A massive thank you for such a well presented vlog. Dummies like me need people like you. Definitely going to need to revisit this series. Look forward to the rest. Phil
Well explained and moving to lithium batteries is definitely the way to go now as you get great performance from the lithium batteries.......stay safe.......thanks for sharing
Wow. Bit over my head but still interesting. So obviously you are well prepared for the change and you have looked into the systems very well indeed. Well prepared info. Well done. Look forward to seeing how your change progresses.
I'm not a technically minded person but I did manage to follow and understand much of what you said. I'm not a narrow boater but I have to use a mobility scooter because of a disability and just recently had to purchase two brand new batteries. Real nightmare. I had to make similar decisions on what type of batteries to buy. Thanks, guys. Stephen. 👍
Great to have someone explaining who knows what they are talking about...its going to be a great series....I love DIY when someone else is doing it...what a joy to have a warm boat in the mornings
I have swapped to polinoval lithium on my boat last winter i have a killowat of solar on the roof i have 200amp of lithium i can tell you in the winter my battery was full all the time i pay for a wintermooring with no electric hook up. Polinoval battery come with bms in the battery and i can watch it all on my phone its amazing... Thanks for bringing more people the posative stuff of lithiums... So many boaters have called me stupid for paying what i did but they are running there generator while i sip a iced whiskey all made from the sun with no fuel cost Looking faward to seeing more
Glad you enjoyed watching, we obviously think that lithium’s combined with solar is the way to go if you CC all year round. Ours too will have a BMS system which we’ll be able to monitor from a phone. We think it’s worth the extra effort an cost!! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Many thanks for a rational and logical explanation of you decision to go Lithium. When we started CCing 2 years ago I bought new Lead acids but now think we may change. So these videos are really helping us decide. Thanks again Paul and Kay
Thanks for all the useful information. My solar applications are all in Northern Uganda, but the same principles apply even though the environment is quite different. I truly appreciated the care with which you sequenced the information into bite sized chunks. Thanks again!
Great explanation. You obviously thought long and hard before leaping in. It will be really interesting to see how it all works out on balance. Looking forward to the next episode.
Thank you🙏 , it was a really big decision to make the change and Pat was really not convinced at first which is why he installed the shunts! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Very interesting video. I've learnt a lot and realise that continuous cruising isn't just pointing the boat towards the next lock gate. Looks g forward to the battery upgrade.
More technical than I like, but this is the “wave of the future” I am eager to hear and see about your install and how that works. Thank you for explaining.
Thank you for a great vlog. All aspects of continuous cruise living on a narrow boat are interesting and this vlog was very informative. Have a good summer
Thank you Maurice, we really didn’t want to overload it with to much technical information, but wanted to get the main points over. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Not too far along our journey yet. Retire in August 2022 and selling the house to fund our later life adventure. Thinking lithium would be a good base longer term but not sure what's entailed or cost. So obviously looking forward to your future vlogs . Wondering if it could be an option at construction of the boat. Spoil much to consider. Thanks for doing the leg work. Disclaimer accepted😁 Phil&Jan
Hi Philip👋, lithium’s will add a considerable cost to your project but in the long term would be worthwhile in you intend to CC all year round. If you plan to marina over the winter you may be better sticking to AGM or gel batteries. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
We look forward to this series of vlogs. JD, an electrical engineer, was very impressed with you discussion, research, and rationalization. We've talked a lot about different battery set ups - and as you point out - a lot of it depends on your needs and habits. Recreational cruisers won't have the same requirements as 24/7 CC. Anyway, we absolutely look forward to the rest of the videos.
Your latest vlog is excellent (as always). I'm in the electrical sector, and maintain power (LV) and UPS systems (batteries & generators), so proper had me on it. Can't wait to see more.
