225 ah battery is it to big

[newhaul]

i was givven a 2 year old 8d battery that never got used just kept on a maintance charge in golf shop i have a 24ft islander the running lights two cabin lights and a 750 watt inverter for my coffee pot about 30 minutes a day with 45 watts solar to recharge is the 225 ah to big for my boat i have a spot for it on the centerline basicly in the middle of the boat. i may be on board on the hook for up to a month at a time also i have a solar anchor light

[jackytdunaway]

If it fits go for it

[mitiempo]

I agree. You will have to replenish however many AH you use whether your battery is 100 AH or 225 AH. The main issue is having the space for it.

[sailingdog]

The issue you'll run into is that a 45 watt solar panel only returns about 15 amp-hours back to the battery, less if you don't have a good MPPT-type charge controller. If you're running a 750 watt inverter near full load for 30 minutes per day, eventually, you're going to kill the batteries, since the inverter will be pulling more than 15 amp-hours from the battery each day.

[newhaul]

thanks for the reply sd
the coffee pot takes about 10 min to brew and takes 450 watts at 110v i also have a 45 ah battery already on board as backup looking at 2 to 3 weeks between dock/shore power there are no other power loads. my radio is crank dynamo portable. should i also look at wind/water power to recharge?

[mitiempo]

If you replaced the coffee pot with a small stove the use would be a lot more in line with your charging capabilities.

[newhaul]

have 2 burner kenyon alcohol stove just faster to brew in electric pot it uses 435 watts 120v takes under 10 minutes and takes 30 on the stove (to save everyone i have been using pressure alcohol most of my life im the cook in my galley. )

[chef2sail]

Buy a french press

[sailingdog]

Using a percolator, french press or some other stove-powered coffee maker would make a lot more sense on your boat.

while it might take 450 watts to brew, most coffee makers have a warming plate that also uses energy. Given the fact that you don't have any real high load devices other than the coffee maker, I would highly recommend using a non-electric method of making coffee, some of which are quite good—like the Aerobie Aeropress—and making it much more likely that your small solar panel can keep up with your usage.

Without a full inventory of equipment and an accurate electrical budget, it is hard to say whether a 45 watt panel is going to be enough to keep your batteries topped off. I rather doubt it...but I could be wrong. If you had all LED based lighting, that would go a long way to extending your battery capacity and reducing your electrical budget.

[JomsViking]

+1
Drop the Coffee machine (You'll even get better coffee) and add another Solar Panel and/or windgen - maybe even one of those fancy vertical ones, for a boat your size.

Originally Posted by sailingdog

Using a percolator, french press or some other stove-powered coffee maker would make a lot more sense on your boat.

while it might take 450 watts to brew, most coffee makers have a warming plate that also uses energy. Given the fact that you don't have any real high load devices other than the coffee maker, I would highly recommend using a non-electric method of making coffee, some of which are quite good—like the Aerobie Aeropress—and making it much more likely that your small solar panel can keep up with your usage.

Without a full inventory of equipment and an accurate electrical budget, it is hard to say whether a 45 watt panel is going to be enough to keep your batteries topped off. I rather doubt it...but I could be wrong. If you had all LED based lighting, that would go a long way to extending your battery capacity and reducing your electrical budget.