Installing 1000Ah of LITHIUM + huge VICTRON installation! Episode 149

In this episode we do a full lithium installation of 1000Ah of battle born batteries. This is 10 x 100Ah batteries hooked up to a Victron distribution bus. We also have 3kW of solar which comes down to 4 x Victron charge controllers. We also install 2 x 3kW Victron multiples inverter/chargers, along with a cerbo GX and a smart shunt to monitor our entire system. We then cut to 3 months later, after an extensive sea trial, and do a comprehensive review on the system and how we manage our power. Hope you find it interesting!
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SV Parlay is a hurricane damaged Lagoon 450 catamaran, which Colin rebuilt with friends and has started sailing around the world. They found bulkhead damage on their catamaran in Panama, so have fixed her up, and are almost ready to cross the Pacific Ocean!!
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Edited by @parlayrevival_colin

[@xkhhusm2010]

Just binged the entirety of Parlay's journey for about 2 weeks. I have so much respect for not just you and Jamie, but everyone who's stepped foot on Parlay and contributed in some way to Parlay's story. So happy to be caught up now to enjoy in (delayed) real time! Happy to be a new subscriber and Patron.

[@10rgv]

I had surgery on my shoulder and come across the channel. Went back to the beginning and could not stop watching and binged it. Now I look fwd to Mondays for new episodes.

[@dictator9849]

@@10rgv lol, it’s great isn’t it? In my humble opinion this guy is the best by far of all the sailing channels. Also, he just seems liken a really nice young man living a lifestyle that a lot of us (me for sure) wished we would have chosen!!!!

[@patraic5241]

Thanks. That's the clearest explanation and example of power usage on a boat I've ever seen.

[@dickkapp336]

You are the best at explaining the function and benefits of technical upgrades ..A lot of manufactures will want you to be their spokes person ! ....I was an industrial electrician for 40 years and I say you are a pro.

[@waynefederico9396]

You explain all the installs to the point of "this is what it doe's "" this is a picture of what I'm doing" ,without all the technical How 2's that you read before installing anything on your own time. Videos comes across more interesting without a selfie as you explain the parts you work on. So many talk to the camera without showing the part install. Great video I learned more from this than others I watched. But YES more girl shots less armpits of men.. Carry-on

[@ReanimatedTyrants]

Don’t be a hater.

[@dabrte]

As an industrial electrician and former panel builder I am very impressed with the quality of the workmanship of the install. Very professional 👍👍👊

[@timhardman4764]

Awesome set up, superb install. Glad to see everything working and the comfort levels up for everyone. Smart move by battle born to get some screen time from Parlay Revival.

[@DominicNSX]

Perfect system, you could even add a minisplit heatpump to cool or heat the interior😁👍. Easy to install.

[@bradreambeault3584]

Colin you are a true professional, outstanding workmanship. You man are changing peoples lives and I for one thank you for being the human you are, truly inspiring.

[@inmyopinion6836]

If you haven't seen ALL of his posts, please start at the begaining . It is inspiring how he handles conflict and challenge ! I would welcome his friendship any time.

[@stevebuchanan4806]

Excellent episode. I enjoy every week, but I particularly like the technical and operational explanations. See ya next week!

[@ladykay8]

Tip for induction cooking. Get a sheet of silpat to go under your cooking vessel. It makes it non-slip, but cooks like normal.

[@kaskl5403]

These sponsors really help out a lot of sailors. Very cool.

[@jussikankinen9409]

Get easy buyers free marketing

[@ericstanke3291]

Gotta take care of your crew. Colin you're a good man and a great captain.

[@raphofthehills4405]

FYI: your wiring for the batteries is unbalanced. The batts near the main + / - pickup will work harder than the ones at the end of the Lynx distributors chain. I.e. the use of same length wires was negated by the way you attached them to the busbars. To avoid this, installers typically cross the + and - cables when connecting to the BBs (i.e. if + connected nearest to + main then its - cable gets connected to the farthest BB point) Or go for 1/2 the unbalance (as crossing wires like above can be messy) by moving your main + / - cables to the midpoint of your busbar chain.

