when it comes to lead acid type batteries... Just be aware of C* rates on your lithiums and what effect it'll have on lifespan! Independent lab degradation studies are still ongoing for lithium type battery degradation as a whole. The future is bright for Millie 🥰🌍 love your videos!!!
That was an enjoyable lesson, thanks, man. Love the diagram
First of all, congratulations for your channel, which I discovered 2 months ago.
You have an impressive video production, and each episode is different from another, while keeping humor, smiles, fears and uncertainties, in short, what Hollywood has been trying to do for decades.
I am Francois from Paris, France.
As soon as I can (2023 I think), I'm buying a boat. I am 60 years old and I weigh 110 kilos. A sailboat therefore seems a bit presumptuous to begin with. Imagining myself on top of a mast will make me a famous clown, not a respectable human. My choice therefore fell on a "Dutch speedboat", a sort of small European trawler specific to inland routes and coasts, less luxurious and lower than the American trawlers since our bridges over rivers and canals are older and lower. . (The old man has manias): I don't like the vibrations, the smell of fuel and the noise. The first project will therefore be to change the "petroleum" engine to an electric engine, as well as solar panels and lithium batteries. This new installation should allow me to envisage a modern galley, a washing machine, a water maker, and all the necessary navigation tools.
My first project is to visit France. 8,800 kilometers of navigable waterways for one year. Then once the boat and I are used to each other, Paris/Istambul by European canals and rivers, and return by the coasts (from Turkey to Greece, then the Adriatic Sea (from Macedonia to Serbia ), complete tour of Italy before joining Paris, my native village.
After ? I do not know yet. Change my floating "home sweet home" for a bigger one, still electric, to go and visit the wide world...
Thank you for this episode which allowed me to better understand the operation of an electrical installation, with clarity and simplicity.
Good winds, may the Gods of the sea protect you.
You don't see comments like this everyday. Well played, and best of luck on your travels!
So many new doors open as you learn more about your power systems and their alternatives.
"BMV"....think you meant BMS.
Those batteries in parallel will balance themselves and their individual BMS protect their individual cells.
With that expanded storage capability you can now work on optimizing your solar and wind generation.
Having the ability to track Ahr (dis)charge helps immensely.
Looking forward to seeing the first solar sails......
Never forget the sun makes all this possible.
Got a real charge out of this video. Thank you!
Great explanation & since you understood what you were doing not too many details.
Thanks. Nice summary and explanation. The wind gen not producing down wind? Because true wind less boat speed equals less than minimum gen needs to come on line? Is that close to understanding it?
Khiara is super patient with Adam.
Enjoy your sailing ⛵️ sailboat video ! About different types of batteries for your sailboat ⛵️! 😘⛵️😀 Mike from Missouri
Love the technical video!!!!
Join both banks together lead and lithium. Get the best of both, High voltage and deep cycle storage. Just make sure both banks are at or near the same voltage. It will spark a little, but that's normal.
Great stuff folks. Lithiums are just great! So when’s Milly’s rewiring job planned for? 😉
Brilliant explanation guys!!
Hi,
I enjoy watching your great videos.
I wondered why you branched your alternator straight to the Lithiums. This might overheat your alternator and destroy it. Connecting it to the starter battery and use a DC to DC booster to the Lithiums might be saver.
Greatings from Germany.
Arnold
As he said, this is a simplified diagram omitting the charge controllers etc..... which is what protects the lithiums from the alternator.
Sorry for bothering you again, but the problem is the other way round. Standard engine alternators and their regulators are deigned for lead acid batteries. The internal resistance of this batterys allow only a limited amount of power to get in. Lifepo4s don't have this resistance. They take what ever they can get. The cournet will be to much for the alternator and the wire to the lifepo4 batterys. This can cause so much heat that your alternator and other parts can be destroyed.
does the surge protector address this?
@@curtisduncan8043 Surge protection would not help here. It is to protect against high voltage in a AC net.
Great explanation 😎
One of the most important factors with lithium batteries is to make sure they are balanced. If not it tends to take power fron only one battery. One key to keeping that from happening is to have the same cable length from each battery to bus bar. You didn’t cover that detail in the video and I wanted to bring it up for your review
Yes cable lengths are important plus using a battery balancer/equalizer. Easy to install, takes 4 screws, a half inch/13mm wrench to loosen terminals, do it in 20 minutes max. Inexpensive and gets batteries to within 0.01 volts and keeps them there. Extends battery life and efficiency. Good on SuperCaps, Lithium and LeadAcid.
Dakota Lithium sound good. I wonder if you will upgrade your alternator as others have done. That way you can run you engine for a shorter to extract the juice, although I think there issues with the size of cables involved.
Thank You
Good show!
Great information!
