RufusR

If you live aboard off grid and need every amp when it’s not high summer then tilting them into sun at the correct angle for the season will give you at least 30 % more power . Indeed my current old panels doubled their output when I stopped the denial and listened to my elders and betters on the cut . I was amazed and delighted . Do not believe the flat earthers ( panelers) that it makes no difference , they are plan wrong . Of of course you may just be looking for a little addition while cruising and not living aboard off grid on which case it probably doesn’t matter as much .

This best option. By far . Currently have 2 x big inefficient Solar’s on 30 degree tilt mounts held by 6 x neomyedium (six ) 9.1 kilo magnets and didn’t move an inch in recent high winds even when from behind . Have 6 x 270 watt panels coming tomorrow and they will be held by 6x 12 kilo magnets each on tilting frames . Cost from amazon is 12 quid delivered per six . Job done ✅

Have a 2.2eui and it runs on propane . No problem with 13kg lil bit lumpy at zero or very light load but that virtually goes away as it gets up to temp . Regards consumption it is great at low to medium loads but at full chat is a thirsty beast 13 kg bottle lasts 1 week at 2 -3 hours a day if running my immersion (1kw) and other loads , so at close to full chat 1800 watts due to efficiency loses , about 15-20 hours but I am told that is no worse than petrol . Certainly when just charging batteries and the missus iron etc it does not use much at all and last easily between fuel boat visits 3-4weeks and zone running.3 hours a day

Come on guys everything is made I china , it all comes from there . The only question is whether it is held at a a amazons European warehouses or is coming direct fro Shanghai ? I bought some solar cables the other day , amazon site was x£ , manufactures site direct was almost half price so bought from there , guess what , delivered by amazon at the lower price . It’s all wheels within wheels and fro China no matter what brand you are buying . And don’t start me on conspiracy theories about covid 19 origins and why ...?

Given the above If fitted correctly 550 watts of solar April to October should easily power you on most normal days so something else is wrong . As Tony said very hard to figure without knowing boat but my guess is all your batteries are goosed ,including new ones , For reasons mentioned. I think you need a rethink rewire and new batteries plus monitors etc . Solar sounds ok . Contact last decent engineer and ask for cup of tea consultation which you will pay for and start from there .

I cannot believe all the Marine electricians in your area are that incompetent . Ours down here are friendly , well known and have been working on boats for decades , they have forgotten more than I will ever know . They are more than happy to come and sit over a cup of tea and discuss my requirements before the job no matter how challenging , and only put a nominal fee on for the time . They make their living from the cut so if they got a bad rep they very quickly would have no work . Why is it different in wherever you are . Why not try and sit down with last guy and talk through all the issues highlighted here and ask for a solution ?

Awesome thanks

Huawei B311 is what I am planning to buy as I need Ethernet hard input and antenna input , current Huawei router has latter but not former . In questions on amazon Huawei seem to suggest its ok but don’t really trust amazon q and a . If anyone has tried this with this router or has one with Ethernet input and antenna input that works from unregulated 12v supply I would be grateful to hear . If not any suggestions on how I regulate the supply ?

Also did I see somewhere further back you were equalising your batteries ? If so and they are normal agms this alone may have killed the new ones , pretty much all agm’s will be severally damaged by equalising cycles . sorry to sound like such a doom gloomer have to agree with Alan I think you are gonna have to throw some money at this one with a proper narrowboat electrician

Also all these leccy’s apart From the tanker one are they marine electricians who understand dc systems or house sparks who from experience don’t have a clue about dc ?

Ignore all the state of charge monitors esp the ep ever one unless they are connected to a shunt . They can or accurately know from voltage alone if your batteries are charged . I currently ( soon to be removed ) have an epever battery monitor , it will tell you batteries are full the minute the voltage hits 14.4 which is the absorb voltage. This is just the beginning of the absorb cycle and the batteries are no where near full . Absorb will hold the voltage at the absorb voltage and reduce the amps for a set time ( or end amps if you have a very clever system ) until the batteries are full then go to float . All this assumes you have enough power coming in from solar to do it . Also the flashing line light on epever indicates batteries are full and not taking charge but it lies , you are actually just entering absorb stage and if you watch you will see the amps reduce as the volts remain steady until the volts drop to 13.6 or whatever the float is set at and amps drop to low maintenance level . Epever mppt works ok but the monitoring and charge indicators and the fact it all locks up regularly are garbage . People bang on about them coz they are cheap but I would not buy another ,save up and get a decent one if looking to replace it . If keeping ignore all the bs battery info coming from it and get a shunt based monitor . Everything else speaks with forked tongue .

Ah good advice there Alan will check that before install maybe Need to find a dc to dc converter

Now I am permanently moored off grid we dumped our 12 volt freezer , kept fridge, and that left us with a nice high powered 12 v feed , I bought a little 4 socket panel from amazon and added some more usb sockets to it on place or the switch and voltmeter both of which I have elsewhere in the circuit . This has given us 6 x 5v usb charging sockets and one 12 v cigar lighter socket . More than enough for our needs . Also going to plumb the WiFi router straight into a spare switch on my electrical panel as on investigation the mains adapter steps down to 12 v 2a to power the thing so cut out the middle man / transformer and save a to. Of power fro running our way too big inverter . it seems most modern boats these days are speced and built as “ Marine boats “ and are expecting to be on mains hook up all the time hence everything is focused on 240volts and power hog living . I have spent the last 6 months modifying things for low amp living and renewable energy . It’s been fun .

