When we originally replaced the house batteries we put in 8 “Golf Cart 6v” batteries, that are primarily charged by our solar panels.

Today we increased the capacity of our battery bank by 50% by adding 4 additional Golf Cart 6v batteries. These are added into the same bank that is charged by our 6 solar panels.

Since we are rarely plugged in to shore power we wanted to have a battery bank that was large enoughto keep the ice maker running, to allow us to watch a movie after dark, and to still have enough power to run the coffee maker first thing in the morning without starting the generator. With the total of 12 house batteries now, I think we have done it.

With our solar panels (4 of the 6 shown below) we are able to keep the house battery bank topped off while at dock, and with assistance from the generator and solar we are able to keep things charged while underway.

Sunpower 170w solar panels on the pilothouse roof