Hey Folks
My batteries never seemed to take a full charge since I bought the boat new in 08. they are now setting of alarms within 30 minutes of cruise time. I'm going to change them out. any recommendations? cost isn't a factor as long as they last and can hold a charge for a few hours.
thanks
Mike Cioffi
I've been following this thread and also talking to Mike and James about this offline. My setup consists of 4 Trojan T105 6V batteries, an ElectroMaax 140A alternator coupled to a Balmar Smart Regulator. The alternator is dialed back to deliver apx 110ahr and is driven by a serpentine belt. Since the alternator output exceeds the house bank battery isolator I replaced with with a ProSIne 180amp model. I also upgraded the alt output wiring to 1/0 versus the 2 wire that came with the boat. Also upgraded the wiring from the ProSine to the battery switches to 1/0. While I wont pull the full 140amps I wanted to make sure I could do so if I changed my setup. Didn't want to worry about inadequate wiring or voltage drop issues either. Still need to put it through an extended test out on the hook, but suspect from initial readings I should be good to go.
I've seen James' solar set up and would like to do something similar as we too are heading South this winter. Clayton what size solar panels did you install? What are you getting for amp hours per day put of them on a normal day (if one exists?)
Mike
I never been in that situation on the boat yet but mountaineering will do the same and I am an avid one. Water if never an issue but stove fuel and food is. we pack in with 75lbs packs to make base camp but then we are off from there with minimal supplies to travel lite. we are then sometimes stuck with little provisions. Its actually fun and we have never been in any serious danger. ive been in more danger on the boat trying to get out of the way of storms. LOL
I hear you Clayton!
We have 2 Kyocera 140 watt panels. They are rated at 17.7 volts and 8 (7.91) amps max and wired parallel. I have measured the highest voltage entering the charge controller at 20.1 volts this past spring. Verified with my digital voltmeter ( This was voltage from the panels to the controller, the controller steps down the voltage to what the battery can accept).
At sun rise our amp meter starts going positive and continues all during daylight hours. On a normal mostly sunny day we are full by 3 pm. We are not energy conscience and use a ton of power each day. These panels are now an integral part of our cruising experience. I would suggest that any owner of a B40/43 seriously consider installing adequately sized panels to supply power and, most importantly, maintain batteries on these boats.
I now advocate solar as the first step in building a charging system on a cruiser. With properly sized panels and a back up system such as generator or high output alternator (not wind) their should be no reason to carry a huge, heavy bank of batteries. The properly sized panels not only supply daily energy, they will maintain the batteries in peak condition continuously, extending the service life of the batteries by reducing depth of discharge plus battery maintenance. A 24hr to 48hr supply of battery power (400-500ah house bank?) should suffice in this scenario? The panels should last 20 years or so if not abused and solar cost has dropped significantly over the past few years. Installation is owner manageable in most cases.
My next project is replacing the 40ah, Beneteau supplied, Xanterex battery charger with a 100ah battery charger to reduce the run time of the generator when needed to restore the batteries at anchor/mooring and in slip.
All the best!
James
James,
I was eyeing the 140 watt panels, but they are almost 60 inches each in length and on the B40 two of them may barely squeeze in between the two backstays - on the B43 your caboose is a bit wider (no offense) and you have the room. I was worried about the panels rubbing on the braided cables and chose to downsize to the 85s which are only 40 inches. What sucks is that we loose 3 (x2) amp hrs (37% loss). Next time I'm on board I'm going to remeasure. Anybody have 140s on a B40?
Also, not sure this is kosher, but on a good sunny day when my batteries are full, I've skipped the charge controller (which will change the charge state to float) on occasion to really give my old lead batteries a good kick in the acid, as a way to equalize when on the hook! I've read 14-16V and the batteries do really respond to this well, and I don't leave the batteries unattended. If anyone has a reason why this is stupid (it would not be the first time), PLEASE let me know.
Clayton
Mike
James Taylor here!
We are back from Miami. We still have our 6 year old Dekka AGM's on board and they still accept a full charge and give great service. We stayed on our boat at Dinner Key Mooring Field for most of winter and had some great sunny days this year with temps in low 80's most days. During the entire winter we did not once have to run the generator/engine to charge the batteries. We did not use the freezer much in Miami since the grocer was very close and we had our car available.The refrigerator was always on when we were on board. Never scrimped on power usage, lots of movies, tv, visitors, phone charging etc..
On the trip north we stayed in Charleston SC for 4 days on anchor. The freezer was on during this time and by the 4th morning the batteries were down to 12.2 volts but we were leaving Charleston direct Southport NC via Atlantic Ocean that morning and knew we would have the engine running long enough to fill batteries.
Long story short. After an entire winter in Florida and not once being in a marina except for fuel, water (they pumped us out in mooring field) , we did not have to run the engine or Honda Generator to charge our 6 year old agm's. The proof is in the pudding! What about the engine battery sitting for long periods? The engine battery held at 12.9 volts while on mooring without any noticeable loss of voltage (engine batteries do not receive solar charging on our boat).
