Solar for Dummies - Episode 127 - Lady K Sailing
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SOLAR on a sailboat!!
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Tim, great video! But I highly recommend you to get away from lead acid batteries and go to Lithium phosphate, like Battle Born batteries. They charge much faster, can discharge 100%, and weight 1/2 as much. Oh, and they last 8-10 yrs minimum with no maintenance. Battery stress solved.
Dakota lithium has an 11 warranty. Crazy stuff nowadays
I really like to go back and revisit these 2 year old episodes. Still relivent with the new TH-cam start up image😮😅
Some more pointers: 1.Lost lead battery wattage recharges at 140% of lost power. 2. Batteries wired in parallel squabble with small voltage differences and considerable current losses between them. = Batteries in parallel is a recipe for disaster. Remedy: Separate chargers charge separate battery sets, that feed separate loads. Identical voltage charge circuits can run off the same shared solar panels. 3. Pure sine wave inverters should supply as little of your boat's power as possible. Run as much equipment as possible on 12 volts. 4. A 4 digit volt meter can monitor batteries, reasonably. 5. Capture morning and evening sun power to reduce no charge hours on the battery. 6. Battery acid strength can be diluted to make the battery more suitable as a deep cycle battery. 7. Avoid appliances that create radio frequency interference. 8. A typical 100 watt solar panel creates up to 21 volts, unloaded, but 12ish volts to a battery. 100 watts turns into 72 watts or 5+ amperes. Buy solar panels shaped squarish, not long, to be less fragile. Spares stored below deck can be important replacements. 9. Solder, don't crimp, MC4 connectors, for better weather resistance.
The battery monitor can tell you when your fridge (or other things with motors) needs service because they draw more current. It can also tell you if you have hidden wire insulation damage (due to chaffing or just being old and cracking) causing current to be drained off (but not enough yet to cause a short). Great video!
Tim, well done! This was an excellent episode that I’ve saved for future viewing. love your channel! I like your passion and I like your format. I’ve learned a lot in the few months I’ve watched and look forward to future episodes. Great job! I
Very good explanation of power requirements on a boat, I took electronics in college.
I saw one of your other videos where you talked about IOR Boats, I have an Ericson 37 from 1974, a 1-ton racer/cruiser. It displaces 16,000 pounds with 8,000-pound ballast for a 50% ballast ratio. I was reading Web Chiles's book A Single Wave where he describes being the first American to go around Cape Horn solo in a monohull an Ericson 37. He was impressed when getting with a big wave on the aft quarter that the boat didn't get pushed around that much. He did get knocked down 3 different times where he end up on the overhead along with just about everything else slamming into him, before completing his first circumnavigation. He was very happy to have 8,000 pounds of lead to right him and he didn't lose the mast. Most small boats that venture into the Southern Ocean end up getting knocked down and sometimes completely rolled over, not a fun place to be. So, at least some of the early IOR boats were built to beat rules but also were very seaworthy, fast, and heavy in the moderate cruising range weight-wise.
great video! I added a power dump function that allows me to turn power toward an outlet once the battery bank is filled. for example, you can hookup a dehumidifier and fan to turn on only once the batteries 100% topped up
Best explanation ever. Put in simple terms so it can be understood. Excellent.
I installed the VictronConnect battery monitor last year and absolutely love it. The Bluetooth connected app on the iPhone provides so much info. Highly recommend for any boat
Hi Tim,
I'm Anthony and am a new addition to the ladyk sailing channel. Great job on this lesson. Conductor types and awg sizing for dc loads and power transmission becomes interesting. True story, I added a panel to my existing array but didn't get the rated output. A loss occurred due to undersized wires. I was focused on amperage because amperage was my game. Anyway, I switched the pv array to series 100 vdc @ 5.8 amp and am immensely pleased at the results. Now I get greater than the rated power. After realizing the impractical nature of dc conductors beyond a few feet I switched most loads to ac. I believe dc loads should be avoided whenever possible. Cheers.