Oil tanker electrician? Lordy god help you. I work with Marine oil tankers . They think differently is the polite description . Best practice is to replace all your batteries at once so maybe dump the front ones and try and make do with the new three until you need to replace them . I agree with others move it all to the back near to charge controller , inverter , charger etc. Also invest in a shunt battery monitor so you can see what’s really happening. Victron bmv is lovely but expensive , Renogy make a decent one for about 90 squid but it’s out of stock currently due to covid , then there is cheap Chinese one available on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Battery-Monitor-Voltmeter-Motorhome-Lead-Acid/dp/B07CTKYFTG Normally I wouldn’t recommend a cheap Chinese knock off but Will Prowse seems to recommend it so should be ok as he knows his eggs . Doesnt have Bluetooth or anything but will do the trick if on a budget . Once you can see what’s what you can decide if what needs doing to fix .

Full for AGM batteries is 12.7 to 12.9 volts after surface charge has gone so your bank looks like it is either in a low partial state of charge most of time ( not good even for agms ) or they are on their last legs or at least the bow ones are . Maybe take off all loads if you can for about 8 hours on a sunny day and let them go through a full absorption cycle . If you they are not reading the above voltage range or above afterwards then suggest batteries are on way out . Ignore epever soc it’s nonsense as it measures it from voltage not current in and out . For proper soc measurement you need a monitor with a shunt on the negative line . Note ts you will never properly charge the batteries with the alternator alone , solar is good but using alternator as a charger will eventually wreck your batteries before their time . AGM’s are more resilient to PSoC (partial state of charge ) sulfuration (sic) but not impervious . They need to be properly charged to 100% preferably through a proper charger at least once a week to ensure a long life . Solar can do this through mppt as long as the suns out but not in the winter .

Interestingly I think we may have got it from that exact dealer .

Yes you can get them quite easily several uk suppliers have them for this very purpose not very dear either . Yes cables need to be large but over just a couple meters liveable . 25 a each is not that big 6 or even 8 gauge wire will be ok . My Solar’s from the combiner are putting out 55 amps over 2 meters and the solar controller could put out 96 amps over 1.5 meters 2 gauge for that . They are biggies . Nothing wrong with big cables over short distance. Sure do . Prob where mine will come from but there are others too

Is the whole bank wired as one or as two banks ? And do you have battery Monitor(s) for them ? If so if they are not holding charge and dropping below 12volts regularly without a lot of load then it’s time . Re position where is the charge controller / inverter positioned they should be close to them to avoid loses in the cables . Yes ditto

Hi all Had a wee thoughtette last night . Is installing a diversion nee dump load on my new solar system to power a dc immersion when I have excess power . I expect to have quite a bit extra in summer and rather less but a useable amount in spring and autumn , winter as we all know is all about just trying to scrap a charge from the panels no matter how many you have. Now the the sizing of this dump load has had me in circles . I think I will be happily able to power a 300 watt immersion most days for a lot of the year outside of utter poo days and deep deep midwinter. But that will leave. With quite a few days of summer and some spring and autumn nice days with still lots to spare . ( system is 1630 watts ,12volt ) I have looked at employing pulse width modulation to control a large immersion but for numerous reasons I won’t go into unless asked , after extensive study I have decided it will not work as I want in a 12 volt system . I therefore have to be careful about switching in a 50 amp load unless the powers there to fuel it . is there any reason. I can’t install 2 x 300 watt immersions , one in the top of the cylinder as normal as one in the cold water feed on an adaptor as the recommend for a dump load ? One would be on a switch so if I am around and we have lots to spare I can switch in the second element and physically switch it off again if power drops too low ? Are there any problems with this concept ? . I will go into the dump load algorithm if someone really wants to know how it is working on 3 stage charging etc but will leave that if asked as it’s a big subject , interesting but big ..

Not if you buy the official dual fuel version , I think it is done by the official dealer rather than Honda but it’s Honda approved and they honour the warranty if officially done . Downside ? Again as it’s Honda they add a sizeable premium for dual fuel version.

Get one with a lpg conversion . Solves all and much cheaper to run

Heard a nice little piece on Radio 4 from our home correspondent today about lock down on a narrowboat . One couple talked about installing a water filtration system that allowed them to drink canal water . I am intrigued is this for real? I can’t see me ever installing one but have heard that desalination works on lumpy water boats . So any or a secret canal water drinker and if so please tell all ?

Plus any installer seller who says “ do install panels flat , it won’t make any difference “ is an idiot and clearly is not aiming at live aboards. See my post about own interests not yours . Double the output on mine by tilting them , 30 % more min on any boat . You need that power I the winter months on the cut . Also nothing is for free , see price of panels lol

If you want 800 watts form 3 panels the Perlight are good also I have seen some Panasonic super slim ht’s I think they were at 295 watts each , Great panels if you need slim think about 650mm wide but longish and a bit pricey . Look at a frame swivel mounts they will do the trick for you . Midsummer mounts look immensely complicated , similar is Better

1. No problem you buy it . Marine engineer will install it . Job done . 2. No such thing as German made panels anymore all made in china or offer Far East countries , marketing con . “ German solar cells or German designed panels ain’t made there and when you look closely they they have poor efficiency and cost many times more and I tests perform poorly . 3. You need to find some time to research if you can if you don’t want to pay over the top for poor solution and don’t want to be disappointed. 4 .if you need high power compact look at Perlight delta black pgm270 panels , I am getting these , good panels , Chinese yes but they have been i business 30 years not 2 mins like some . They kick out a lot of power in a compact package are a 1480 x 998 I am mounting 6 of these across the boat for 1620 watts . You can go slimmer say 668 but would prob mean smaller panels power wise say 175 watts which is fine but you will need more and ironically the smaller you go power wise the more they cost . But Lots of options