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Solar Capacity


Gra73

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Hello,

just a general question, I’ve got 300w of solar, it’s a new (used) boat and I’m new to boating. When I left the boat two weeks ago I turned everything off except the fridge which is 12v. I won’t be down to the boat again for another two weeks.

Question being with the weather we have had and expected to have will the solar be efficient or sufficient to keep the fridge going and batteries charged?

Cheers

Graham

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4 minutes ago, Gra73 said:

Hello,

just a general question, I’ve got 300w of solar, it’s a new (used) boat and I’m new to boating. When I left the boat two weeks ago I turned everything off except the fridge which is 12v. I won’t be down to the boat again for another two weeks.

Question being with the weather we have had and expected to have will the solar be efficient or sufficient to keep the fridge going and batteries charged?

Cheers

Graham

Depending on the type of fridge - assuming a 'modern' fridge using (say) 30Ah per day - In theory YES.

 

In practice - it should do.

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Is the boat in full sun or moored under a tree or in the shade of a building? if so you may just be OK at this time of year. 300 watts rated panels mounted flat should give approx 120 amp hours a day at this time of the year in full sun, way more than the fridge will take. On a dull day half that, still fine for your fridge, in the shade of a building you could be down to 30 amp hours a day, about the same as the fridge.

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14 minutes ago, Gra73 said:

Sorry, also, to confirm I know the batteries are trickle charged from the panels, so this is fine (all things considered) to keep the batteries charged (same question)?

Yes :)

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15 minutes ago, Gra73 said:

It is a Curry’s 50cm fridge freezer.

Energy consumption: 0.450kWH / 24hr

Rated current: 0.60A

Are you sure its 12v ?

 

 

It would be very unusual for Curry's to offer 12v appliances, and I cannot see a 12v FF on their website.

 

IF, it is 230v then you will be powering it with an inverter which alters the calculation - some inverters are very inefficient and 'use' loads of power juts to power themselves.

 

As the boat is new to you - just check :

1) The FF make/model number

2) The Inverter make/model number

3) That you have left the inverter switched on - if you didn't them I'd suggest that the fridge will be switched off and you will be going back to a 'manky' fridge (if you left stuff in it)

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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I am positive it is 12v, I do also have an inverter but have never used it yet. I have left it before for a few days and it has been fine but because it is a longer period I was after some further reassurance.

Most definitely though it is 12v.

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2 minutes ago, Gra73 said:

I am positive it is 12v, I do also have an inverter but have never used it yet. I have left it before for a few days and it has been fine but because it is a longer period I was after some further reassurance.

Most definitely though it is 12v.

In which case, I'm sure a lot of boaters here would be pleased to find an alternative source to the high-priced 'marine 12v fridges'.

Would you be kind enough to post the make/model number when you get back to the boat ?

Thanks in anticipation.

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8 minutes ago, Gra73 said:

It is 100% 12v.

The model is: CUC50W15

Did you fit this yourself?  There is no mention anywhere that I can find on the net of this being a 12V fridge so I’m wondering if someone fitted it with a small dedicated inverter tucked in the back. 

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15 minutes ago, Gra73 said:

It is 100% 12v.

The model is: CUC50W15 

I'm afraid that your are incorrect.

 

I have spoken with Curry's Technical Department and they have confirmed that this model is a 230v AC mains Fridge Freezer.

It is now an obsolete model (having been replaced by the CUC50W18) but they still have the "15" for sale in their 'eBay clearance Store'

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ESSENTIALS-CUC50W15-Fridge-Freezer-White-85-Litres-A-Energy-Rating-42-dB-A-/122501085622

 

At £90 for a 12v FF that would have been amazing.

 

My interest is as I recently purchased a 12v fridge (fridge only) and it was £600+

 

Edit to add Ebay Link

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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I did not fit the fridge myself, the chap I bought the fridge from fitted it.

