Re: [bolger] Re Electrics:
Well there is what I think is a better solution out there, but
unfortunately it is not available in the US yet. An outfit called
whispergen
http://www.whispergen.com/
makes a DC Generator that works off of a Sterling cycle engine. It is
hooked up to the battery bank, senses when there is a need and
automatically starts, shuts down automatically when the charging is
done. It also tops off a hot water heater as a by product.
18"D 20W" 26" H weighs 200Lbs and burns diesel, 44 DB for noise. The
ice tinkling in your glass will be louder.
There is some more good info on it at
http://www.victronenergy.com/
The article "Electricity on board" has some good stuff for Jeff and
David.
There has been a lot of truly innovative marine technology come out of
New Zealand and Australia that I have run across lately. If I were 10yrs
less in age I would seriously think about getting into marketing some of
this stuff.
HJ
boatbuilding@...wrote:
unfortunately it is not available in the US yet. An outfit called
whispergen
http://www.whispergen.com/
makes a DC Generator that works off of a Sterling cycle engine. It is
hooked up to the battery bank, senses when there is a need and
automatically starts, shuts down automatically when the charging is
done. It also tops off a hot water heater as a by product.
18"D 20W" 26" H weighs 200Lbs and burns diesel, 44 DB for noise. The
ice tinkling in your glass will be louder.
There is some more good info on it at
http://www.victronenergy.com/
The article "Electricity on board" has some good stuff for Jeff and
David.
There has been a lot of truly innovative marine technology come out of
New Zealand and Australia that I have run across lately. If I were 10yrs
less in age I would seriously think about getting into marketing some of
this stuff.
HJ
boatbuilding@...wrote:
>
> Thanks, you have confirmed what I've researched. With smart
> tools and the proper tools it can be done.
>
> PB&F stated to me that the 2 banks of 800 Amh each should run
> the Wyo for a week before recharge. That includes laptop, TV,
> and refrigeration.
>
> I was hoping that the 140 amp marine altenator on the engine
> would keep it all topped off easily. Hopefully I can let sit
> for 4 or 5 days before having to recharge, by that time I will
> usually be moving the boat somewhere so recharges will be
> automatic. Though it will take 24 hours on shore power to
> recharge those big batteries, and at least 4 hours of full
> charging on the alternator.
>
> Jeff
>
> ---
> PB&F stated to me that the 2 banks of 800 Amh eachSorry, that's 400 amh each for a total of 800 amh.
> should run
> the Wyo for a week before recharge. That includes
> laptop, TV, and refrigeration.
Jeff
*********************************************
Fromhttp://www.jackrabbitmarine.com/products/sun_pow.html
RULE OF THUMB: Solar panels: Expect about 1/3 amp hour per watt
of solar panel per day. For instance, a 75W solar panel will
produce about 25 amp hours on a sunny summer day at the New York
latitude. You will get more as you move South, and less as you
move North.
*******************************************
With this in mind, at $600 for an 120w panel, you should be able
to get .33 X 120 is 40 amps charging per day.
If my refrigeration requires 3.0 amps/hr when running and will
run 50% of the time, it will need 36 amps per day. Sooooo, for
$625, I can then get free refrigeration from an energy stand
point, right?
Of course, this is all in a perfect world but looks like a
decent investment.
It sure would be nice to have cold beer...I mean
refreshments.....
Jeff
Fromhttp://www.jackrabbitmarine.com/products/sun_pow.html
RULE OF THUMB: Solar panels: Expect about 1/3 amp hour per watt
of solar panel per day. For instance, a 75W solar panel will
produce about 25 amp hours on a sunny summer day at the New York
latitude. You will get more as you move South, and less as you
move North.
*******************************************
With this in mind, at $600 for an 120w panel, you should be able
to get .33 X 120 is 40 amps charging per day.
If my refrigeration requires 3.0 amps/hr when running and will
run 50% of the time, it will need 36 amps per day. Sooooo, for
$625, I can then get free refrigeration from an energy stand
point, right?
Of course, this is all in a perfect world but looks like a
decent investment.
It sure would be nice to have cold beer...I mean
refreshments.....
Jeff
Thanks, you have confirmed what I've researched. With smart
tools and the proper tools it can be done.
PB&F stated to me that the 2 banks of 800 Amh each should run
the Wyo for a week before recharge. That includes laptop, TV,
and refrigeration.
I was hoping that the 140 amp marine altenator on the engine
would keep it all topped off easily. Hopefully I can let sit
for 4 or 5 days before having to recharge, by that time I will
usually be moving the boat somewhere so recharges will be
automatic. Though it will take 24 hours on shore power to
recharge those big batteries, and at least 4 hours of full
charging on the alternator.
Jeff
tools and the proper tools it can be done.
PB&F stated to me that the 2 banks of 800 Amh each should run
the Wyo for a week before recharge. That includes laptop, TV,
and refrigeration.
