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  • littleharbor
    replied
    Originally posted by PNW_Steve View Post


    if I could only find a propane hair dryer for my wife
    They have those high volume/low pressure blowers for inflating pool toys , air mattresses ,etc. They actually sort of look like a blow dryer. While they don't blow hot air, they do blow a LOT of air. Once we got a friend to join us on a camping trip, who's wife said he'd never go camping because he HAS to blow dry his hair. While it may take a bit longer, it does work.

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  • PNW_Steve
    replied
    Originally posted by littleharbor View Post
    If you must use an electric coffee maker look for one with an insulated carafe or buy a separate one Once the coffee maker is done brewing you don't need a hot plate draining your batteries.
    If you have some 12 volt lighting, water pumps and electronics aboard and you do have space available you can run a separate small 12 volt system. Works great for me.
    If not done already replace all incandescent lighting with LED lighting. Stay away from anything in the "cool white" range.
    Consider AGM batteries. Fullriver makes some quality deep cycle AGM batteries. Careful with telecom float service batteries, they aren't built for deep cycling.
    Heat generating appliances like your coffee maker, toaster oven, laser printer etc are not very off grid friendly.

    I have switched to a Cuisinart coffee maker that grinds the beans and then brews into a nice carafe. I really love it. Coffee stays good and hot and never burned. However, I think that I am going to pick up a French press for when we are dry camping. I will trade propane for electric for my morning coffee.

    if I could only find a propane hair dryer for my wife
    Last edited by PNW_Steve; 09-27-2019, 10:08 AM.

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  • PNW_Steve
    replied
    Originally posted by Floating down here View Post
    I don't know why you all think I'm after a 4Kw inverter, I never stated that. I did state that my requirements were 3kwh a day and my single highest drain in around 1.2kw in the form of a coffee machine so as I mentioned before, a 2kw inverter should be sufficient.

    because this is all for a houseboat the few electronics are 12v (lights, toilet, pumps, windlass etc). Fridge, water heater and oven are LPG.
    If you look at going 24v, there are ledights, bilge pumps, house water pumps, USB chargers and windlass all readily available. For boat electronics that require 12v there are 24v-12v converters.

    If you are sharp enough to properly install a 12v system then a 24v system should be no problem. Read & ask questions. The folks here will guide you.

    Good luck.

    Leave a comment:


  • Floating down here
    replied
    Thanks for everyone's input. I've had a few issues with getting a system up but I think I've come up with something. Ive decided to go with a 24v system with a dc/dc stepdown for those pesky 12v water pumps. I'm a little curious about the pv array and perhaps someone can guide me.

    4x190w pv panels
    Imp-5.2A
    Vmp-36.6
    Voc-45.2
    battery bank-24v@100ah (? 150ah looks better)

    (no coffee machine, microwave, toaster on system)
    total ah draw in 24hrs = 45ah.

    questions:
    would these panels be sufficient to provide charge to bank?
    With 150ah bank does this sound right?

    pv array watts-760

    hrs of sunlight-6
    watt hrs-3600
    watts of pv array needed-600 (+20% for inefficiencies =720)



    would i I wire the pv panels in parallel? If so would this be correct:

    v=36
    A=20.8
    W=760



    if all of this is feasible what would be the best CC for my application? Morningstar TriStar TS-MPPT-30 Charge Controller?



    Cheers.
    Last edited by Floating down here; 09-21-2019, 02:04 AM.

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  • TommyDre
    replied
    You already have a 2000 watt generator which is plenty of power to run that Mr. Coffee (drip?) for about 10 minutes per pot. And it can also handle that Proctor Silex toaster if you don't toast your bagel while brewing your coffee. Proper maintenance and it will last a couple of decades. That's provides all kinds of autonomy. Using the generator helps keep your battery cost$$$ down. There are some fairly decent 12 volt water pumps out there that you can use for the toilet, etc. Get $$ deposits from the people that can't control their flagrant use of electricity before they get on the boat. Now you can size a 12 volt system that doesn't break the bank, can fit on your boat, and doesn't need that big inverter.

    Leave a comment:


  • SunEagle
    replied
    [QUOTE=Floating down here;n366820]
    Originally posted by Mike90250 View Post
    . i'd ditch the coffee maker and use the stove top.

    whoa, I'll pretend you didn't say that and I'll hold my wife back so she can't get to you.

    losing the coffee machine is a big negative, the outboard will go before the coffee machine.
    LOL. But your batteries may go quickly if you use that coffee maker. Take your pick: coffee from the stove or new batteries every year.

    Leave a comment:


  • Mike90250
    replied
    Originally posted by Floating down here View Post
    ........ there are certain members of our family that aren't the most energy conscious.
    Then they (and you) are due for a rude awakening.

    Leave a comment:


  • Floating down here
    replied
    Originally posted by karrak View Post
    A two kW inverter sounds fine for your usage. It will allow you to run the majority of products that plug into a 240V 10A wall socket. It will also run a fridge and small pumps.

