Solar Generator expectations (small, 504 watts)

[Bentsea]

Hello everyone, for those who didn't see my first post I am a new owner of a 2023 R27. I am still waiting on my delivery from the factory but it is scheduled for before Labor Day. I am a bit of a gear head tinker type, but I have been advised to use the boat first and see what I want to modify before I start my tinker fun. Using Channel Surfings advice as the single most important upgrade is adding a battery monitor which is being installed prior to delivery. We are a family of 4 and will be using the boat as an over nighter, a weekender as well as day trips. In general I expect our boat to be a heavy power consumer. To combat and extend our draw on power I am looking at small solar generators specifically the Bluetti AC60P since it has IP65 and LiFePO batteries. I like the size, price and will be able to use it easily for other activities. I understand that bigger is better and in the future I may need to get a larger one, however I am considering this specific model. I will be posting a different questions/topic for an upgraded solar panel later.


I am looking at the Bluetti AC60P ,
Specs:
IP65 rating for water and dust protection
Capacity: 504 Wh
Battery type: LiFePO 3000+ Cycles
AC Outlets: 2 × 120V/5A 600W In Total
Inverter Type: Pure Sine Wave
Surge Power: 1,200W
USB-C Port: 1 × 100W Max. (Built-in eMark chip)
USB-A Port: 2 x 5V/3A
12V DC Outlet: 1 × 12V/10A (Car outlet, regulated.)
Wireless Charging Pad: 1 x 15W Max.

My Questions are:
1) Using the AC60P 120V/5A to the boats shore power and ONLY powering the battery charger, Does the AC60P have enough power to handle just this load without damaging the boats charging unit, or expecting to trip any safety features?

2) Using the AC60P 120V/5A to the boats shore power and Only powering the coffee maker? ( I know I can run the inverter if question #1 works well ). Does the AC60P have enough power to handle just this load without damaging the coffee maker or expecting to trip any safety features?

3) Using the AC60P 120V/5A to the boats shore power and Only powering Microwave? Does the AC60P have enough power to handle just this load without damaging the boats
Microwave, or expecting to trip any safety features?


*I will not be using the electric grill unless connected to Marina power.

Thanks for taking a look and any input on this topic.

-Troy

 

[emtlibby]

So, if 5amps is the output, this will not work.

The battery charger is a 20amp (DC) charger, so it'll draw like 2amps. Sure it might work, but given the small capacity, I doubt it will make a meaningful contribution.
The coffee maker, may be under 5 amps, but maybe not. Im guessing it draws more than 600 watts.
The microwave is 800/1000 watts, so again over 5 amps.

You've already got an inverter on the boat that can power the microwave and the coffeemaker. You're much better off adding a battery or two and upgrading your solar. The AC60P is not gonna work for this.

 

[watson1987]

I agree with emtlibby, even if you disabled all other uses this device won't run your microwave or coffee maker.

For reference my Nespresso coffee machine uses over 1100W.

 

[Cutwater28GG]

The best thing you can do is install more solar power to keep your house batteries charged.

 

[Bentsea]

So, if 5amps is the output, this will not work.

The battery charger is a 20amp (DC) charger, so it'll draw like 2amps. Sure it might work, but given the small capacity, I doubt it will make a meaningful contribution.
The coffee maker, may be under 5 amps, but maybe not. Im guessing it draws more than 600 watts.
The microwave is 800/1000 watts, so again over 5 amps.

You've already got an inverter on the boat that can power the microwave and the coffeemaker. You're much better off adding a battery or two and upgrading your solar. The AC60P is not gonna work for this.

Alright, thank you all for your input. I have found another offering from Bluetti that is on sale and has 120V/20A AC Outputs that still has LiFePo. It was on sale (looks like a closeout). I will test it out and report back what I found and how I intend to use it.