I was hoping that the 140 amp marine altenator on the engine
would keep it all topped off easily. Hopefully I can let sit
for 4 or 5 days before having to recharge, by that time I will
usually be moving the boat somewhere so recharges will be
automatic. Though it will take 24 hours on shore power to
recharge those big batteries, and at least 4 hours of full
charging on the alternator.
Jeff
Okay, I can't help chiming in at this point. I lived on the hook in St.
Thomas for three years using solar and wind power (with an occasional
assist from a weekly warm-up on the diesel). I had refrigeration,
lights, stereo, fans that we never turned off, electric pressure water
system, TV/VCR, microwave oven, and the Admiral occasionally fired up a
hair dryer and steam iron. It can be done, and not necessarily by
living off an LED and an earphone radio...
Aside from a hefty wind genny in the trade winds and a large solar panel
in the tropics, what really made this possible was having a good monitor
system in place to see how the batteries were doing, and to see what
various loads were produced by different devices. We used a Link 2000
monitor. It was pricey (to me) and complex to install, but worth every
penny and skinned knuckle. I learned what worked and what didn't.
Believe me, dial-type meters aren't worth the panel space, and basic
digital volt/ammeters only tell part of the story. When you can see the
charge/discharge balance sheet for your battery bank in action, you
wonder how you did without it. There are several less expensive
monitors available on the market now, and I recommend considering them
for any serious attempt at living off battery power. Me, I'd buy the
Link 2000 again. My $.02 worth...
David Romasco
-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Jordan [mailto:sjordan@...]
Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2002 9:11 PM
To: bolger group
Subject: [bolger] Re Electrics:
Unless you have batteries that would sink a small ship, when running
away from dock power, there are ONLY two choices:
1. Frequently recharge with an engine generator ( or shore power)
2. Keep power demands very very small.
The amount of energy that can be recharged from solar cells or wind
charge are so small that they are only significant after days of
charging. A full day's output from those sources, might keep an LED
anchor light going all night, but not much more.
One strategy is to be aware of the relative of power use (load or
demand) that each appliance places on your system. Using the least
efficient devices as little as possible.
Any device that creates heat from electricity is very bad and eats power
like a feeding shark.
Avoid:
Toasters, irons, heaters, microwave ovens, cigarette lighters, water
heaters, hot plates, coffee makers, even high wattage light bulbs.
Burn a fuel if you need heat! A losing proposition is to make heat
from the fuel, to run a generator, to stuff power into a battery, then
wring power from the battery, all to make heat. There are losses at each
step.
Somewhat less wasteful than the heat devices, are the electric motors.
(air conditioners, pumps, refrigerators, and to a lesser degree fans.
Most computers are in this range too as are televisions. All inverters
(the device that makes 120 VAC from battery power) waste power so their
use should be kept minimal. Battery powered florescent lights use tiny
inverters so they aren't much better than standard bulbs.
So what are we left with??
Very small light bulbs and fans can be used sparingly.
The GOOD NEWS:
Solid state devices like radio receivers and LED's can use very little
power. Relative to the other devices that were mentioned above, they
don't even count as far as power use goes.
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Bolger rules!!!
- no cursing, flaming, trolling, spamming, or flogging dead horses
- pls take "personals" off-list, stay on topic, and punctuate
- add your comments at the TOP and SIGN your posts, snip all you like
- To order plans: Mr. Philip C. Bolger, P.O. Box 1209, Gloucester, MA,
01930, Fax: (978) 282-1349
- Unsubscribe:bolger-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service
<http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> .
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Thomas for three years using solar and wind power (with an occasional
assist from a weekly warm-up on the diesel). I had refrigeration,
lights, stereo, fans that we never turned off, electric pressure water
system, TV/VCR, microwave oven, and the Admiral occasionally fired up a
hair dryer and steam iron. It can be done, and not necessarily by
living off an LED and an earphone radio...
Aside from a hefty wind genny in the trade winds and a large solar panel
in the tropics, what really made this possible was having a good monitor
system in place to see how the batteries were doing, and to see what
various loads were produced by different devices. We used a Link 2000
monitor. It was pricey (to me) and complex to install, but worth every
penny and skinned knuckle. I learned what worked and what didn't.
Believe me, dial-type meters aren't worth the panel space, and basic
digital volt/ammeters only tell part of the story. When you can see the
charge/discharge balance sheet for your battery bank in action, you
wonder how you did without it. There are several less expensive
monitors available on the market now, and I recommend considering them
for any serious attempt at living off battery power. Me, I'd buy the
Link 2000 again. My $.02 worth...
David Romasco
-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Jordan [mailto:sjordan@...]
Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2002 9:11 PM
To: bolger group
Subject: [bolger] Re Electrics:
Unless you have batteries that would sink a small ship, when running
away from dock power, there are ONLY two choices:
1. Frequently recharge with an engine generator ( or shore power)
2. Keep power demands very very small.
The amount of energy that can be recharged from solar cells or wind
charge are so small that they are only significant after days of
charging. A full day's output from those sources, might keep an LED
anchor light going all night, but not much more.
