T-Pain Is On A Boat: March 2020

Monday, March 23, 2020

Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

Hello, it is not a simple gateway need. The adfweb gateway does not provide essential N2k identification means, and needs can messages formatting also

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Re: [electricboats] azimuthing thrusters?

Hello Rob,
kraeutler has exactly that.

loook at.kraeultler.at

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Sunday, March 15, 2020

Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

Terminalift LLC

9444 Mission Park Place

Santee, CA 92071

Ph: (619) 562-0355

F: (619) 562-2060

Hello Thomas, attached is a primitive sketch of my bms system 4 wires per box 16 total for bms I hope this helps. thank you kind regards Larry

On Friday, March 13, 2020, 06:08:17 AM PDT, THOMAS VANDERMEULEN <tvinypsi@gmail.com> wrote:

LARRY: I misunderstood. You're saying that your 12v boxes are 4s4p packs [16 cells per box], and that you've connected four of them in series to achieve the 51.2 nominal volts for the pack. That would mean the total number of cells in your full pack is 64. Do I have that right? Based on my limited knowledge of the subject, then, I would call that a 16s4p pack [16s x 3.2 = 51.2; 4p x 90Ah = 360Ah]. Do you run 16 leads out of your BMS, or are you monitoring on the individual cell level?

Friday, March 13, 2020

Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

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Thursday, March 12, 2020

Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

Hello Thomas. 4p4s. Or 16 cells per 12 v 360 ah battery pack. 4 packs in series yield. 48 v. 360ah. I hope this helps. Thank you. Kind regards Larry Schmitz

Terminalift LLC

9444 Mission Park Place

Santee, CA 92071

Ph: (619) 562-0355

F: (619) 562-2060

On Thursday, March 12, 2020, 3:20:27 PM PDT, THOMAS VANDERMEULEN <tvinypsi@gmail.com> wrote:

LARRY: Something seems amiss with your description. You describe having built four, 12v batteries with 3.2v 90Ah cells. So those cells must be connected in series to achieve the 12v, and yielding 90Ah capacity. Then you say you connected those four 12v packs in series to achieve 48v, with one BMS for the whole system. This sounds similar to the system I put together to drive my Thunderstruck Motors 10Kw sailboat kit. But because your batteries are all connected into a single series to yield 48v, I believe the capacity would still be 90Ah and not the 360Ah you suggest. The way I'm understanding what you've put together, your system is in fact a 16s1p battery pack, not a 4s4p pack. A 4s4p pack would have 360Ah, but at 12 volts.
[-tv]
Tom VanderMeulen

Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

Hi Jerry: Really interesting link; thanks! I've been communicating lately with a supplier on Alibaba that's quoted $1,939 for sixteen (16) first quality CALB SE200I prismatic cells, including customs clearing and shipping via sea freight to Michigan. [Copper bus bars are always included with authentic CALB cells.] Match them up with a BMS from Thunderstruck Motors at $450, and there's still room in a $3k budget for instrumentation.
For anyone contemplating ordering goods from China, I advise caution because I have been burned bythis personally. Contemplate needing to return 200 pounds of "Dangerous Goods" to China because you find the product isn't consistent with the sales rep's assurances, and you'll get the idea.
[-tv]
Tom VanderMeulen

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Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

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Re: [electricboats] 15 KW DC l electric conversikon

Jim Dog: It's not prudent to believe that your sales rep in China has your best interests at heart, or that they understand your requirements, or usage scenarios, no matter how thoroughly you feel you've explained it to them. Prismatic cells do NOT necessarily need "laser welding" but I've communicated with vendors on Alibaba who claim that it is. Perhaps that's true for them, but it's not universal by any means! Most of the prismatic cells you'll want to use on your boat have terminals that take M8 (roughly 5/16 inch) bolts. It's very simple. Building your own battery pack out of 138 cylindrical cells [24s6p] seems like a project worth avoiding. You can find a BMS with 24 measurement leads, but monitoring every cell in such a pack seems pretty daunting.
Building a 32 cell pack out of CALB 180Ah prismatics [16s2p] would provide ~18Kw [15Kw usable] of energy and be supportable by off the shelf BMS units from the various suppliers of parts for EV's. You could go with 16 large capacity Winstons to make it even simpler. But, if you're looking to blaze new trails, ignore everything I've said!
[-tv]
Tom VanderMeulen

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Sunday, March 8, 2020

Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

Eric,

I just bought a 48v pack (270 ah cells around 13 kwh total) with bms, bus bars, and shipping for approximately $3k. They'd probably be less cause the shipping was to the USVI to my off grid house. A friend bought the same last year and they've worked well so far. They do come on the very slow boat from China so about 4 months lead time. But cost maybe half of a few years ago?

https://m.rj-lithium.com/sale-11533959-3-2-v-271ah-3-2-rechargeable-battery-3-2-volt-lithium-ion-battery-prismatic-cell.html?