[@willyum1208]

Interesting, I was wondering why Ive never seen it done this way on the other DIY install channels. With such a large bank would there have been less drain on the batteries if they were wired in parallel, with a neg off one end of the bank and pos off the other?

[@raphofthehills4405]

@@willyum1208 Indeed, that is one of the ideal ways to do it, from a balanced-path-resistance-standpoint. In that case each batt sees exactly the same Vdrop, whatever the load. He is using Lynx BBs though, which limits wiring options. But they provide monitoring, and additional protection via the series fuses. Whereas parallel wired batts, in case of a failing short-circuited batt, would lead to a runaway incident as all batts would dump a massive current into the failing one. Unless each batt's wire is or has a fuse, like in this example: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lafVo2qPn86ki8U

[@EdwardTilley]

Great video Colin; that solar roof you installed is brilliant. Based on your having to run the generator once in 3-months, why bother with the larger alternators? Running a diesel engine as a generator is rarely good for the motor. If you add one alternator, you'll have redundancy for your honda generator, but then you can also just buy another small standby honda for that just-in-case scenario. Consider that water pumps are a big deal - for your boat in an emergency, and also to help neighboring boats too. Nothing worse than trying to save a sinking ship with mechanical hand pumps. Portable small backup generators are more versatile than a large alternator solution - and are probably cheaper.

[@SVImpavidus]

Edward. Lilithium has a very low internal resistance. Unlike Lead acid, gel and agm. This lower resistance means the alternator is unable to supply the higher demand of lithium at lower revs and therefore a bigger alternator is needed to prevent overheating and bring the demand within the capability of the alternator. I =V/R ... I x V=W .....Laws that govern electrical generation and storage...

[@imchris5000]

the boat is built to motor sail so it would be nice to have the extra power generation on a stormy day when theres little sun

[@DScicluna04]

@@SVImpavidus I have heard this! Altornators do not like lithium. Pretty sure i've watched a video of an altornator going up in smoke trying to charge a lithium battery. Definitely research using altornators to charge lifepo4!!

[@jgoody7467]

I know its prolly a pain in the ass, but I like the videos alot better when Colin is in control of the camera doing the tradition solo KZbin style.

[@AceEverett]

The parts definitely looked quality and the install very nicely done. Whenever I'm replacing things at home I always spend more than I like, but as you showed, high quality stuff will save you money and time in the long run as it lasts longer so won't have to be replaced/repaired as often. Being able to use all of your devices and appliances through the night without having to run the generator is definitely a huge step up.

[@OnTheFlipSide]

Nice! I love that you did a 3-month update. Solar is friggen Sunsational. ☀

[@bunkerp]

hahahahaha oh poor Tom...@10:23 Colin points out Tom's lonely status on the boat.

[@TheMadSqu]

The image quality in the part with the new footage is SO much better than the older footage! It litterally looks like from 2 different channels. Great work, mate!

[@scottforrest2097]

I'm sold. Have seen several KZbin RV channels with 1000ah Battle Born Lithium battery/solar systems and it just works. I'm just rubbing my pennies together praying they breed and make more pennies. Your channel is truly an inspiration to us as full time rv'ers. Step by step, go with what you can afford now, make the memories, live the life you want, make the adventure happen and the ability to grow will come.

[@metric4710]

Great job with the design of the system. Adding a 100-150A alternator to one of Yanmars sounds good too. Personally I would try keep the originals too but just add a extra pulley to the crank. Multirib belt with manual tensioner and gearing so that Yanmar on high idle would give minimum 8000rpm on alternator. When no need for big alternator just remove the belt.

[@glenn2745]

Given the effectiveness of solar and the presence of a backup genset that is good to have on a boat anyway, why bother with the alternator upgrade? I could see it if he was drawing more of a daily load, it would the fastest recharge. But he's not even coming close to the capacity of the system most days.

