Had a 80 amp Balmar for 12 years. Buy their smart charger. Flawless performance.
>From my Android.... ________________________________ From: CnC-List <cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com> on behalf of Dennis C. via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2018 5:46:52 PM To: CnClist Cc: Dennis C. Subject: Re: Stus-List Solar panels and LED light bulbs. No help for you on the solar panels but the ONLY LED replacement bulbs or fixtures to buy are marinebeam.com<http://marinebeam.com>. I've bought a couple of LED products from other suppliers. I have replaced them with marinebeam products. I have both entire fixtures and also replacement bulbs from them. 1st quality products. Do it right the first time, go with marinebeam.com<http://marinebeam.com>. Dennis C. Touche' 35-1 #83 Mandeville, LA On Sat, Oct 13, 2018 at 12:42 PM DON JONSSON via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com<mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com>> wrote: Hi All Last year after putting in a new Beta engine with a larger alternator (110 amp) we added an additional battery, a battery monitor, and to use all that power, a fridge. (Of interest, and not the point of this email, is we went through two alternators on the boat last summer both on warranty. Doesn't bode well. We did not put in a smart regulator as it would void the warranty. Guess that was a good thing. Two mechanics have gone through the boat and all wiring is good. They claim manufacturing default in both alternators. Hmmm.) The fridge is a fantastic addition especially when you are up north with no stores to buy ice, or much food for that matter. BUT, as you all know it takes a lot of power. Which gets me to the questions. Easy one first. 1. We have added some new LED reading light fixtures but still have a few more old incandescent lights where we would like to keep the fixtures. You can get replacement LED bulbs that range in price from a couple of dollars to $15. I read that cheaper ones don't deal with variations in voltage very well and you should spend more money. Does anyone have experience and recommendations. 2. The real solution, we think, is solar panels. But how much do they really help and where to put them on a 34 foot sailboat. It seems all locations come with a compromise. We are considering: A: On top of the dodger, but the boom will always be an issue. Especially since we don't have a bimini we use the boom for supporting our awning that we put up on hot sunny days. Yes we occasionally get them up on the BC coast and blocking the sun is mandatory. B: Get a bimini and mount them on it. But this gets us back to the sunshine issue. Lots of days it isn't that warm and you want the sun on you. A Bimini with solar panels is not that easy to fold out of the way. Also it isn't cheap. C: Hang them off the life lines or rails at the back of the boat with a support that allows you to set them flat when at anchor. But we occasionally carry bikes back there and we couldn't have both at the same time. Also looks a little clunky. D: Leave them as portable and set them out when at anchor. But then it is a pain and you don't do it unless you are sitting for a while and you have all the wire to deal with, etc. And they aren't helping much under sail. So does anyone have a recommendation as to what they have done and how it works. Also how many amp hours did you get on a sunny day? What size of panels did you use. I know, that like everything on a boat it is always a compromise, we are just trying to figure out which one to make. Thanks for any help. Don Jonsson Andante, C&C 34 Victoria, BC _______________________________________________ Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray
_______________________________________________ Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray
