Our 26X boat tour on the last day of our Powell trip

[OverEasy]

Nice, cute and fun!
Bet you had some interesting trips with it!

[tuxonpup]

It is interesting how some solar panels will drop 90% of their output if just a small section is blocked from the sun (like your boom). It's wise to clean them as I'm sure dust and bird poo reduces their output.

My solar panel is mounted off the back of the boat over the motor. The mast crutch makes for a perfect poor man's arch for mounting.

LiPo's are interesting and honestly, I know little about them. My understanding is that they need to be charged differently from lead acid and therefore can't be connected to the motor charging circuit. This forum has several Captains who have done Lipo and love it.


Looks like Amazon sells the Starlink power cables. Looks like a 100 USBC PD to barrel jack with some weather proofing. How did yours get broken? Does the Starlink actually use 100 watts?

Okay, doing a little research, the Starlink will run native on 12v. THAT's what I would do rather than convert 12v to 5v USBc PD then back to 12v inside the Starlink dish. https://www.amazon.com/Starlink-Waterp ... B0F6YFNC4M

REFRIGERATION:
You CAN run a proper 12v compressor based cooler off solar. I do it all the time as long as you limit how often you open it.
Do NOT under and circumstances buy one of those Piezo/Electric coolers. The only thing they are good for is draining your battery.

Mine is pretty old now, however, there are many 12v compressor based fridge/freezers out there. If used properly and your other 12v devices (Starlink, computers) you could operate off 2 solar panels.

https://www.amazon.com/EUHOMY-Refrigera ... NH4NX?th=1

I was surprised by how much hanging the boom compromised the solar generation. I did make a point of wiping down the panel as well. We spent a bit of time working with the bimini over the course of the trip, far enough back that you can eye the wind vane top-o-mast, far enough forward that the helm seat can swing up securely for motor to rudder switches. We think we can make it rigid enough to mount two 130 watt flex panels on it while still swiveling between those two positions. That should keep them far enough out of the sail's shadow so that at least one panel will always be generating. Our '96 just has the single pivoting mast crutch on the transom, which is nice for motoring with the mast down and at an angle so as not to be in the center of the cockpit, but no poor man's radar arch to attach solar to.
We've got the second identical solar panel and 100Ah LiFePO4 battery already delivered. I've been running a pair of small 20Ah LiFePO4s on our kayak rig for a few years, at first in parallel, then in series when we got a 24V electric motor. The DC to DC converter/MPPT solar controller shown in the video is a boost/buck design that can do 12V to 24V conversions and manage both lead acid and LiFePO4 batteries, but we're just using it for straight 12V house power and will parallel the LiFePO4s for 200Ah. Consensus seems to be I was just shy solar capacity as I never recharged past 12.6V - 12.8V after the second day when the initial wall charge had been run through. Recharging with the boom in place never allowed the battery to fully recover, hence a new unshaded location and doubling our panel collection.
Which brings me to your 12V cooler experience. I'm going to try it, in a small $200 fashion as I want to stick it right where the current 48 quart Coleman is, the 14x23x14.5D cooler bathtub under the aft dinette seat. Looks like that limits me to a 24-26 quart compressor cooler, but I won't be sticking a 7 pound block of ice in there either. Searching off your link I found a couple under this size that would fit, requiring 45 - 60 watts when running: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0F1S ... X0DER&th=1

Went on sale for $150 and we pulled the trigger:



Here it is next to the Coleman we currently fit in the aft dinette tub, weighs 22.6# and if I spend another $150 I can add an internal LiFePO4 battery to that compartment under the drink holders, if we want to use it stand-alone on the beach or something.

[Be Free]

That looks like a good one.

Keep an eye on it when you first start to use it. I think you said you were planning on putting it under the aft dinette seat. Just make sure that it is getting enough air circulation to work properly.

[tuxonpup]

That looks like a good one.

Keep an eye on it when you first start to use it. I think you said you were planning on putting it under the aft dinette seat. Just make sure that it is getting enough air circulation to work properly.

Yeah, I really hadn't factored that in until I got it and saw the airflow recommendations. May just pull the tub and and secure it in the bilge using the built-in tie downs.

[Russ]

Nice.

I forgot the X has a place for the cooler. The M kind of does, but not really.

Hopefully, it will serve you well. Not having wet melting ice is a big plus.

[OverEasy]

Hi Tuxonpup!

Nice cooler! Great upgrade!

An option to consider is to add a pair of strategically 4x4” or larger through ventilation grill holes through the side walls of the tub and bench seat for air to circulate. One aligned with where the cooler air intake is and one where the exhaust is. If you desire one could also add a 12VDC muffin fan to one or both penetrations to help circulate the cooling air… I’ve seen some hybrid set-ups where a simple small dedicated solar cell array drives the fan(s) by day and battery used by night… (they didn’t want a full on solar power array)….Just a suggestion.

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[tuxonpup]

Hi Tuxonpup!

Nice cooler! Great upgrade!

