Solar power

[trout1105]

I am going to upgrade to a 6.4m plate hard top ally boat and I want to install a solar panel to run my fridge.
I will be adding a third battery (110ah deep cell) to run the fridge (95l waco dual zone) and I also want to trickle feed the 2 cranking batteries with any excess power at the same time.
I don't want the fridge to be able to draw power from the cranking batteries for obvious reasons and only use the dedicated battery, Will a traxide controller be suitable to use in a marine environment?

[bob10]

Is your main concern the salty environment? I can't see why the controller would work any different on a boat, but I'm not an expert.

[DiscoMick]

Just put the Traxide between the starting and fridge batteries. Connect the solar to the starting batteries so you can always start the boat. Once the starting batteries are charged to whatever the Traxide is set to, probably about 80%, the Traxide will connect them and the second battery will get charged. Put the solar regulator close to the batteries it is charging.

[trout1105]

Just put the Traxide between the starting and fridge batteries. Connect the solar to the starting batteries so you can always start the boat. Once the starting batteries are charged to whatever the Traxide is set to, probably about 80%, the Traxide will connect them and the second battery will get charged. Put the solar regulator close to the batteries it is charging.

I will have 2x cranking batteries running via an isolator that will let me choose from bat1,bat2, both or off, These will run the engine, lights and electronics.
The alternator in the motor is plenty to maintain theses easily.
I will also have 2x deep cells that will be used on the fridge and other ancillary 12v devices, These are the ones that I want to charge via solar.
I know I need a good solar controller and I was thinking that when the fridge batteries are full I could send the excess power over to the boat batteries.
Sort of the reverse that you would do in a truck,
I am just wondering IF the traxide unit can do this and will it survive a marine environment ?

Or would it be better to just keep the two sets of batteries separate and just install a solar controller on the fridge side and not bother with the traxide setup?

[dero]

Ask Mr Traxide , he is a very genuine fella .

[Pedro_The_Swift]

:ttiwwp:

and I dont mean the solar panel or fridge.......[wink11]

[trout1105]

:ttiwwp:

and I dont mean the solar panel or fridge.......[wink11]

I am still "Window Shopping" at the moment and doing my research That is why I started this thread, I will make a decision in about 6 weeks as there is No reason for me to rush into this at the moment.
The boat needs to be able to be towed with my D2a V8, Needs to be able to be used on extended trips offshore and along the coast (hence the need for the solar setup) The boat also needs to be able to be launched off the beach and at bush boat ramps as well.
So far a 21foot or 6.4m plate boat looks to be the frontrunner because they are robust and can do all of the above But I am still "Sleeping on it" and will most definitely post images when I make my final choice [thumbsupbig]

[trout1105]

:ttiwwp:

and I dont mean the solar panel or fridge.......[wink11]

I have decided not to buy the 6.4m plate boat due to it's size and weight which will severely limit where I can launch it and have decided on a 5.4m Trailcraft Sportscab with a 115 Suzuki 4 stroke on the back which is at least a ton lighter and is smaller But still a very capable offshore rig that I can launch just about anywhere.
Here are the sellers images as I haven picked it up from the yard in Perth yet.

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[Tombie]

Should have a bit of fun in that!

[trout1105]

Should have a bit of fun in that!

Yes it's a lot of boat for an 18 footer.
I will be picking it up in a couple of weeks then I will fit some extra "Fruit" on it for our trip to the top end and beyond at the end of May.
I need to fit;
Anchor winch
Baitboard
AM/FM radio
Solar system
12v fridge
My old Garmin Sounder/Plotter that has all my old marks and tracks on it.

I am looking forward to getting it wet.

[ozscott]

Noice m8. I can recommend the Maxwell freefall HRC range. Bullet proof.

Cheers

[roverrescue]

Trout

You’d have to confirm if the DF115 has it
But the df150/175 and bigger Zuks
Have dual output alternators

So run red lead to crank batt/batts
White lead to house batts

Two seperate circuits no isolator needed

If you wire it all up through a Blue Seas 6011 switch
You can kill all power, have separated charge or combine
The batts

Sooo then hook your solar controller to the house batts and fugetaboutit

If you want to trickle charge the crank at some time just flick switch to combine


I have run above setup on a DF175 for a few hundred hours and compared to a 1/2both/off
Switch or ACR it is superior

Steve

[roverrescue]

Trout
Just checked - unfortunately no bueno
DF150 and up for dual charge alternator

On a small boat where everything gets salted I would always choose something like a BlueSeas ACR over a traxide

Steve

[trout1105]

I have recently replaced the 160w solar panel with a 250w unit on the boat and i now have plenty of surplus power.
I run the panel through a MPPT controler that feeds 2x 100ah deep cel batteries which in turn run an Engel 38l fridge also a pie warmer and 12v fan occasionally.
I have 2x 80ah deep cel cranking batteries in the boat and i am thinking of connecting these up to the solar circuit when i have the boat parked up to keep them topped up and in good condition.
As i dont intend to have the cranking batteries permenantly wired into the solar circuit i am thinking of simply using some 8mm dual core cable and running it through to the cranking batteries at the stern of the boat and use anderson plugs to tap into the solar whenever i need to.
This setup Should also enable me to charge up the 2x 100ah house batteries using the outboard in case the solar panel fails or I don't get enough sunlight on it But I will only connect it up when cruising so as not to drain the cranking batteries.
I wont be using any fancy electronics to control the charging system But I do have volt meters connected to both the cranking batteries and the house batteries so I will simply connect/disconnect via the Anderson plug to control the system manually.