Electrics Advice??

[hriehl1]

15 HP outboard powered 28 footer kept on a mooring for weekend use.

I am hoping to get by with one 90 AH deep cycle battery for starting and house needs. Electrical demands should be modest... incandescent lighting, anchor light, VHF, depth sounder, engine-starting and fresh water pump. No stereo, fridge, watermaker, chartplotter, etc. The engine will pull-start if needed. I estimate 25+/- AH usage max per day/night of use.

I plan to refresh the battery during the week with a 30 watt solar panel (hoping for 8+/- AH per day) with an inexpensive Morningstar PWM controller.

Any advice or comments? Am I being realistic? For my setup, would an MPPT controller at $75 more offer enough benefit over PWM? Which would be a better way to spend another $150... LED bulbs, a second battery, or some other improvement?

I'm aware this 90AH setup won't fly for any period of use greater than 2-3 days.

Thanks... Hank

[LazyGuy]

Buy a couple of kerosene lamps, switch to LED lighting for anchor and incandescent and you should be OK. Also remember, a 90 ah battery is only good for 45 amps for regular discharges. Otherwise, you will start damaging the battery.

[CharlieJ]

Lived aboard, and cruised full time, for 2 1/2 years (Texas to the Chesapeake and back, around 7000 miles), with a single Grp 27 battery and a 32 Watt solar panel. Agree pretty much with LazyGuy, but here's a few more thoughts-

Get rid of the electric water pump- two reasons- first it's unneeded- a foot pump works quite well and second, it'll waste water. A hand pump is a real PITA by the way-foot pumps are the way to go.

Go to all LED, I have LED fixtures inside, every where. Also get an LED anchor light. Mine is an Owl, from Bebi Electronics in Fiji. Best, brightest light on the market. I still have incandescent running lights since they don't get used all that much- only a few overnight passages, of one or two nights duration

I use the Sunsaver 20 controller from Morningstar- has worked very well. Had a problem with it while I was cruising, called them and they drop shipped a new controller to me, under warranty- good folks.

Seldom run the sounder, except when coming into an anchorage. Do run a hand held GPS, hooked to ships power, and a VHF full time when underway. Also occasionally power a laptop, and often recharge Cell phone.

Otherwise, I see no reason your setup shouldn't do well for you

[hriehl1]

Thanks for your thoughts.

1.
I've seen some discussion (in one of Casey's or Calder's books, I think) suggesting that the overall cost-of-ownership is not that severely compromised if one takes a battery down to 35% +/-. Certainly one accelerates the rate of decay and gets fewer recharge cycles... but one gets "more" out of each recharge cycle. Deeper discharge also provides a greater quick-recharge (up to ~85%) interval before the slower topping-up acceptance rate comes into play. The trade-off of a shortened total lifespan against more utility-per-charge from the battery while it is alive seems reasonable to me. I believe the analysis cited a total loss of maybe 5-10% total AHs versus optimal cycling... for a $120 battery that's 10 bucks every few years... cheap as I am, I can handle that.

2.
For those with LED lighting, an anchor light is a no-brainer since it is on for hours and Bebi does come well-recommended. I'll order today. For interior lighting, there seems a wide range of quality and price in replacement bulbs. I am attracted to "warmer" hues... I want no part of the harsh blue-glare one sees in cheap LED flashlights. Can anyone name particular brands of replacement bulbs you are happy with (or you'd avoid)? My 4 bulkhead reading lights are single contact bayonets and my 2 dome lights are double-contact bayonets. I am fine keeping incandescents for (infrequent use) running lights.

3.
Any advice on 30 Watt (Mono or Poly, but not amorphous) panels? Are shing-shang no-name panels from E-Bay just a waste or is the technology mature enough that I'd likely get 5 years service out of a cheapie? (I know panels should last way longer than 5 years, but that's my reasonable usage and payback horizon before I likely change boats or electrical demands).

Continued Thanks... Hank

[triton318]

I just bought this solar panel:

http://www.affordable-solar.com/store/s ... olar-panel

for 156.00 plus shipping. Looks to be a great piece of equipment and puts out according to specs. Good customer service, too.