Reducing power on moorimg

[Wiurillo]

I have a Grand Banks 46 Europa and keep it on a moorimg. I installed a battery monitor and when I leave boat it’s drawing about .6 amps. It appears to be the 3 co detectors and the battery voltage monitor light.

Questions. Where do these items come off the main battery and has anyone found an easy way to switch out theses items?

 

[rslifkin]

If the boat is on a mooring full time, have you considered adding solar? You could likely turn those items off, but having a source of power to keep the batteries topped off might be better. And given enough solar, it would allow you to leave the fridge on when you're only gone for a few days, rather than having to off-load food every time you leave.

 

[Wiurillo]

Yes that’s on the project list. Great idea.

 

[OldDan1943]

You also want power to your bilge pumps, just in case.

Maybe one or two LED lights to confuse folks who are thinking about spending the night on your boat.

You have a 12vt fridge as I do? There is a lot to be said for and against a 12 vt fridge. As much as I hate my NovaKool, it does have advantages. Major disadvantage, manual defrost. My solar panels seem to support the fridge/freezer for at least a couple of months, if I am not onboard.

A couple of 130amp solar panels will support charging your batteries plus the misc cycling loads. Gotta have healthy batteries too. Reminds me, I need to swap out my 4D AGM batteries again. They are about 4 years old. Better to change them a year early than discover you dont have enough juice to start your main engine.

Relying on an inverter is not a good thing if you are leaving the boat for a day or more. It has been my experience, inverters draw down the batteries without mercy.
IMO, shutting down battery monitor, CO2/fire detector is totally foolish and your insurance company will not be happy to learn this. They expect/demand you keep all safety equipment in good working order.

 

[DavidM]

In a similar situation where I kept my Pilot 34 on a mooring ball, I added portable 100 watt solar panel to the roof. I used rubber mounting feet and tied it off with a safety line. I ran 12 gauge wiring down the side, then in a vent port and to the back of the engine room near the batteries where I had a 10A Morningstar PWM controller connected to the batteries. I think the whole thing cost me $150.

In addition to keeping up with parasitic loads, which weren't as high as yours, the 100 watt panel would easily bring my batteries up to full charge for our next weekend anchor out.

A permanent panel or panels would be much more expensive and difficult to install as you would have to attach the mounting feet to the roof and find a way to run the wiring down a chase and then to the batteries. Portable worked well for me. FWIW, it never blew off the roof.

David

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard. Are you familiar with marine electrical work? If so you will either need to switch off breakers until the loads go off. If that doesn’t work then they are likely powered off the battery bank directly and hopefully through some sort of over current protection, fuse or breaker. You would probably have to start at the devices and chase the wires back to wherever they are picking up power. Then if there is a breaker you could just turn off the breaker or add a switch to turn them off. As mentioned you need to make sure that your bilge pumps are powered 24x7 even if the main breaker is off. Particularly on a mooring where others are not around to notice that the boat is taking on water. I would absolutely add some solar to keep up with the loads and pumps. Good luck!

 

[Wiurillo]

Yes. Thanks. Bildge is also on load but it’s only the leds on the panel. Looks like the panels will move up on the list. Thanks

 

[OldDan1943]

Do not disable your bilge pumps, CO2/smoke detectors.
Dont worry about the mount the AC and DC panels draw. The indicator lights are for YOUR protection.

 

[Mako]

The detectors do not draw much, and a small solar panel will keep those up, but honestly why would they need to remain on? OP does not have remote monitoring of those sensors. No WiFi sending signals to his iPhone.

 

[socalrider]

0.6 amps is a pretty small draw (7.5W or so) but likely more than what some CO sensors require (you can usually find current draw on the back side of the sensor), so it's likely there's something else on as well.

That said, your batteries will self-discharge as well, so even if you disconnected them totally they'd slowly reduce their state of charge over time. That's why solar is so nice on a mooring. I'd move it to the top of the list so you don't need to worry about a few tenths of an amp, and can trace any current leakage at your leisure. Even a very small 50W flex panel would be enough to keep your batteries healthy, but there are lots of advantages to bigger arrays.

 

[OldDan1943]

IF you opt for a permanent larger installation, bite the bullet and have it installed professional.

 

[rslifkin]

IF you opt for a permanent larger installation, bite the bullet and have it installed professional.

Unless you're comfortable with mounting the panels and electrical work, I'd agree. I did my own install for my solar setup (2x 410W panels, each to their own MPPT controller), but it's not for everyone.