I did buy the Hang Kai 1.2 electric outboard last year on aliexpress and was pleasantly surprised when it arrived 3 months later. Looks well made but the Chinglish owner's manual says "Do not use in rain". I'm building a 12 foot dinghy to put it on will let the group know how it works when we hit the water.

Jerry Barth

Sent from my Sprint Phone.

------ Original message------

From: Eric via Groups.Io

Date: Sat, Mar 7, 2020 8:16 PM

To: electricboats@groups.io;

Cc:

Subject:Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

Are LiFePO4 prices actually coming down? What did you pay for your installed batteries?

I purchased 8kWh batteries new in 2009. The sixteen Thunder Sky TS-LFP160AHA 160Ah cells, including purchase price, tax, shipping to my driveway, inter-cell braided connectors, and autonomous mini-MBS boards were right around $3600 or about $0.45 per Wh. The bare cells were $3326.60 delivered. The connectors and BMS boards came from another vendor. None of my recent research has come up with a comparable price, let alone cheaper.

People keep saying that our batteries are getting cheaper, but 10 years after I bought mine, I'm not seeing it.

Fair winds,
Eric
1964 Bermuda 30 Ketch, 5.5kW drive, 8kWh LiFePO4 batteries
Marina del Rey, CA

Saturday, March 7, 2020

Re: [electricboats] Proper propellor

I would give Valley Propeller in California a call. I forget the gentleman's name but just tell them you have an electric boat & they'll hook you up with the right person. They've consulted on many conversions, I don't think you can wrong.

On Sat, Mar 7, 2020, 8:49 PM <tom@tsteininc.com> wrote:

That sounds like a reasonable size, pitch and blade number. Any idea where I might find such a right hand prop with a 1" shaft?

tom@tsteininc.com
850 259-8600

Thos. Stein Inc.
78B Ricker Ave.
Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459

Florida underground utility contractor license RU0058046
Florida plumbing contractor license RF0057995

On Mar 7, 2020, at 18:32, rjtrane via Groups.Io <rjtrane=me.com@groups.io> wrote:

I have Motenergy 10 kW motors from Thunderstruck on my 40' 23,000# catamaran. My max speed is 6.3 knots in a calm continuous max speed is 6 knots at about 3/4 power

I assume your motor is 48v? What is the max RPM? Mine turns 2,400 RPM. Based on prior sea trials I decided a max prop RPM should be 800 RPM. Therefore I installed a 3:1 reduction. I have 18" diameter X 14" pitch 4 blade props.

if your motor turns 4,800 RPM I'd suggest a 3:1 reduction and a 3 or 4 blade prop close to 18" diameter. Your 2-blade just doesn't have the surface area to get the maximum power of your motor to the water.

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Re: [electricboats] Proper propellor

That sounds like a reasonable size, pitch and blade number. Any idea where I might find such a right hand prop with a 1" shaft?

tom@tsteininc.com

850 259-8600

Thos. Stein Inc.

78B Ricker Ave.

Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459

Florida underground utility contractor license RU0058046

Florida plumbing contractor license RF0057995

On Mar 7, 2020, at 18:32, rjtrane via Groups.Io <rjtrane=me.com@groups.io> wrote:

I have Motenergy 10 kW motors from Thunderstruck on my 40' 23,000# catamaran. My max speed is 6.3 knots in a calm continuous max speed is 6 knots at about 3/4 power

I assume your motor is 48v? What is the max RPM? Mine turns 2,400 RPM. Based on prior sea trials I decided a max prop RPM should be 800 RPM. Therefore I installed a 3:1 reduction. I have 18" diameter X 14" pitch 4 blade props.

if your motor turns 4,800 RPM I'd suggest a 3:1 reduction and a 3 or 4 blade prop close to 18" diameter. Your 2-blade just doesn't have the surface area to get the maximum power of your motor to the water.