[@metric4710]

I think there may be very cloudy, dark days without any wind when they are sailing back home. When they are using engines anyway it sounds wise to have low cost kWhs flowing in.

[@blueskies8834]

Need a victron Orion battery to battery charger for the alternator output.

[@N0body247]

So One Small suggestion. I love the build.. But as a solar guy... Im going to suggest.. Unmount the panels and put corrugated plastic sheets between the boat and the solar panel. The idea is that as the panel heats up, There is no ventilation for the heat to dissipate so you begin to LOSE power if their is too much heat on those panels. To augment this you use the plastic signs aka corrugated plastic) as a air gap to create air flow under the panel as the panel transfers the heat to it. Kind of like a heat sink. either that or use stand offs or rails to put the panels up off the base of the boat. This is why Computers use standoffs in Desktops and they dont mount the motherboard directly to the wall of the pc. For heat reduction and airflow. Just because those panels are "sailing" that wont keep them cool as the heat is transferred to the back of the panel. and then to the boats fiberglass.. So getting some air flow under them helps with solar efficiency. You can literally increase that power at up to 20 percent more. So it was generating 2.2.kw it would generate 2.6kw just by putting them on rails or corrugated plastic. (For those that dont know, Corrugated plastics looks like this www.boxes4u.com/sites/default/files/Corrugated%20Plastic_0.JPG) You can see this dude talking about this on his boat here..kzbin.info/www/bejne/pWfOgKmgiJasqqc and why he did it. Other than that Solid build and great video.

[@jackiebryant5808]

So amazed with all your progress and your positive attitude!! Colin I wanted to ask about your girlfriend and her brother, how is everyone doing? Sending love and prayers to them all. Many Blessings to you and your crew.

[@JoeCanon17]

I'm a small engine mechanic and work on those Honda Genis all the time... They'll last forever if you do a oil change every 30 hours of use and don't let it sit without being used longer then 2 months.

[@spyder-cq2by]

I really enjoy how indepth you get with your installs. Everything is very clean and professional.

[@311rooster]

Finally I have made it to the current video… I had to watch them in order… you been doing what I want to do with a power boat, but now I want a sailboat to restore… I had a one man sailboat in high school and loved it thanks for the inspiration

[@boppermacca9346]

Great Episode, whilst I love seeing the sailing videos, the engineer in me loves watching the technical side of things

[@rickt8798]

So interesting. Thank you for explaining the energy that it takes to run it all.

[@scottehrlich6653]

I run battle born exclusively. Best product on the market. Solid management too. Glad they reached out to you. You’re deserving. Cheers brother! Over

[@ApexMolester]

I’ve been using battleborne batteries for a few years now for total off grid power storage and consumption without a single issue system wide. You just did the best possible upgrade you could possibly do with exception to probably adding more batteries😉😎👍

[@ben3989]

Just installed my heated battle born battery in my weekender van. Learned the hard way camping in -14 degrees in Montana this winter.

[@DScicluna04]

Beautiful equipment and install!! I'm using LiFePo4 as well. I've set my parameters to stop charging at 85% and inverter to cut at 20% to get more cycles out of my bank. The batteries deteriorate quickest at very low or a very high state of charge. If you're floating consistantly around 75% and rarely dipping below 40% may be worthwhile doing the same if you want to squeeze some extra cycles out of your battleborns. You could get as many as 10 000+ cycles only charging to 60% and cut off set to 40%, pointless to only use 20% of your bank but it appears with your usage you have plenty to stick between 20%-85% especially with your back up genny and future alt upgrades. lifepo4 loves to float right around 50% to get the most longevity, i hope you find this useful 🤙🏻

[@tjjansma547]

Loved the install! Very informative... Much appreciate all the work you and the crew put in! It's a highlight in my Sunday mornings ... 🙏🌞♥️✌️⛵

[@jjiron706]

So every video you post serves as an inspiration for me to get my own boat , but equally informs me I am not ready to be boat owner. I would not be able to do such an install . However, thank you for showing us this journey .