This was a great presentation. Thank you!
That banana looks like a free loader 😂. Great lesson keepem coming.
Great nuts and bolts video. Thank you for putting this out there and explained in such a clear and understandable way 😎👌🏽
Thanks for the info!! Solar has been an energy enemy of mine. Lol.
Trying to figure everything out. You have helped alot!! Well done.
If you stick a zinc electrode in one end of the banana and a copper electrode in the other end, and attach some wires you'll be able to recharge your batteries without the solar :-)
like, a truckload of banana and electrodes but yeah... :)
Very interesting and informative. I installed a solar system in my caravan (trailer) that I live in. I have no other source of electricity, no shore power or charge from the engine alternator. However, I took a lower tech approach. Bought two 100w panels, a cheap chinese controller (about 30€), a large agm battery, some fuse/breakers, a cheap inverter and some cables. (Apart from the battery all purchased from Aliexpress). All monitered by a simple volt meter that was already installed in the caravan. Then I just observed how it all worked. Sometimes I had to turn my TV off and read a book half way through the evening. Once or twice I even had to turn the lights off (usually when I had forgotten to turn off the inverter after using it).
Then as time went on I improved things. Bought two more panels. Changed my TV to a smaller one that runs off 12v (less use of the inverter). Bought a 12v to 18v adapter to charge my laptop without the inverter. Bought a 12v to 9v adapter to run the wifi router. Re wired the extractor fan with heavier cable to avoid voltage drop.
Now, my cheap system works just fine. Almost never have to turn things off because of lack of power, even in the winter. In the summer heat I can leave the extractor fan on 24/7 at high speed, no problem.
Awesome !!!!!!
Really great content! Thank you.
Very useful video. Well done!
You've unlocked the next level of editing skills! Hilarious! I bet you spent 20 hours editing having to look at that banana and grumbling about why you didn't notice it when you were filming! Ha!
Since most boats already come with a power system and possibly solar, I would suggest using an external power bank aka solar generator to run computers, phones and tablets. This way you never drain the house bank.
Also, you should have a starter battery and a house bank. And have them separated by a switch. The starter battery is exclusively for starting the engine. The house bank is for everything else.
Right after I watched your video, I saw 'DIY Solar Power with Will Prouse' and it was about a very inexpensive power monitor from China.....he likes it. He doesn't recommend anything that he doesn't use and test and he'll bounce anything from his recommended list if it fails. Cheers
It would be awesome to get a for dummies lesson on circuit breakers, ac vs dc, inductive heating and why you might select a thermal breaker or electronic breaker over a standard dc breaker or fuse.
Great video !!!!! We just purchased a 1981 Pearson 424 and needs complete solar system ( first time sailor and boat owner ) and that video will really help .... been 3 months we at a dry diy yard with live aboard in Indiantown marina Florida loving it but each day remind us how much we don’t know about boat lol but GREAT community .....
Easy to watch and easy to understand, good job - and for me the banana isn't a distraction..
Interesting + Lady K + Banana = Thank Ya !
Thank You...very informative and thanks for keeping it simple for us newbies.
Great information, thanks for the simplicity.
Thank you! I'm learning a lot from your videos. Happy new year!
Tim your input and content is invaluable, im a videographer and would like to suggest that you dont need distractions ...ie the banana.
It takes the viewers eye of the subject mate..
Love your stuff by the way, especially the historical series that you did or are maybe still doing.
Thanks for the vid mate even though im competent in boat electrics it was still worth watching.
All so true. Have off grid solar at bush property & love it. Find alternatives for anything with an element. I havent yet but a small wind generator should remove the stress of using most power for the few hours after sun is down. Was that really a banana ? 😂
I like watt hrs over amp hrs because "what voltage" doesn't have to be asked every time amp hrs is said. Not all boats use the same voltage systems.
Watt hours is correct. “Amp hours” is incorrect.