Re: [electricboats] Proper propellor

Part of the problem with heading into a 15 knot wind with gusts... First off it's a sailboat, they get blown around while motoring.

Secondly, you just don't have enough headway. Unlike our ICE counterparts you're in a boat that utilizes an electric drive so like all of us, you're light on the throttle in order to extend range.

Ask me how I know this :)

Prop, on my 28', currently running a 4 bladed 12x12.5 meant for a wakeboard boat. I started out with a 14x10 3 bladed. Imo, get rid of that 2 bladed prop.

On Sat, Mar 7, 2020, 5:31 PM <tom@tsteininc.com> wrote:

I've got an O'Day 30' with a Thunderstruck 10K motor, 2:1 reduction and 4 AGM batteries. I've got the original 16" pitch 9, 2 blade prop that was powered by a 16HP Universal when the boat was built. I'm convinced there must be something more efficient. I can't even maintain a course into a 15mph wind.
I'm with Jeff looking for suggestions

tom@tsteininc.com
850 259-8600

tom@tsteininc.com
850 259-8600

Thos. Stein Inc.
78B Ricker Ave.
Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459

Florida underground utility contractor license RU0058046
Florida plumbing contractor license RF0057995

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Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

Are LiFePO4 prices actually coming down? What did you pay for your installed batteries?

I purchased 8kWh batteries new in 2009. The sixteen Thunder Sky TS-LFP160AHA 160Ah cells, including purchase price, tax, shipping to my driveway, inter-cell braided connectors, and autonomous mini-MBS boards were right around $3600 or about $0.45 per Wh. The bare cells were $3326.60 delivered. The connectors and BMS boards came from another vendor. None of my recent research has come up with a comparable price, let alone cheaper.

People keep saying that our batteries are getting cheaper, but 10 years after I bought mine, I’m not seeing it.

Fair winds,
Eric
1964 Bermuda 30 Ketch, 5.5kW drive, 8kWh LiFePO4 batteries
Marina del Rey, CA

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Re: [electricboats] Proper propellor

I have Motenergy 10 kW motors from Thunderstruck on my 40’ 23,000# catamaran. My max speed is 6.3 knots in a calm continuous max speed is 6 knots at about 3/4 power

I assume your motor is 48v? What is the max RPM? Mine turns 2,400 RPM. Based on prior sea trials I decided a max prop RPM should be 800 RPM. Therefore I installed a 3:1 reduction. I have 18” diameter X 14” pitch 4 blade props.

if your motor turns 4,800 RPM I’d suggest a 3:1 reduction and a 3 or 4 blade prop close to 18” diameter. Your 2-blade just doesn’t have the surface area to get the maximum power of your motor to the water.

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[electricboats] Proper propellor

I've got an O'Day 30' with a Thunderstruck 10K motor, 2:1 reduction and 4 AGM batteries. I've got the original 16" pitch 9, 2 blade prop that was powered by a 16HP Universal when the boat was built. I'm convinced there must be something more efficient. I can't even maintain a course into a 15mph wind.
I'm with Jeff looking for suggestions

tom@tsteininc.com

850 259-8600

tom@tsteininc.com

850 259-8600

Thos. Stein Inc.

78B Ricker Ave.

Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459

Florida underground utility contractor license RU0058046

Florida plumbing contractor license RF0057995

Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

I have folding racing prop. No regen here. I had 2/1. Switched to 3/1. For better air cooling. I run 2200 rpm. But Will not be the same with your prop. You need to run and do a little observed performance. Cheers

On Mar 7, 2020, at 11:14 AM, Jeff Doornbos via Groups.Io <jpgroupfinancial=yahoo.com@groups.io> wrote:

I have a Cat 30 as well and just put in the same system with AGM batteries.

What prop are you using and what's the pitch?

I'm also trying to figure out the best engine RPMs to run while use a 2:1 gear reduction. Any suggestions on proper Engine RPMs?

