RufusR

Short of running big gennie all day not sure what that is ? Interested in the solution as always looking for ways to generate more power on dark days ,

You just need a shunt , you may need one on each bank if they are operating Independently. Look at victron smart shunt no screen you can install remotely and read from mobile phone app via Bluetooth

Totally agree with this , what I didn’t say as thought was as read , we don’t have a huge power usage and ration even that in winter , we have 12 volt fridge but that is biggest draw , we added 12 volt sockets everywhere when we moved off grid so as not to use inverter except for the odd thing like oven ( needs fan to operate ) and even then ration use , we don’t watch TV instead stream to iPads which recharge for dc sockets , lights are all LED and we only use those sparingly , etc etc . It is simply not possible to live like a houser off grid on a boat in winter . Give this is not an option give up and buy a house or move to marina / mooring with electric hook up . To echo Tony , Detailed power audit and constant accurate monitoring are crucial if you want to have prolonged battery life past a year or two or even less . I know from experience and a wrecked battery bank within 3 months of moving off grid . Another winter trick is using power blocks to recharge phones , pads etc and recharging them at work if you have an understanding boss ?

Solar can be enough in winter if you have enough , but you need lots , we can charge to 100 percent most days but have 1630 watts , you have to think big if you want it to work , I am with Tony a back up generator is also a good idea for those odd ultra low light days but we only run it on average once every 2-3 weeks dec jan and never other times , Wind seems fun and attracts me as s project one day but just for a hobbie rather than any expectation of it have a worth the money effect . Running engine Ines with alternator rarely gets batteries to a proper full state unless you are running it for ever , so alternate methods are preferable if living aboard . IMO most people don’t think big enough regard solar arrays on narrow boats hence disappointment when it does deliver in winter months . Solar panels are pretty cheap these days . Roof space is an issue but can be overcome if creative thinking on a lot of boats

FYI word of warning , I have the same inverter charger from Victron as OP and they are really really fussy regards which gennie output they will accept , Mine spat out all of them I tried except Honda 2.2eu ( 2.0 eu also ok I think ) Boat Eng has confirmed this that he says only Honda will be accepted due to excellent inverters on them and pure sin waves . I dont know about Kipor as that one I didnt try if good honda knock off might work but I would check before you spend IMO . I have heard someone say Hyundais work also but not sure where you would get one and again not sure how you would check maybe secure in writing from Vendor they will take it back if they say it will work and it doesn't with your Victron charger

You need more solar if living off grid on the cut with little cruising and needing to properly charge batteries , If you have mucho solar you can get through the winter just about with just to occasional gennie run , 500 odd watts wont be enough esp with your loads , IMO you should go 12 V everything . Note you have 3kw inverter which is too big , I have the same it was on the boat when I bought it Victron nice unit but it takes 2A quiescent which is too much , so a smaller inverter and dumping stuff like microwave would be better . all only my opinion based on experience of living off grid on linear mooring under some trees with not much cruising . For the record I have 1630 watts of solar and just about get my batteries up to 100% this time of year and will prob need some gen help in a couple weeks until days get longer . I think you have a boat decked out for a marina and plan to go off grid , will be tough , FYI we ditched our 12v freezer as it drank way too much . and installed lots of DC charging sockets for phones , ipads , Wifi etc .

This . I didnt want a cruiser when we were looking to buy our boat , I wanted a Semi-trad but mrs talked me into practicalities of Cruiser with pram cover and after 6 years living aboard with 5 winters and 1 large wet and muddy dog I would now never look back . You basically get an back porch for wiping down said pooch , hanging wet coats and storing muddy boots etc , Plus we have put extra storage boxes on the back with cushioned seats so it is an additional G and T spot in summer / Autumn with cover up or down . We have not got a too large cruiser stern so ideal . I know Live aboards with Trads who say the engine room is also not really that usable and is full of oil and paint cans etc . The Cruising the Cut guy has also come to the same conclusion if you watch him on You Tube . ( he has trade but would rather in hindsight have gone for Semi trad or cruiser with pram )

Yes it will need anchoring properly to the roof and laying it flat when cruising would also be a challenge but hey those are the Engineering challenges that made Victorian Britain great .. LOL .. I love a challenge me . I am sure there would be a solution . Just think the tech is very promising . But as with all things new proof of pudding will be in the eating . And yes it is a little ways off still me thinks .

I agree with a lot thats been said here , I love the idea of something that produces power when the sun dont shine esp in winter but cannot get over all the disadvantages . I am closely watching the development of Vortex bladeless technologies as this looks like it could be the long sought answer for narrow boats esp as it acutally likes disturbed air oft found at moorings with trees etc , works in low speeds and is very light and quiet . Obviously brand new tech so needs to be proven , but they say they should have a nominal 100-150w unit out by end of year .. Watch this space . https://vortexbladeless.com/es/desarrollo-tecnologia/

this time of year 13.5v odd as solar kicks in as soon as its light , in Winter 12.8 ish Morning SOC on Midnite app via shunt is currently 92-96% depending what we have had running the evening .

If you have a sizeable solar array and large controller then you need 25mm from solar controller to batteries. We used it from our 96 A midnite classic to the batteries as we have an oversized array so could in theory have 96A output . Interestingly midnite being American recommends 4 gauge wire which equates to 25mm as closest metric but actually it was a tad too big for the terminal blocks so we had to take some strands out to make it fit , imperial to metric not quite working it seems . Actually at weekend we did see almost 90 amps from the midnite 1200 watts from the array for a short time so glad we didn’t undersized the cable .

