A25 solar

[patclem]

I'm transitioning from the sailboat world so I apologize for the dumb question. On sailboats (outboard kicker), you need solar for multi day excursions. On a diesel powered boat, wouldn't the engine recharge your batteries under way? So, what's the point of having solar panels? I feel like I'm supposed to have them or something.

[WillieC]

First of all, not a dumb question at all. Everything depends on your electrical load and your general usage of the boat. When the engine is not running is where solar counts, and as a new owner you're running the boat often. This is good.

For me, solar would keep my FLA batts more happily charged, assuming I set it up correctly. We hang on a hook during the summer, no shore power available, and the batts drop just by sitting. The anchor light, though LED and controlled by photosensor, also draws them down.

Now if we ran five or six hours every day and had a much better voltage regulator on board, no problem. Solar would augment that and keep the charge in much better shape.

All that said, these old style batteries are pushing 6 years now, is that possible? With nothing more than stock internally regulated 60A engine alternator, and a cheap car charger for periodic charging when the boat is on the trailer in our driveway over winter, I think we've done quite well. I am sensing weaker cranking speed and the voltage is dropping quicker between engine runs. I should think about replacement this winter. And maybe some electrical upgrades. I think solar, for us, would beat out even using fancier batteries. Actually, better batteries would require much improved charging. Now where do I place panels on a 25 foot boat where we use almost every exposed surface?

[patclem]

Yeah, I'm mostly trailer so far and we plan some multiple night trips trailer trawling so we'll get plenty of engine time. We have an Engel cooler that's going in place of the "factory" refrigerator that we pulled out. It was tiny and gross. (I still have the original in-tact cooler if anyone wants it.) Engels are notoriously energy efficient. We'll probably add a simple music system, and I plan to convert everything to LED's over time. I may not be able to justify solar just yet.
I don't know how long my batteries are going to last. When that time comes, I may install golf cart batteries. Not sure yet. Really, I don't need to worry about it right now!

[WillieC]

I suspect not. Do you have two batteries? Mine came with two and a hidden selector switch set to BOTH. Duh. One larger dead battery when it goes.

I reworked my main electrical system, mainly to clean it up and get all the crap off the battery terminals. One wire, one fuse, then bus bars. Simple. I set ours up so it is essentially a one battery system with a full size spare for getting home. I use an echo charger to keep the spare ready for use. I also swap the main leads every year so the batts get rotated. I have never had to use the second battery to start the engine in six years, but redundancy is good.

Go boating. You'll have all winter to spend money.

[patclem]

Yeah I have two batteries and a switch, but no "both" setting. I haven't figured out the entire charging system. It does have a built in shore power charger that charges both batteries. I don't know if the alternator charges both or not. I also don't know if the house is run off one or the one the battery switch is set to. I just haven't spent the effort yet. LOL

Good idea on rotating the batteries. They're wet so I also need to check water level, use the hygrometer (do I have that right?) to check them.

We're going this weekend to hit some new water. We've circled our lake three times now, so time for some fresh scenery. Gaining confidence so when the weather cools we can do some overnight and multi-night boat camping. Tennessee River will probably be our first tour, not far from home.

[WillieC]

Ah, first trips out. I remember my first local jaunt showing off our new amazing boat that I knew absolutely nothing about to my three adult sons. A hundred yards off the hook the engine died. We're all mechanically minded to different degrees (Ok, I failed two of my sons...) and since there are no spark plugs on a diesel engine we figured it must be fuel or compression. Thus we learned how to bleed a diesel engine, after snugging ten or so loose fittings, drifting down the Canal on a lazy summer's day with no rocks to dash upon. All good.

Off we continued on our first excellent adventure. An hour later son number three commented that the temperature gauge looked like it was trying to say something about low voltage. (He tried.) No, son, we are in fact overheating. We found numerous loose hose connections and strange green fluid all over the engine compartment. None of which we had in gallon jugs ready for such misfortunes. But we did have a jug of fresh water to get us home.

I may talk big about knowing your boat like the back of your hand, but we're seven years into it, one day at a time. Still learning but having a blast.

[stmbtwle]

As WillieC states it depends on how you use the boat. At the very least I'd install a small panel to keep the battery charged when the boat is on the trailer, unattended at anchor or in the slip. I know of one boat that sank at the dock after the shore power was knocked out by a storm. A solar panel and controller is cheap insurance and the peace of mind is worth it. When you're on board it's less of an issue as you have the engine. On my boat the engine charges the start battery and the solar charges the "house" battery. I also have an ACR (or "battery combiner") which automatically charges everything when the engine is running.

