Happy Feet
New Member
- Jun 29, 2022
- 4
- Boat Info
- 2007 Sea Ray Sundancer 340
- Engines
- Mercruiser 8.1 vdrives
At this point, shore power. Could change out alternator at a later time.
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At this point, shore power. Could change out alternator at a later time.
Just consider I t’s going to take a long time to charge all those batteries at 30A, or even 50A. Marine infrastructure isn’t yet setup for battery bank recharging.At this point, shore power. Could change out alternator at a later time.
Just consider I t’s going to take a long time to charge all those batteries at 30A, or even 50A. Marine infrastructure isn’t yet setup for battery bank recharging.
Not much chance of an alternator having enough capacity to charge a bank that big.
"could" is the right term - On an average the best of panels are 60% effective; shadowing and sun angle being the determining factors. Consider panels on boats are almost never consistently at an optimum angle to the sun.There’s room above a large camper canvas to maybe get 800w of solar panels. That could get you 4kwh of power each day, which would be enough to run most of the DC loads, including the fridges. Might be worth it in a more moderate climate. Biggest challenge would be making it look decent. It’s that power hungry AC that kills most of these ideas.
Charging with engine driven alternators are a good way to go but the alternator charging system must be set up to accommodate the high charge rates that the low resistance batteries will demand. 0.5C (even less) on a large battery bank will most assuredly destroy any OEM alternator configuration. One would need large Balmar alternators with external charge controllers, temperature monitoring, and specialized belt drive configurations. It's expensive...Just consider I t’s going to take a long time to charge all those batteries at 30A, or even 50A. Marine infrastructure isn’t yet setup for battery bank recharging.
Not much chance of an alternator having enough capacity to charge a bank that big.
It's more of a practical / and cost vs return thing. peeing in the ocean comes to mind with large battery banks like the OP is alluding. Maybe a large power-cat and the acreage available could benefit....My biggest distractor to solar is, it’s ugly and doesn’t go with the lines of our boats at all. The greenline boats are able to incorporate solar into their roof lines.
There’s also use case to consider. A Sundancer isn’t as likely to be used in the same way that you would use your sedan bridge. It’s going to sit at a dock for the vast majority of the time and taken out for the weekend. It could provide a meaningful charge over a 2-3 week period. Another use case is just to keep the batteries topped off while idle. I have a small panel on my T-top and haven’t had to top off that battery 3 years now. It keeps the bilge pump humming along nicely no matter how much rain we get. Previously, there were instances where the bilge pump drained the battery in heavy rains. (It’s a poorly designed boat)It's more of a practical / and cost vs return thing. peeing in the ocean comes to mind with large battery banks like the OP is alluding. Maybe a large power-cat and the acreage available could benefit....
I’ve seen that, but I’ve never seen anyone that reported having a good experience with flexible panels.I have contemplated adding flexible solar on top of my camper. Sailrite had a nice video on how to do it, and on my set up it would be almost invisable.
However, there are a host of issues that go along with something like that...not convinced its worth it unless a fun sewing project for myself.
Exactly.I’ve seen that, but I’ve never seen anyone that reported having a good experience with flexible panels.
I'm in need of a governor from the generator, if you interested in selling it let me know Eric 941 264 4070Got a 2007 340sda and considering replacing the dead generator with an inverter and lithium batteries. Anybody done this? Currently need up to six hours of run time. Would like enough power to run the AC. Would charge from shore power.
I have 2 100W flexible panels on the rear of my hardtop. The most I've ever seen was about 130W, and that's when the sun is directly overhead to the stern. I'm more typically in the 50-100W range on a good day. I went in with higher expectations than I should have, I'm not sure I would go with solar if I were to do it all again.I’ve seen that, but I’ve never seen anyone that reported having a good experience with flexible panels.
I have 2 100W flexible panels on the rear of my hardtop. The most I've ever seen was about 130W, and that's when the sun is directly overhead to the stern. I'm more typically in the 50-100W range on a good day. I went in with higher expectations than I should have, I'm not sure I would go with solar if I were to do it all again.
I am now building out a DIY LiFePo install, I have all the pieces for it (3x 304AH banks and all Victron equipment), and am now setting it up on the bench to work through all of the details before even considering installing it in the boat. Even with that in place, I would still expect to have to run my generator at times if I'm out for more than 3-4 nights, and that is without running my AC.
I don't think a governor from a 2007 340sda will fit your quick silver 8kw.I'm in need of a governor from the generator, if you interested in selling it let me know Eric 941 264 4070