So, when you talk about the electrical system, you are an expert, electrical engineer. Very cool. Usually it is just some guy faking at being expert, but not with you. This information is essential for anyone who is, or wants to use an "off the grid" self-contained electrical system. I don't quite understand the details, myself. That's OK though, I have no plans to have a similar system. I am however, still very interested, just for the educational aspect. I have had a tiny bit of education concerning Photovoltaics. There is, as I'm sure you know about, a type of solar panel that only requires "daylight" to function. I know that it is not quite as efficient as the more widely used type. However, I learned that having a slightly larger array makes up for the difference. So, for all this being said, using "the daylight" panels may be a viable option for solar power. Coupled with your improved system could be even better. You know much better than me though, I could be very wrong. This video and the future ones are going to be quite an education for me, I am looking forward to everything you post. ;-)
Good afternoon from Spain where it is 38°C or 100°F in old money. Thank you for a very interesting and informative video. Electricity here is at an exorbitant price so I've been thinking about installing solar. We already have solar for hot water so only need to use a gas water heater from, maybe the beginning of December to the end of January. Currently the water is so hot one can't put one's hand under the tap. We have roughly 43 sq metres that we could use for solar panels beyond what we use for hot water so we should be ables to pretty well make ourselves independent of the mains.
Thank you🙏, glad you enjoyed watching. What a difference it would make to be totally independent for your electrical requirements. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Hi guys I just sent you something on Facebook I hope it comes out and you both can see what I sent but lithium is the way to go take care and happy and safe boating cheers Barry Australia 🇦🇺
Interesting about the battery temperatures. Is the engine bay expected to be warm in winter from running the engine? I'm still getting my head around boat battery capacities measured in Ah, while my car is measured in kWh.
Re batteries: leisure batteries are designed for a continuous output current over one hour, ie 100 amps/1 hr. whereas your car battery is designed for short, high current output. Re engine bay, this will warm up while running the engine but will rapidly cool down with colder overnight temperatures. Mornings are when the batteries are at their lowest when the batteries need to be charged. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Interesting topic, looks like LiPO4 batteries are much more suitable for live a boards due to their unique charging profile, similar conclusions from Journey with Jono vids who looks like he got snapped up by Victron :) Look forward to the install and long term issues you find :)
We definitely think that for us Lithium is the way to go. We loved Jono’s videos as they were so well presented ( with his media background) and yes he was snapped up by Victron! Hope you find our videos useful too( even if they’re not in the same league! ) Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Hi Pat and Eileen. Interesting vlog for sure. And hearing your present system, I’m not surprised you could never fully charge your batteries from the engine in the winter time with a 110A alternator. You have a 710Ah battery bank which at 50% gives you a 355Ah of usable capacity. But you were discharging deeper over night as was getting battery voltage readings of 11.8V which is very low and as you’re aware was killing your batteries, plus the cold temps adding to this. 12.2V is the lowest voltage here for taking a lead acid battery down to. You’d be needing that alternator turning very fast to produce a decent enough output but as we know, our boat engines are low revving and we rarely get over 2000RPM. A very common issue with a standard car type alternator. With all this against you that would take hours to recharge your battery bank as you know. It’s also a shame regarding your 4.4Kva generator as this will produce 3520W of power @ 230V. I assume you have a Victron 12/3000/120 inverter/charger? This will give you a power output of 2400W as its 3000Va. These need a generator of at least 4000W to work nicely and be able to give you the max power output on the DC charger side which can be a maximum of 120A if required and if your battery bank can take it. 355Ah is a decent amount of power available but obviously over time and the undercharging issues you have been experiencing, these would have lost a lot of this capacity. I’ll for sure be following with interest. Great vlog. 👍🏻 Temperature compensated charging is very important for battery charging and is commonly overlooked.
Many thanks for your observations, as you have correctly pointed out we are mostly aware of this. It is due to the reasons you have highlighted that we are changing to Lithium batteries. We do not currently have a Victron inverter/charger but we are changing this during the installation. We appreciate the figures regarding the generator output. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
are you considering the lithium titanate type. Li-Titanate batteries have a wider operating temperature range (-30-55°C) and a recharge efficiency exceeding 98%
Hi, Just starting our research to change from lead acid to lithium batteries and noticed links for your channel. Thankyou for the vids. I have a question. Was your decision made to change to a lithium setup based on power hunger (240volt) devices?
