DaveInRI
Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2024
- Messages
- 178
- Reaction score
- 22
- Location
- Narragansett Bay
- C Dory Year
- 2005
- C Dory Model
- 22 Cruiser
- Hull Identification Number
- CDO22275K405
- Vessel Name
- Once
My use case might be different than many of you, but I know there are some who are "lithium curious" and "solar curious". I have two young boys, and a Jeep pickup, and plan to do a fair amount of beach days and car-based tent camping. I also have a C-Dory 22 with a perfectly functional lead acid starter and house battery, and no refrigeration or inverter or even shore power. Because my boys are so young, and because my wife and I work, it's really only feasible that we can get away for long weekends by boat (a yet unproven concept). We aren't just 'boat people' though, and like to hike, bike, explore, stay indoors, bop around cities, etc., and so the boat money would sting less if it could be modular to a point and support our other interests. After much agonizing, doing the calcs, reading the forums, watching the videos, etc., I opted on modular-when-convenient.
So, I bought a 12V Vevor 40L fridge/freezer (one big bin) through Lowes (albeit a marketplace order, but the seller is just Vevor's distributor) for $203, which comes with a 1-year warranty, and added a 3-year extended warranty through Lowes for $60 more. I was limited by wanting it to slide under my Gladiator's tonneau cover without opening it, which is around 17" tall (this fridge is about 16" tall), and for one that I can just put under the countertop in the C-Dory 22 galley cabinet. There's presently absolutely nothing in there, and a regular cooler fits just fine. Since we're not cruising per say, the loss of "air rights" above that is not very significant (vs my real desire to add drawers and all sorts of fun custom woodwork), and I can always put a backpack duffle or two on top in a pinch. For longer trips if we can manage a week, we'll support this with a regular cooler using frozen water jugs as our fridge, and keep the Vevor as freezer, swapping the water bottles as we go, adding to the days available. If the whole thing proves a bust, then it will just live in the truck and was cheap data.
Here is the link:
For wiring, I was all ready to get a Lifepo4 house battery, 200Ah, the Victon Orion dc-dc, add an inverter, proper fuses, etc., when I noticed the price was already several hundred dollars and it'd be trapped on the boat. But the cooler was already like 30 pounds empty (not great loading from ground up onto trailer), and the big Anker one Will Prowse recommended was 60 pounds. I found their "gen 2" Anker Solix C1000 which was only 25 pounds, and was on a huge sale lasting the next 4 days. I got it with a 100W solar panel (plug and play, no separate solar charger etc), and I could use it in my Jeep plus power other things inside the C-Dory without going through the trouble of adding an inverter (it can even handle a small microwave). I can charge it via cigarette lighter plug (capped at 10A though, and my Honda 90 has 30A set aside for charging things, so there was some left on the table), and the 100W panel would fit just about anywhere (22"x24"x2" folded; 44" x 24" x 1" unfolded) and get me a decent trickle charge without being obnoxiously big and unwieldy-- both for boat things and truck things. Panel is IP67 waterproof (just mind the plugs) and for $60 I got a water resistant bag for the unit itself, unsure I'll use it except on wet grass or something, but I figured whatever get the bag.
I read many (+) posts on here about how disappointing these solar generators are, and how the new guys are always showing up to events excited and leaving disappointed-- so my expectations are already fully set. But realistically, I only need to make it Friday night through Sunday morning, completely independent of the house battery for all boat power (this is just for refrigeration and charging a phone, basically), and if I want to go further, just use the fridge as freezer only (I made sure to get a single basin either/or; no dual compartments) and use the other non-powered cooler w/ ice bottles for the first couple days. This thing charges in like an hour, too, if I wanted to stop at a marina and top up. Plus, at 25 pounds, I can move it wherever, and I don't need to wire the bed of my truck right away (came with no outlet there; I can always run the DC cord through the slider and into the cab, but one thing at a time-- i'd likely wire the bed, but too much going on).
And, I can use it for tools and whatever else around the property, without lugging extension cords, and in a power outage can plug my refrigerator into it for a few hours if need be. It can take up to 600W solar power, but right now I'm just looking for a trickle charge while away from home. Eventually I'll make a proper system at my house.
So, if anyone wants some portable power, even if not related to a boat in any way, there's a great sale going on
I do recognize this wouldn't really work if you have galley cabinets with anything in them. I can add this and the cooler under there, so it works as a mechanical room of sorts.