 

[Submariner]

504 watt-hours is small. You don't mention whether you're getting a NW edition or Luxury Edition (which would have LFP). I'm assuming based on your post that it's a NW edition with AGM batteries. Two 110ah AGM batteries (which are standard on a NW edition R27-OB) offers 1200 watt-hours (usable). (99 amp-hours usable).

Most folks go with something around 1200-1600 watt-hours in a Bluetti or Anker and just plug it into their shorepower connection. The boat then operates 120volt AC as if it were on shorepower. To run the hot water heater for 45 minutes (which is plenty of time to make enough hot water for showers and such) is 600 watt-hours. If you ran the water heater until it heats up 6.5 gallons of water to 167 degrees, it'll consume about 1,600 watt-hours.

I always recommend a solar upgrade on the boat. The refrigerator is one of the largest load on the boat and will consume about 45 amp-hours a day from the 99 usable amp hours available. A solar upgrade to somewhere between 270 and 400 watts makes a world of difference. Then use a Blueti or Anker 1200 watt-hour LFP bank, plugged into the shorepower connection for running the microwave, coffee machine and water heater. It'll give you a few extra days away from the dock. Then just recharge the LFP bank on the dock. I am not a fan of the solar panels that plugs into these portable LFP banks. It creates two solar systems on the boat, one for the boat, one for the LFP battery. If you're going on a longer cruise, I'd recommend using the 120 watt car charger accessory to trickle charge it, which lets solar on the boat help charge the LFP battery. A battery monitor on the boat will give you the info you need (battery SOC) so you know when you have a surplus of sunshine to use.

The 120volt AC loads on the boat:
Microwave - 1,050 watts.
Keurig Coffee Maker - 1,425 watts.
Grill - 1,300 watts.
Water Heater - 750 watts.
20 Amp Battery Charger - 350 watts.

Normal electrical loads on the boat at 12 volt.. expect to see about 15 watts as nominal. With the refrigerator running it'll spike up around 50 watts. The boat's fairly energy efficient without us on it. Ha!

I've got a power management spreadsheet that's evolved over time. It's got all the loads on the boat and also illustrates what one could expect based on different size solar panels to help size how much you need and can help determine how much power you expect to use on the boat. You may not use as much as you think. Shoot me an email and I'll send it to you (it's an excel spreadsheet).

 

[Cutwater28GG]

Nice post Martin.

Troy, if you have the AGM batteries I would also consider changing some habits to live in a world of 12v. Its very easy to do but takes practice and approach changes.

in 8 years of boat ownership I have never used the inverter. we anchor out for days. we cruise for weeks at a time. we move anchorages and marinas either every other day or every day. That gives us all the hot water we need. Or I can pop the hot water heater on before we leave the dock. it stays hot for 18 hours.

we have diesel heat. we use propane on the stove and BBQ. we have 340Ws of solar. we run starlink during the day. I charge devices during the day when solar is putting out the juice. we have LED lightbulbs everywhere including the anchor light.
If its sunny we can be fully charged after the night by lunchtime. If I was to use the microwave I would run the engine and then use the microwave as its use is so low.
If you have LFP boat batteries ignore me 🙂

 

[Brian John]

Honda EU2000i

 

[SJI Sailor]

Nice post Martin.

Troy, if you have the AGM batteries I would also consider changing some habits to live in a world of 12v. Its very easy to do but takes practice and approach changes.

in 8 years of boat ownership I have never used the inverter. we anchor out for days. we cruise for weeks at a time. we move anchorages and marinas either every other day or every day. That gives us all the hot water we need. Or I can pop the hot water heater on before we leave the dock. it stays hot for 18 hours.

we have diesel heat. we use propane on the stove and BBQ. we have 340Ws of solar. we run starlink during the day. I charge devices during the day when solar is putting out the juice. we have LED lightbulbs everywhere including the anchor light.
If its sunny we can be fully charged after the night by lunchtime. If I was to use the microwave I would run the engine and then use the microwave as its use is so low.
If you have LFP boat batteries ignore me 🙂

Our experience with C30 was identical to this. As long as we ran a few hours every 2-3 days, we were fine on power and hot water. The main issues to consider were pump out and refilling fresh water. As far as I recall, we never turned on the inverter in 4 years or ownership.

