Costs are Going UP! Nine months of Looping S2:E9

[@TheBoomershines]

Loop burnout is real! You were wise to take a break and relax a bit. You are doing what you are doing to enjoy life. Editing and posting can wait. :)

[@gothatawaychrisandsandra]

I very much needed to screech to a halt on a number of fronts. I probably waited a month too long to step back! Much better now but trying hard to maintain balance so I don't get there again. (Sandra)

[@TheBoomershines]

@@gothatawaychrisandsandra You made it much longer than I did before I screeched to a halt (on day 10 of our loop LOL). But screeching to a halt on editing KZbin was essential for our sanity and I am so glad we did. We completed our loop and are back on land. Now that we have time, editing our loop adventure is a joy, Plus, I don't feel like I am missing out on the Loop by editing videos about the loop. Just food for thought :). You do you and thank you for your videos -- whenever you are able to do them!

[@gothatawaychrisandsandra]

@TheBoomershines yes, sometimes I feel like pointing a camera takes away from the enjoyment. When I feel like that I put the camera down. We aren't a daily vlog that's for sure. Lots of days never make it to youtube because we simply didn't feel like filming. Glad you are enjoying the editing. I like it immensely.

[@gothatawaychrisandsandra]

@@TheBoomershines I just realized you know our dear friends Daryl and Tracy from Little Blue T!

[@TheBoomershines]

@@gothatawaychrisandsandra We are indeed!!! We adore them!

[@kathleennewton9854]

Glad you guys are still having fun on your adventure

[@gothatawaychrisandsandra]

It's beautiful here. It's too bad you moved FURTHER away!

[@davelawrence6777]

Thank you for the info very very helpful for budgeting

[@gothatawaychrisandsandra]

You're welcome!

[@MarkandMel]

haha...love the blooper about your sunglasses. Love your honesty also, because doing "The Loop" plus video editing AND keeping track of numbers (like you do) is a ton. Thanks for inspiring us to look at our numbers closer on boat maintenance costs and on marina costs (we try to share meals out more now because that was getting crazy expensive also). That water over there looks amazing!! Safe travels and we hope to catch up again with you on the icw!

[@gothatawaychrisandsandra]

A few years ago we started splitting meals...portions are SO big anyway. It helps a lot. The water over here is pretty freaking unreal. See you soon!

[@martymcdaniel-ts1oc]

Good to hear from ya'll enjoy the Bahamas.

[@gothatawaychrisandsandra]

Thanks, it's beautiful here. Another world for us. We are used to four seasons!

[@viduzy]

Glad to see you guys post again :)!

[@gothatawaychrisandsandra]

We miss you guys...hope to see you soon!

[@richardhill2260]

Good to hear from you guys be safe

[@gothatawaychrisandsandra]

Thanks!

[@MV_Checkmate]

Hi Chris, I have a 100A alternator as well on my boat. I installed an Orion 12/12-30 DC-DC charger to charge my LifePO4 battery bank. I also ran into the overheating issue so I attached a temperature sensor to my alternator and connected it to my CerboGX. I programmed it to disconnect my Orion when the temperature reaches 145F. So far this is working, however it still appears that 30A is pretty large to handle so it cycles quite frequently. I have ordered the new Orion XS charger which has adjustable amp settings. At the low RPMs I usually operate at the centrifugal airflow isn’t sufficient to keep these small alternators cool. Cheers, Michael

[@gothatawaychrisandsandra]

Hi Michael, your setup is similar to mine except I am using a Sterling 12v DC to 48v DC charger and the alternator is a 100 amp small case Balmar with an external regulator (MC-618). Turns out my issue was with the cut out voltage for the Sterling unit. Once I dropped the cutout voltage by 1 volt I started getting much more consistent charging. When I have time I am going to play with increasing the charge output on the regulator to see what the alternator can tolerate.

[@MV_Checkmate]

My 100A Delco alternator gets hotter than i’d like with anything over about 15A continuous feeding my house lithium’s. I don’t know how much it’s already putting out to charge the starting batteries and run the engine as well. Maybe I’ll put an amp clamp on it tomorrow with the external charger off and find out. Does your setup include a CerboGX? I saw your overhead monitor with what appeared to be the Victron VRM status page.

[@ChrisNewton-gi9gk]

@@MV_Checkmate Yes. I have a Cerbo GX with a victron 48v/3000W inverter and a 125v/30amp mmpt solar charger. Very impressed with the Victron gear, not so much with the programability of the Sterling charger.

[@ChrisNewton-gi9gk]

... so far the alternator seems to work well, but as I said I am not really pushing it right now. It is consistently generating ~400 watts for the house bank right now.

[@MV_Checkmate]

So you’re pulling about 400W from your alternator? I started off pulling about the same and quickly found that my alternator was screaming hot. It was so hot I couldn’t even touch it for a split second without burning my hand. I’ve since lowered it to about 150W and it is staying reasonably warm. Have you checked the temperature of your alternator when it has been charging at 400W for a good duration?

[@carpediemwithLesli]

Hi and I'm waiting for you guys to get up to my area in Kingston, NY!!!

[@gothatawaychrisandsandra]

We have zero idea what we are doing once we get back to Florida!!!

[@robaguilar4214]

What app are you using to track costs?

[@gothatawaychrisandsandra]

I use Quick books since I already own it. There are two great free accounting programs. One is Wave and one is gnucash.org

[@stephencodes]

Nice

[@gothatawaychrisandsandra]

Thanks Stephen. We're spending your inheritance! ;)