Sorry for late reply, our main reason ( one of many)for changing was due to recharging times. Lead acid batteries take so long to recharge especially the last 20%, whereas Lithium charge fully much quicker. Thanks for watching 👍
Thanks so much for the info. I'm going to get lithium batteries for my Narrowboat when I finally buy one! Look forward to the next video. My question is - how many lithium batteries would you need on a 50-57 foot boat for two people?
Hi Jack👋, that would of course depend on you power usage. In general 80-100 ah is what most people use but would suggest that you look at your own power consumption. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Great analysis. Thank you very much! We're planning a diesel/electric hybrid narrowboat. Currently my thinking is a parallel system where the diesel engine has a large alternator (possibly two) fitted. My thinking is that these alternators will provide enough of a load on the engine. But, my real question regards your battery topic. Do you have any insight into why your alternator was not able to get your lead acid batteries to a float stage? A generator seems to me a better choice for lithium (fast charging) and lead acid better with our alternator. Am I on the right path my thinking?
Thanks Tom🙏. A standard alternator regardless of size, if connected to lead acid batteries relies upon the internal resistance of the battery to control the current flow from the alternator. This means that when the battery is of a low resistance there is a high current flow. As the resistance increases the current flow will reduce. In order to overcome the resistance to continue charging in absorption state the alternator would need to raise its standing voltage, which a standard alternator does not do this( it’s a fixed voltage). This means that the batteries will NEVER reach float via standard alternator charging. I will explain in the next video how this can be achieved. Hope this goes somewhere to answering your query. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Not strictly true, ( vto rsi) the generator can provide as much as we need, but the time taken to charge the batteries was lengthy and when charged the batteries did not sustain enough voltage to last overnight. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
My 3 x 160Ah lithium batteries charge up at 20% an hour when I’m cruising so whenever I stop I have full charge. The only time I had a problem was last winter when the boat was in the marina on shore power and I went home. I was watching the VRM and I noticed the batteries had stopped charging. The BMS had stopped the charging to protect the batteries as the temperature in the boat had got too cold. So basically the system had worked as designed. It wouldn’t have been a problem except I’ve got a 12v freezer which had food in it. Anyway luckily the temperature in the boat came up after a few days and they started charging again. To overcome this next time I go home I’ll either empty the freezer or I’ve bought a 240v temperature controlled socket and a small heater for the battery cupboard. So when then temperature falls below 9 degC in the cupboard the socket detects this and cuts in the heater (it’s on shore power then). Really impressed with my lithium set up and I’m sure you will be with yours
Thank you Colin, just be aware that if you fit a small heater on your system, if for any reason you lose your shore power you could be in the same situation or worse! I would also be wary of having a heater on board when nobody there for a long period. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Thanks Stephen, for us the lithium route is definitely worth doing. We will be covering the process in a later video so will be discussing any problems that we could encounter. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Thanks Andy🙏, hope you enjoy the series, Pat will be revealing the schematic drawing in the next video, when he will put it onto the website! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Very technical but Lithium is the way to go . To have some heat early in the morning will be a major advantage not to mention all your other electrical equipment . Is Pat going to do most of the work or i guess he's not a marine sparky so leaving it to someone else . I 'll be waiting for the next installment :-)
We definitely think that for us Lithium is the way to go. Pat has enough experience to do the work himself so watch out for the next instalment! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Glad you enjoyed watching, we didn’t want to overload on too much technical details. Hopefully we got the balance right! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
@@ournarrowboatquest4894...No the balance is good especially the explanation of temperature control, its a shame really why any type batteries are kept is such a volatile place of temperature variance on a NB but then as you stated... space is at a premium
Being an EV fanatic I love lithium battery power. What KWh batteries are you going for ? Could you put a Tesla wall on a boat ? Brilliant brilliant vlog. Thank u.