Beyond that, agreed about getting >1000 watt hours as a starting point for AC augmentation.

 

[Submariner]

Nice post Martin.

in 8 years of boat ownership I have never used the inverter. we anchor out for days. we cruise for weeks at a time. we move anchorages and marinas either every other day or every day. That gives us all the hot water we need. Or I can pop the hot water heater on before we leave the dock. it stays hot for 18 hours.
If you have LFP boat batteries ignore me 🙂

Thanks!

Our inverter stays off most of the time. But we use it every day we're on the boat. Coffee and microwave for sure (breakfast, lunch and dinner). I also have to run the inverter for hot water. When I'm at a marina, I often won't plug in (especially if they charge extra for electrical). I hate running the shore power cable. I also don't like to be limited in my anchoring requiring a dock to recharge.

Great illustration of how folks with similar boats boat differently. When someone's getting a new boat I always recommend they go out and use the boat before dropping large amounts of money into upgrades. A battery monitor and solar upgrade are both no brainers. Figure out how you and your family are going to use the boat, then focus on upgrading what's important to you.

When we purchased Channel Surfing, standing in the showroom at the boat show, I stated repeatedly that we would use it for day trips mostly, with an occasional overnight weekend trip, and maybe a 10 day cruise once a year. Oh how wrong I was.

 

[Bentsea]

So many great replies. Thank you everyone for your time and insight.

Few items: We have the NW addition. From my original question I didn't really think #2 or #3 would be possible, now I know they are not (Coffee and Microwave from a small solar generator). The idea of plugging using a small solar generator to help keep the batteries above the 50% damage threshold still interests me. Many of the solar generators have an Eco feature (can be toggled off) that will turn the device off after 4 hours. During that time I believe I could have the Bluetti plugged into shore power and keeping the batteries from depleting too much, I understand I could also run the engine for a period of time which would have a similar effect. I have a batter monitor installed so I will be able to monitor our batter usage. Getting my family on the boat overnight will easy, teaching them to conserve power will not.

@Submariner I have watched most of the Channel Surfing content you have produced and wanted to thank you for all of your efforts and time. I will be reaching out before too long with some solar upgrade questions if you still are fielding direct questions.

Fun fact: My kids call the Cave and Dinette berths bunk beds and are very excited to use them. They are both trying to claim the lower bed as their own.

-Troy

 

[Submariner]

Getting my family on the boat overnight will easy, teaching them to conserve power will not.

@Submariner I have watched most of the Channel Surfing content you have produced and wanted to thank you for all of your efforts and time. I will be reaching out before too long with some solar upgrade questions if you still are fielding direct questions.

There's other options to help with power. We picked up a couple of power bricks for charging our laptops, tablets and phones. 24,000 mAh. (Anker 737 PowerBank). I can charge my laptop battery off one of these, though we primarily use it for tablets and phones. It pairs well with the Anker 6 in 1, 140watt charger. The portable batteries charge at 140 watts, which I often will do with the sunshine out, turn on the inverter and charge them up quick.

Feel free to reach out anytime with questions.

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[scross]

As several have mentioned, adding a bigger solar panel (350-450 watt) with a good Victron Energy solar controller would be the best bang for your buck.
I assume your boat has lithium batteries on all banks. If not, converting to lithium is expensive but effective.
Finally, once you are lithium add more batteries to the house bank. Two or even three more if you can get them to fit. Not a huge weight penalty.
Then try to educate your family into the benefits of at least using basic power conservation principals.
Good luck.
BTW We are energy independent on our 2017 C-28 for 2-3 week cruises, often away from shore power, using a robust solar system and practical energy conservation practices.