Mac 26S standard battery and solar set-up info

[nico base]

Hello all,

I am looking for what the standard battery type and Ah would be for the mac 26S?
This because I plan to buy one that has no battery.

And what is sugested as solar set up with what battery for also using a 45-50L compressor cooler that should max. be using +-25Ah / day.

My idea was installing a 150Ah lifePo4 battery with a 200 watt tiltable solarpanel on the stern and a MPPT 30A solar charger controller.
Would this be enough to cover the basic needs like: cooler, depth finder, wind meter, speed meter, nav / anchor / cabin lights, charging 2 phones, charging laptop once in a while?

And maybe ideas / foto's of some real time Mac 26S solar installations would be very great to see?

Thanks very much and kind regards,

Nico

[Russ]

What you propose sounds reasonable.

I'm running with 2 lead acid deep cycle (~110AH) batteries. One is dedicated start and the other house. They combine when charging from the motor. That's not possible with Lifepo4 batteries. My understanding is they need to be charged smarter. I've yet to dive into this technology, however solar controllers seem to be capable of handling it fine.

I have 120w of solar which drives my electronics and cooler for a weekend. I will also run the motor during to supplement charging. 200w seems combined with decent lithium storage sounds ideal.

Sumner has the holy grail of 26S mods including much solar. I suggest you explore his site for ideas. He ran his boat for weeks off grid.
https://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumne ... index.html

[Be Free]

Welcome aboard!

On average, I'd estimate that with a 200W panel where you live you have between 50Ah and 70Ah of charging capacity in the solar cells. It's going to come down to what is turned on and for how long.

I've seen older laptops that could easily use 70Ah to stay charged and newer ones that use significantly less. If you still have incandescent bulbs, each is pulling about 1.5A. How long and how many will you have on? An incandescent anchor light is about the same. That's 18Ah overnight. A cell phone charger will use between 1A and 2.2A while it is charging. As a rule, instruments don't pull much unless they have a screen.

Even though you have a 30A solar controller, it only has 200W to work with. At 100% efficiency, 200W at 14.4V (the charge voltage of most "12V" lithium batteries) you will get 200/14.4=13.9A.

From what you've described, I think you will be fine. If you are planning on staying out for weeks at a time, I might revise that opinion.

Good luck and congratulations on your new boat!

[Russ]

To amplify BeFree's comments.

Replace all incandescent bulbs with LEDs. That makes a HUGE difference. Also, I learned LED strip lighthing is not efficient and loses much power from their resistors.

It's all about what power consumption you are planning. Do the math. Your cooler (compressor-based I assume) will still be the biggest consumer of 12vdc.

Side note: Your 12v compressor based fridge will need a good supply line. Mine was struggling when I ran 12-gauge wire more than 12 feet from the battery.