Just watched - so helpful. Thank you!
I'm laughing because, well, OCD much? With the switching everything on to see what each thing draws. But I also get what you are saying and it makes sooo much sense that I would probably be OCD much myself! 😂 Great lesson, Tim. I've never been on a sailboat but really feel like I could manage much better now, if I were.
Really great, thanks
This was awesome! Thanks for going through it. Battery monitor is a mandatory thing I think. Keep up the good work!!
Well done! Thank you.
Very good explanation of amp hour requirements and solar charging for battery replenishment. Being hesitant to spend the $200+ for the Victron battery monitor, and at the recommendation of TH-cam solar guru Will Prowse, I purchased and installed the $44 Aili battery monitor with shunt over a year ago and couldn't be happier. It has everything the Victron monitor does EXCEPT blue tooth connectivity for less than a quarter of the price. I'll likely buy a second one to have as a spare before doing any extended cruising again, but will still be well ahead compared to the cost of the Victron (I have a Victron MPPT solar controller, by the way).
Keep up the great work!
Really good video! Thanks for dumming it down
I think you nailed it on this video. Well done
Great vid, dude. Thanx.
A brilliant presentation.. So easy and informative. Thanks 👍👍
Warren s/y Legend
Comment on solar for sailboat. Last winter help put 640w PV solar system on a catamaran for $1/watt or around $650 complete. Here are the components - two 320w REC mono panels at $192 each($.60/w), one Make Sky Blue 60amp MPPT solar charge controller with wifi $160, one set of 30' MC4 10gauge red and black wires $40. Misc MC4 connectors, tool, 60amp circuit breakers between panels and controller and controller and battery bank, limited length of heavy gauge wire to battery bank, alum brackets to mount panels to hard top bimini and 2 waterproof flanges $56. Total $650. System still working. Only issue was the inexpensive 60amp breaker between the controller and battery bank would trip (at around 45 amps not 60 amps) on really sunny days so replaced new , more reliable circuit breaker. So solar PV on a boat does not need to be expensive.
Have you considered doing some consulting/design/installation as a side gig? You have a wealth of expertise.
Love your channel the most! Informative, complete and entertaining, plus always relevant. Then again, im an engineer so theres that.... keep up the great work. I look forward to your input and opinion the most. Cheers until the next episode.
Great video. Very informative. Thanks!
GOOD TALK and ACCURATE.
Great video Tim, really well done
awesome video
Excellent job with solar and amp monitoring. Might add the MCCP controller is very critical to getting the most out of your cells and, in my opinion having at least one axis of articulation (preferably two) for the solar cell to get another 15-30% more energy out of them. Finally, try to eliminate use of inverters, conventional speakers, and incandescent lights to minimize demand (although lightning strikes will destroy all LED's, so have backups)
Agree with you. A batteries monitor is worth every penny.
that banana got me !!!
Thanks! That was very informative. Could you perhaps make a video showing your electrical schematic? I’m starting to understand how all the solar would work to charge batteries etc, but what I don’t understand is if you would need and exactly where you would put fuses and switches as it relates to protecting your electronics and switching on your solar panels.
Thanks this was very useful!
Clear as mud
Good episode! I laugh a little, when I realize how similar we think 😀
Thank you so much ! I understood fully.... 😂 Great Job man !!
very good explanation for me that im a beniner. specially the battery monitor part. I dont even know that thing exist. thanks
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
Nice review!
Unless you’re sailing in clear skies with bright overhead sun the 100W 8Amps will not happen. On the Great Lakes In summer I get @25 ah a day or @4.0 amps per hour with a 100W panel.
150W of panels keeps my 100ah LiFEPO4 battery topped off for a couple day cruise in summer. On a cloudy day expect @10 total amps from a 100W panel.
How much solar does that banana use?
Great question
Nothing if you have a banana hammock.
