I can't help you with the alternator issues. Regarding LED replacement bulbs, they don't have to be expensive to be good. But you have to do some searching around. Since you are on this side of the border, you may like to check the marineledscanada.ca. I had good success with his solutions (they do work and they were competitively priced, especially compared to some US prices). A caveat: I am not sure if he is still in business.
Regardless where you get them from, do it. The current draw is so much lower that you would never look back. The fully flexible solar panels might be too big for what you need. I have a 24 W panel that I carry on the bimini and it is 35 cm x 200 cm. It is almost as long as it can be without dropping on either side. The nice thing is that I can leave it on the bimini, when I fold it down and it can stay there. It is not the best way to do it, but it does work when you want to do it quickly. However, this would not help you at all, because you need about 200 W for the fridge. The semi-flexible panels have higher wattage, but are much less flexible and you would have to take them down. Marek 1994 C270 "Legato" Ottawa, ON -----Original Message----- From: CnC-List <cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com> On Behalf Of DON JONSSON via CnC-List Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2018 13:42 To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Cc: DON JONSSON <dbjons...@shaw.ca> Subject: Stus-List Solar panels and LED light bulbs. Hi All Last year after putting in a new Beta engine with a larger alternator (110 amp) we added an additional battery, a battery monitor, and to use all that power, a fridge. (Of interest, and not the point of this email, is we went through two alternators on the boat last summer both on warranty. Doesn't bode well. We did not put in a smart regulator as it would void the warranty. Guess that was a good thing. Two mechanics have gone through the boat and all wiring is good. They claim manufacturing default in both alternators. Hmmm.) The fridge is a fantastic addition especially when you are up north with no stores to buy ice, or much food for that matter. BUT, as you all know it takes a lot of power. Which gets me to the questions. Easy one first. 1. We have added some new LED reading light fixtures but still have a few more old incandescent lights where we would like to keep the fixtures. You can get replacement LED bulbs that range in price from a couple of dollars to $15. I read that cheaper ones don't deal with variations in voltage very well and you should spend more money. Does anyone have experience and recommendations. 2. The real solution, we think, is solar panels. But how much do they really help and where to put them on a 34 foot sailboat. It seems all locations come with a compromise. We are considering: A: On top of the dodger, but the boom will always be an issue. Especially since we don't have a bimini we use the boom for supporting our awning that we put up on hot sunny days. Yes we occasionally get them up on the BC coast and blocking the sun is mandatory. B: Get a bimini and mount them on it. But this gets us back to the sunshine issue. Lots of days it isn't that warm and you want the sun on you. A Bimini with solar panels is not that easy to fold out of the way. Also it isn't cheap. C: Hang them off the life lines or rails at the back of the boat with a support that allows you to set them flat when at anchor. But we occasionally carry bikes back there and we couldn't have both at the same time. Also looks a little clunky. D: Leave them as portable and set them out when at anchor. But then it is a pain and you don't do it unless you are sitting for a while and you have all the wire to deal with, etc. And they aren't helping much under sail. So does anyone have a recommendation as to what they have done and how it works. Also how many amp hours did you get on a sunny day? What size of panels did you use. I know, that like everything on a boat it is always a compromise, we are just trying to figure out which one to make. Thanks for any help. Don Jonsson Andante, C&C 34 Victoria, BC _______________________________________________ Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paypal.me%2Fstumurray&data=02%7C01%7C%7C2a5a1bb3f224455b3d1f08d631334a4f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636750493685686221&sdata=dLdr9kNz%2Bz9iDFCJWy%2B3FqAXpRMoQErEQx30RNwODo4%3D&reserved=0 _______________________________________________ Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray
