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Not a single bullet, but a single battery.
My luck with batteries has not ben good. I killed a fair battery and killed a new battery in about 3 months due to a variety of issues. Here is what I have learned.
(1) The solar panel regulator did not put out enough power. During bright hot days in summer, the solar panel can keep the batteries topped off. But if it isn't mid-summer, it can not gather enough power from the sun, now low on the horizon.
(2) The Automatic Charge Relay (ACR) seemed to guarantee that if one battery got drained, the other was sure to follow. I don't think it releases batteries from each other quickly enough when the voltage sags.itself
(3) I think keeping the ACR itself powered might have been drain enough to draw down a battery over time.
(4) The CO detector, which was hard-wired and on at all times, is also too much of a drain. Although, to its credit, it does beep and let me know it is hungry for more power with a low voltage alarm of its own. It was my first sign that something was wrong.
(5) The bilge alarm I installed went off one evening (and rightly so) and it took 18 hours for anyone to attend to the boat. A few people in the marina called the marina staff, probably because they couldn't get to sleep. The marina staff did not attend to the problem until the next day. The alarm bell was still ringing. Had it been a dire problem, the boat would have sunk. One of the bilge pumps had jammed and drained its dedicated battery, and thanks to the ACR, the pump weakened the other battery as well.
(6) The CO detector low voltage alarm was also ignored by marina personnel.
(7) Batteries are expensive. I had already purchased two, and now I am faced with purchasing two more.
(8) I see that good marine battery chargers are very expensive - I mean the kind that will (somehow) recognize varying house loads, compensate, and charge two batteries at the same time ($450).
(9) GEL (not AGM) batteries are very deep cycle batteries and I have eyed them wantonly. But I suspect they only do well when they have a dedicated charger specifically designed for it (per manufacturer recommendations). Most smaller GEL batteries come with their own charger. Matching one manufacturer's charger to another manufacturer's battery may shorten battery life.
(10) A battery charger can be overloaded (smoked) if the house circuits are demanding too much power at the same time - I proved this and I am now less one brand-name, 15 amp, marine grade, battery charger. Yes, it was smoking.
Some changes that I will make include the following.
(A) A switchable CO detector - Only on when the boat is peopled. The alarm will be ignored by everyone else anyway.
(B) I want to be able to use ANY battery, a K-Mart special, a $450 Type 31, three 8D's, or lots of D-cells.
(C) I will not use a solar panel. I can't afford a proper one, and the big ones look ugly anyway (those grapes are sour). But also, the back of my solar panel caused blisters on the deck gelcoat. This is the only place on a 37 year old boat where blisters ever occurred.
(D) Remove the ACR. This seems to any be a good idea when charging power is available. For managing charging, it works perfectly. For managing low power conditions it so not so good.
(E) Don Casey has argued that a single battery with larger capacity is a more frugal approach than multiple batteries. High capacity battery will discharge less deeply because its reserve is greater. The depth of a cycle determines how much wear the battery gets.
I know I am a never-leave-it-alone engineering geek. Some of you are nodding your heads yes (I can imagine it). Never-the-less, here is the next sailboat electric power system design out of my head. I have come up with a simpler battery arrangement which uses only one battery. There is no ACR. There is no battery switch. Give it a gander and let me know what you think.
This entire design is predicated upon the fact that we can crank start the A-4. One hand crank cost about $60. Two batteries cost about $160 for cheap ones, and $400 for good ones. Of course, one can pay more.
There is no battery switch - as one would hope for with only one battery. Standards allow for this if the engine starter circuit is fused, which it is (200A).
During the winter, the battery will be removed if shore power is not ALWAYS available. It is easier to remove one battery instead of two or more.
The house current will be limited to a few amps. There are some power hungry devices aboard which will be sold. The fancy Garmin Chart Plotter will be replace with a handheld cheap GPS and charts. The auto-pilot will be replace by a mechanical wind vane. LED bulbs will replace incandescent bulbs. < I have a power budget for anyone to see if they are interested. I have already purchased an LED anchor light which is powered by C-cells. >
Please give this a look and let me know if it will work. I greatly appreciate finding design problem before I build it. The two switched have center-off positions.
I hope we are all on the water again soon. Best to you. - Steve
.