Many thanks!
Jeff

On Mar 7, 2020, at 10:33 AM, L Schmitz via Groups.Io <terminalift=yahoo.com@groups.io> wrote:

What motor do you have? I have 10kw thunderstruck kit. I am very pleased with it. My sailboat is 40 ft. But race boat is about same weight as your cat 30 I built my battery system lifepo4 cells. 6 to 7 hrs run time at close to hull speed. Charging overnight when needed No diesel or bilge smells. All good here. cheers

Best regards,
Larry Schmitz

On Saturday, March 7, 2020, 7:20 AM, Peter Zephyr <Pcbeckett@gmail.com> wrote:
I have an electric engine in my Catalina 30 and it uses a Sevcon Gen4 controller. Currently I have a Sevcon Clearview display that connects to what looks like an OBD-II plug on the Sevcon and this displays a lot of data like motor speed, Voltage and Amps. The display also has the capability of updating parameters in the Sevcon controller. I want to be able to display the engine speed and possibly the Volts and Amps being used on my Garmin GPSMap 942 chart plotter which is connected to NMEA2000 network. On the network I have connected my wind and direction device as well as water depth and temp device. I have been looking at ADFWEB.com which has a CANopen to NMEA2000 device and wondered if anyone has tried interfacing a Sevcon Gen 4 controller to NMEA200 network?

Rgds Peter

Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

I have a Cat 30 as well and just put in the same system with AGM batteries.

What prop are you using and what's the pitch?

I'm also trying to figure out the best engine RPMs to run while use a 2:1 gear reduction. Any suggestions on proper Engine RPMs?

Many thanks!

Jeff

On Mar 7, 2020, at 10:33 AM, L Schmitz via Groups.Io <terminalift=yahoo.com@groups.io> wrote:

What motor do you have? I have 10kw thunderstruck kit. I am very pleased with it. My sailboat is 40 ft. But race boat is about same weight as your cat 30 I built my battery system lifepo4 cells. 6 to 7 hrs run time at close to hull speed. Charging overnight when needed No diesel or bilge smells. All good here. cheers

Best regards,
Larry Schmitz

On Saturday, March 7, 2020, 7:20 AM, Peter Zephyr <Pcbeckett@gmail.com> wrote:
I have an electric engine in my Catalina 30 and it uses a Sevcon Gen4 controller. Currently I have a Sevcon Clearview display that connects to what looks like an OBD-II plug on the Sevcon and this displays a lot of data like motor speed, Voltage and Amps. The display also has the capability of updating parameters in the Sevcon controller. I want to be able to display the engine speed and possibly the Volts and Amps being used on my Garmin GPSMap 942 chart plotter which is connected to NMEA2000 network. On the network I have connected my wind and direction device as well as water depth and temp device. I have been looking at ADFWEB.com which has a CANopen to NMEA2000 device and wondered if anyone has tried interfacing a Sevcon Gen 4 controller to NMEA200 network?

Rgds Peter

Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

Hello Peter, I started with 4 220 ah AGM batteries. My upgrade to lifepo4 was pretty amazing. Prices are coming down on the lifepo4 You should consider them when the time comes for replacement. best regards Larry

Terminalift LLC

9444 Mission Park Place

Santee, CA 92071

Ph: (619) 562-0355

F: (619) 562-2060

On Saturday, March 7, 2020, 09:15:23 AM PST, Peter Zephyr <pcbeckett@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Larry,

I got my motor from Electroprop.com almost 3 years ago. It was a complete kit with everything I needed including batteries.

I have 4 AGM batteries rated at 210 AH each from Northstar and can run at 4 knots for 12 hours which runs the batteries down to 50% (Conservative estimate). I have also found that if I turn the motor on while sailing in 10 knots or more the system will regen and charge the batteries at 1-2 amps.

I do shore based charging and have Mastervolt chargers.

I too am very pleased that I did the conversion as you say no diesel fumes and it always starts..

Rgds Peter

From: electricboats@groups.io <electricboats@groups.io> On Behalf Of L Schmitz via Groups.Io
Sent: Saturday, March 7, 2020 11:33 AM
To: electricboats@groups.io
Subject: Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

What motor do you have? I have 10kw thunderstruck kit. I am very pleased with it. My sailboat is 40 ft. But race boat is about same weight as your cat 30 I built my battery system lifepo4 cells. 6 to 7 hrs run time at close to hull speed. Charging overnight when needed No diesel or bilge smells. All good here. cheers

Best regards,

Larry Schmitz

On Saturday, March 7, 2020, 7:20 AM, Peter Zephyr <Pcbeckett@gmail.com> wrote:

I have an electric engine in my Catalina 30 and it uses a Sevcon Gen4 controller. Currently I have a Sevcon Clearview display that connects to what looks like an OBD-II plug on the Sevcon and this displays a lot of data like motor speed, Voltage and Amps. The display also has the capability of updating parameters in the Sevcon controller. I want to be able to display the engine speed and possibly the Volts and Amps being used on my Garmin GPSMap 942 chart plotter which is connected to NMEA2000 network. On the network I have connected my wind and direction device as well as water depth and temp device. I have been looking at ADFWEB.com which has a CANopen to NMEA2000 device and wondered if anyone has tried interfacing a Sevcon Gen 4 controller to NMEA200 network?