[@tgmct]

I've been waiting for this episode... My background is submarines and it should be obvious that the battery and electrical system is more than just critical in the environment I came from. Being nuclear powered only makes it more complex. I'm sure I would have designed things with more redundancy. For instance, 500 AH on separate port and starboard buses. Cross connects to be sure but not normally married. Separate physical storage locations as well (what if one area gets flooded out). Separate vital and non-vital buses too. Navigation and electronics are just more important than a pressure cooker. Separate charging from the PV arrays to the individual battery banks. It's just not that more expensive when it's your rear end on the line in the middle of the Pacific.

[@TJDST4]

The coffee maker **must** be on a vital bus.

[@petebernhagen4640]

Happy for Parlay and crew. You Collin, have turned a dream, with a ton of work into sustainability for a crew of maybe 8-10. Sharing the dream and making friends and memories until you start getting old and gray. Now that's a whole different animal. Work hard when you can. Your boat will surely outlive you if it stays out of Mother Nature's path. LIVING THE HIGH LIFE PARLAY REVIVAL !!!! YEEE÷EEW

[@sailingcitrinesunset4065]

I have 4.5KW solar system on my house in Australia and I use all the power hungry stuff like washing machines, clothes dryer, dishwasher, a/c between 9am -3pm and never draw power from the grid in that time frame. Just a tip to make your system even more efficient for the days its overcast.

[@MrMattDat]

Very cool to hear you talk about your quality of life. You are finally getting to enjoy the fruits of your labor!! Congrats to you and your crew!

[@dustoff1472]

I’m putting new batteries in my RV. Looks like Battle Born has a new customer. Thank you Battle Born for sponsoring the team. Enjoying the channel. Tks for sharing.

[@johnpaul8885]

Very cool Colin and I love watching you guys a show I’m hoping within the next week or two and you guys will be on the ocean starting your travels

[@jodymooney255]

I love our Battle Born batteries in our RV. It’s totally a game changer. Great install Colin and crew!

[@Gal1njo]

I find myself liking the videos before i even see them. And you guys never fail to deliver.

[@wolfchild66]

Glad you got a sponsorship deal BB seem to be getting everywhere over the last couple of years

[@travisbenson1919]

Victron systems completely impressed me. I was having horrid electrical issues. The only issue with Lithium, vs LifeP04 is static draw. 10,000 watt draw of an audio system on a boat, the kinks aren't worked out. I keep myself banked separately for this reason. One of the biggest mistakes people make is how you parallel your batteries, the wire lengths and configuration of the parallel system DOES matter. And where you place your charger and the bus bars in the configuration DOES matter.

[@steveburlace4518]

Sometimes the cosmos slows you down, so that the trouble in front of you will pass. Love that quote and I believe it has been this way for you Colin x ✌️

[@robertmarley8887]

I actually received the 2nd set of 60 amh lithium batteries to hit the US a few years ago for my golf cart. The company called me last year and wanted to warranty my batteries for a newer 100 amp battery and to see if there was any problems with any of the cells in my original batteries(there were none). I travel about 20 miles per day to play golf round trip on my cart plus the round and with the 100 amh, I have gone 3 rounds between charges on occasion. However, now I have moved to the golf course and can recharge every week or so. These batteries are game changers to the industry. I may also add that I have upgraded my cart to a 10 hp motor and the cart will do 35 MPH. Fair winds!!!

[@edwardnigma2216]

Koenigsegg quark's put out about 335hp and only weigh about 63lbs.... That'd make one hell of an upgrade. :D

[@jacksonms212]

That is a huge step up .... wow nice work !!!

[@baileycaristo1948]

One complaint, I wish there was 2 episodes a week! Honestly the best content on KZbin imo

[@dedwards3296]

I loved how you linked the two time frames and you did not dedicate the entire video to the installation only. Brilliant!!!!

[@tjdawson8942]

solar and batteries are the future of transportation and living , for homes on shore and sea

[@tednottodd]

We use Battle Born on our electric yacht (auxiliary) powered sailboat. They are great batteries. We also have the same Honda generator for charging if we go past our 20 or so mile limit under power alone.