As WotEver suggests maybe there is a dedicated inverter somewhere there. All I know is that it is connected directly to the battery source and doesn’t draw from the inverter. 

As I said I have left the boat earlier, in May for over a week with the fridge switched on, so just the solar powering it, come back to the boat, and all as well.

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As said then, the inverter is the unknown quantity here. The simplest way to know how much the inverter draws with the fridge not running would be to look at your ammeter. If you don’t have one then a clamp multimeter will show you the same thing. 

 

As you have left the boat before and ‘all is well’ (how do you know, what monitoring do you have?) then it’s probably ok. But without some figures all we’ll be doing is guessing. 

 

Edited by WotEver
Tryping
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8 minutes ago, Gra73 said:

I did not fit the fridge myself, the chap I bought the fridge from fitted it.

 

It is always handy to know what systems you have on board, and how they work, so, when the time comes you can repair or replace them.

It would be worth pulling the FF out and have a look what the lead is connected to, and, follow the supply back - it could be that there is another inverter 'tucked away' that is 'always live' & it is not wired thru your master switches, it could be that it is 'hardwired' directly into your 'main' inverter and you have not noticed.


 

13 minutes ago, Gra73 said:

All I know is that it is connected directly to the battery source

 

It is definitely Not connected directly to the battery source.

 

 

Its not a good idea to have mains voltage floating about that you do not know how to disconnect.

This is not a criticism of you (or the boat) but just a concern for your on-going safety.

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14 hours ago, Gra73 said:

Hello,

just a general question...

 

:D

 

Look up Gra - what you see above you is called "the learning curve"!

 

Fear not - answer the questions you see here and all will eventually be resolved. :)

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Many thanks for all your help (and concerns) with regards to knowing your equipment and how it all works, I quite agree, I am however like when you embark on anything new, learning as I go and grow. 

A month ago, I thought to think ‘port’ was something my Nan used to drink at Christmas.

Thank you all again.

Graham

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To give you a feel for things, my 560W of solar keeps my 12v fridge going 8 months of the year. On another boat I have a little table-top 12v compressor fridge and the 100w solar panel keeps it going 6 months of the year.

 

Your fridge freezer will use more energy than a fridge and the inverter will waste some too, so as a rough educated guess, I'd say you may find you 300w of solar will power your Currys fridge for 4-5 months in summer. But not once the days shorten. 

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Thanks Mike the Boilerman,

I guess my next question is then how do I power it during the bleaker days? If I plug into shoreline power this is just for 240v and as the fridge (whether it has a separate inverter tbc) is 12v or runs off the batteries, then how does this all work.

Please be gentle with answer, I am about to short circuit with all the amps running around my non inverted mind!

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5 minutes ago, Gra73 said:

I guess my next question is then how do I power it during the bleaker days? If I plug into shoreline power this is just for 240v and as the fridge (whether it has a separate inverter tbc) is 12v or runs off the batteries, then how does this all work.

Charge the batteries from a charger working off the shore line. The batteries will the run the fridge/freezer as normal, either directly (unlikely) or via its own inverter.  It could be that the main inverter is a combi type that also has a battery charger built in.

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2 hours ago, Gra73 said:

I did not fit the fridge myself, the chap I bought the fridge from fitted it.

As WotEver suggests maybe there is a dedicated inverter somewhere there. All I know is that it is connected directly to the battery source and doesn’t draw from the inverter. 

As I said I have left the boat earlier, in May for over a week with the fridge switched on, so just the solar powering it, come back to the boat, and all as well.

It may originally have been 220v ac but had the compressor replaced with a 12v unit but they didn’t bother to remove the original model codes etc.  

 

Added if if it does have it’s own inverter it can’t be very small as mains fridges take a fair wack to get started.

Edited by Chewbacka
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I think you should find out if there is another hidden inverter and hope it is not one of those cheap Chinese ones that are known to burst into flames, especially as you leave the boat for long periods.

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