I enjoy watching your videos. If I can find a naval architect willing to design the vessel that I need for less than it will cost to build the boat, I plan on making some very long voyages in a small (~10 meters) diesel powerboat. I find that sailing channels are much more relevant to my intended voyages than powerboat channels so I seek out the better ones such as yours. Indeed, there are virtually no long range powerboat channels other than the Nordhavn ones which are all jokes.
Love the videos keep em coming
With the Great Lakes sailing season coming up it would great if you could do a prelaunch checklist video and maybe cover bottom paint options. We bought our boat last year. It was launched and rigged by the seller for the sea trial so this will be our first time going through the process.
Love the tie dye
How much solar do you put on a live aboard? As much as you can physically attach and financially afford. Never can have enough solar, especially on those cloudy days/ weeks.
Next the wind generator! for those days that we have viable sunlight to charge the batteries.
Great job explaining the concept of system sizing and management! Did you ever seriously blow your budget during actual cruising?
Very well done, even I understood this :)
It is really for dummies, or to be specific it is for me. You really know how to explain.
When you have time can you tell me something how to protect boat from storm lightning.
Peter
Nice video
Hey there! I love your channel and get a lot out of it. And this was a great video to help people out. I'm currently an armchair sailor but am also an electrical engineer who has been in the engineering field my whole adult life. There's one bit of language that you use that isn't technically correct, and the engineer in me squirms every time I hear it. I'm tossing this out there in case you do a similar video in the future it might be something to look at. And it's around that whole "amps" vs. "amp hours". When you were talking about the light bulbs as an example, you repeatedly said that the bulb used "1 amp per hour". And that's the statement that makes me cringe. The "amp" is a value not associated with time. So - the bulb uses 1 amp of electricity when it's turned on, and in 1 hour it uses 1 amp-hour of electricity. This might seem like a minor point that is down in the weeds, but unfortunately I think it can help to keep the confusion alive. Thanks again for all of your great videos!!
Thanks for that, Question; what happens if your charging system consistently creates more power than is used - can that cause damage & to what parts of the system’s ? Would you suggest covering the solar or reducing production in some way ?
Also what are the benefits & drawbacks of lithium batteries?
Thanks Tim. FWIW get rid of the banana gag....
I was wondering what the shunt was thank you. I'm setting mine up with the ACR. I thought that was important. My smart charger could never charge both batteries on my old truck together, I always had to disconnect them
You got an excellent video very informative even I understood it thank you .
So Victron makes a banana monitor? Is that right?
Nah
I imagine if you switched to a 450ah lithium bank, you could probably do away with some of your solar? (Of course, you would actually just not worry about electric usage as much!) Boats have limited solar install locations, and limited space for batteries. I know lithium is pricey, but I would look at it the same as that battery monitor. Less worries because you have twice the Amp Hours, and about half the weight, in the same battery space. Should last long enough more than lead acid to pay for themselves, as long as you don't ruin them doing something wrong.
Do you agree with this train of thought?
Hee Tim is the banana there instead of a christmas tree or do Canadians light there houses with extra lighting during Easter?
Okay I've had my piece of fun
Nice video keep up the good work
greeting from the Netherlands
Saying that a lamp uses one amp every hour is like saying that a car runs at 30 hp per hour.
Me: A mini plug in solar panel for my smartphone + a few sticking lights with their own mini solar panels to recharge all day long... and that's it. Inverters, managers thingy... I still don't know what they are (a variety of banana maybe?) Heee, I will live without.
I walked into a bar and there was a banana, a pickle, and a pepper. They were all bent out of shape.
Some one took the banana home.
👍
I am really digging your video's, thanks for all the hard work, as far as this video goes, what are your opinion's on combining the solar with some wind generator? is their wind at night? would that help offset the loss at night enough to justify the cost of the generator's?
That's not a 🍌, that's an art installation.
