House Batt Bank

[Angel D.]

Hello friends !
Excuse my absence, I been busy ,working a lot . Always a project to do . And got some things off the punch list. Been running off my solar little over a week now with good results. Mostly gloomy days of rain that made it the perfect week to test the upgrade. The feel of independence is fantastic. Shore power cords just taking space on the lazarette.
So far running :
6 solar panels
3 charge controllers
5 batteries
1 dc to dc charger
2000w inverter

System is a simple design, for longevity. I don't reach 15 amps draw. And when I get to 12 amps is for a few minutes with the microwave. Hot plate reach 9 amps . That makes the small inverter good for my needs. I just use one appliance at a time.
It is working out for me.

My AC unit. [ air current= - box fan ] can run also . LOL .

So far so good !

 

[ConchyDug]

Is that 5 batteries x 300ah = 1500ah? Dannnnnnng you running a mobile welding shop out of your boat?

 

[gabriel]

has your gauge ever gone below 99.9%?

 

[Loren Beach]

5 batteries

Sorry to perhaps ask an unnecessary question, but what exactly are the five batteries? Voltage? Chemistry? Type? etc.....
Edit: I should have enlarged your picture, albeit even if I am not familiar with the printing on the batteries....

For comparison, our boat has three physical batteries. One is a 12 volt spiral cell AGM, for switchover in an emergency. Our House Bank is a pair of flooded Trojan T-145 six-volt golf cart format batteries. I keep track of them with an analog expanded-scale meter, and also a Balmar Smartgauge monitor.

Smartgauge Battery Monitor - Balmar

SmartgaugeTMBattery Monitor An Advanced Battery Fuel Gauge Monitors State-of-Charge Percentage (SoC%) and Voltage of the Primary Battery Monitors Voltage of a Second Battery No Shunt Required Self-Calibrating Accurate within 5% after just a Few Cycles High/Low Voltage and SoC% Alarms Alarm...

balmar.net

We have a solid state shore power charger. No solar, however. Engine alternator is a 70 amp.
Not at all "cutting edge" but very reliable.
Thanks,
Loren

 

[David Vaughn]

Nice setup. Are you keeping track of your daily usage? I'm guessing with 5 300ah LiFePO4 (18kW!!!) you're not running low anytime soon.
If you don't already have a battery monitor, we've been pleased with our Victron SmartShunt. The app lets you track usage over several weeks.

I'm curious about your solar setup - 6 panels, what is the wattage of each? How many hours of solar are needed to replace your daily usage? Our two 175w panels can, by mid afternoon, easily replace what the fridge, kettle, lights, small fans and device charging uses overnight, but on cloudy days we often forego using the electric kettle.
Is your hot plate an induction unit?

 

[Angel D.]

Hello friends !

To answer some of the questions, there are 3 batt at 300ah and two 200ah. 1300ah . Total LiFePO4 . One of the batt is above water level and will soon provide power to safety gear. Radio , bilge pumps ect.

So far been above 13v. Even with a week of rain over cast that leaves me with a limited sun shine harvest.

I do have a smart shunt and smart chargers. But since I been busy haven't reset the pin to access the shunt with my phone. So I'm unable to share raw data at this point. Will do soon . All I been doing is checking on the round digital gauge.

What's on ? = Everything but the original fridge. That's another project soon.

Appliance aboard?
Water heater
Microwave/ air fryer/ conventional oven combo
Dual hot plate
Freezer box 12v. DC.
Coffee maker
Rice cooker pot
Bread maker machine
Trolling motor for the dinghy

Soon to upgrade my Armstrong windlass to an electric gypsy/Capstan. Will add180ft of chain to already 180ft of Rode with my 55Lb. Mantis anchor.

Solar panels I have gathered over the years. More or less 1600w all together. On deck and a bimini. Everything hand made . People laugh when they see you bending stainless pipes with the pilelings. But circumference is great and no marks on the pipe.

Is a lot of panels but cosmetic is not terrible. Small compromise for total energy independence. I'm confident it will outlast weeks of cloudy days.

Honda generator is off the boat. Old natural gas system is been removed. Propane only for the grill and that might be out soon too. Just that a grill is nice to have and a pain to clean . But the air fryer makes fish so good that I'm puzzled at this point.

I'll upload more pictures shortly. And thank you guys for the comments.


Here is my galley project so far...

 

[bsangs]

Hello friends !


Here is my galley project so far...

Can you teach us the magic trick that allows the tea kettle to float in mid air?

 

[Angel D.]

Can you teach us the magic trick that allows the tea kettle to float in mid air?

 

[gabriel]

Can you teach us the magic trick that allows the tea kettle to float in mid air?

 

[ConchyDug]

It's amazing what people are able to do with the lithium battery systems and solar. The funny thing is I bet that whole battery system weighs about the same as 3 group 31 AGMs.

Is the 1600w array stowable for sailing? I can't fathom a way to get more than 700-800w on a 38 with davits without it being some giant solar panel origami monstrosity.

 

[Angel D.]

It's amazing what people are able to do with the lithium battery systems and solar. The funny thing is I bet that whole battery system weighs about the same as 3 group 31 AGMs.

Is the 1600w array stowable for sailing? I can't fathom a way to get more than 700-800w on a 38 with davits without it being some giant solar panel origami monstrosity.

Four of them can be stowaway with some hardship. So far 50 kts. gusts didn't blow them away.

Two are attached to deck are not stowaways.

I have no dinghy Davis , the would be origami is a pair that flops , no different that flops from the railings. And actually double as a anchor sail when down.

 

[gabriel]

I switched out my 100ah 65lbs Gel to a 45lbs 200ah life and couldn’t be happier. It cost me maybe 10% more than an agm battery of half (actually quarter usable) the capacity.

If it last me even 5 years and doesn’t turn into a volcano, I consider it a success.

 

[Frank Langer]

Gabriel,
What modifications did you need to make to your alternator, charging system, regulator, etc when you switched from AGM batteries to the life lithium batteries?
Frank

 

[gabriel]

Gabriel,
What modifications did you need to make to your alternator, charging system, regulator, etc when you switched from AGM batteries to the life lithium batteries?
Frank

None, I don’t have any charging source other than a 100 watt panel. My boat has an outboard without alternator.

 

[Angel D.]

Gabriel,
What modifications did you need to make to your alternator, charging system, regulator, etc when you switched from AGM batteries to the life lithium batteries?
Frank

Hello Frank .. I'm also running AGM for stater batt , a DC to DC charger solve that problem for me . I had one already and no need to modify alternator. Although I have a better alternator with more amps I don't know yet if it will sit well with this engine. That's another project.

 

[dhill]

I think this is the most innovative setup I've seen on a monohull boat - 1600w array on a Warrior 38.

 

[Angel D.]

I think this is the most innovative setup I've seen on a monohull boat - 1600w array on a Warrior 38.

That's a nice set up. This building was a different experience. Lots of leftovers freeve stainless pipes from friends and me bending them to shape on the cleats, pilelings and metal work at the docks. So far no issue . Month and a half of energy independence.