An option to consider is to add a pair of strategically 4x4” or larger through ventilation grill holes through the side walls of the tub and bench seat for air to circulate. One aligned with where the cooler air intake is and one where the exhaust is. If you desire one could also add a 12VDC muffin fan to one or both penetrations to help circulate the cooling air… I’ve seen some hybrid set-ups where a simple small dedicated solar cell array drives the fan(s) by day and battery used by night… (they didn’t want a full on solar power array)….Just a suggestion.

Best Regards,
Over Easy

Okay, today is the first day off I've had since... June 8th? The day after we got home from Powell, so finally some time to hook up these new battery killers, I mean lifestyle upgrades! Just plugged the cooler into AC for the first time, it came on measuring 72 degrees internal temp and set for 32 degrees. Suggestions? I set it for 36 degrees but I actually have no idea what temp my kitchen fridge is currently.
The food compartment side has no exterior penetrations and the lid opens towards the dinette table if it's set in the tub space with the electronics/controls towards boat center, so that lines up well. There are vent openings on all three sides of the electronics end, with a large fan blowing very quietly out the "back side" which would line up with where the dinette stand extends past the wall of the head.

Update: I plugged it in under 10 minutes ago and it's already 40 degrees inside!

Right now, I'm leaning towards removing the fiberglass internal tub and adding hanging straps that will hold the cooler at height just below the seat, then cut a vent hole that aligns with the fan, which would actually be fairly high up on that dinette base blowing towards the cockpit opening.

[Be Free]

That looks like a good one.

Keep an eye on it when you first start to use it. I think you said you were planning on putting it under the aft dinette seat. Just make sure that it is getting enough air circulation to work properly.

Yeah, I really hadn't factored that in until I got it and saw the airflow recommendations. May just pull the tub and and secure it in the bilge using the built-in tie downs.

Without the tub and with the compartment open you should be fine.

I don't have any pictures yet but I replaced the lid on that compartment with a piece of 3/4" plywood that I cut like a jigsaw puzzle. One section locks down and has my (fairly large) inverter hanging from the underside. The other two pieces can be positioned to give me various amounts of coverage for the compartment depending on how much ventilation I need.

[Russ]

You are experiencing the cooling from a REAL compressor. I wish there were better tech, but so far this is it.

Give it some air and it will be fine. I'm not familiar with the X but if it can vent out anywhere it should be fine.
That area is subject to the hull heat transfer right?

Looking forward to your reports of how this works out.''

I bet your solar will do fine as long as you turn off that dang starlink when not needed.

I would love to see your 12vdc plans.

[Be Free]

He's planning on putting it inside the aft dinette seat. The stock X came with a cooler in this spot. If you remove the cooler you are looking at the inside of the hull with just a hint of ballast tank along with (at least) one of the stringers. There are passages in that area that would allow air to move from the transom to the bow.

If he leaves the seat open to vent the hot air coming off of the compressor he'll have plenty of circulation.

I would recommend mounting it above the stringers just in case he ends up with some water in the bilge. The hole under the companionway would warn him of a problem before it got deep enough to damage the fridge.

[closehaul]

Tuxonpup, Nice refrigerator - you will not regret your purchase (or cheese floating in the bloody ice water from yesterday's hamburger). I have an Engel MT35 mounted in the starboard aft dinette seat. I cut the tub off 7.5" down from the flange and mounted hangers that the Engel handles rest on enabling it to be suspended in the open bottom tub. Perfect fit for the MT35. With the seat cushion shortened 8" (open for air flow and to see the digital display) there is plenty of ventilation. The nice thing about the suspended style mounting is that it is easy to lift the refrigerator out and use for camping in the truck when not boating. Also to reduce weight for road transport I remove from the boat. My 170watt solar panel with Group 31 AGM house battery is more than adequate (even on overcast weeks). The bottom of the tub that was cut off is now dry storage in my galley. I cut off the galley top and raised the working surface ~5" to make room for the tub and a 12"x16"x10" deep bar sink. Still drawers under the tub and sink (voluminous storage). Closehaul

[tuxonpup]

You are experiencing the cooling from a REAL compressor. I wish there were better tech, but so far this is it.

Give it some air and it will be fine. I'm not familiar with the X but if it can vent out anywhere it should be fine.
That area is subject to the hull heat transfer right?

Looking forward to your reports of how this works out.''

I bet your solar will do fine as long as you turn off that dang starlink when not needed.

I would love to see your 12vdc plans.

Thanks for the feedback everybody! With the Guppy in storage 400 miles to the North and our next trip 400 miles out West taking a class on a completely different boat, this planning/testing from home is all we can do for the next 2 months or so. My 12V plans are pencil drawn and from before we bought the cooler, which is kinda why we surface-mounted everything so far and didn't cut any holes.
Solar panel is coming off the hatch and going onto the bimini along with a second matching flex panel. We kept the full length of our solar cable coiled up inside the companionway, which we'll need now to run it back to the bimini. Added a second 100Ah LiFePO4, which we'll have to re-secure in the bilge now to run as a house pair.
Which brings me to something I'm considering. As mentioned, I run my small 20Ah LiFePO4s in series as a 24V supply on our dingyak to power the motor fin. The Guppy's DC-to-DC converter/MPPT solar controller is a boost/buck design that can run both 12V and 24V. It turns out this fridge is also a 12V/24V design, as is the Simrad NSS EVO3S chartplotter I'll be cabling a new run for back to the pedestal. I'm considering running the LiFePO4s in series as a 24V house battery and halving the amperage running back to the pedestal and across to the dinette for the fridge.