Thank you 🙏, it’s funny isn’t it, we’ve been doing these videos for 3 years, you’d think we were used to it by now! 🤣. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Darn was just typing a question about installation location when you mentioned that it will be in the next video! the major issue I see with Li-ion batteries are the operating temp, and low temp (sub 0 deg C) can kill your very expensive batteries. I agree there are loads of great pros to Lithium, like Cycles and draw voltage. But there are many negatives as well like operating temp and weather considerations. Nice and informative video and means I am looking forward to the next video. Keep up the good work
Thank you🙏, We did mention that the batteries will be installed in an inside cupboard as opposed to the engine bay. But we will be covering this in more detail in the next video of the series. We are very much aware of the operating temperatures of Lithium batteries so with this mind we had to make some alterations to the boat! Glad you enjoyed watching 👍
Hi there, very good presentation, I have two questions: I hear varying arguments about the safety of lithium and battery explosions, are you aware of any issues relating to this? Also interested to know what the kva output is on your inboard generator ? Thanks in advance
Thanks Nick, the intention is to discuss this in the next video, so stay tuned. The KVA rating on our generator is 4.4 KVA. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Quoted charge cycles are rated at a discharge to 50% for most lead acid in order to have a common base line. Manufacturers often test Lithium on 100% charge cycles. You can typically expect double the ‘cycle count’ if you halve the discharge level of the cycle With lithium. Fridges are just as efficient at lower voltage in that they use the same power but to do that at lower voltage they have to take a higher current and they have ‘cleverness’ in the compressor driver to do that.
@@ournarrowboatquest4894 I thought he would after he explained his background. I was in consumer electronics repair, about the end of tubes or valves whatever you call them on your side of the pond.
What a lot of work you have put into this.well done and thanks.
Thanks Judith🙏.
A massive thank you for such a well presented vlog. Dummies like me need people like you. Definitely going to need to revisit this series. Look forward to the rest. Phil
🤣😂🤣, thanks Phil, we did not want to overdose on technical issues so hopefully that’s how it came across! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Well explained and moving to lithium batteries is definitely the way to go now as you get great performance from the lithium batteries.......stay safe.......thanks for sharing
Thanks Ian, we are looking forward to making the move! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
This video was soooo helpful! Thank you so much for explaining it in an easy to understand way 😊
Glad it was useful! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Wow. Bit over my head but still interesting. So obviously you are well prepared for the change and you have looked into the systems very well indeed. Well prepared info. Well done. Look forward to seeing how your change progresses.
Thanks Shirley 🙏, we are looking forward to the changeover. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
An excellent presentation thanks
Thank you Don, glad you enjoyed watching! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Well done Eileen for explaining all , with the help from Pat , he he !! very interesting all the same guys . thanks.
😂🤣, thanks Alan, I was just quoting what he told me say!!
Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
I'm not a technically minded person but I did manage to follow and understand much of what you said. I'm not a narrow boater but I have to use a mobility scooter because of a disability and just recently had to purchase two brand new batteries. Real nightmare. I had to make similar decisions on what type of batteries to buy. Thanks, guys. Stephen. 👍
Hope all is good with your mobility scooter now! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Thanks for a very interesting vlog. Take care and all the best. Stevie
Glad you found it interesting 👍
Great info, but I think I'll go and lie down because my head hurts.
Looking forward to episode 2.😀
😂🤣, thanks Geoff 🙏.
Great to have someone explaining who knows what they are talking about...its going to be a great series....I love DIY when someone else is doing it...what a joy to have a warm boat in the mornings
😂🤣, thanks Richard, hope you found our discussion interesting. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
I have swapped to polinoval lithium on my boat last winter i have a killowat of solar on the roof i have 200amp of lithium i can tell you in the winter my battery was full all the time i pay for a wintermooring with no electric hook up.
Polinoval battery come with bms in the battery and i can watch it all on my phone its amazing... Thanks for bringing more people the posative stuff of lithiums... So many boaters have called me stupid for paying what i did but they are running there generator while i sip a iced whiskey all made from the sun with no fuel cost
Looking faward to seeing more
Glad you enjoyed watching, we obviously think that lithium’s combined with solar is the way to go if you CC all year round. Ours too will have a BMS system which we’ll be able to monitor from a phone. We think it’s worth the extra effort an cost!! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Thanks for the info, very interesting.
