Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 14

Thread: Solar power

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Geraldton WA
    Posts
    8,284
    Total Downloaded
    0

    Solar power

    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?
    You only get one shot at life, Aim well

    2004 D2 "S" V8 auto, with a few Mods gone
    2007 79 Series Landcruiser V8 Ute, With a few Mods.
    4.6m Quintrex boat
    20' Jayco Expanda caravan gone

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    brighton, brisbane
    Posts
    33,853
    Total Downloaded
    0
    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.
    I’m pretty sure the dinosaurs died out when they stopped gathering food and started having meetings to discuss gathering food

    A bookshop is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking

  3. #3
    DiscoMick Guest
    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.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Geraldton WA
    Posts
    8,284
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by DiscoMick View Post
    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?
    You only get one shot at life, Aim well

    2004 D2 "S" V8 auto, with a few Mods gone
    2007 79 Series Landcruiser V8 Ute, With a few Mods.
    4.6m Quintrex boat
    20' Jayco Expanda caravan gone

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Perth S/W
    Posts
    369
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Ask Mr Traxide , he is a very genuine fella .

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    On The Road
    Posts
    29,830
    Total Downloaded
    0


    and I dont mean the solar panel or fridge.......
    "How long since you've visited The Good Oil?"

    '93 V8 Rossi
    '97 to '07. sold.
    '01 V8 D2
    '06 to 10. written off.
    '03 4.6 V8 HSE D2a with Tornado ECM
    '10 to '21
    '16.5 RRS SDV8
    '21 to Infinity and Beyond!


    1988 Isuzu Bus. V10 15L NA Diesel
    Home is where you park it..

    [IMG][/IMG]

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Geraldton WA
    Posts
    8,284
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift View Post


    and I dont mean the solar panel or fridge.......
    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
    You only get one shot at life, Aim well

    2004 D2 "S" V8 auto, with a few Mods gone
    2007 79 Series Landcruiser V8 Ute, With a few Mods.
    4.6m Quintrex boat
    20' Jayco Expanda caravan gone

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Geraldton WA
    Posts
    8,284
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift View Post


    and I dont mean the solar panel or fridge.......
    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.

    b.jpgb1.jpgb2.jpgb4.jpgb6.jpgb5.jpgb7.jpgb9.jpg
    You only get one shot at life, Aim well

    2004 D2 "S" V8 auto, with a few Mods gone
    2007 79 Series Landcruiser V8 Ute, With a few Mods.
    4.6m Quintrex boat
    20' Jayco Expanda caravan gone

  9. #9
    Tombie Guest
    Should have a bit of fun in that!

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Geraldton WA
    Posts
    8,284
    Total Downloaded
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by Tombie View Post
    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.
    You only get one shot at life, Aim well

    2004 D2 "S" V8 auto, with a few Mods gone
    2007 79 Series Landcruiser V8 Ute, With a few Mods.
    4.6m Quintrex boat
    20' Jayco Expanda caravan gone

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Search AULRO.com ONLY!
Search All the Web!