Solar and Battery Upgrade for Cruising Sailboat - Sailing Helios S02E01

[@stewartwilkinsonsnr]

S02E01 Completed: Richard and Jude, the work on producing the Arc was Magnificent, a friend once told me what great workmanship the Tunisian are. Loved everything and admired your needle work. Thank you for the in depth explanation about the changes. xx❤️💙⛵️

[@stewartwilkinsonsnr]

Arrived at Series 2 Episode 1 Completed : Loved how when Richard was talking about the AC power, Jude you mentioned the “Hair Dryer” as does my wife when we go on holiday. xx❤️💙⛵️

[@pkrockit]

Beautiful job. One of the nicest, tidiest arch/panel set ups I’ve seen. 👍🏻

[@sailinghelios2023]

Wow, thank you. Regards Richard and Jude

[@AliC-hq6uv]

Thanks for sharing this. As a SO410 owner who mostly sails weekends and is thinking of going further afield I know I’ll need to consider this in the future. I do find with the fridge and autohelm running over a long weekend sail (under anchor at night) it really drains the house batteries quickly. Arch looks great by the way. I have just been quoted a supply and install price of £12000 for the Jeanneau Davit arch, which I’ll not be going with. Looks like you got great vfm and outcome with your solar arch. Thanks for sharing these upgrades it’s really helpful. Happy sailing!

[@sailinghelios2023]

Hi, glad you enjoyed the video. I think the 410 is a great boat to install an arch on as the location of the pushpit attachments to the boat create a very stable structure when replaced by an arch. 12,000 is a lot of money, it would be worthwhile sailing to Tunisia to get the work done. Regards Richard and Jude

[@bluesbreakersailing2197]

Hi, great presentation and a good insight into your thought making processes to achieve a greater more powerful energy supply for all your potential needs.Well done.

[@sailinghelios2023]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.

[@andrewmcfarlane5040]

Nice job guys. You have been busy.

[@sailinghelios2023]

Thank you. Yes, the time here has just rushed by and we are leaving with things still on the to-do list

[@TheSailingAussies]

Attention to detail is absolutely crucial, and you're hitting the nail on the head, just as it should be! Regarding the cost you mentioned for the stainless work, it would be fantastic to have the cost for each of the projects you're showcasing. I have no doubt that you're maintaining meticulous records not only for project costs but also for ongoing expenses and potential savings. Perhaps consider a separate video dedicated to Season 1? It could provide a deeper dive into the details for those interested.

[@sailinghelios2023]

Thank you. I think some time this season we will do a what it costs video. Since we bought a new boat the costs are quite different to an older boat and it would make a good comparison. Regards Richard and Jude

[@TheSailingAussies]

@@sailinghelios2023 Indeed, the expenses will vary significantly, giving you a distinctive viewpoint as you embark on your journey with a new boat compared to other KZbinrs, considering both project and ongoing expenses. I look forward to that and other episodes.

[@dudeatmenangle]

Will be interested in seeing what you think of the lithium batteries after a year.

[@sailinghelios2023]

Yes. Loving them so far and I’ve only got half the panels working. Making plans on how we use the extra power

[@DavidBurnett1]

Seems you are a techo too Richard - great detail and explanation (and Victron was a good choice :) - just wish I had specified Victron for our inverter back in the commissioning days of 2012). The arch turned out very well to - excellent! Looking forward to the next one.

[@sailinghelios2023]

Thanks David. The Victron gear is a bit more expensive but I think the quality is excellent. We are very pleased with the arch. It suits the boat very well.

[@renovatiovitae]

I am a SO410 owner in the PNW. I am very intrigued by the EcoFlow Dual Fuel generator you installed and the location you chose to install - great ideas! Thank you for sharing. How are you handling the exhaust from the ecoflow? I love the arch you installed as well - something like that is prohibitively expensive to have fabricated in the US - I can't wait to see more. Best wishes - Erik.

[@sailinghelios2023]

Thanks Erik. Tunisia is a good place for stainless work.

[@RonRacer100]

Love the 410 Did you ever thought about a modern wind generator?

[@sailinghelios2023]

It is something I would consider if we can’t get enough from solar. And that is something that is quite variable depending on the time of year and the weather. The next problem would be where to mount it without shading the panels. Do you have any recommendations for wind generators?

[@RonRacer100]

Hello, yes the Silentwind Pro. The o'kellys have a good video about it on their catamaran.

[@bobsmith-lw7cy]

Hi Richard and Jude, nice to see you back on the air. I’ve been doing a bit of reading on sailing the Med, as I’m on the hunt for a boat myself, and it seems to be getting more difficult to get around and require more qualifications. To dive straight in, Do you have an ICC? I read Turkey requires one for charters and owner operators. Could you comment on what you have done to prep for this seasons sailing on the bookworm side of things. Can I also ask, Did you buy your solar panels in Europe or did your get them in Tunisia.? Cheers

[@sailinghelios2023]

Hi Bob. Before I left Australia I did my RYA Coastal skipper course. This year I will get RYA to send me an ICC. Because the Coastal skipper is a higher qualification they will just issue the ICC. So far I have not been asked to see any qualification but I would get the ICC as a bare minimum as it seems it is required by some countries. Probably helps with insurance as well. I have no specific books to recommend. Over the years I have read a lot of books about sailing around the world, either racing or cruising. There is a lot you can learn at someone else’s expense. Of course KZbin has a tremendous amount of good info. Even if you don’t agree with it all it gets you thinking.