That's guys great teck.
“Hope you took something from that video.” Yes, a severe headache! Could you please start again from Hello, electronics was never my strong suit!
Lithium is the current champion for batteries in the real world! ...and they weigh less.
It's not a secret that lithium is the best better. This was a lot of goggle good!
very informative...thanks
Respect ✊🏼
10:37 good on the SPD. but, I think the gadget you were referring to (sound like you said bmV ? ) is BMS ? Minor detail good so far.
OK. I have a tiny LIOX battery system compared to yours. I have two batteries, one which says 50 amp hrs but I suspect is a little less, and another which is 100 amp hours and not much less. I'm building a battery which may be 100amp hours or more, or lets say its for sure a solid 100 amp hours. It has a 50 amp bms (yes they have different capacities of BMS/s and that relates to how much you plan on removing at any given moment in amps from your batteries. ) .. You heard that here so blame it on me if not correct. These lithium's are the real thing, absolutely amazing. Now, I wasn't exactly surprised as I watch this channel (occasionally) DIY Solar with Will Prowse and he tests them, and shows how you can charge them fully in one hour if you have a way ! And, can discharge them completely in one hour ! Totally different animals from AGM. AGM is, I suspect, a waste of energy.
Now, I have seen some pretty creative things done with the panels. One boat, a racing boat, had a set up where if leaning one way or the other, since the panels were mounted right in the center top to bottom, the panels could be set up to lean at a perfect angle to the sun with one of those locking gadgets, unlock to move , and put the handle in lock. Pretty cool . His had the locking gadget in the exact center of the panel so any angle was possible !
With that amount of power you could easily have one of those excellent inverters that are available now. You could use it for a cooking plate. Thus, having at minimum a backup to your propane.
good stuff
Ok, I a, guessing that you charge the phones by plugging a charger into the AC system. If that is the case, I would suggest serious consideration of adding charge ports that feed either directLy from the battery(assuming you can find them that work with your voltage which is likely.)
Short explanation is that such would be much more efficient since you only have a single conversion (which always has a real cost). But, stepping down is always more efficient then up. USB is 5 volts where your AC system is likely 120 since you purchased in the States.
Now you need to take some trips, so we know that it all really works. Get on with it.
The biggest issues on ANY boat are the bodges from previous owners, the corrosion and lack of labels etc, therefore the best investment is a rewire as soon as you can, which WILL get rid of a whole range of issues (earth loops, high resistance shorts etc) that kill equipment in all sorts of ways...
A good source of information is DIY solar guy
It's like watching QVC.
Noice!
Can you crank the engine from the lithium if the Starter battery dies?
What ‘condition’ were your AGM’s in when you were having the problems?
So so true, everybody listen, and quit asking dumb questions.
Yup...that's the bottleneck! Welcome to being a LiFe zealot ~ ha ha !!
Would you consider a bigger alternator, is yours externally regulated?
you very correctly identified one of the “hidden” and less understood benefits of Lithiums, a more constant and higher average voltage .. much kinder to your electroniscs, and VERY importantly your anchor winch, dingy davit winch and other power hungry devices will thank you …. the higher terminal voltage of the lithiums will ensure that after voltage drop, they still get a solid usable voltage… otherwise you get into the “voltage drop death spiral “ … the voltage drops, and to maintain power, the current must go up … and the voltage drops …
People tend to misuse and abuse AGM and lead acid batteries without realising it which is why they don't last as long as expected.
They need to be kept at full charge to maintain efficiency and reduce the need for high current charging which causes them to heat up, also reducing the voltage allows sulphate to collect on the plates which over time reduces efficiency. It's not a big problem if you are day sailing and plugging into a dock every night to top the batteries up because that prevents them getting too low but if you keep draining them and are not topping them up the sulphate layer on the plates gets thicker and thicker reducing capacity and efficiency. Also if lead acid or AGM batteries drop below 11 volts they are effectively 'dead' but if you habitually allow this to happen or leave them in this condition for a few days it will be very difficult to recharge them again and if you are able to charge them at all they will not hold a charge anymore.
Lithium makes more sense because they don't suffer from these problems and are easier to monitor with a good charge controller, you will get better efficiency overall but they still have a limited useful lifespan and are harder to recycle.
Nice schematic for the wiring...though you threw in the disclaimer it still looked quite professional. What are the dimensions of the new batteries?
Those Dakota battery boxes are quite large for a 200ah capacity. You can find 200ah lithium battery for about the ssame same of a regular lead-acid one.
We actually didn't know about this at first but our friend who helped us install it said it was best practice, so it's all good! Downside is that there's now a crazy amount of wire in the battery box 😬 I'll still watch the video though, could learn something new!