Glad you found it interesting Rob! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
A very useful vlog. Thanks Pat and Eileen, take care.
Glad you enjoyed watching Philip🙏. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Many thanks for a rational and logical explanation of you decision to go Lithium.
When we started CCing 2 years ago I bought new Lead acids but now think we may change.
So these videos are really helping us decide.
Thanks again
Paul and Kay
Glad you enjoyed watching, we believe Lithium’s are the best way to go for all year round CCing. 👍
Great vid. In depth and fairly easy to understand. Look forward to the next installment.
Thank you🙏
Wow What a charming new prelude to the vlog ,well done .
Thank you Ralph, glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Thanks for all the useful information. My solar applications are all in Northern Uganda, but the same principles apply even though the environment is quite different. I truly appreciated the care with which you sequenced the information into bite sized chunks. Thanks again!
Thank you John🙏, we put a lot of thought and planning into the sequence! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Well done looking forward to seeing the outcome .
Glad you enjoyed watching 👍.
Thank you for sharing what you have done.
Thanks for watching Andrew 🙏
Thanks for doing this, very interesting. Look forward to learning more in the next videos before asking any questions. Makes sense so far.
Thanks Richard, glad you enjoyed watching. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
You guys defiantly done your homework
We have Michael! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Great vlog as always ..x 👍
Thanks guys🙏. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Great explanation. You obviously thought long and hard before leaping in. It will be really interesting to see how it all works out on balance. Looking forward to the next episode.
Thank you🙏 , it was a really big decision to make the change and Pat was really not convinced at first which is why he installed the shunts! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Excellent presentation, lots of good information.
Thanks Don🙏, glad you found it interesting. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
A great video, well researched and thought out.
Thank you Hugh🙏, glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Very interesting video. I've learnt a lot and realise that continuous cruising isn't just pointing the boat towards the next lock gate. Looks g forward to the battery upgrade.
Every days a school day in the boating world! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
More technical than I like, but this is the “wave of the future” I am eager to hear and see about your install and how that works. Thank you for explaining.
Thanks Nanci🙏, we tried to keep the explanation as simple as possible so that even I could understand it!! 🤣.
Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Thanks Nanci🙏, we tried to keep the explanation as simple as possible so that even I could understand it!! 🤣.
Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Very interesting vlog and for a numpty like me i was able to follow what you were saying.
😂🤣😂, glad you were able to follow it. We didn’t want to be too technical, so must have got the balance right!!
Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Thank you for a great vlog. All aspects of continuous cruise living on a narrow boat are interesting and this vlog was very informative. Have a good summer
So glad you enjoyed watching. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Thorough and concise. Thank you.
Thank you Maurice, we really didn’t want to overload it with to much technical information, but wanted to get the main points over. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Not too far along our journey yet. Retire in August 2022 and selling the house to fund our later life adventure. Thinking lithium would be a good base longer term but not sure what's entailed or cost. So obviously looking forward to your future vlogs . Wondering if it could be an option at construction of the boat. Spoil much to consider. Thanks for doing the leg work. Disclaimer accepted😁 Phil&Jan
Hi Philip👋, lithium’s will add a considerable cost to your project but in the long term would be worthwhile in you intend to CC all year round. If you plan to marina over the winter you may be better sticking to AGM or gel batteries. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
We look forward to this series of vlogs. JD, an electrical engineer, was very impressed with you discussion, research, and rationalization. We've talked a lot about different battery set ups - and as you point out - a lot of it depends on your needs and habits. Recreational cruisers won't have the same requirements as 24/7 CC. Anyway, we absolutely look forward to the rest of the videos.
Thanks Justine, we hope that some people may find the information useful. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Your latest vlog is excellent (as always). I'm in the electrical sector, and maintain power (LV) and UPS systems (batteries & generators), so proper had me on it. Can't wait to see more.
Glad you enjoyed it Dave, thanks for watching and commenting!👍
So, when you talk about the electrical system, you are an expert, electrical engineer. Very cool. Usually it is just some guy faking at being expert, but not with you.