Rgds Peter

Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

Hello Mike If you are ever around, I will show it to you. It is at SWYC in San Diego. I put 360 ah system in the engine compartment. I also changed the gear reduction so I can run at a higher rpm for more efficiency. I had to put a placebo box filled with sand behind them to keep my weight the same as the removed engine and fuel tank. best regards Larry

Terminalift LLC

9444 Mission Park Place

Santee, CA 92071

Ph: (619) 562-0355

F: (619) 562-2060

On Saturday, March 7, 2020, 09:13:53 AM PST, Mike Gunning <mike@electricyacht.com> wrote:

Larry,
How large a battery pack do you have on the Andrews? We have found the old racers such as your boat and the Olson and others are easily pushed and exceed our "cruising boat" computer model.

Typically the Catalina 30 has space for about 300ah at 48v placing the batteries in the space of the old fuel tank and also in the motor compartment.
Mike
Electric Yacht

Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

Hello Ric, I built 4 12 v batteries with 3.2 v 90ah cells 4 S 4 P 360 ah I then connected in series for 48v with one bms for the whole system. I can monitor the batteries while underway on my phone. It is really nifty set up. Not to hard to put together. You just have to make sure no moisture gets in the boxes. best regards Larry

Terminalift LLC

9444 Mission Park Place

Santee, CA 92071

Ph: (619) 562-0355

F: (619) 562-2060

On Saturday, March 7, 2020, 09:13:45 AM PST, Ric Sanders <rsandersemail@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Larry,

What capacity is your battery bank?

Ric Sanders

Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

Hi Larry,

I got my motor from Electroprop.com almost 3 years ago. It was a complete kit with everything I needed including batteries.

I do shore based charging and have Mastervolt chargers.

I too am very pleased that I did the conversion as you say no diesel fumes and it always starts..

Rgds Peter

Best regards,

Larry Schmitz

On Saturday, March 7, 2020, 7:20 AM, Peter Zephyr <Pcbeckett@gmail.com> wrote:

I have an electric engine in my Catalina 30 and it uses a Sevcon Gen4 controller. Currently I have a Sevcon Clearview display that connects to what looks like an OBD-II plug on the Sevcon and this displays a lot of data like motor speed, Voltage and Amps. The display also has the capability of updating parameters in the Sevcon controller. I want to be able to display the engine speed and possibly the Volts and Amps being used on my Garmin GPSMap 942 chart plotter which is connected to NMEA2000 network. On the network I have connected my wind and direction device as well as water depth and temp device. I have been looking at ADFWEB.com which has a CANopen to NMEA2000 device and wondered if anyone has tried interfacing a Sevcon Gen 4 controller to NMEA200 network?

Rgds Peter

Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

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Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

Hi Larry,

What capacity is your battery bank?

Ric Sanders

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Re: [electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

Best regards,

Larry Schmitz

On Saturday, March 7, 2020, 7:20 AM, Peter Zephyr <Pcbeckett@gmail.com> wrote:

I have an electric engine in my Catalina 30 and it uses a Sevcon Gen4 controller. Currently I have a Sevcon Clearview display that connects to what looks like an OBD-II plug on the Sevcon and this displays a lot of data like motor speed, Voltage and Amps. The display also has the capability of updating parameters in the Sevcon controller. I want to be able to display the engine speed and possibly the Volts and Amps being used on my Garmin GPSMap 942 chart plotter which is connected to NMEA2000 network. On the network I have connected my wind and direction device as well as water depth and temp device. I have been looking at ADFWEB.com which has a CANopen to NMEA2000 device and wondered if anyone has tried interfacing a Sevcon Gen 4 controller to NMEA200 network?

