Ahoy All, Actually we had two Engel's at one time but we sold them long ago.
But Steve is correct that we have been off the grid completely and continuously since 1997. It has not been all smooth sailing but here is the run-down. At the start it was just the 8 KW Northern Lights genset charging our two pair of Trojan L-16HC house batteries but then I installed seven 120 watt Kyocera PV panels on the wheelhouse top around 2000 and feed them through a peak power tracker. (They had output "issues" and were all replaced under warranty a few months ago. I have not had a chance to check each one lately but it is on a list somewhere.) Even when they were new they did not quite keep up, I had to run the genset every three days to top up, but I made water with our 25 GPH 240vac RO at the same time. I did have a Ampair wind genny for a while then but although it was quiet and very well built, it did not put out much. I sold it and installed two KISS units. While these had (and have) quality issues they did put out satisfactory amps in a breeze above about 10 kts. At that time we had a 12" TV (and the two Engels [one for freezer and one for reefer] drawing slightly less than 2 amps each when running) and when the sun and wind were plentiful we had enough juice. But we still had to make water when we couldn't get any at a fuel dock, and there were some cloudy, windless days too, so the genset still saw duty at times. Since then we have upgraded from the two Engels to two Sundanzers, a freezer and a reefer. They are 5 cubic feet inside each but have 4.3 inches of insulation, are built for PV users, and still only draw about two amps when running. We have also upgraded the TV to a gyro stabilized satellite antenna and 32" Sony Bravia (both 120 vac) which use considerably more juice than the 12" unit (now in the crew quarters). We also tend to use our two laptops a lot. They both have 2 Mpixel screens and use more power than most. I have no definitive figures to offer as to DC consumption, only an estimate that when we are not on the boat the only things running are the two reefers at a maximum of 4 amps times 24 hours or about 100 AH max including the anchor light (and soon the fan on the Air Head), and when we are aboard, about 200 to 300 AH depending on how much power tool use, TV, computer, and cooking with the microwave and/or toaster oven we are doing. If Jan wants to do some major cooking using electricity I will fire up the genset and make water too. We have four large 120 vac twin florescent overhead fixtures, two in the shop and two in the saloon that we rarely use. Most lighting is 12 VDC florescent with 12 VDC halogen spots on dimmers for reading in the berth. We have several LED night lights that come on after dark with the anchor light and I imagine eventually we will have more LEDs. For the future I am considering another group of PV panels on the saloon top. I have been hesitant about this because I still harbor fantasies about putting a sailing rig on the boat and would need to walk in this area to attend the mainsail. But I would like to have enough juice to keep the batteries up AND make water with a small DC RO too to further reduce genset use. It should go without saying that RE electricity is not plentiful enough on a boat to be used for heat or A/C. Our water heating and most cooking is done by LPG. I had a diesel drip pot boat heater once years ago but nowadays, in Northeast Florida winters, we just put more clothes on. Sometimes on the coldest mornings we crank up the genset and run the reverse-cycle A/C when we first get up while making breakfast to take the chill off and then shut it down. We have fans available at the foot of the berths, at the computers and in the galley for summer cooling. I always make water whenever I run the genset (unless using the air compressor which on startup drags the voltage low enough to drop out the RO). Norm S/V Bandersnatch Lying Julington Creek 30 07.695N 081 38.484W > [Original Message] > From: Steve Weinstein <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Date: 4/8/2009 4:40:09 PM > Subject: Re: [Liveaboard] Getting off the electric grid! > > Noel, you might want to email Norm ("Bandersnatch") directly in the event > he's not currently monitoring the list. He's got a pair of wind generators > mounted just abaft his pilot house and a humongous amount of solar panels on > the pilot house roof. He and Jan live completely off the grid (on board full > time) and from what I can tell has never plugged it to shorepower. Evidently > it's more than enough to keep two Engle freezers plus a refrigerator going > plus whatever else he needs. > > > > Steve Weinstein > S/V CAPTIVA > 1997 Hunter 376, Hull #376 > Sailing out of Oyster Bay, NY > > All outgoing mail protected by VIPRE A/V > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Noel Russell" <[email protected]> > To: "liveaboard" <[email protected]> > Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2009 10:08 AM > Subject: [Liveaboard] Getting off the electric grid! > > > > Ok, Enough is enough. Wife got yelled at by the > > receptionist/bookkeeper/Bad Lady (kids statement next day at daycare) > > with our child in tow because she did not like our electric bill > > payment. Tirade was not good and I am dealing with that end. However, > > how hard is it to go off grid? Our stinkpot has room for 2 wind > > generators and some solar panels, so what am I looking at doing? Also, > > right in front of the water heater is room for another battery bank :D . > > > > Think of it this way... $600 a month in electric if not more during the > > winter so.... > > > > Noel > > > > BTW, The marina is Lincoln Harbor Yacht Club in NJ > > _______________________________________________ > > Liveaboard mailing list > > [email protected] > > To adjust your membership settings over the web > > http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard > > To subscribe send an email to [email protected] > > > > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > > The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ > > > > To search the archives > > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > > > > The Mailman Users Guide can be found here > > http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html > > _______________________________________________ > Liveaboard mailing list > [email protected] > To adjust your membership settings over the web http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard > To subscribe send an email to [email protected] > > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ > > To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > > The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
