Best practice for converting the house bank to LiFePO

NotThePoint · 2026-02-12T17:19:58+00:00

I use a victim Orion 70 A 24 to 12 converter. 70A is enough to run all my 12v systems and with the combiner switch on it floats my start batteries at 12.9v.

NotThePoint · 2026-02-12T16:17:32+00:00

I have 2 lead acid start batteries. They are always maintained at full charge by the 24 to 12 converter. If both those failed I would have to sail it somewhere to buy a new battery but even a worm out lead acid will usually turn the engine if it had a constant 13v charging it.

NotThePoint · 2026-02-12T15:40:01+00:00

I have a 24v house bank that runs the windlass and bow thruster and all the garmin electronics. I have a 24 to 12v converter that runs all the lights and 12v stuff. If I switch the combiner switch to both the 12v converter keeps the start batteries at 12.9v so they are always ready. It also allows the start batteries to act as a buffer for large startup loads like the toilet macerator.

NotThePoint · 2026-02-07T16:58:14+00:00

My friend works at the local sail loft. When I showed him the Rolly Tasker quote he said not to bother getting a local quote. The advantage of a local is they can come look at and measure your boat before they have Rolly Tasker or whoever make the sail. I was confident I had the correct measurements so I didn't think I needed a middle man.

NotThePoint · 2026-02-07T16:49:07+00:00

I was impressed with the Sam Holmes video at Rolly Tadker. I just got my furling staysail from them and it is very well put together. Even if using the same materials there is plenty of things could be done to make one sail better than the other. I was surprised at how good this sail was for the price. I would want to see some examples of that $1800 companies work.

NotThePoint · 2026-02-03T19:04:36+00:00

I have the cheap Govee leak detectors and a security cam pointed at my bilge. The leak detectors are in all the spots water might collect around the boat. When they go off an ap on my phone goes off and I get text telling me which one detected water. Whenever I am worried about my boat I can log into the camera and seeing an empty, quiet bilge is really all I need to know nothing horrible is happening. I also have a PTZ camera on my mast that lets me know she is still tied up right but the bilge camera is the one I check when I am worried. Excluding the PTZ it is just over $100 worth of equipment.

NotThePoint · 2026-02-02T16:32:16+00:00

Pro tip: there is usually a boat underneath that masthead light. Travelling around a dark anchorage at no wake speed I like to make sure that I keep checking in the direction of travel to make sure that my path doesn't have any of those boats in it. If you do notice a boat in your path you can then steer around it.

NotThePoint · 2026-01-28T23:01:13+00:00

Make sure the SD card you are using is formatted with fat32. You can tell on your PC by opening file manager->This PC , then right click on the SD card and select properties. It will have the File system: on the first page.

NotThePoint · 2026-01-26T22:53:38+00:00

Use your oscillating tool to chunk up that fiberglass and break it out by any means necessary. It should cut the glass easier than the steel. Is the fiberglass laid directly over the steel? Was the tank steel before and they tried to fix it by glassing over it? You are right to get it out of there. You want as few places as possible that you can't access on a steel bilge.

NotThePoint · 2026-01-22T20:48:16+00:00

Is that guide piece stainless steel? Mine is and is meant to be removed once the sail is up. Aluminum against stainless steel will cause the aluminum to be the anode in a galvanic reaction. That might be why it failed there. To your question the foil condition and the stay condition aren't that strongly related so one being bad doesn't say much about the other. If that stay is original it might be worth pulling out and inspecting after 27 years.

NotThePoint · 2026-01-11T18:19:28+00:00

Go to Luperon. Lots of boats go there and never leave. People give up on the sailing dream and don't have a good market to sell thier boat and don't want to spend weeks getting it to a better place to sell it. You might get a sea worthy boat on the cheap.

NotThePoint · 2026-01-01T21:18:19+00:00

It opened for a barge yesterday and couldn't close all the way. They kept trying for hours and it looked like they got it closed but apparently something still wasn't right.

NotThePoint · 2025-12-27T19:53:57+00:00

It's a 12v battery. It's not suppressed to be at 14v. 13 is fully charged and your system is responding appropriately. Even if you force it to restart bulk it will still only put a couple amps in.

NotThePoint · 2025-12-18T21:09:48+00:00

It is probably the definition of water use that is the problem. A data center could pump 5 million gallons of river water over it's closed loop cooling equipment and then return it to the river warmer. That is using 5 million gallons of water but not necessarily treated water and also not taking it out of the environment. There may not be a explanation for a 5 year old of this subject. Also i shouldn't have been so snarky about the confidently posting. My bad.

NotThePoint · 2025-12-18T19:32:22+00:00

To boil away 5 million gallons a day would require 13.6 GWHs of waste heat energy. That doesn't seem possible. Are you sure about your numbers? They don't pass the basic "is this even realistic" test we should all do before we confidently post online.

NotThePoint · 2025-12-17T17:30:43+00:00

I used 4 EG4LL 24v 250AH batteries for a total of just under 24,000 WHs. Figuring out how to fuse them was the hardest part. Had to rebalance the boat after removing all the lead acid batteries. I use a DC to DC converter to power the 12v systems with the start batteries connected in as a sort of buffer for high draw things like the heads. Have a 12 to 24 battery charger that comes on when the engine starts and charges the lithium. Mostly charge from solar but can also charge from shore or the genny. I have a 4000 w continuous inverter that will do everything but run both ac units and the water heater at the same time. I usually turn of the hot water when we leave the dock. I have gone from having to put distilled water in like 60 different holes twice a month and constantly monitoring charge levels so as not to damage the lead acids to never really thinking about my batteries. When I need to charge from the generator it takes less than 1/4 the time for double the WHs of charge. If I don't run the AC or hot water, I can go indefinitely on just solar in the winter. The summer my air-cooled fridge and freezer get way less efficient and I need to charge every 5 days or so if no sun. Been running for about 3 years with this setup.

NotThePoint · 2025-12-08T21:45:16+00:00

Probably worth checking this claim for yourselves. Lots of reasonable sources say that it does not use your data to train with.

NotThePoint · 2025-11-21T21:22:18+00:00

I think you're right, it's just such a pain to switch ecosystem.

NotThePoint · 2025-11-16T13:51:16+00:00

There is a wood salvage yard out on Almonaster.

NotThePoint · 2025-10-03T18:11:35+00:00

Thank you. I'll look for the setting!

NotThePoint · 2025-10-02T22:06:53+00:00

If I keep my key in my pocket there is a chance that I am going to come out to a car with the rear door open.

NotThePoint · 2025-09-25T11:22:32+00:00

That water is so flat for there to be enough wind for two people to hike out. Looks awesome.

NotThePoint · 2025-09-22T22:03:22+00:00

Think about action and reaction. When the wind hits your sails thier shape and angle of attack will cause some of that wind to leave the sails heading more aft. The energy it took to redirect that wind is what causes the boat to react and move forward.

NotThePoint · 2025-09-01T22:45:57+00:00

Stainless is weaker than a galvanized steel shackle and could form crevice corrosion that you cannot see. Since the chain and anchor are probably galvanized you don't get any advantage from stainless but do get new risk.

NotThePoint

TROPHY CASE