Rgds Peter

[electricboats] CAN to NMEA2000 motor data

I have an electric engine in my Catalina 30 and it uses a Sevcon Gen4 controller. Currently I have a Sevcon Clearview display that connects to what looks like an OBD-II plug on the Sevcon and this displays a lot of data like motor speed, Voltage and Amps. The display also has the capability of updating parameters in the Sevcon controller. I want to be able to display the engine speed and possibly the Volts and Amps being used on my Garmin GPSMap 942 chart plotter which is connected to NMEA2000 network. On the network I have connected my wind and direction device as well as water depth and temp device. I have been looking at ADFWEB.com which has a CANopen to NMEA2000 device and wondered if anyone has tried interfacing a Sevcon Gen 4 controller to NMEA200 network?

Rgds Peter

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Re: [electricboats] Electrically powered dingy on a mothership sailboat that only anchors

actually Bill just a single cell being shaded brings down the panel. I suggest a controller for every panel. I have seen panels shaded by a tree that over time discolor due to heat. In fact a panel that is shaded by a sail completely is better off, but will produce very little.

You can look at solar panels thinking of the panel, or cell as the cell in a battery bank. One cell goes and the whole bank goes down. Only thing you can do is electrically isolate every battery/panel. This is done with each panel having it's own controller.

The controllers can all feed the same battery bank.

so one more time for clarity. each solar panel gets it's own controller and all controllers feed the same bank. If you have a BMS/ battery monitor you will see a great increase of power going to the bank.

Kevin

On Fri, Mar 6, 2020 at 7:47 PM Bill Farina <bill@thirdcoast.us> wrote:

The reason that I asked was because I'm in the planning stages of purchasing a sailboat and I'm kind of fond of my electricity. With all the things on a sailboat that can shadow a solar panel and since a shadow over a single panel can severely attenuate the output of all the panels that are ganged together with that panel, it makes sense to wire each panel separately into the controller so that this doesn't happen. Most of the controllers that I'm seeing have space for three pairs of wire. I've seen a couple of examples where there are two or three of these controllers connected together. In my mind it's better to have a single controller to handle all the electrical generation sources on the boat. (This conversation seems to be wandering way off course and I'm not helping things.)

On 3/6/2020 1:42 AM, mosslandingcreatures wrote:

Because I'm a layman with limited electrical expertise I can only say "I've heard it's best that the electrical harvest devises be the same as each if either paralleled or series connected together or the controller will be confused or the stronger or weaker of the two will bring the other down"

On Thu, Mar 5, 2020 at 9:50 PM Bill Farina <bill@thirdcoast.us> wrote:

Speaking of shadowing, if you have a bunch of solar panels... maybe a wind generator and regen, what do you do? Do you take a number of controllers and gang them together, or is there a controller with maybe 10-15 inputs that someone could recommend for not a huge price?

On 3/5/2020 2:46 PM, Kevin Pemberton wrote:

I would agree. Most mounting must be industrial quality. After seeing almost anything fly off deck though well lashed down, manual setting works best.

My experiments tell me in a stationary setting tilting panels every 1 or 2 hours will yield enough power that any other effort is just wasted.

Another issue is shadowing. When one panel is partly shaded,the whole is brought down...For this reason I recommend a controller for every panel in the system.

I have more but I am not on the computer.

On Thu, Mar 5, 2020, 12:25 PM mosslandingcreatures <mosslandingcreatures@gmail.com> wrote:

Uni axis currently tilted manually. Wish I knew of a durable reliable automatic tracker but everything I see online seems like it won't hold up to Ocean cruising environment. Do you know of one? I was just introduced to the Victron smart Cyrix. It seems like the answer? Thank you for your calcs and assistance! Let me know what you think.

On Thu, Mar 5, 2020 at 9:10 AM Kevin Pemberton <pembertonkevin@gmail.com> wrote:

Your post raises more questions.

Do the panels follow the sun?... my panels when flat produce 1/4 the power. At best 4/5ths of rated power.

Just because the voltage is up mid day tells you nothing. When you turn the panel switch off what is the battery bank reading?

The last 20% of a lead acid bank can take more than ten hours.

800w motor, 1000w panel. 2hrs at 800w=1600w. Real numbers on the array bet more like 300w if flat.

Check the numbers for your installation.

If dink is high priority, consider splitting the array and dedicating some to the dink. Or add panels to the dink.