Huh? 🤣 Honestly, the engineering/electrical stuff is what I fear most about the possibility of sailing. I'm a numbers guy. He said it was a "simplified version!" 😂😂😂
Something definitely doesn’t sound right there. We only have 2 AGM batteries and about 200W of solar. With fridge and charging phones and running the navigation gear I’d only have to top up once a week. Solar handles about 90 percent of usage. Perhaps you could test for high current draws on different bits of equipment?
👍👍👍😄
Good video. What reference books/materials did you access for doing this DIY install? Thanks, and love following your adventures!! Fair winds to both of you!! 🙂
Congratulations on the new batteries!
one question... I see you are using a Dc to Dc charger going from the lithium battery to the starter battery, Why do you do that if you installed a Multiplus Inverter/ charger which is capable of charging two different battery banks (house and starter)? I am about to install the same inverter/charger and will like to know if I can do it without the dc to dc charger
I installed the same Victron Energy System with my lithium now am so bored cause I never have to add water to my batteries and mine are always at 100% Victron is the best I would never go with out I also installed the Curb GX and the 5 inch monitor which works like a charm.
Not a big deal but, You two have accents that seem different than most Australians. One guy offered this " Khiara is from England originally. ". I've lived in "new england" and the accents are broken up into little neighborhoods, at least in the towns, and you can go across Worcestershire and see different accents which is really interesting for a guy from California. I think you've got an interesting mix and just curious about it. Different than typical Aussies I think.
If your starting battery dies are you able to jump it with the house bank?
Typically what was the cost of this change?...Did you need to change the alternator?
🙏🏻...
LiFePo batteries over Lithium ion please! There is a difference and worth mentioning for safety.
-80 amps per day is a lot. The solar is pushing atleast some 20+ amps addition to that so you are using minimum 100 + amps per day. I have 2 fridges and some phones, instruments etc. also here in the nordic you need to use your heater often. I use 30 - 40 amps per day if I use the heater part time and run 1 fridge. I have a 150w solar panel and in the summer it keeps the fridges alive. Autopilot is the biggest power hungry thing in my boat. I think 100 amps a day is so much that there is something wrong in the setup. Is the isolation of the fridge ok etc. I would try to find where the amps are really going. In my setup I had an issue with the fridges, threre was good isolation, but the heat was not going anywhere from the things running the fridges. I added a small fan from a computer and made some holes for air to circulate and the modifications reduced the amp consumption by over 60% in a warm climate. The fan uses like 0,3 amps and you need to run it about 50% of the time.
Does your alternator have an external regulator so it outputs an appropriate charging profile for lithium and limits charging amps to what the alternator can handle? My alternator doesn't have an external regulator. So when I installed my lithium house bank I left the alternator wired to the flooded lead acid start batteries and put the DC:DC charger between the start bank and the lithiums. That protected my alternator, but it did limit my ability to charge the lithium batteries via the alternator to the capacity of the DC:DC charger. That was OK with me since my main charging is solar which is effectively unshaded (powerboat).
One comment about your content. You should have mentioned why you kept the lead acid starting batteries. A lot of people have no concept of how many amps a diesel takes to crank over and that unless you have a huge lithium battery bank or the specialized lithium starting batteries you can't reliably start diesels from lithium.
Keep an eye on your alternator, we burnt one outafter installing lithium batteries.
With no DC to DC charger (Limiter) from the alternator to the lithium you can easily burn out your alternator.
Have you had any issues with Dakota Lithium since then? I ordered a battery and haven't heard from them at all.
Maybe a stupid question, but does anyone use a water turbine to help charge their system? Surely they wouldn't create that much drag?
HOPEFULLY YOU COMBINED ALL AGM AND LITHUIM BATTERIES.
Love your channel but regarding the Batteries you missed something, perhaps you listened too much to the Dakota Li Salesman ? To say that you can only use 50% discharge for any lead Battery is simply not true. Remember "deep cycle" Lead Acid Batteries ? what do you think deep cycle stands for ? Granted the Li batteries outperform the deep cycle on any Lead Acid Battery but it would be more correct that deep cycle batteries can be drawn down to around 20 to 30% depending on their specific specs. Li Batteries, because of the electrinic BMS are finicky, sensitive and outright scary as the BMS can just shut the power down, imagine loosing all instruments in the middle of a storm, anyhow, you guys are great , keep it up...... cheers from Sechelt BC Canada
What about the negatives of lithium?
Why not charge the starter battery with the alternator and ditch both the SSP and the DC to DC charger? Just add an isolation device between the banks so it doesn't discharge.
Did you keep the old batteries? Did it cost to dispose of them?
What's your system voltage? 12? 24? It's often better to talk power (watts) than current (amps) when talking comparisons and budgets.