New Battery Technology
Kincora is getting a power upgrade.
Let me explain. First the only power I have on her is battery power and solar charging. I have a long list of gear that I have to power while sailing singlehanded, safely day and night.
Standard Horizon GX1700 VHF with RAM3 VHF remote in cockpit
Raymarine P70 and i70x2 control heads with wind, speed, and depth
Raymarine AIS650 Class B Transceiver
LED running lights at deck level
One interior led red/white light
Voltmeter
So as you can see I need a few amps to keep running for days at a time.
The last two years I have been through a couple of battery combinations. First year I did not have AIS, only one i70, and no VHF remote running all the time in cockpit. For that year I used two Seavolt 32amp/hr batteries. That was a struggle and there were afternoons I had to shut off the VHF, pilot, and go handheld vhf and hand steer.
This is a good time to discuss the solar power cells I use and controllers. For this I went to the best, Bruce Schwab who owns OceanPlanet Energy, Inc. Bruce has more experience then most having sailed around the planet alone and knows his product line first hand. I highly recommend going to Bruce for your marine energy needs.
The last two years I have been using Solbian high output SP series SunPower cells with up to 23% efficiency. The two SP50Q, 50watt, panels are on my aft deck between the tiller.
For charge controllers I use the older Genasun GV-Boost, GVB-8Pb-12V. They handle up to eight amps each, and yes one for each panel. This lets one panel have shade and the other is still full output.
Year two I started with the same batteries and one of the 32amp/hr batteries died. The other was less then a year old and working well. But the writing was on the wall more amp/hrs were needed. So I purchased a Lifeline Group 31 AGM 105amp/hr battery and was off and running for the summer.
Last season I would run on the 32amp/hr for about 90min and see enough voltage drop where I would switch to the Group 31. The second half of the summer I just used the Group 31 all the time. A couple of long days into the nights I was starting to see very low volts. I still only had one 50 watt panel on the Group 31.
This brings us up to the current state of Kincora’s power. I have sold the 32amp/hr battery and will also sell the Lifeline Group 31. Lifeline makes nice batteries if you can charge them fully each time. With the panels that is rarely possible unless she sits on the mooring when not used. So this leads me to the new battery option that is on the market and getting excellent reviews for just this reason.
The Firefly Oasis Group 31, carbon foam 100amp/hr AGM battery with a twist. The negative plates in the battery are not lead like all other AGM batteries. It is a composite material that prevents sulfation. Sulfation kills AGM batteries that are left is a partial state of charge. Well, this is exactly what I do when I am trekking, so after looking into this further I am convinced this a perfect option for Kincora’s power supply.
There are other benefits, 3x the number of discharge cycles, 80-100% discharge without loss of performance. And this one grabbed me, Greater Usable Capacity. So now I can go with one Group 31 instead of two Lifeline batteries. And best of all, the Oasis is the same price as the Lifeline. OK no brainer
Now to make sure I can have extra charging I am also adding one portable 75watt Solbian panel that I will hook up when needed. There will be a plug behind the mast on deck and I plug in the panel, and Velcro it to the handrail and two eyes on the hatch runner. With 175 watts running into one 100 amp/hr batter I should be fine.
I will report back on my findings and post the finished setup in April
Kincora is warming up in her shop and ready to crank out her miles again around the New England Coast line. Come on Spring we are all ready.