One strategy is to be aware of the relative of power use (load or
demand) that each appliance places on your system. Using the least
efficient devices as little as possible.
Any device that creates heat from electricity is very bad and eats power
like a feeding shark.
Avoid:
Toasters, irons, heaters, microwave ovens, cigarette lighters, water
heaters, hot plates, coffee makers, even high wattage light bulbs.
Burn a fuel if you need heat! A losing proposition is to make heat
from the fuel, to run a generator, to stuff power into a battery, then
wring power from the battery, all to make heat. There are losses at each
step.
Somewhat less wasteful than the heat devices, are the electric motors.
(air conditioners, pumps, refrigerators, and to a lesser degree fans.
Most computers are in this range too as are televisions. All inverters
(the device that makes 120 VAC from battery power) waste power so their
use should be kept minimal. Battery powered florescent lights use tiny
inverters so they aren't much better than standard bulbs.
So what are we left with??
Very small light bulbs and fans can be used sparingly.
The GOOD NEWS:
Solid state devices like radio receivers and LED's can use very little
power. Relative to the other devices that were mentioned above, they
don't even count as far as power use goes.
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT
<http://rd.yahoo.com/M=217097.1902236.3412362.1261774/D=egroupweb/S=1705
065791:HM/A=999859/R=0/*http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=29150
849&siteid=39282504&bfpage=account>
<http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l?M=217097.1902236.3412362.1261774/D=egrou
pmail/S=1705065791:HM/A=999859/rand=204152424>
Bolger rules!!!
- no cursing, flaming, trolling, spamming, or flogging dead horses
- pls take "personals" off-list, stay on topic, and punctuate
- add your comments at the TOP and SIGN your posts, snip all you like
- To order plans: Mr. Philip C. Bolger, P.O. Box 1209, Gloucester, MA,
01930, Fax: (978) 282-1349
- Unsubscribe:bolger-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service
<http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> .
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Unless you have batteries that would sink a small ship, when running
away from dock power, there are ONLY two choices:
1. Frequently recharge with an engine generator ( or shore power)
2. Keep power demands very very small.
The amount of energy that can be recharged from solar cells or wind
charge are so small that they are only significant after days of
charging. A full day's output from those sources, might keep an LED
anchor light going all night, but not much more.
One strategy is to be aware of the relative of power use (load or
demand) that each appliance places on your system. Using the least
efficient devices as little as possible.
Any device that creates heat from electricity is very bad and eats power
like a feeding shark.
Avoid:
Toasters, irons, heaters, microwave ovens, cigarette lighters, water
heaters, hot plates, coffee makers, even high wattage light bulbs.
Burn a fuel if you need heat! A losing proposition is to make heat
from the fuel, to run a generator, to stuff power into a battery, then
wring power from the battery, all to make heat. There are losses at each
step.
Somewhat less wasteful than the heat devices, are the electric motors.
(air conditioners, pumps, refrigerators, and to a lesser degree fans.
Most computers are in this range too as are televisions. All inverters
(the device that makes 120 VAC from battery power) waste power so their
use should be kept minimal. Battery powered florescent lights use tiny
inverters so they aren't much better than standard bulbs.
So what are we left with??
Very small light bulbs and fans can be used sparingly.
The GOOD NEWS:
Solid state devices like radio receivers and LED's can use very little
power. Relative to the other devices that were mentioned above, they
don't even count as far as power use goes.
away from dock power, there are ONLY two choices:
1. Frequently recharge with an engine generator ( or shore power)
2. Keep power demands very very small.
The amount of energy that can be recharged from solar cells or wind
charge are so small that they are only significant after days of
charging. A full day's output from those sources, might keep an LED
anchor light going all night, but not much more.
One strategy is to be aware of the relative of power use (load or
demand) that each appliance places on your system. Using the least
efficient devices as little as possible.
Any device that creates heat from electricity is very bad and eats power
like a feeding shark.
Avoid:
Toasters, irons, heaters, microwave ovens, cigarette lighters, water
heaters, hot plates, coffee makers, even high wattage light bulbs.
Burn a fuel if you need heat! A losing proposition is to make heat
from the fuel, to run a generator, to stuff power into a battery, then
wring power from the battery, all to make heat. There are losses at each
step.
Somewhat less wasteful than the heat devices, are the electric motors.
(air conditioners, pumps, refrigerators, and to a lesser degree fans.
Most computers are in this range too as are televisions. All inverters
(the device that makes 120 VAC from battery power) waste power so their
use should be kept minimal. Battery powered florescent lights use tiny
inverters so they aren't much better than standard bulbs.
So what are we left with??
Very small light bulbs and fans can be used sparingly.
The GOOD NEWS:
Solid state devices like radio receivers and LED's can use very little
power. Relative to the other devices that were mentioned above, they
don't even count as far as power use goes.