[@sailinghelios2023]

We bought the solar panels off Renogy online and had them delivered to Sicily

[@gordonpearce4537]

Would be interested why you didn't go for a single fuse of say 250amps after the bus bar. Wouldn't you have to be drawing over 7kw to be close to tripping the 6 x 100amp fuses you've installed. Also from my limited experience its useful to be able to climb up the arch to clean the solar panels. Looks sturdy enough for you to be able to do this. Gordon S/y Doris.

[@sailinghelios2023]

Hi Gordon, well spotted. I was surprised that Jeanneau did not have one in place and I have plans to fuse both of the 95m2 cables but I could not find a fuse holder in Tunisia. I could get the fuse, but no holder. When we get to Malta I will buy some and then install. Regards Richard and Jude

[@RonRacer100]

Would love to know the cost of the items? 😅 The solar panels The lithium batteries

[@sailinghelios2023]

Hi Ron. The batteries are from Renogy and cost 699 euro each. They had them on sale a couple of week ago at about 60% off. The solar panels are from Renogy as well, 200 euro each. Other than that it is cable, connectors and busbars and the cost of these are very much dependent on where you can purchase them from. As mentioned above the cost of batteries is coming down all the time and is you can hold out some good specials come available.

[@pauldickinson7108]

Have you looked at the new orion xs dc to dc charger it's 98% efficient, 50amp programmable, smaller , lighter and as its more efficient it runs cool and doesn't need the cooling fins .

[@sailinghelios2023]

Hi Paul, yes I saw this when it was released but I had already purchased one of the old ones. However I am considering replacing what I have with this unit to get both the higher current and the smart integration with the Solar controllers and the Cerbo GX. If needed, I could put two in to maximise the output of my alternator. It's such a big step up from the old one. Regards Richard and Jude

[@dnihilist]

Did you inform your insurance, what did they say?

[@sailinghelios2023]

Insurance is fine as long they are installed to standard. For us there is a Australian/New Zealand standard for this.

[@douglasrobbie9998]

Surprised you did not find/use bifacial solar panels on arch and eliminated the fabric underneath the panels so they might generate power from reflected sunlight. Admit it might be hard to find 200w bifacials as they are usually higher power panels.

[@sailinghelios2023]

They were an option but it would have caused a problem with the rest of my canvas as I needed the bimini as that is where it is all attached. I also wanted to hide the panels while we were sitting in the cockpit. A decision that may mean we need to compromise on power generation. Regards Richard

[@RonRacer100]

Just one comment. Flexible solar panels on the bimini ''could'' cause a fire. The panels can get cracks in them if you keep flexing them. Is what happens when you install them on a bimini. Adventureman Dan YT channel had this happening to him. I'm not saying it will happen i'm saying it could happen.

[@sailinghelios2023]

Yep, that’s why they were a short term option for us and we have replaced with solid panels now. We still have the flexible panels that we will put on deck when we need extra power. Regards Richard

[@ShamsterFilms]

I don't know if you have fitted grommets or some protection for the solar wiring as they go into and out of the solar arch but in the video the wiring was going through bare metal. It is a very good idea to protect the wires. There are a Austrian couple (Sailing Insieme) whose solar arch shorted against chaffed solar wiring due to the constant movement of the boat and this caused an electrolytic reaction with the salt-water on the decks and hull, causing massive rust stains as the metal components attached to the arch corroded. The boat can be seen in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2PWqYpmp9WdnsUsi=g-q4R2_7Ul1TxYJP&t=438 ... it starts at the point where the diagnosis is made by an English speaker fortunately. Long story short, the cause of massive rust staining on their boat was a chaffed solar cable running through the solar arch. Hope this post is useful. Watch it from the beginning to see the damage.

[@sailinghelios2023]

Thank you that is good to know. The hole through the hull is smaller that the hole through the metal so the cable should rest on the fibreglass rather than a sharpe steel edge however I will go back and see if I can fit some cable wrap in between just to be sure. Thanks again, Richard and Jude

[@popeyeseamaster87]

You forgot to mention that you shouldn't charge your lithium batteries to 100%, ideally only 80%. Additionally running them down to 5% isn't recommended not only for battery health but having such a small amount of power in reserve should only be done in an emergency. AGM like to be charged to 100% and quality AGM's such as Victron Supercycle can easily be taken town to 30-40%. When everything is taken into account there isn't that much difference aside from weight and fire risk.

[@sailinghelios2023]

Thanks for the information. We are really loving the new batteries and they are performing much better than the old AGM ones (not Victron ones though). I have my Victron systems set to not fully charge the batteries. I think it is called battery saver mode. I have LiFePo batteries which from my understanding do not have the fire risk of older chemistries. But like all systems it is best to not to try and run them to the extreme and make sure they are maintained well.