Electricity aboard, help with checklist?

[Ricco1]

A thought: If I were to have an electric fridge, and solar panels, how about this for a strategy:

 

Run the fridge during the warmer months when the electricity provided by the panels should be enough (is that correct?). During the winter months switch it off, keep my milk etc. in the bilges. Any thoughts?

 

I really love all this talk of frugality! I'm currently in Indonesia for 2 months for a total cost of £1300.00. That's flights, accommodation, renting a motorbike, all meals, a few beers from time to time, rolling tobacco, the lot. I love to get the most out of life, and pay the least.

[grahame r]

A thought: If I were to have an electric fridge, and solar panels, how about this for a strategy:

 

Run the fridge during the warmer months when the electricity provided by the panels should be enough (is that correct?). During the winter months switch it off, keep my milk etc. in the bilges. Any thoughts?

 

I really love all this talk of frugality! I'm currently in Indonesia for 2 months for a total cost of £1300.00. That's flights, accommodation, renting a motorbike, all meals, a few beers from time to time, rolling tobacco, the lot. I love to get the most out of life, and pay the least.

Frugal? that's profligate, Bizzard could live for 10 years on that and still have thrupence left to get the bus home.

Yes, turning the fridge off in the winter and using the natural cold is a good strategy. We've tried putting the fridge/freezer on a timer and turning off between about 2am and 4am in the summer, but of course you then have to chill it down again, so we tried turning it off between about 6am and 9am because by 9am the engine would be running and chilling it down wouldn't take any signicant extra power, it seemed to be better. By far the best thing we did was to invest in a KW of Solar power, our batteries are showing 100% by 8am this time of year. What will happen in the winter is yet to be seen.

[nb Innisfree]

Deary me, why bother with electricity at all? folks managed ok without it in the good old days, all this talk of hot water, lighting, keeping food cold and listening to a radio and watching tv. A quick body wipe with a damp rag once a year is just as good as a wasteful shower. And what's wrong with with the odd turnip and the occasional hedgehog?

 

Wimps, all of you.

[wiltshirewonderer]

No I wouldn't, I can go a week or so on the towpath without running the engine at all and with no solar, purely because I have a gas fridge and gas hot water heater. In fact on my mooring at the mo I've not been plugged in for 4 days. My elec bill here is roughly 50p a month.

 

Hi Bizzard

 

How many bottles of gas do you go through a year and what do you reckon the additional cost is from the gas fridge? (Do you use refillable LPG bottles?).

Edited June 23, 2013 by wiltshirewonderer

[grahame r]

Never mind the gas, look at the electricity consumption, the last time I had a cup of tea with Bizzard (and very nice it was too, will be back around October for the next) he only had one car starter battery as a "domestic bank". Unless he's joined us power crazed wasters, that's perhaps 100 amp hours assuming it's brand new and perfect (it's neither) if he depletes it to 50% (foolhardy with a starter batery) that's 50 Ahrs, over 7 days is just 7 Ahrs per day. If you've ever done a power audit you'll know just how frugal he is.

[wiltshirewonderer]

Never mind the gas, look at the electricity consumption, the last time I had a cup of tea with Bizzard (and very nice it was too, will be back around October for the next) he only had one car starter battery as a "domestic bank". Unless he's joined us power crazed wasters, that's perhaps 100 amp hours assuming it's brand new and perfect (it's neither) if he depletes it to 50% (foolhardy with a starter batery) that's 50 Ahrs, over 7 days is just 7 Ahrs per day. If you've ever done a power audit you'll know just how frugal he is.

 

That's the thing though, I don't want to take it in isolation. I'm interested in the overall cost over say 18-24 months both from a capex and opex perspective. I used to live in a van with a 3-way fridge and until I switched it off I went through a 13KG bottle a month. Not cheap (Even back then), over 24 months it worked out cheaper to use a small 12v compressor fridge and solar panels with a hole in the ground for winter. In the last few years it appears gas has got cheaper (Now refillable LPG bottles are acceptable in the local garage) as has solar. As I'm about to buy a boat I'm very interested in knowing which energy source is currently most cost efficient for each of the big energy consuming items.,

[bizzard]

 

Hi Bizzard

 

How many bottles of gas do you go through a year and what do you reckon the additional cost is from the gas fridge? (Do you use refillable LPG bottles?).

Erm. I have my record note book before me which says. The 13kg bottle previous to the one I have on now was put on on Thursday 18th October 2012 and lasted until the 8th May 2013.but during almost all of that winter period the gas fridge was not in use. During the summer period with the fridge on the low No1 setting which it always is I expect a full bottle to last 3.1/2 months or more, which includes cooking though mainly salads in the summer, making tea and the use of the Paloma gas water heater. I usually go shopping by boat a couple of times a week and for this and cruises whilst the engines running I switch it to 12v.

 

That's the thing though, I don't want to take it in isolation. I'm interested in the overall cost over say 18-24 months both from a capex and opex perspective. I used to live in a van with a 3-way fridge and until I switched it off I went through a 13KG bottle a month. Not cheap (Even back then), over 24 months it worked out cheaper to use a small 12v compressor fridge and solar panels with a hole in the ground for winter. In the last few years it appears gas has got cheaper (Now refillable LPG bottles are acceptable in the local garage) as has solar. As I'm about to buy a boat I'm very interested in knowing which energy source is currently most cost efficient for each of the big energy consuming items.,

If it only lasted a month maybe you had a bigger model Electrolux fridge than I. Mine is the smallest Electrolux 2 way 122 model. Or perhaps you ran yours at its highest setting all the time or it needed servicing, or you might have had a gas leak somewhere.

[bizzard]

Never mind the gas, look at the electricity consumption, the last time I had a cup of tea with Bizzard (and very nice it was too, will be back around October for the next) he only had one car starter battery as a "domestic bank". Unless he's joined us power crazed wasters, that's perhaps 100 amp hours assuming it's brand new and perfect (it's neither) if he depletes it to 50% (foolhardy with a starter batery) that's 50 Ahrs, over 7 days is just 7 Ahrs per day. If you've ever done a power audit you'll know just how frugal he is.

Likewise thanks for ''the waitrose out of date cakes'' quite delicious. My power audit is in my head ''intuition'' My excellent cheapo 110amp battery is now 8 years old and is now down to about 60% of its original capacity. I often deplete it to almost flat but it always recovers beautifully, the secret is to only discharge and recharge nice and slowly and gently, it is a starter battery. If you sawed your starter and so called leisure batteries in half and compared them you'd most probably see no difference.

My 1 Gorillabite per month of internet data is getting low now so will leave it there. I'm on the edge again.

[Arthur Brown]

It's easy to consume electricity, think first how you will source electric power.

Obvious answers include shore line, main engine alternator, separate petrol or diesel alternator, and solar panels.

 

Solar will cover your summer usage but only the biggest panel array will cover you for winter usage. You will likely need something else.