Solar Power

We spent a lot of time researching and discussing the best way of providing power for Casulen II. First it is necessary to understand the limitations that we were working to. The auxiliary engine on Casulen II is a 1964 Seagull century longshaft with a 9” 5 bladed prop, and whilst this provides a brilliant auxiliary engine, it has no charging coil and therefore gives no charge to the battery. The first stage was to go through what equipment we were using and work out how much power this was taking (see table below). This quickly showed us that, without a tillerpilot, there really was no problem, and if we converted all the lights (cabin and navigation) on board to LED, a solar panel could easily cope. Many people have advised that a solar panel would not be ample, but many others have assured us that it would keep the battery topped up without any problems. So far, this year has shown us that the latter is true for Casulen II. As yet we have not fitted a tillerpilot, but, due to Casulen II being so light on the helm, this will probably not be a problem.

Equipment fitted.

Solara Solar panel-34watts

Solara Regulator-60watts

Freedom Marine DC31T 110AH Battery

Many thanks to Barden for all the help and advice.

www.barden-uk.com

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