Battery Charging idea

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Windy

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Hi All;

My wife and i do a lot of overnight cruising here on the Saint John River in our Vivacity 24 sailboat, staying out as many as 5 nights in a row mostly in remote anchorages and in any event marinas are few and far between.

I've been thinking hard about house battery charging, the little Mariner 8 hp outboard makes electricity but it cant keep up with usage........

We only run the usual stuff, nav lights, anchor light, house lights but recently i've obtained an older Toshiba laptop with Fugawi charting and coupled with my GPS it works a treat but i have to power the laptop with an 110 volt inverter and it chews up amps in grand style.....

So here is my idea, since we always tow a fibreglass dingy with us i was thinking of purchasing one of those rather inexpensive (at least over here) 800/1000 watt 110/12 volt gasoline generators and installing it in the dingy and running the power lead up along the painter to a receptacle in the cockpit as i travel along i could run the generator whatever time necessary to charge the batteries.......
My nephew a long time "big boat sailor" thinks i'm nuts am I ? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Can you guarantee the dinghy will never turn over? You'll be upset if it does. A better solution might be to cut down on electricity usage (led lights are amazing now) and/or install a wind generator or solar panel. I think that you're going to struggle to keep up with the laptop, though. Sorry.
 
The exhaust from the generator may have to be extended to exit overboard or the engine may inhale its own exhaust fumes and die.
 
Its an interesting idea; of course the danger of the dinghy turning over is the first drawback of which one thinks. Another possible source of irritation may be that the dinghy might act as a sound-box when the genny is running and amplify the genny noise; presumably you anchor in remote places to enjoy the solitude and quiet? I ran my 300watt Honda the other evening in order to recharge a drill battery and was very upset about the noise it made (it is supposed to be a quiet genny!), luckily very few other boats occupied near me. One does not know the capacity of your battery/s but I assume you have two, can you carry two more in your dinghy instead of a genny (in a watertight container/ or gell batteries)? You might then have available about an extra 200 amp hours which should provide quite a lot of computing time. You would have to charge them up before setting forth each time and be aware of over-cycling them. How long does your lap-top battery last? Can you buy several of those and charge them at home before each trip?
 
When I had a leisure 17 I was amazed at how long one of those portable 12v powerpaks/engine starters would keep a laptop powered for.. Perhaps couple that with a wind genny?

Oh and remember to run the laptop with out its own battery as it will use more juice to charge the battery.
 
Dave hi,

I am not sure an inverter is the way to go... You can get 'car' 12v laptop power leads which will reduce the amps required to run the laptop. Do NOT cut the cigarette lighter plug off as they often have a gizmo in them to control amps input.

The other thing is to put in a 2nd battery (or more) if you can find the space? It makes it all easier to get charge in and of course you have more amps for a lot longer.. There are issues with mixing old and new batteries but...

Lastly if you have increased your storage capacity a solar panel or two will insure that some power is going into the batteries except very overcast days. I have been down the wind genny route with just about all the makes available and do not recommend it but the various solar panels have been useful..

She looks really pretty your boat and you got her at a great price I think!

Michael
 
____________________________________________

My nephew a long time "big boat sailor" thinks i'm nuts am I ?

__________________________________________

YES
 
I think the only problem is the idea that it should be 'installed'. Why not carry the genny and run it in the dingy when conditions are appropriate? OTOH the blasted things are very antisocial at an anchorage so you have to be thoughtful!
 
Could you make a soundproofed enclosure to fit over the generator? If yes, then with the addition of a soundproofed intake duct for the air and a good exhaust muffler you should be in business. Assuming that the dinghy is rigid, is large enough, and that your weather is not too warm.
I don't think that you'll have many problems with the dinghy overturning: the weight would be low and I expect that the speed of a Viv 24 on a river would not be all that great.
Very possibly <u>I</u> shall now be the one who is classified as nuts. That has never bothered me - nor has it ever bothered any others who are at 'genius' level. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Inverters 12 to 110 voltsAC and then 110 back to what the computer uses are notoriously inefficient. Subject to other opinions here a switched mode 12 volt to computer voltage adaptor should be more efficient.They are readily available on the net - intended for car use of course.
However this is ulikely to solve the problem outright. My laptop as an example is rated at about 60 watts - thus a minimum of a 5 amp 12 V load.
By and large boat chart plotters are less greedy but pricey to buy and supposedly waterproof which laptops arent.
A good wind genny should give you a reasonable o/p but have you space to fit one?
 
I have my Genny located in the engine bay with an extended exhaust going out the back of the boat, hardly hear it running. I have used the Genny when anchored out at weekends.
I have made up a short lead which plugs into the shore electric socket. Vacant when at sea.
Plug this lead in, start the Genny and we have a supply of electric at various points. Very handy for running a battery charger if needed, also runs our TV and DVD player.
 
Hi All;

Thanks so much for your informative replies to my post........
I have gained something from all of this and all options will be considered........for instance running the computer on straight 12 volts rather than thru the inverter and removing the battery so that it dosnt steal power to re-charge, perhaps even getting a spare computer battery........

As for additional house batterys, i have loads of room beneath the cockpit sole to install them (if i don't get carried away and put a nice little diesel inboard in there with a decent alternator)

I'll look into solar power for "top up" and lastly i'll think about running 700 ft or so of electrical cable from my house to the wharf i tie up to from time to time, thereby allowing me to run a shore based battery charger between trips.......

Thanks for your comment on the V-24 Michelle, It is absolutely the "bigest bang i ever got from a buck" well that and my Land Rover Discovery a lad sold cheap because of a noise in the engine (still going strong /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

And it seems 9 out of 10 of my fellow forumeers don't think i'm nuts /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Given the ever increasing power usage on relatively small small sailing boats, I wonder whether there is a market for small outboards with more generation capabilty.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would certainly think so, yet i havn't checked the specs of the newer engines.

The 4 strokes sound like the best bet to fit alternators to, whereas my older Mariner 8 horse has a rectifier (i think it's called that) very little juice indeed /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I have a Yamaha 9.9hp which would be as big as you would want to go. I has a 'proper' alternator, but still only pushes out 10amps - an hour's useage for 2 hours laptop power - not a good combo. What works for us is a good wind genny (Rutland 913) and decent capacity. We use a lot, but over the week it all gets put back. LED's are a great help, but our oil lamps were a much better buy - lots of warm light, and in summer we put citronella oil in the lamps and it keeps the cabin insect free.
 
[ QUOTE ]


"And it seems 9 out of 10 of my fellow forumeers don't think i'm nuts "


I would not be too convinced by this somewhat dubious recommendation.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thats OK Lord Neson.............I know what i am /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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