I just plugged it into the little 20Ah 12V battery for the first time and it got down below freezing fairly quick!

[Russ]

24v?
Interesting. So those devices would have their own 24v circuit?
You still need 12v for most other stuff.

That will take some planning

It would reduce the wire gauge required for the fridge.
I had to run a heavy wire for my fridge because the voltage drop over distance.

[tuxonpup]

24v?
Interesting. So those devices would have their own 24v circuit?
You still need 12v for most other stuff.

That will take some planning

It would reduce the wire gauge required for the fridge.
I had to run a heavy wire for my fridge because the voltage drop over distance.

I hadn't managed to shake this idea yet, then this week Vicky told me she ordered that electric thing I left in the Amazon basket while she was doing some shopping. Electric thing? I don't remember adding any electric thing? I looked it up and it was a 24V>12V converter I was looking at and must have put in the basket instead of saved for later, ah well, at worst an affordable experiment.

The argument against 24V is simplicity, while I don't use the 1/2/both switch for anything but a starter battery on/off now, it's nice to have a second 12V supply right there for redundancy. Only one voltage running everywhere means I can tie into 12V anywhere on the boat.
Advantages? There's no power on the starboard side so I'll need a new run to power the fridge, which can be a lighter, easier to pull gauge at 24V. I need a new run going to the mast base to power the HALO20+ radar, a longer, more difficult pull. I have house power run back to the steering pedestal, which I connected to check the defunct VHF and which also feeds an unused multipin from a previous missing MFD install. I will remove those and probably use that run for the new Simrad MFD install. Those three new devices all run off 12V-24V, hence the decision point.

The DC-DC converter/MPPT controller is a boost/buck design, so the starter battery can be set to 12V lead acid, while the house battery is set to 24V LiFePO4, and they can still share charging - while the alternator feeds the lead acid and the battery is above threshold, it can top off the house battery if the solar generation is lower in output at that point. The solar input runs around 20V-24V currently, and I plan on running the panels parallel in case one is shaded, then the boost/buck controller can boost the 20V-24V native panel output to the charging range for the 24V house battery or buck the voltage for the 12V starter.

I checked the switch panel and fuse panel I've been using and they are also rated for 12V-24V:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08H5M4XTG/re ... F0aWM&th=1
I'm considering doing all house distribution at 24V and was looking at that step down converter for use only where a 12V output is needed. The interior LED bulbs BWY sells are actually already 12V-24V, so lighting-wise I just need a solution for the navigation/steaming/anchor lights, either a converter or 24V native bulbs. Outside of that, my 12V only devices consist of a water pump and the Icom VHF's charger. Other than exterior lights and those two devices, everything can run 24V or 12V, including the USB convenience jacks that output 5V regardless of supply.

So, convert all lights to LED, then install the 24V>12V converter to feed the 26X switch panel on the ceiling below the mast. Remove the interior lights from that switch and use it instead to switch a new LED anchor light installed on the mast. Run a pair of 24V cables back to that new switch panel by the batteries, so you can actually turn the house lights on when entering the boat, plus a dedicated switch for the 24V radar run. Change the deck mounted connection to the 4 pin version, 12V steaming, 12V anchor, 24V radar and ground.

Use the third switch on the new panel to feed 24V power to the pedestal for the Simrad MFD and install a smaller panel there for voltage display and USB outlets:
https://www.nilight.com/products/4-in-1 ... AvEALw_wcB
I like the little round modules that can be shared between the panels, already have some spares for adding the odd switch or USB port where needed.

Fourth switch controls the 24V feed to the fridge mounted in the starboard aft dinette and the fifth switch controls the water pump, most likely on a split run from the converter feeding the exterior lights, as they'd be pulling all of .5A after converting them to LED.

Looks doable and the wiring is almost the same going 12V or 24V, so if I bail on it, probably only need to upsize the run to the fridge. I think the 14 gauge I have on hand is technically oversized for the longer MFD, radar and lighting runs:
https://www.boatoutfitters.com/choosing ... rbPU13n2ui

[Russ]

You have given this much thought. That can be dangerous.

I wonder how many TRUE 12v devices we have on our boats. You are probably right about LEDs being tolerant of dual voltage.

I guess all this relies heavily on dual 12v batteries in a series. If one fails, the whole system might suffer. Or not if it just drops down in voltage.

VERY interesting ideas. I bet you wish the boat were close so you can work on it at your leisure and experiment.

What does the Starlink require for voltage?