Is it possible to have an Air Conditioner in a boat running on solar like this? Is there an AC that will run off your system?
where should the battery capacity guage shunt be placed on a typical switchable marine 2 battery system? I am thinking downstream of the 3 position battery switch?
I placed mine only on the house bank. I am not very interested in measuring the engine start battery.
@@LadyKSailing thanks. could I theoretically put it there? any down side?
Very useful info thanks, and what do you think about using windpower when there is no sun, thanks.
I have heard, the wind turbines tend to be a little noisy. No pun intended.
Thanks for the simplification... a stupid question, what happens to the excess power made?
The solar controller stops using it so it just goes to waste
There's really no point in not going lithium now . 2 220ah AGM are like £500 and are over 100kg together. Or you could have 1 200 ah lithium for £700 . That's 25kg . It's the same useable ah . But it charges faster and at lower voltage. You can run it completely empty without damage and has way more cycles in it . 2 years ago the price difference was huge . But now AGM and lead acid really are a make no sense with the price drop in lythium .
Question, I have two separate main batteries with switch a, b or both. Can I wire the monitor to work on this?
He said his solar panels “worked across three countries”. But, the sun’s intensity depends on latitude. Does anyone have experience with solar panel performance in, say Newfoundland, compared to, say, Cuba?
Hii I found a news it is old but very interesting, could you search and make a video for this please, 1- how a sailboat without skipper has not sinked for 7 years, What brand is this boat etc. The news is " Clipper Race discovers mummified sailor aboard yacht Sayo" The boat carrying a deceased sailor who died of a heart attack was discovered several weeks before showing up in the Philippines. " Mummified captain found in 'ghost ship' he sailed in for seven years after death"
I went a little overboard I have 4 panel the produce 420 each at 48v and 2 panel for the engine batteries at 100 each 12v.
Yes I'm nuts
The banana was a subliminal message. Maybe, like, it’s bad luck to have bananas on boat, or possibly something more Canadian?
Was that Gmork from The Never Ending Story? 😂
I’m a Vectron fan.
How much resistance in a banana peel? None if you step on it haaaaaaaaa..... get it? It’s a banana peel. There is a test btw.
How many solar panels do you have to get the 400 watts ... I only saw one solar panel on your boat...😯
I don't have four hundred waters. I have 550. Two panels.
Just note a 400W panel will only produce that on perfect conditions. Obviously you'll get nothing at night, but you'll also be impacted by the angle to the sun, and therefore latitude, clouds, shadows, and annoyingly they are less efficient if they get too warm. You'd also have to be careful about the batteries, as lead-acid batteries take way more watts to charge than they retain; whereas I've read that the new Lithium batteries will store about 90% of the power coming from the solar panels.
The reason I’m asking is because I’m in FL... my basically works from home (my boat) when not on Cat losses..(hurricane tornadoes hail wind) loss to who ever-where ever...I work in healthcare so I’m in and out... but the bulk of our power goes to laptops phones cooler/freezer batteries inverter ... that’s about it... have chart plotter and gps depth devices but those aren’t used much... as I said I’m new to all this and am slowly getting away from the dock more and more...
I’m looking into panels now and set ups and have been watching all Tim’s previous vids that’s why I’m asking if for those items alone (listed above) would it be smart to change out batteries(2 giant acids) to 4-6 lithium and two big panels to produce the power...
@@jbond7 I’m in south florida and for the most part the suns always shining even in winter... I plan on sailing her south to PR and just need enough to be able to keep batteries and important items running : batteries, wind instruments plotter, inverter cooler/freezer (all one), and laptop though I know they won’t be running at same time... I even got a smaller laptop... I don’t do tv ...I have a little wind up radio and that’s about it...
How many batteries do you have in your bank? Voltage?
Hey. I've four Trojans. 6v series and parallel pairs.
0:24 lol!!!
Hi I'm looking for cheoy Lee ketch 45 to 53 project is okay to if you know any please let me know thanks 👍
Tim let me know if you are looking for crew this summer.