[@One2ManyHobbies]

The SONY A7sIII is so much better then the other guys camera!! Congrats on the new electrical system!

[@kevinkeys3578]

Kinda off topic - My life's goal is to find and refit a beat-up 40 footer and circumnavigate. You are all an inspiration - more than you know!

[@Pete-nl8ok]

I enjoyed seeing you work with your "old" sailing buddy, and the filming has greatly improved!! Happy sailing!

[@jamest6837]

I used those big crimpers like the one you used here on tractor trailer and truck batteries for 30 years, this is how its done correctly..

[@svroundabout]

Oh my gosh, your wiring is so much better than the stock wiring on that boat!

[@LaggyWizard]

Amazing, thanks for the review. I'm definitely going this way when I need to swap out my solar bank.

[@glenn2745]

Colin, thanks so much for this video. You have a way of explaining so many topics in a way that is easy to understand. Thanks. I'm about to start a refit and I can't tell you how much I've learned from you.

[@clintflowers9632]

That’s AMAZING and I really had no idea that the batteries had come that far, WOW!

[@shanesanko1408]

Just love the knowledge you have Colin, it's nice to learn from your experiences

[@aaronaguiar8907]

3rd time watching the parlay story and I love it! Boat isn’t within budget but you guys have inspired me to try and build a small camper from scratch to start my travels by road and hopefully sailing one day. Definitely giving me ideas for solar too! Cheers!

[@leonasimmons162]

Thank you Colin.😊

[@susanking9733]

so very happy that i found yr channel via sailing Nahoa which has serious bulk head issues. Love yr channel and love those sugar scoop extensions. i am not a math person, but for fun , V=gL (2pi) 1/2 gravitational constant and L waterline length for catamaran and for monohull velocity in knots = 1.35 x the square root of the waterline length in feet.

[@salvatoreastuto4278]

Colin you would make any electrician proud. Nice and clean install! 1000A is a ton of power.

[@nooneanybodyknows7912]

Thanks to Battleborn for supporting Parlay. You could've chosen a more worthy candidate. Professionalism at the highest level. 👏

[@lets_go_see_]

ventillation is critical and i am sure it was addressed. Very good episode. One thing!!!! Please send David one of your crests. He seems homesick LOL. Cheers

[@BarracudaHawk]

This was so helpful, omg just what I wanted to see. And yes, I have just bought a Honda 2.2 a week ago!

[@rkspdx]

Great info presented so anyone can grasp it.

[@siberia1409]

Colin, GREAT VIDEO! Thanks for running it all down for us so that we are not guessing how it all work. YOU ARE SET UP MATE AND GOOD TO GO! Cheers!

[@wildaltarose]

A lot of technical information….however I learned something today! I also learned that if we go to lithium batteries we will need someone to install them..lol. Enjoy all your hard work and safe sailing.

[@Timbo_tango]

6:00 Pro tip. Add a small amount of roofing silicone to the join then slide the heat shrink over it and apply heat befor it has time to go off then mop up excess slilcon. The heat shrink will squeeze out the air and the slicone will make it air tight so no corosion will develop for years. I have used this method on boat trailer wiring for the last 10 years and have had not one failure due to water penitration yet.

[@skaraborgcraft]

Because algos. Informative. Times have changed, i lived for 2 years with a 120AH lead acid battery and a 15watt solar panel.

[@barry6484]

Parley, your review of the Lithium Battleborn Batteries was outstanding!!! I am no electrician, but you seem to make it easy to understand with the systems that are incorporated. From the Solar Panels, Inverter, Cabling, etc... I did the RV thing for a little while, if I had a similar setup maybe I would still be doing it. In some ways I miss the seas, being retired Navy... Fair Winds and Following Seas Shipmate ⛵⛵⛵

[@jonblair5470]

Impressive cable management!!! Awesome video

[@wintersonata0929]

Wow, awesome tech explanation. Very insightful.