We have the same gen as op and I hate to run it so it’s for back up only , answer is solar and lots of it so much in fact that it will carry you most of the year . Can be done similar price to honda 22eui gen . ,decent batteries and large good solar array and you will not need to run gen except in exceptional circumstance in dead of winter when few other s about. If still worried about those few times get wind ..

These days so many boats don’t bother to slow down I am minded to start asking the few that do to speed up for continuity . The days of slowing for moored boats seem to have gone no idea where it came from but I have given up shouting or firing high powered water pistols and just bought more and bigger fenders and brace brace brace .

Thats very good Alan for a 170w panel , I have just gone for the " you cant ever have enough solar " approach as living on off Grid linear Mooring . I have 1620 watts on the roof of my 60 foot narrow boat and its like being plugged into shoreline for most of the time . even will be heating my water ( for the Spring , summer and early Autumn ) once I install all the diversion kit in the next week or so .

I would say 45w from 2 x 100w panels on a cloudy day is a good performance in Blighty , Output will depend on a lot of factors , Quality of panel , angle and direction of tilt , temperature etc etc but on a normal sunny date expect something around 50-60% of quote max output . My old array tilted to the sun hit 75% of max once fleetingly , My new array with new panels etc and a much better solar controller did hit close to 100% but in british climate around 50% is a good average on a normal non cloudy day .

In that case you are correct I didnt see the spec sheet ( or didnt read it lol . Victrons 50 /100 Smart solar is a good MPPT at a reasonable price for this ( alot cheaper than the 150volt ones . You may get EPever a bit cheaper but having owned one the OP will be happier with the Victron unless on very tight budget . Its a shame Midnite dont do a controller between their 30A kid and 96A Classic as really they are Les Ballon de Chein when it comes to solar controllers

If Vmax is 91V then you need to look at something bigger than 100v controller as on a cold sunny days which we can get in UK the Vmax can do above the Vmax and excess volts can kill your controller , 8 v is not really enough headroom IMO . look at 150v , Victron are good , I have a Midnite solar classic 150 which in my biased opinion is the best solar controller on the market its awesome but it is a 90amp plus controller so maybe a bit overkill here unless you want all the extra neat features such as smart load diversion , internet connectivity , end amps Absorption termination , skip days , HyperVOC for those cold sunny days i referenced above , the list goes on I love it . PeterBoat has this too I believe EPEver do OK budget ones which work OK ( bit slow and buggy , I had one before the midnite ,) they are cheap and cheerful but quite reliable . they certainly do the current and are current limited but not sure if they have 150v one

I have a Combiner box for my 6 panels , each panel has a fuse then goes through feedback diodes then lightening surge suppressors then a large breaker . Came all assembled in a IP rated metal box with MC 4 connectors on the inputs all for £125.00 . couldnt have made it for that . Combines all six panels in Parallel which I wanted ( will handle up to 150 v so can have series strings and parallel those if required ) and gives all extra safety , In addition solar controller has ARC fault protection ( Only one that does ) and Ground fault protection included . I think powerful arrays need protecting no matter what the rules say as you have a lot of voltage and current running around your roof that you cant switch off easily if something goes wrong . Interesting seems the US have tougher rules on this than over here ( all the stuff above comes from US ) which is rare when it comes to safety things .

Yes I agree you can however heat water from solar either a thermal panel or if you have a big solar array with power to spare you can get a solar controller that will divert spare power to a DC water heater via a SSR when the batteries are full , Outbacks and Midnite classics have Aux outputs for this purpose , I have a Midnite ( awesome piece of kit ) and though its early days should be able to heat water in summer , SPring and Autumn in varying amounts , Not in Winter though as dont think even with 1620 watts I will have enough spare so its back to Engine then ,

Ah so you use a std Whale water pump ? or gulper ?

Ok cool but where is container in relation to the loo does it have to be lower ie below the floor ? trying to figure out where to put it on our boat as we have a fitted unit behind the current Vetus which when the pump out gear is stripped out would provide space but then access to remove the container would be a challenge so trying to see how others do it . You say pumped in , is this a pump you have added as from I can see the loo comes with just a gravity outlet no pump Au Natural lol

Hi Peter Sorry to Hijack a little but what do you do for a urine tank as I understand the separate does not come with one just an outlet ? We are looking at converting to one but not sure how we are going to deal with Urine .

Blimey what size is you boat ? you would need a 70 foot 12 ft 6 widebeam to even have a chance of getting that much solar on plus would need to be wired to a min 24volts or better 48 volt so what is you system ? lots of expensive solar controllers etc . Look at the cost of kits in that range on Bimble , will probably put you off . I have 1620 watts on my 60 foot narrow boat that takes up 90% of the roof with some clever packaging . Think you need to rethink you leccy usage and be a little more realistic

Careful I thought this , I have over panelled and have 6 x 270 w Perlight panels . I have a midnite classic for 96a and am testing one panel and In current light cloud with sunny intervals i am getting 250 watts very close to max and I think on perfect day next week it could produce more that the max output . My old panels would not have got near 50 % of rated output so conclusion is new modern high efficiency perc panels will even in uk hit or exceed max rates output . Make sure your solar controller has a current limit if you over panel or it could end in tears