Here's my order confirmation, and the links to what I got (absolutely on affiliation, just sharing):
Ankler Solix C1000 Gen 2 (distinct from Gen 1) with 100W solar panel, $599)
Link for the panel for more information:
www.ankersolix.com
Bag (was on sale for $59 as an add-on vs $99 standalone):
www.ankersolix.com
So, I bought a 12V Vevor 40L fridge/freezer (one big bin) through Lowes (albeit a marketplace order, but the seller is just Vevor's distributor) for $203, which comes with a 1-year warranty, and added a 3-year extended warranty through Lowes for $60 more. I was limited by wanting it to slide under my Gladiator's tonneau cover without opening it, which is around 17" tall (this fridge is about 16" tall), and for one that I can just put under the countertop in the C-Dory 22 galley cabinet. There's presently absolutely nothing in there, and a regular cooler fits just fine. Since we're not cruising per say, the loss of "air rights" above that is not very significant (vs my real desire to add drawers and all sorts of fun custom woodwork), and I can always put a backpack duffle or two on top in a pinch. For longer trips if we can manage a week, we'll support this with a regular cooler using frozen water jugs as our fridge, and keep the Vevor as freezer, swapping the water bottles as we go, adding to the days available. If the whole thing proves a bust, then it will just live in the truck and was cheap data.
Here is the link:
For wiring, I was all ready to get a Lifepo4 house battery, 200Ah, the Victon Orion dc-dc, add an inverter, proper fuses, etc., when I noticed the price was already several hundred dollars and it'd be trapped on the boat. But the cooler was already like 30 pounds empty (not great loading from ground up onto trailer), and the big Anker one Will Prowse recommended was 60 pounds. I found their "gen 2" Anker Solix C1000 which was only 25 pounds, and was on a huge sale lasting the next 4 days. I got it with a 100W solar panel (plug and play, no separate solar charger etc), and I could use it in my Jeep plus power other things inside the C-Dory without going through the trouble of adding an inverter (it can even handle a small microwave). I can charge it via cigarette lighter plug (capped at 10A though, and my Honda 90 has 30A set aside for charging things, so there was some left on the table), and the 100W panel would fit just about anywhere (22"x24"x2" folded; 44" x 24" x 1" unfolded) and get me a decent trickle charge without being obnoxiously big and unwieldy-- both for boat things and truck things. Panel is IP67 waterproof (just mind the plugs) and for $60 I got a water resistant bag for the unit itself, unsure I'll use it except on wet grass or something, but I figured whatever get the bag.
I read many (+) posts on here about how disappointing these solar generators are, and how the new guys are always showing up to events excited and leaving disappointed-- so my expectations are already fully set. But realistically, I only need to make it Friday night through Sunday morning, completely independent of the house battery for all boat power (this is just for refrigeration and charging a phone, basically), and if I want to go further, just use the fridge as freezer only (I made sure to get a single basin either/or; no dual compartments) and use the other non-powered cooler w/ ice bottles for the first couple days. This thing charges in like an hour, too, if I wanted to stop at a marina and top up. Plus, at 25 pounds, I can move it wherever, and I don't need to wire the bed of my truck right away (came with no outlet there; I can always run the DC cord through the slider and into the cab, but one thing at a time-- i'd likely wire the bed, but too much going on).
And, I can use it for tools and whatever else around the property, without lugging extension cords, and in a power outage can plug my refrigerator into it for a few hours if need be. It can take up to 600W solar power, but right now I'm just looking for a trickle charge while away from home. Eventually I'll make a proper system at my house.
So, if anyone wants some portable power, even if not related to a boat in any way, there's a great sale going on
I do recognize this wouldn't really work if you have galley cabinets with anything in them. I can add this and the cooler under there, so it works as a mechanical room of sorts.
Here's my order confirmation, and the links to what I got (absolutely on affiliation, just sharing):
Ankler Solix C1000 Gen 2 (distinct from Gen 1) with 100W solar panel, $599)
Link for the panel for more information:
Anker SOLIX PS100 Portable Solar Panel (100W)
Up to 23% Conversion Efficiency: Charge 1.5× faster with highly efficient monocrystalline cells and a powerful surface that traps sunlight. 4 Set Angles fo
www.ankersolix.com
Bag (was on sale for $59 as an add-on vs $99 standalone):
Anker SOLIX Water-Resistant Bag (For C1000, C800 Plus, C800)
Discover Anker and shop chargers, batteries, hubs, docks, portable power stations, conferencing gear, and more.
www.ankersolix.com