> engine heat... Put a reflective surface on the insulation (or bulkhead) facing the hot engine. That's the first line of defense.
Rufus > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Jim <j...@fayettedigital.com> > To: liveaboard@liveaboardnow.org > Subject: [Liveaboard] Solar panel report > Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:43:05 -0400 > > > I installed the panels on the boat on Friday, 2 x 95 Watt panels with > the Morningstar MPPT charge controller. At a little after 7 Saturday > morning the sun wasn't more than 2 diameters above the horizon and the > panels were essentially horizontal, I was putting 2 amps into the > batteries, I tilted the panels a bit and it went up to 4. By mid day I > was putting 4+ in each battery, but since they were probably overfull at > that time, they were just on float. There are 4 220 Ah 6 volt batteries > in the system with a starting battery. The refer doesn't draw enough > juice to run the batteries down very far. I'll toss on the inverter the > next time I'm down and bring the batteries closer to a 50% discharge and > see what happens. > > Incidentally, I have an Alder Barbour refer and the muffin fan that > cools the evaporator got real noisy and finally seized. I coaxed it > along for a few months with WE-40 but it finally got so noisy I couldn't > sleep, so I replaced it. While I was in there I brushed the cat hair, > cobwebs and other assorted trash away from the cooling surface. When I > got through, the draw went from almost 8 amps down to 4.5 amps. I > replaced the fan with an exact duplicate and I think it was rated at 320 > ma. I'm not sure I understand why but I'm very happy. > > So thanks to all who answered my dumb questions earlier this month. > I've got juice to spare, at least for now. > > But that brings up a new question. The refer box sits on the other side > of the bulkhead from the engine. The top of the box and the inside of > the box get very warm when the engine is running. It's all sealed up > and glassed in around the box so I don't have a clue as to how much > insulation is around the sides. The lids are probably 3" thick. > Without tearing out a section of the bulkhead I'm open for suggestions > as to how to reduce the effect. Of course the hottest side of the > engine is the side next to the refer. There is room for 2 or 3 inches > of insulation beside the engine, if anyone thinks that will help. The > only vent from the engine is through the pedestal (center cockpit) and > I've installed a series of muffin fans to assist the natural flow of > air, which will help keep the engine room cooler, but I don't think > that'll be the end of it. > > Jim. > > _______________________________________________ > Liveaboard mailing list > Liveaboard@liveaboardnow.org > To adjust your membership settings over the web > http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard > To subscribe send an email to liveaboard-j...@liveaboardnow.org > > To unsubscribe send an email to liveaboard-le...@liveaboardnow.org > The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ > > To search the archives > http://www.mail-archive.com/liveaboard@liveaboardnow.org > > The Mailman Users Guide can be found here > http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html > -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list Liveaboard@liveaboardnow.org To adjust your membership settings over the web http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to liveaboard-j...@liveaboardnow.org To unsubscribe send an email to liveaboard-le...@liveaboardnow.org The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/liveaboard@liveaboardnow.org The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