Solar panels, where there is sun, are a great addition to any "off the grid boat". AGM's, when properly cared for, are excellent batteries and give long usage life. We intend to keep the agm's until the service starts to noticeably deteriorate. Once this happens we will replace them with fresh agm batteries.
If you mainly use and enjoy marina's , solar panels may not be for you but, if you enjoy anchoring and keeping a few pennies in your pocket, properly sized solar and properly sized batteries (not necessarily large since battery weight affecting performance has to be considered ) is the way to go.
James
Our B43 has two 140 watt Kyocera solar panels,Morningstar 30 pwm solar controller ( I would recommend mppt controller), two 198ah Dekka AGM's (house bank) and 98ah AGM Dekka Engine batt. Alternator is Mitsubishi 80ahr alternator. Linklite battery monitor (important piece of equipment)
Hey James
the proof is in the pudding. this is a great story of proof on how the agm's and solar panels really work well living aboard. well the enough of the batteries, how was your trip? tell me more. Tina and i would love to do what you guys just did.
I hear you on the hot water Mike. At Dinner Key we used the marina showers for long hot showers. The marina showers in Dinner Key Mooring facility are kinda yucky but, Marina and Mooring facility are combining and opening a brand new 4-5 story marina office, with state of the art facilities this year. It was well over 50% completed when we left 1 April.
For washing dishes we would heat water on stove. When we didn't wish to use marina showers we would run engine no more than 30 minutes and have adequate hot water ( I guess that 5 year old anti freeze is weak so it heats up faster than fresh antifreeze? Will replace antifreeze very soon.)
Trip was fantastic Michael Cioffi. We sailed as far west as Marathon, then drove to Key West with friend (anchored 3 nights in anchorage at Marathon, no problem plenty of space there). While at Rodriquez Key on return I dove on bottom and cleaned prop and shaft.
Attended the Miami Boat show and to be honest, It was phenomenal. Not only did they combine power with sail, they did it with style. The location for the sail boats was in the harbor downtown with outdoor music, great restaurants and beautiful weather and people. I think Annapolis could learn something from the organizers there.
We drove to the Dania Marine Flea Market held at the Mardi Gras Resort and Casino's parking lot. Bargains galore on all things aquatic. We picked up a number of items at fantastic prices and it was a beautiful day.
We sailed to just before Venetian Causeway and anchored 3 nights at South Beach for a long weekend with friends. South Beach is great when you're staying on your boat and not paying $500 a night high season rates at hotels. Short dingy ride and very brief walk, we were at the Sunday market on South Beach (Collins Ave) which is another phenomenal experience.
We ate and enjoyed Cuban cuisine in Little Havana at a number of very reasonably priced ,excellent restaurants. I should own stock in the Versaiiles bakery with all the sweets I purchased there.
We had dinner with friends at Garcia's Seafood restaurant on the Miami River. Great food and right on the river.
We had lots of family and friends visit, always nice, and we made many new friends at the mooring field and marina.
I saved the best for last Michael. The best, very best part of being in Miami this winter with my wife on our B43, other than being with my wife on our boat, was the south Florida weather. The weather was magnificent, for the most part! Most days it was low 80's with sun. We would have the occasional front but shortly thereafter, 82 degrees, blue skies. We visited the Bahamas in 2012 and the weather there and South Florida are similar but there is just so much more to do in South Florida. We had a great winter Michael and, should you wish, I hope you and your wife will arrange the opportunity to go someday.
James
B43 "RaJean"
"Shout Out" to Bruce Bogdanoff, Thank you for tying the dingy cover on our dingy back in January. He was on the way to Bahama's and stopped at Dinner Key. Sent a photo and ask if I wanted him to go aboard our B43 and secure the cover (probably would have blown away before we got back). Have not personally met Bruce but I do appreciate him and what he did for us. Thanks again Bruce and hope you had great fun in Bahamas etc.
Another take on managing the charge on your batteries. I have 2 215 watt solar panels mounted on an arch on the back of my B-40. They charged the batteries completely from mid February on when we were in the Bahamas. We ran the freezer and refrigerator all the time and 3 hrs. of TV nightly. However from December to mid-February they would only charge back 90% or less of the charge. We supplemented the solar charger with a 5.5kw NextGen generator. We ran this every other day or every third day for two-three hours to bring up the batteries. When running the generator we also ran the hot water heater. Fuel consumption was about.25 gal per hour and was quieter than running the main engine.
An added benefit of the gen set is that we used the heater on the way down the ICW to take the chill off at night in Nov and Dec. when at anchor and in the morning when we woke up.
I also added a second 60 amp battery charger for the two 4 Ds and had the 40 amp dedicated to the engine battery. I upgraded the alternator as well to 150 amp with a smart regulator so when we powered down the ICW we would have a full charge sooner and be able to run the coffee pot and microwave as needed.
The genset is definitely worth considering to help with electrical demands and comfort. The only problem is the B-40 is stern down and 2 degree starboard list.
Bruce
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