This information is essential for anyone who is, or wants to use an "off the grid" self-contained electrical system. I don't quite understand the details, myself. That's OK though, I have no plans to have a similar system. I am however, still very interested, just for the educational aspect.
I have had a tiny bit of education concerning Photovoltaics. There is, as I'm sure you know about, a type of solar panel that only requires "daylight" to function. I know that it is not quite as efficient as the more widely used type.
However, I learned that having a slightly larger array makes up for the difference. So, for all this being said, using "the daylight" panels may be a viable option for solar power. Coupled with your improved system could be even better. You know much better than me though, I could be very wrong.
This video and the future ones are going to be quite an education for me, I am looking forward to everything you post. ;-)
Thanks Robert, we are going to look at our solar once the batteries are fitted. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Thank you, very helpful. I'm thinking of doing similar when my 4 x 160 leisures start showing signs of falling off the perch.
If you Cc all year round, probably the best way to go if you can afford to do it! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Good afternoon from Spain where it is 38°C or 100°F in old money. Thank you for a very interesting and informative video. Electricity here is at an exorbitant price so I've been thinking about installing solar. We already have solar for hot water so only need to use a gas water heater from, maybe the beginning of December to the end of January. Currently the water is so hot one can't put one's hand under the tap. We have roughly 43 sq metres that we could use for solar panels beyond what we use for hot water so we should be ables to pretty well make ourselves independent of the mains.
Thank you🙏, glad you enjoyed watching. What a difference it would make to be totally independent for your electrical requirements. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Hi guys I just sent you something on Facebook I hope it comes out and you both can see what I sent but lithium is the way to go take care and happy and safe boating cheers Barry Australia 🇦🇺
Hi Barry👋, we think it is the best route forward for us. I have checked Facebook, but nothing has come through! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
@@ournarrowboatquest4894 hi I tried again on messenger I hope it worked out this cheers take care Barry
All received this time!
thanks
Thanks for watching and commenting Cliffs!👍
Interesting about the battery temperatures. Is the engine bay expected to be warm in winter from running the engine?
I'm still getting my head around boat battery capacities measured in Ah, while my car is measured in kWh.
Example: KiloWattHours = AmpHours x 12 volts. Use the voltage for your system.
Re batteries: leisure batteries are designed for a continuous output current over one hour, ie 100 amps/1 hr. whereas your car battery is designed for short, high current output.
Re engine bay, this will warm up while running the engine but will rapidly cool down with colder overnight temperatures. Mornings are when the batteries are at their lowest when the batteries need to be charged.
Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Interesting topic, looks like LiPO4 batteries are much more suitable for live a boards due to their unique charging profile, similar conclusions from Journey with Jono vids who looks like he got snapped up by Victron :) Look forward to the install and long term issues you find :)
We definitely think that for us Lithium is the way to go. We loved Jono’s videos as they were so well presented ( with his media background) and yes he was snapped up by Victron! Hope you find our videos useful too( even if they’re not in the same league! ) Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Hi Pat and Eileen. Interesting vlog for sure. And hearing your present system, I’m not surprised you could never fully charge your batteries from the engine in the winter time with a 110A alternator. You have a 710Ah battery bank which at 50% gives you a 355Ah of usable capacity. But you were discharging deeper over night as was getting battery voltage readings of 11.8V which is very low and as you’re aware was killing your batteries, plus the cold temps adding to this. 12.2V is the lowest voltage here for taking a lead acid battery down to. You’d be needing that alternator turning very fast to produce a decent enough output but as we know, our boat engines are low revving and we rarely get over 2000RPM. A very common issue with a standard car type alternator. With all this against you that would take hours to recharge your battery bank as you know. It’s also a shame regarding your 4.4Kva generator as this will produce 3520W of power @ 230V. I assume you have a Victron 12/3000/120 inverter/charger? This will give you a power output of 2400W as its 3000Va. These need a generator of at least 4000W to work nicely and be able to give you the max power output on the DC charger side which can be a maximum of 120A if required and if your battery bank can take it. 355Ah is a decent amount of power available but obviously over time and the undercharging issues you have been experiencing, these would have lost a lot of this capacity. I’ll for sure be following with interest. Great vlog. 👍🏻
Temperature compensated charging is very important for battery charging and is commonly overlooked.
