In this video, I provide an update on the latest iteration of the boat’s off-grid power system. The most significant change has been the addition of a second house bank of lithium. I replaced the aging lead acid bank, which consisted of four Trojan 6V gold cart batteries, with a 460Ah Vatrer LiFePo4 battery. This, combined with the existing two Xantrex 240Ah LiFePO4 house bank one batteries, gives a total capacity of 940Ah hours at 12.8V nominal, or 12,032 watt-hours.
The house banks are wired into a battery selector switch, allowing me to switch between banks labeled Main and Backup. They feed a Xantrex 2000W Freedom XC Pro marine inverter/charger and the boat’s DC distribution panels. For charging, we have 1,200 watts of solar power, consisting of three 200-watt panels, two 100-watt panels, and one 400-watt panel. Everything is monitored by device Bluetooth apps and two shunt-style battery monitors with displays for quick reference.
The various panels charge the batteries via three solar charge controllers. On a good sunny day, I can see up to 60 amps of charging power. The system provides much more than we need on a typical sunny summer day. However, we often spend time in coastal locations prone to fog and cloud, even in summer, so the extra capacity serves us well during those periods. I also don’t need to rely on the engine alternator nearly as much as before, so it and the engine are taxed much less.
Other changes discussed in recent videos include a dedicated lithium battery bank for the bow thruster and windlass. Additionally, we installed a DC-DC charger for alternator charging on our small Bluetti portable power station. Overall, I’m pleased with the upgrades and will continue to refine the system in the future.
Video Detailing the Latest Off-Grid Power Updates
*Related Posts*
- Vatrer 460Ah LiFePO4 Battery Review
- Xantrex 240Ah LiFePO4 Battery Review
- Xantrex 2000W Freedom XC Pro Inverter Review
- Renogy 400W Folding Solar Panel Review
- BougeRV 200W CIGS Thin Panel Review
- Lithium Bow Thruster Installation
- Bluetti Elite 100 V2 Power Station Review
- Bluetti Charger 1 Boat Install/Demo
- Junctek Battery Monitor
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