Tag Archives: batteries

A New Ticker: Lithium Batteries

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House batteries are the heart of our boat that keep everything running.  Our AGM gel batteries are only 4 years young and probably have another 3-4 more years of life left.  However, we are in NZ and we finally have access to lithium batteries, expertise to install and knowledge of how to re-program C-Zone for the new lithium batteries.

Matt has always known we would switch to lithium batteries; we were just waiting for the right place to purchase them.  I think he started talking about switching to lithium back in 2016, then again considered switching when we replaced all the electronics in Costa Rica after the lightening strike.  But in the end we waited…until now.

We contacted several dealers and settled on Cleagh Limited because Matthew Duckett has a significant amount of experience and expertise with C-Zone and Mastervolt.  We are a Mastervolt boat so for the most part it “should” be a plug and play with the batteries.  However, we have to update C-Zone and all of our electronics which will take a day or two.

Also, the Mastervolt warranty and our insurance both require a licensed electrician to do the install which is where Matthew Duckett comes in.

As a dealer, he was able to secure our Mastervolt MLI 12/6000 at a very reduced price.  We saved hundreds of dollars!!!  So, far loving this guy!

Removal of the AGM Dry Fit Batteries

We currently have (8) Sonnenschein Batteries A512 12V 115A Dryfit 500. They are long-life batteries that are similar to AGM but much better.  They each weigh in at about 42kilos / 93lbs.  Hope to sell these guys to recoup some of our money.

Installing the new Mastervolt 12/6000

The new batteries look like beasts when they arrive, but in actuality they will take up a lot less space and weigh much less than our original batteries.

We are replacing 8 Sonnenschein batteries with 2 Mastervolt lithium batteries.  These are slightly bigger but they weigh considerably less at 49 kilos / 108lbs.  So we are removing 336kilos / 744lbs and adding  98kilos / 216lbs.  This is a weight savings of 238kilos / 524lbs!  That is significant on a boat!  yeah us.

It is an awkward space to be in as you have to work around the “seat holes” upside down.  Both Matt and Matthew were in the hole for the better part of two days.  Matt Mitchell is in red shirt (middle photo) and Matthew is bottom photo.

Testing

 Matthew connects up with Tim who works at Mastervolt and has to review and certify our system.  It took a few tweaks, but after a few hours we were totally configured and up and running.  This is a screen shot of Matthew’s computer as Tim was diagnosing and reviewing our systems.

Completion

Originally Matthew thought it would take 2 weeks to complete the entire job, but then he amended it to 1 week.  As it turned out, it only took 2.5 days because Matt did a lot of prep work in removing the old batteries, reconfiguring the wood slats that hold the new batteries in place and built the strap system that secures the to the floor.

Feeling super excited to see how our power consumption, usage, and recharging improves with these beautiful Mastervolt batteries!

And look how much room we have for storage!

Time to Stay Connected: Starlink

As most of you know, we struggle with internet connectivity especially in the remote places of Fiji and French Polynesia.  Here in New Zealand we have had great access, but we won’t always be in the land of plenty.

Starlink was running a discounted special here in NZ at the end of 2022.  We couldn’t resist since it was almost half the price of what the units were selling for in the U.S.  Matt was like a kid in the candy store when the big gray box arrived.

He ordered the residential unit and will add portability when we leave NZ.  He also ordered the ethernet box which he plans to butcher to make work on 12volt.  

The unit does not draw a huge amount of power, but it is more than we expected.  Luckily our new batteries can handle it!

In an effort to save some money, we downgraded our Iridium Unlimited plan for the next 4 months.  We will most likely reinstate it when we move to Tonga in May just as a back up in case Starlink does not connect while underway.

We have seen really great speeds.  In the first image you can clearly see where we started using Starlink vs the local marina wifi and our Vodafone connection.

Not the prettiest solution for our dish, but it works while we are on the dock.  It has to be free and clear of obstructions and away from our solar panels and radar.  So, for now, here she is.

This could be a game changer for us!  Stay tuned.

Events from this blog occurred in mid-January 2023.  Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events.  We enjoyed the Highland Games in our last blog, did you read about it?

Light It Up Sparky – Alternator Issue

Sugar Shack has four alternators on board, two for each engine.  The small alternator charges the starter battery and the large one charges the house batteries. One of our large, 130 amp Mastervolt alternators has “issues” and it was time to fix it.  Matt had already taken it a part, cleaned the brushes, and tweaked things, but it still wasn’t working.  He suspected it needed new diodes which we did not have on board.  He found a place called “Marlon’s Garage” in Aruba that had good reviews for rebuilding alternators.

 

Matt pulled the big boy out of the engine, placed it in a plastic bag and we hefted it to Marlon’s Garage.  When I say “we” I mean “he” by the way.  We scouted the location earlier so we didn’t have to walk around carrying a 40 lb bag.  The garage was nice, clean, and stocked with a variety of vehicles in 15-20 bays.  All of the employees had really nice embroidered shirts with “Marlon’s Garage” on the back and their names on the front.  Surprising since these are mechanics working around dirty cars and parts wearing these expensive shirts – but good branding!

The garage was filled with lots of treasures.  The owner, a lifelong car enthusiast, had a few Ferrari’s, a porche, couple of corvettes, classic mustang, and old caddy.  We later discovered that he has over 50 cars in total and he is still collecting.

We walked in and they immediately took the alternator in to be tested.  They determined that we needed new diodes and possibly a new rectifier but they could easily do the repair.  They asked us to check back just before 12 to see when we could pick it up.  We left an $80 deposit and went on our way.

We met our friends Dave and Tanya on “Dea Latis” and headed to Price Smart to load up with some groceries.  Half way through our shopping, I realized it was almost 12 so I went outside to try to call. After several failed attempts I went back inside and finished shopping.  Matt kept trying but it was a bad connection.  However, Matt was able to determine that our alternator would be ready before closing.  We returned our fresh groceries to the boat and decided to explore the town while we waited for the repair to be completed.

Around 5p we headed back to Marlon’s Garage to pick up our alternator.  All three diodes were replaced. The shop did not have a rectifier so they actually fabricated a new one for us.  All for the low price of $130.

We loaded her back up into her plastic and headed back toward the dinghy dock.  It was hot, with little to no breeze and we were both exhausted.  A cold beverage would perk us up!  We stopped in on a local bar to regroup.  After we addressed our more pressing needs by cooling down and resting, we realized we were famished.  We left after two rounds and stopped at a Cuban place by the marina.  It was really lovely, with a band, nice ambiance, and super tasty food.  28k steps later, we crashed hard!

Matt installed the rebuilt alternator the next day and was pleasantly surprised to find that it charged at 30-40 amps while the engines were in idle.  The other alternator charges at 10-15 amps at idle.  Then he pushed the engine to 1500 RPM it charged at 100 amps.   Whereas the other one charges at 30-40 amps at 1500 RPM.  Wow, this is amazing!

He was so excited that he took the other 130 amp alternator off and said let’s go have this one checked too.  We huffed back to Marlon’s, had them check it and they said it was fine. They suggested that the regulator might need to be tweaked.  Humf…Matt had checked that it was still not putting out the same amps as the rebuilt one, but it was still charging the house batteries.

The good news is that both large alternators are charging the house batteries.  Yeah.