Many thanks for your observations, as you have correctly pointed out we are mostly aware of this. It is due to the reasons you have highlighted that we are changing to Lithium batteries. We do not currently have a Victron inverter/charger but we are changing this during the installation. We appreciate the figures regarding the generator output.
Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
are you considering the lithium titanate type.
Li-Titanate batteries have a wider operating temperature range (-30-55°C) and a recharge efficiency exceeding 98%
No Rex , this is not something we considered.
Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Hi, Just starting our research to change from lead acid to lithium batteries and noticed links for your channel.
Thankyou for the vids.
I have a question. Was your decision made to change to a lithium setup based on power hunger (240volt) devices?
Sorry for late reply, our main reason ( one of many)for changing was due to recharging times. Lead acid batteries take so long to recharge especially the last 20%, whereas Lithium charge fully much quicker. Thanks for watching 👍
Thanks so much for the info. I'm going to get lithium batteries for my Narrowboat when I finally buy one! Look forward to the next video. My question is - how many lithium batteries would you need on a 50-57 foot boat for two people?
Hi Jack👋, that would of course depend on you power usage. In general 80-100 ah is what most people use but would suggest that you look at your own power consumption.
Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Great analysis. Thank you very much! We're planning a diesel/electric hybrid narrowboat. Currently my thinking is a parallel system where the diesel engine has a large alternator (possibly two) fitted. My thinking is that these alternators will provide enough of a load on the engine.
But, my real question regards your battery topic. Do you have any insight into why your alternator was not able to get your lead acid batteries to a float stage?
A generator seems to me a better choice for lithium (fast charging) and lead acid better with our alternator. Am I on the right path my thinking?
They consumed more energy than their generator could provide.
Thanks Tom🙏. A standard alternator regardless of size, if connected to lead acid batteries relies upon the internal resistance of the battery to control the current flow from the alternator. This means that when the battery is of a low resistance there is a high current flow. As the resistance increases the current flow will reduce. In order to overcome the resistance to continue charging in absorption state the alternator would need to raise its standing voltage, which a standard alternator does not do this( it’s a fixed voltage). This means that the batteries will NEVER reach float via standard alternator charging.
I will explain in the next video how this can be achieved. Hope this goes somewhere to answering your query.
Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Not strictly true, ( vto rsi) the generator can provide as much as we need, but the time taken to charge the batteries was lengthy and when charged the batteries did not sustain enough voltage to last overnight.
Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
My 3 x 160Ah lithium batteries charge up at 20% an hour when I’m cruising so whenever I stop I have full charge. The only time I had a problem was last winter when the boat was in the marina on shore power and I went home. I was watching the VRM and I noticed the batteries had stopped charging. The BMS had stopped the charging to protect the batteries as the temperature in the boat had got too cold. So basically the system had worked as designed. It wouldn’t have been a problem except I’ve got a 12v freezer which had food in it. Anyway luckily the temperature in the boat came up after a few days and they started charging again. To overcome this next time I go home I’ll either empty the freezer or I’ve bought a 240v temperature controlled socket and a small heater for the battery cupboard. So when then temperature falls below 9 degC in the cupboard the socket detects this and cuts in the heater (it’s on shore power then). Really impressed with my lithium set up and I’m sure you will be with yours
Thank you Colin, just be aware that if you fit a small heater on your system, if for any reason you lose your shore power you could be in the same situation or worse! I would also be wary of having a heater on board when nobody there for a long period.
Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Great well researched article. I can see why you have followed the lithium battery route. What problems can there be with lithium batteries?
Thanks Stephen, for us the lithium route is definitely worth doing. We will be covering the process in a later video so will be discussing any problems that we could encounter. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Excellent information, can not wait to see the setup .
Where on your website is the diagram?