    There are several 2kW-2.4kW 12 volt inverters from reputable manufacturers on the market. Problems with running 12V is that you will need at least a 60A charge controller and you will not be able to upgrade to a larger inverter without changing to 24V. If you run 24V you will only need a 30A or 45A charge controller and all the cabling will be smaller and cheaper. I think it would be worth doing costings at 12 volts and 24 volts with a 24V to 12V converter to run all your 12V equipment. Might also be worth costing a 48V system with a 48V to 12V converter as well.

    With the description of your loads I am surprised that you need 3kWh per day. In winter we run a fridge, lighting, computers and other electronics, electric toaster, microwave, induction cooktop and electric kettle on around 3kWh per day, the majority of cooking and heating is done on a wood stove. In summer we use around 5kWh per day with all cooking being done via electricity including a very efficient electric oven.

    Simon

    Off grid 24V system, 6x190W Solar Panels, 32x90ah Winston LiFeYPO4 batteries installed April 2013
    BMS - Homemade Battery logger github.com/simat/BatteryMonitor/wiki
    Latronics 4kW Inverter, homemade MPPT controller
    I wasn't aware of a 24/48v-12v converter available on the market, good stuff.

    the 3kwh has been a very liberal calculation with the energy draws rounded up. If I wanted to scrimp and be more conservative I could probably get away with closer to 2kwh a day but there are certain members of our family that aren't the most energy conscious.

    Leave a comment:


  • Mike90250
    replied
    OK, here's a slightly complicated alternative - 2 inverters. 1 small efficient one you leave ON all the time to run the cell phone charger, and LED lighting. The other is the big 2Kw one you switch on only for the big loads, and switch off afterwards (unless the coffeemaker has a clock timer in it) Doing this, saves you the idle power looses of running a big 2Kw inverter (maybe 50 -100w with no load) just to keep the 5 watt cell phone charger going

    Leave a comment:


  • Floating down here
    replied
    [QUOTE=Mike90250;n366816]. i'd ditch the coffee maker and use the stove top.

    whoa, I'll pretend you didn't say that and I'll hold my wife back so she can't get to you.

    losing the coffee machine is a big negative, the outboard will go before the coffee machine.

    Leave a comment:


  • karrak
    replied
    A two kW inverter sounds fine for your usage. It will allow you to run the majority of products that plug into a 240V 10A wall socket. It will also run a fridge and small pumps.

    There are several 2kW-2.4kW 12 volt inverters from reputable manufacturers on the market. Problems with running 12V is that you will need at least a 60A charge controller and you will not be able to upgrade to a larger inverter without changing to 24V. If you run 24V you will only need a 30A or 45A charge controller and all the cabling will be smaller and cheaper. I think it would be worth doing costings at 12 volts and 24 volts with a 24V to 12V converter to run all your 12V equipment. Might also be worth costing a 48V system with a 48V to 12V converter as well.

    With the description of your loads I am surprised that you need 3kWh per day. In winter we run a fridge, lighting, computers and other electronics, electric toaster, microwave, induction cooktop and electric kettle on around 3kWh per day, the majority of cooking and heating is done on a wood stove. In summer we use around 5kWh per day with all cooking being done via electricity including a very efficient electric oven.

    Simon

    Off grid 24V system, 6x190W Solar Panels, 32x90ah Winston LiFeYPO4 batteries installed April 2013
    BMS - Homemade Battery logger github.com/simat/BatteryMonitor/wiki
    Latronics 4kW Inverter, homemade MPPT controller
    Last edited by karrak; 11-19-2017, 10:46 PM.

    Leave a comment:


  • Mike90250
    replied
    sorry, I co-mingled Simon's 4K inverter & 16A outlet to your requirements.

    2Kw inverter, that helps quite a bit. i'd ditch the coffee maker and use the stove top. My wife's vice is electric toaster.

    Leave a comment:


  • Floating down here
    replied
    I don't know why you all think I'm after a 4Kw inverter, I never stated that. I did state that my requirements were 3kwh a day and my single highest drain in around 1.2kw in the form of a coffee machine so as I mentioned before, a 2kw inverter should be sufficient.

    because this is all for a houseboat the few electronics are 12v (lights, toilet, pumps, windlass etc). Fridge, water heater and oven are LPG.

    Leave a comment:


  • Sunking
    replied
    Originally posted by kb58 View Post
    I haven't been here long, but when I start reading a post like this, even before my eyes dart to the left to confirm it, I already know who wrote it!
    I do not pull punches or lie to you like many here will do. I am telling you a 12 volt 4Kw inverter will cause a fire, not if, but when. You are talking 400 amps. You do not have the tooling, skills, or experience to work with 400 amps.

    Secondly is cost. If you want to take something off the grid means money is no object.

    That is just two simple facts that cannot be denied. Most knowledgeable uses here do not want you to know that, and the rest are just clueless about the risk and cost. I actually care more about your money and safety than you do. I could care less if I hurt your feelings speaking truth.

    Leave a comment:


  • J.P.M.
    replied
    Originally posted by kb58 View Post
    I haven't been here long, but when I start reading a post like this, even before my eyes dart to the left to confirm it, I already know who wrote it!
    And confirmed by the information that followed in the rest of the post that might be useful and/or something to think about or scrap as readers think fit.

    Leave a comment:

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