[@Mrdberg12]

Amazing the difference the Li batteries can make. Definitely upgrading the RV and the boat! Thanks for all the information and the reviews. As always, blown away by your efforts and truly an inspiration! 🤙🏻

[@rudolphc1]

Don't forget a big sticker for your friend David Shih 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@markebert7336]

Great set-up! You have more solar than we have on our house! 😁😁

[@Amisafeyet]

You are on the verge of having your very own "super- catamaran"! Wonderful. (The dancers were a exotic bonus) Puts steam in a man's stride!

[@peetky8645]

i always thought the instantapot would be a game changer on a solar boat. so efficient

[@philpotts3893]

Very good show Colin.. inspiring crew also.

[@richardmclaren8549]

Great stuff Colin. Even a carpenter like myself could sort of understand most of that. 🤔🐟

[@colin.chaffers]

That episode brought altogether. Good job

[@rickcreel3657]

Thank You Victron for the batteries. Happy for the upgrade.

[@perlyax]

WOW, amazing the "bota" from Euskadi!!!

[@MarkKelly1974]

That was a great video. Really informative and well documented. Thanks for your continuing hard work. You guys are legends.

[@martinbeaumont1135]

Good informative video, top work on the sponsorship deal (very handy $$$) and looking forwards to the continued upgrades!

[@steveswoodworking2504]

I was just watching Ruby Rose 2 being built over in Vietnam, they are filming every bit of the build in the factory. They seem to be doing an incredible job (from my limited knowledge). That made me think of your Lagoon, and how when you went to the factory, you weren't allowed to film "their proprietary secret process" of boat building. For everyone else - the shameful way they slap together their boats, only to have them fall apart a short time later. I'm sure glad you have your boat all fixed up now. You certainly deserve a lot more sailing time now!

[@jasoncox7874]

Best advertisement ever made on KZbin. Hope you're doing well Colin.

[@kevinkaiser7868]

Fantastic episode on the benefits of solar and lithium. Great tutorial for anyone looking to make the switch. Your team deserves all benefits that come with the incredible system you have installed. It is also great to have Jamie’s humor back on the channel.

[@bobjones8864]

Thanks for the electronic update. I’m eager to see how your crew does on passages, some of them seem green.

[@patrickjames1080]

Brilllllliant Colin - thanks for sharing 👍

[@jean-claudeseguin1420]

Hy ! Im also mechanical enginer. The quality of your work is top ! Congratulations !

[@onemanandhisdog9]

You don't need to change alternators, just use Victron DC to DC charger/chargers. You can use multiples.

[@hthring]

i think they want different ones for higher output

[@MobilMobil-kv5ke]

Great content. I am very interested in future updates on the subject of power.

[@jesseblackburn8437]

Awesome setup! Glad you're self-reliant and prepared! Congratulations!

[@caliaccarino4416]

That's a pretty neat looking install. You guys done a great job.

[@paulpence8895]

I had no idea until a couple months ago.... I don't watch much TV, prefer to watch my hobby and interests fixes on YT when I have the time. Ive followed Delos since 2016, and obviously see YT pop up recommended channels all the time. Then I just figured out.... because my wife is a Below Deck JUNKIE!!! LMAO, thats Colin from Parlay... I had binged all your shit after seeing the James podcast... you are a rock star dude!!!! LOL

[@rushd45]

One thing to stress about your new system is that by noon your new Lithium's are full and the sun is still shinning so the PV panels are producing power and that is when you want to run all your power hungry appliances, watermakers, battery chargers.... It's more economical to use the sun's power when the battery bank is full so that at night you can drain it for dancing music, underwater lights etc... 😀 Loved that all the - and + leads were all the same length, very nice busbar, neat and clean install.

[@tony8902]

Nice job but i would recomend some high current fuse links, some smoke detectors and some individual isolators just incase you need to link one out and for safety when working on system.....love your channel and your work ethic is a credit to you....be safe and enjoy you freedom.