My luck with batteries has not ben good. I killed a fair battery and killed a new battery in about 3 months due to a variety of issues. Here is what I have learned.
(1) The solar panel regulator did not put out enough power. During bright hot days in summer, the solar panel can keep the batteries topped off. But if it isn't mid-summer, it can not gather enough power from the sun, now low on the horizon.
(2) The Automatic Charge Relay (ACR) seemed to guarantee that if one battery got drained, the other was sure to follow. I don't think it releases batteries from each other quickly enough when the voltage sags.itself
(3) I think keeping the ACR itself powered might have been drain enough to draw down a battery over time.
(4) The CO detector, which was hard-wired and on at all times, is also too much of a drain. Although, to its credit, it does beep and let me know it is hungry for more power with a low voltage alarm of its own. It was my first sign that something was wrong.
(5) The bilge alarm I installed went off one evening (and rightly so) and it took 18 hours for anyone to attend to the boat. A few people in the marina called the marina staff, probably because they couldn't get to sleep. The marina staff did not attend to the problem until the next day. The alarm bell was still ringing. Had it been a dire problem, the boat would have sunk. One of the bilge pumps had jammed and drained its dedicated battery, and thanks to the ACR, the pump weakened the other battery as well.
(6) The CO detector low voltage alarm was also ignored by marina personnel.
(7) Batteries are expensive. I had already purchased two, and now I am faced with purchasing two more.
(8) I see that good marine battery chargers are very expensive - I mean the kind that will (somehow) recognize varying house loads, compensate, and charge two batteries at the same time ($450).
(9) GEL (not AGM) batteries are very deep cycle batteries and I have eyed them wantonly. But I suspect they only do well when they have a dedicated charger specifically designed for it (per manufacturer recommendations). Most smaller GEL batteries come with their own charger. Matching one manufacturer's charger to another manufacturer's battery may shorten battery life.
(10) A battery charger can be overloaded (smoked) if the house circuits are demanding too much power at the same time - I proved this and I am now less one brand-name, 15 amp, marine grade, battery charger. Yes, it was smoking.
Some changes that I will make include the following.
(A) A switchable CO detector - Only on when the boat is peopled. The alarm will be ignored by everyone else anyway.
(B) I want to be able to use ANY battery, a K-Mart special, a $450 Type 31, three 8D's, or lots of D-cells.
(C) I will not use a solar panel. I can't afford a proper one, and the big ones look ugly anyway (those grapes are sour). But also, the back of my solar panel caused blisters on the deck gelcoat. This is the only place on a 37 year old boat where blisters ever occurred.
(D) Remove the ACR. This seems to any be a good idea when charging power is available. For managing charging, it works perfectly. For managing low power conditions it so not so good.
(E) Don Casey has argued that a single battery with larger capacity is a more frugal approach than multiple batteries. High capacity battery will discharge less deeply because its reserve is greater. The depth of a cycle determines how much wear the battery gets.
I know I am a never-leave-it-alone engineering geek. Some of you are nodding your heads yes (I can imagine it). Never-the-less, here is the next sailboat electric power system design out of my head. I have come up with a simpler battery arrangement which uses only one battery. There is no ACR. There is no battery switch. Give it a gander and let me know what you think.
This entire design is predicated upon the fact that we can crank start the A-4. One hand crank cost about $60. Two batteries cost about $160 for cheap ones, and $400 for good ones. Of course, one can pay more.
There is no battery switch - as one would hope for with only one battery. Standards allow for this if the engine starter circuit is fused, which it is (200A).
During the winter, the battery will be removed if shore power is not ALWAYS available. It is easier to remove one battery instead of two or more.
The house current will be limited to a few amps. There are some power hungry devices aboard which will be sold. The fancy Garmin Chart Plotter will be replace with a handheld cheap GPS and charts. The auto-pilot will be replace by a mechanical wind vane. LED bulbs will replace incandescent bulbs. < I have a power budget for anyone to see if they are interested. I have already purchased an LED anchor light which is powered by C-cells. >
Please give this a look and let me know if it will work. I greatly appreciate finding design problem before I build it. The two switched have center-off positions.
I hope we are all on the water again soon. Best to you. - Steve
.
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