Thanks Andy🙏, hope you enjoy the series, Pat will be revealing the schematic drawing in the next video, when he will put it onto the website! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Very technical but Lithium is the way to go . To have some heat early in the morning will be a major advantage not to mention all your other electrical equipment . Is Pat going to do most of the work or i guess he's not a marine sparky so leaving it to someone else . I 'll be waiting for the next installment :-)
We definitely think that for us Lithium is the way to go. Pat has enough experience to do the work himself so watch out for the next instalment! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
this is the first time i have seen the lithium debate made in layman's terms, every other vid i have seen seems so confusing, keep up the good work
Glad you enjoyed watching, we didn’t want to overload on too much technical details. Hopefully we got the balance right! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
@@ournarrowboatquest4894...No the balance is good especially the explanation of temperature control, its a shame really why any type batteries are kept is such a volatile place of temperature variance on a NB but then as you stated... space is at a premium
Very grateful to be able to see three years' experience so well summarised in reaching the lithium decision. Thank you.
Being an EV fanatic I love lithium battery power. What KWh batteries are you going for ? Could you put a Tesla wall on a boat ?
Brilliant brilliant vlog. Thank u.
Thank you🙏, all will be revealed in a later vlog!😂. Pat seems to think a Tesla wall would be a bit over the top on a boat, but could be done!
wow.....lots of info ....lots of work.....well done
ps, Nervous?
Thank you 🙏, it’s funny isn’t it, we’ve been doing these videos for 3 years, you’d think we were used to it by now! 🤣. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Darn was just typing a question about installation location when you mentioned that it will be in the next video! the major issue I see with Li-ion batteries are the operating temp, and low temp (sub 0 deg C) can kill your very expensive batteries.
I agree there are loads of great pros to Lithium, like Cycles and draw voltage. But there are many negatives as well like operating temp and weather considerations.
Nice and informative video and means I am looking forward to the next video.
Keep up the good work
Thank you🙏, We did mention that the batteries will be installed in an inside cupboard as opposed to the engine bay. But we will be covering this in more detail in the next video of the series.
We are very much aware of the operating temperatures of Lithium batteries so with this mind we had to make some alterations to the boat! Glad you enjoyed watching 👍
Well explained! Obviously Pat is more than just a pretty face.
🤣😂🤣, glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
one question i have , is that do you like taking his hand as the song says lol ?
🤣😂🤣, frequently! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
@@ournarrowboatquest4894 aww your welcome , your both a lovely couple !
Interesting…always thought they would need lithium
Hi there, very good presentation, I have two questions:
I hear varying arguments about the safety of lithium and battery explosions, are you aware of any issues relating to this?
Also interested to know what the kva output is on your inboard generator ?
Thanks in advance
Thanks Nick, the intention is to discuss this in the next video, so stay tuned.
The KVA rating on our generator is 4.4 KVA.
Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Another great vlog, thank you so much. Where do you get your music from. Really like it and if they have an album would love to get it
Thanks Marion🙏, we get our music from a music library called Epidemic sounds. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Quoted charge cycles are rated at a discharge to 50% for most lead acid in order to have a common base line. Manufacturers often test Lithium on 100% charge cycles. You can typically expect double the ‘cycle count’ if you halve the discharge level of the cycle With lithium. Fridges are just as efficient at lower voltage in that they use the same power but to do that at lower voltage they have to take a higher current and they have ‘cleverness’ in the compressor driver to do that.
Thanks Phil, we cover this in the next video.
Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
Are we passing under the Wheatstone Bridge? Me being silly as usual.
🤣😂🤣, I had no idea what you are talking about but Pat did!!
Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
@@ournarrowboatquest4894 I thought he would after he explained his background. I was in consumer electronics repair, about the end of tubes or valves whatever you call them on your side of the pond.
What is the theme tune you use?
It’s called Honey take my hand from Epidemic sounds. We love it! Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
@@ournarrowboatquest4894 yes lovely song.. Thanks for the info. just found it. keep on chuggin along
You missed out Nife alkaline batteries
Hi Cyril, in this case with regards to leisure batteries, they are not really applicable. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍
buy ion lithium battery or wait for solid-state batteries they are the best
Hi 👋 Marion, ours are lithium phosphate. Thanks for watching and commenting!👍