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Post by Clinton Cool on Sept 15, 2020 11:20:50 GMT
We've had to moor in a line of boats tonight (don't like it) as we were visiting friends on their offside mooring, and needed to be nearby for access to walk round. Just been for an evening stroll, and I'm paying particular attention to solar set ups as I'm considering getting some. One boat, with an array of six panels had a Honda 2.0 genny running to charge his e bike in the bow. Another boat with two huge panels ramped up facing the sun had his engine running. Perhaps solar, whilst helpful as an additional charging method, may not be the panacea of all things electric, and I should curtail my expectations accordingly. Rog Rog, I have 4 panels ...... an electric fridge freezer, a washing machine, a tumble dryer, a dishwasher, electric kettle etc etc ...... at the moment my batteries are at 92%.
Since early spring I have used shore power for about 8 hours after a long sunshine free few days a week or so ago and I ran a generator for a couple of hours or so while doing a lot of welding,
The biggest problem is people having great solar panel capacity and then not paying full attention to the rest of the system.
You need a good quality MPPT controller to get maximum value out of the panels and sufficient batteries in good condition to store the power you are generating ..... otherwise it is a waste of time That is why LiFePO4 batteries are so good as they will suck up the charge as fast as you can supply it right up until they are full
My system is a long way from optimum, considering my power requirements but after the amount of sunshine we have just had, no one with solar should be needing to run engines/generators etc
'Sufficient batteries'. Indeed, but it's a mistake to automatically assume that if you have solar you should have a large battery bank. I have a gas fridge, frugal lights, computer and t.v. My power usage is between 25 and 30AH daily. Sufficient batteries for me is a single 105AH Trojan. This is 2 days usage assuming no solar at all. It's extremely rare for there to be no solar energy capability for 8 months of the year. I consider my battery fully charged when there's 1 amp indicated on the solar monitor. This has been the case every day, or at least every other day between late February and late October. In 5 years living aboard there have only been 1 or 2 exceptions to this.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2020 11:41:37 GMT
Yes but you probably have not got a cannabis grow room on your boat.
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Post by Clinton Cool on Sept 15, 2020 12:21:20 GMT
Yes but you probably have not got a cannabis grow room on your boat. It would smell too much. I prefer my boat to be filled with natural, human smells.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2020 13:26:25 GMT
Farts?
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Post by kris on Sept 15, 2020 14:08:53 GMT
Yes but you probably have not got a cannabis grow room on your boat. you seem to know a lot about these cannabis grow rooms?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2020 14:11:28 GMT
My friend who I visited on his mooring yesterday, has 2x 100 w and 1x 60 w flexible panels stuck on his roof, which are currently six years old and working fine. He also has a massive array of solar and a wind turbine on his mooring. Efficiency is a relative term too ... even if flexible panels are 75% less efficient they will be 100% more efficient than my present situation. But thanks for the tip kris ... I intend to discuss the issue with an installer. Rog
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Post by kris on Sept 15, 2020 14:22:03 GMT
I’m just trying to help Rog. I’ve installed quite a few systems myself. Including helping a friend buy a small system recently. They where going to go with two 100w panels but when they looked into it, it made more sense to go with one of these www.bimblesolar.com/270w-perlite-54cell-smallThey bought it all from bimble as a kit, their prices seem good but delivery costs are exspensive in my opinion. For clarity it made sense because the one panel was cheaper to purchase,takes up less total roof space and they have only got to install one panel.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2020 16:41:14 GMT
Yes but you probably have not got a cannabis grow room on your boat. you seem to know a lot about these cannabis grow rooms? I researched it when I saw a wide beam with two 48kg calor bottles on the front deck and no windows...
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Post by Clinton Cool on Sept 15, 2020 16:51:48 GMT
My friend who I visited on his mooring yesterday, has 2x 100 w and 1x 60 w flexible panels stuck on his roof, which are currently six years old and working fine. He also has a massive array of solar and a wind turbine on his mooring. Efficiency is a relative term too ... even if flexible panels are 75% less efficient they will be 100% more efficient than my present situation. But thanks for the tip kris ... I intend to discuss the issue with an installer. Rog I agree re. the efficiency bit. It's like when they brought out the new condensing gas boilers. Some rushed out and spent £2K to save £75 a year. Others turned the heat down just a notch, saved £100 a year and avoided throwing a perfectly serviceable product into landfill.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2020 16:54:44 GMT
My friend who I visited on his mooring yesterday, has 2x 100 w and 1x 60 w flexible panels stuck on his roof, which are currently six years old and working fine. He also has a massive array of solar and a wind turbine on his mooring. Efficiency is a relative term too ... even if flexible panels are 75% less efficient they will be 100% more efficient than my present situation. But thanks for the tip kris ... I intend to discuss the issue with an installer. Rog Worth finding out what brand those flexibles are. They probably do vary but I have seen them in bins and on one occasion I could not resist taking one for testing and yes it was dead. It's something to do with the inter cell connections breaking. My rigid framed BP and Siemens 75w panels are still working after 20 years so I don't tend to see 6 years as a particularly impressive life. Mind you the practicality v life span might be a valid argument. They are certainly quite tidy looking when properly stuck down on the top of a narrow boat. I do agree that solar is basically ugly on boats specially the large ones when put on narrow boats.
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Post by kris on Sept 15, 2020 16:56:51 GMT
you seem to know a lot about these cannabis grow rooms? I researched it when I saw a wide beam with two 48kg calor bottles on the front deck and no windows... ?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2020 17:02:34 GMT
"CO2 enrichment can be beneficial for security if you seal your grow room since you’re not venting out smelly air. Certain methods of adding CO2 like using a CO2 generator will also create natural smells that help cover up the smell of cannabis directly." CO2 generator = propane burner Oh yes. I personally have no interest in using cannabis or facilitating anyone else using it or profiting from it but I like to know how things work.
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Post by kris on Sept 15, 2020 17:04:07 GMT
"CO2 enrichment can be beneficial for security if you seal your grow room since you’re not venting out smelly air. Certain methods of adding CO2 like using a CO2 generator will also create natural smells that help cover up the smell of cannabis directly." CO2 generator = propane burner Oh yes. Are you sure your not at it? You seem to know an awful lot about it.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2020 17:05:44 GMT
It's all pretty easy to find out.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2020 18:16:41 GMT
The technology is advancing in leaps and bounds ... however it is a fact that warranties for flexible panels tend to be 1 to 2 years whereas for rigid panels it is entirely possible to get 20 years. If I proceed with any kind of solar it will be to enhance our boating experience. I am MUCH younger than, for example Telemachus as I won't be 64 until the end of October ... but realistically I guess we may have much less than ten years boating left ... therefore I'll not be gaining anything from a twenty year warranty
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