Kevin

On Wed, Mar 4, 2020, 8:42 AM mosslandingcreatures <mosslandingcreatures@gmail.com> wrote:

My first time on this wonderful info site. I thought my project would be easy. Mothership sailboat has 1k solar power with a 3k Victron inverter Charger powering the usual refer, autopilot, dc water maker and the like. House bank is 800 Ah. She has a Honda 2000 generator but I would dearly want not have to use it. With typical use and southern California/Mexico daylight and uniaxis pv tilt I hit float usually by mid day or so. I want my house bank to never dip below 50% DOD. I want componentry to see the house floating and send remaining power to a separate dedicated inverter??? To power the 120 v charger to drive 200 Ah lithium battery onboard the ding?... Echo charger relay??? I want rapid as possible charging of the dingy battery so I might use the 800 watt dingy motor for 2 hours every day. Any ideas ladies and gentlemen?

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The reason that I asked was because I'm in the planning stages of purchasing a sailboat and I'm kind of fond of my electricity. With all the things on a sailboat that can shadow a solar panel and since a shadow over a single panel can severely attenuate the output of all the panels that are ganged together with that panel, it makes sense to wire each panel separately into the controller so that this doesn't happen. Most of the controllers that I'm seeing have space for three pairs of wire. I've seen a couple of examples where there are two or three of these controllers connected together. In my mind it's better to have a single controller to handle all the electrical generation sources on the boat. (This conversation seems to be wandering way off course and I'm not helping things.)

On 3/6/2020 1:42 AM, mosslandingcreatures wrote:

Because I'm a layman with limited electrical expertise I can only say "I've heard it's best that the electrical harvest devises be the same as each if either paralleled or series connected together or the controller will be confused or the stronger or weaker of the two will bring the other down"

On Thu, Mar 5, 2020 at 9:50 PM Bill Farina <bill@thirdcoast.us> wrote:

Speaking of shadowing, if you have a bunch of solar panels... maybe a wind generator and regen, what do you do? Do you take a number of controllers and gang them together, or is there a controller with maybe 10-15 inputs that someone could recommend for not a huge price?

On 3/5/2020 2:46 PM, Kevin Pemberton wrote:

I would agree. Most mounting must be industrial quality. After seeing almost anything fly off deck though well lashed down, manual setting works best.

My experiments tell me in a stationary setting tilting panels every 1 or 2 hours will yield enough power that any other effort is just wasted.

Another issue is shadowing. When one panel is partly shaded,the whole is brought down...For this reason I recommend a controller for every panel in the system.

I have more but I am not on the computer.

On Thu, Mar 5, 2020, 12:25 PM mosslandingcreatures <mosslandingcreatures@gmail.com> wrote:

Uni axis currently tilted manually. Wish I knew of a durable reliable automatic tracker but everything I see online seems like it won't hold up to Ocean cruising environment. Do you know of one? I was just introduced to the Victron smart Cyrix. It seems like the answer? Thank you for your calcs and assistance! Let me know what you think.

On Thu, Mar 5, 2020 at 9:10 AM Kevin Pemberton <pembertonkevin@gmail.com> wrote:

Your post raises more questions.

Do the panels follow the sun?... my panels when flat produce 1/4 the power. At best 4/5ths of rated power.

Just because the voltage is up mid day tells you nothing. When you turn the panel switch off what is the battery bank reading?

The last 20% of a lead acid bank can take more than ten hours.

800w motor, 1000w panel. 2hrs at 800w=1600w. Real numbers on the array bet more like 300w if flat.

Check the numbers for your installation.

If dink is high priority, consider splitting the array and dedicating some to the dink. Or add panels to the dink.

Kevin

On Wed, Mar 4, 2020, 8:42 AM mosslandingcreatures <mosslandingcreatures@gmail.com> wrote:

My first time on this wonderful info site. I thought my project would be easy. Mothership sailboat has 1k solar power with a 3k Victron inverter Charger powering the usual refer, autopilot, dc water maker and the like. House bank is 800 Ah. She has a Honda 2000 generator but I would dearly want not have to use it. With typical use and southern California/Mexico daylight and uniaxis pv tilt I hit float usually by mid day or so. I want my house bank to never dip below 50% DOD. I want componentry to see the house floating and send remaining power to a separate dedicated inverter??? To power the 120 v charger to drive 200 Ah lithium battery onboard the ding?... Echo charger relay??? I want rapid as possible charging of the dingy battery so I might use the 800 watt dingy motor for 2 hours every day. Any ideas ladies and gentlemen?

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