[dkirsop]

I have 2-6V golf cart batteries for the house battery and 1-12V starting battery. May the house and starting batteries forever remain apart. BOTH is a dirty word in the world of battery switches. I also have a 32W flexible solar panel with a 10A regulator wired to the house battery. I use an Echo-charge unit which directs charging current to the starting battery once the house battery reaches full charge. This is a dependable system that works well and the solar panel definitely extends our time on the hook without having to run the engine.

I do keep a set of jumper cables on the boat in the event the starting battery fails but have never had to use them. We seldom opt for shore power when in a marina.

You should get about 10 years from a well maintained battery. Check the electrolyte level monthly until you get used to how often you need to do this.

Enjoy the boat, it is an efficient little cruiser and easy to use.

[WillieC]

Mr. K's install is what I would upgrade to. Very simple and robust with true deep cycle batts for the house.

I agree with the thought about the BOTH switch, even though I have it installed. Came with the boat. In the event of a dead battery, I would most likely swap main battery leads to start the engine. I have heard of killing the second battery by using BOTH.

[DesertAlbin736]

To reiterate WillieC & dkirsop where a solar panel comes in handy is when at anchor for several days without moving. Even then starting and running the main engine occasionally will bring batteries back up although it's not a good idea to run a diesel long under light load. Switching all cabin & anchor lights to LED will help extend battery range. It's when the boat sits on the trailer for long periods without access to 115V power to supply an on board charger that a solar panel helps. We have a 20 watt panel mounted on the hardtop roof running through a smart controller to maintain the stepped charging profile necessary for the AGM batteries we have, which is one group 27 start battery and two group 27 house batteries, all dual purpose 90 amp hours each. Also I have a toggle switch on the dash to switch the panel off when running the engine. I use the Blue Sea Systems master switch plus SI/ACR charging relay setup which just has On-Off plus a manual "both" override option where "On" keeps start & house banks separated until it activates a separate charging circuit when it "sees" charging voltage coming from the alternator. At the moment something has gone wrong with the guts of the master battery switch & doesn't work or "click" on or off. The knob just spins freely & doesn't turn anything on. It's hard to get at the nuts on the wall mounting screws & it's just too hot here to spend any time in the boat so I'm waiting for cooler fall weather to deal with it.

When we travel & use the boat as camper we try to stay in RV parks with electric hookups where I can use a marine-to-RV 30 amp plug adapter to hook up shore power.

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[Sunsetrider]

I have 260W solar on my 25. I chose to sacrifice the suntan area at the bow to keep my Perrier and Beer cold all summer at the dock in between weekend excursions and it certainly does that. I don.t pay for electric and have no need of it at the dock. My 60 liter Unique fridge freezer greets me with ice cold drinks all summer with no electric plug in and not charging. Cheap as heck to buy and install!

[hetek]

That unit would look like a no brainer to install on an extended hardtop.

Keeps beverages (and other essential food-like items) cold all summer with no shore power? Awesome!

Don't get me thinking!

[Sunsetrider]

Ya but . . ya but . . the good thing about the non-flexing panel is it is more efficient and gives more energy. And if you don't care to stand at the helm that works great. I always stand with he roof open (unless rain of course). And I don't lay out in the sun and don't have a bevy clamouring to do so!

[DesertAlbin736]

Stephen let's hear more about your Rideau Canal cruise!

[ssrig]

Solar is the way to go!

With the price of solar panels and controllers so affordable these days and so many types of panels to choose from having a good system makes it an easy decision. Even if you run the motor everyday having the batteries properly topped up by smart controllers that will do the equalize etc. Will save your batteries or at least extend their lives.

I installed solar panels and a controller that feeds two 6 volt batteries that in turn are linked with an ACR to a start battery, having the alternator charge the house batteries first then once the voltage is high enough the ACR closes and feeds the start battery. All this runs without my attention and care to keeps things going. On my overland vehicle I am going on my 8th season with the same batteries.

On these A25 boats there isn’t much room for a hard panel set up, we didn’t want to give up our front deck area or above the helm seats and we have a soft top so no good there and our only option was to make it fit at the back which was more difficult but in the end worked out great! On a hard top boat it would be way easier. We did all this to accommodate a Dometic chest fridge/freezer.

Also there is nothing worse than waking up in the morning in a beautiful anchorage and listening to generators! Especially when there is no reason these days to need one unless you just have to have that espresso and fresh baked cake for breakfast!!

Here is a poor picture, the panels are stacked on top of each other while motoring then once at anchorage slide the lower one out, each are 100 watt.

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