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Make sure you research all the steps to completing a safe LiFePO4 installation. We installed a 1200Ah 12V bank when cruising through Grenada on our DeFever 44. Subsequently I worked on several installations after returning home. They are awesome in operation, last longer than flooded, but...

Balqon is still less than $1 per Ah on close out 700 and 1000 Ah cells. I just compared 8 Trojan FLA L16's to LFP for my neighbor and it was very close, very close. LFP does age on the shelf some, so I would find out if these close outs were over a year old. But there are several happy...

I've owned new and used. Financially on a percentage basis I've done much better with used boats. Buy a used boat that has a "market" for the specific model. Get it surveyed, buy it right, take care of it and you will be better off. No boat new or old is easy on the pocketbook in...

The costs of using USB modems vary in the Carribean. We used them with success everywhere we tried, at varying costs. Presently Honduras is cheap $25 US for 5GB data. That's cheaper than most US plans. But...our unlocked modem won't work everywhere, YMMV. Here we had to spend $25 US on...

Don't know of a 12/24 Volt model. In the US, the predominant models are the Raritan and Uline. I have a Uline and no complaints. Had to replace the ice maker unit on mine, at least 10 years old, perhaps more, but I think it may be the same component installed on the Raritan. If I were to...

My master head ceiling light is also the access to galley sink drain and plumbing. Maybe his is too?

For the exercise, I ran some numbers on the back of an envelope. I'm not quite as optimistic...I think you would need: $4000 5 KW of solar panels (almost 500 sqft) $500 Solar Mounting Hardware $1000 Solar Controllers $2000 Inverter Charger $10000 25 kWh LFP Battery, BMS ????? Installation...

There is no doubt that enough panels and enough batteries can do 12000 BTUs of A/C. I'm not convinced it can be done for less than a genset though. Assuming you have a big enough boat and want a generator anyway for other peak demands like cooking, or running multiple A/C units or recharging...

Assuming nothing was wet, my only guess is they were sandblasting a boat next to you with the hatches and ports open. But it's a low confidence guess.

The AGM vs. FLA comparison would be argued by the AGM companies. But it is supported by several marine technicians on other forums. LFP can be implemented for only slightly more cost than AGM for those who wish sealed batteries or must save the weight or like myself, spend 50% of my time off...

We are on the same page there. But our approach is different. I'd prefer to accept responsibility as opposed to having big brother dictate. So I wrote an article/paper outlining my opinions on the options available and the safety considerations required for everyone to see, including...

Mainly lighter, slightly smaller, and theoretically proven in the lab to last for far more cycles than FLA. Can charge at full rate all the way to 100%. But don't plan to do much air conditioning on solar unless you can fit lots of panels. Just my aft cabin at night would draw an average...

The problem is no one in the alphabet soup you mentioned has much practical experience with lithium phosphate in marine applications. Really no one does yet. Genasun, Mastervolt and Victron have products, but the installed base is small. The collective DIY installed base is probably even...

An impeller pump won't pump without the compression/release cycles of the vane as it turns. Make it out of metal, it bends once and stays that way. If you replace the impellers annually you won't have a problem. If you run the pump regularly, but not many hours you can probably get 2 years...

The hot water heater was plumbed to the propulsion engines until it burst in Panama due to old age. It did help on travel days, but only the day of arrival. I like the genset idea, free heat! Have to look at that when we get home, it will require moving the heater since its on the opposite...

I agree that this is probably the best solution to minimize energy usage. It accomplishes what none of the pre made solutions do, much thicker insulation and the ability to channel the waste heat away from the box. Like the Engle it eliminates the inefficiency in converting 12V to 120VAC...

Energy cost per CuFt is similar to my 5 CuFt freezer. It takes 3 of these Engle units to equal a single 5 CuFt chest freezer, unless I messed up the math converting quarts to cubic feet. So it looks like you could expect something like 6A contin draw at 12V in the tropics on Engle, our...

I looked at Sun Frost before we left. Mostly for their freezers since we expected to replace that unit. But they are not that different in efficiency, the 3.9 CuFt SF model is rated at 164 kWh a year where there are several 5 CuFt "normal" chest freezers rated at 193 kWh a year. By...

The Lehman engines are close to 15K I think? I allowed extra for the installation since I don't have all the cranes and so forth to do it myself. Except for the genset, I think the electric power train would be light enough in pieces to move around? I would also consider a remanufactured...

An interesting thread. Converting my house bank from golf carts to LiFePO4, I have become a fan of the EV movement. I have also sort of toyed with the idea I might be able to covert my boat to a diesel electric hybrid. But I'm doubtful it could be cost justified. At least yet. Solar...

We have had problems over the years with fresh water diaphragm pumps. But it has always been the pressure switch, never the motor or pump head. The last failure a few months ago, I bought a standalone pressure switch and bypassed the one built into the pump head. Something like this...

Yes it's 2 under counter home style refrigerator only units, 1 ice maker and 1 small chest freezer all 120VAC. Plus averaged out, probably 50Ah daily for the DC water maker. Finally, I'm not exactly sure the use, but we have a couple of computers used frequently and a couple of network...

We converted both engines to Leese Neville Prestolite alternators model: http://www.prestolite.com/pgs_products/specs.php?item_detail_id=897&item=8MR2070TA&product=Alternator This was well before the battery project. For about $200 each, we've been very satisfied. It's about all you can...

It's hard to compare I think? We live aboard 365 days a year, off grid at anchor more than 50% of our nights. We used to run the AC about an hour or two a day at anchor during the evening, but for the last year its only normally run when at dock with shore power. At anchor with the trades...

A review of records for generator runtime shows: From our trip departure from St Pete FL on 4/2/2011 to our LFP install in Grenada on 7/10/2012, we spent 295 nights at anchor, 1533 hours of generator time and averaged 5.2 hours of generator runtime per day. We normally do 2 cycles per day...