Your generator needs an "identity affirming surgery" ;-) Fully agree with you on the "myth" of zero emissions electric lifestyle on a boat

@rickkwitkoski1976

2 ай бұрын

Emissions... First, you need OLD! NO ELECTRONICS! Engines. Then a biodiesel system to turn any vegetable oil into fuel. That is about as carbon neutral as you are going to get. You will still need about 20% petroleum diesel to mix with the biodiesel though.

Thomas, your generator having an identity crisis is golden! I'll remember and laugh with you far beyond this video. You are spot on with your excellent content. I appreciate and applaud your honesty and fearlessness to step on toes. Stay firm in your beliefs and be free. Eat your food while it is still hot. Reality beats opinions. 💓

@SailingwithThomas

2 ай бұрын

Thank you so much 🙏🏻 I’m happy you enjoyed and even understood my humor. Dangerous play nowadays as many people are just as hyper sensitive as my generator getting offended for nothing.😅 All the best and thank you for being here

@kj5905

2 ай бұрын

Thin skinned people have too much to worry about lol

Thats crazy power! I cruised for 2 years with a 120amp battery and a 15watt solar panel.....and no engine. I can see being a youtuber is the problem! Fischer=Panda are known as troublesome in the industry. Personally, i think if you require a seprate diesel generator, your life is more complicated than it needs to be....... but i have always been a bottom feeder.

I’m less than five minutes in and I’m stopping to comment; I appreciate your humor! Be free!

Hello Thomas! I have never laughed so much at a generator or a problem! Love your humor and your educational approach, and your nice illustrations 🇸🇪😄😀💕

“Typical you tube storm” 😂😂😂

In those conditions with wind but no sun, wouldn't a wind generator help? Thank you for posting.Must add that those Aussies are really helpful people, thoughtful and generous, who obviously know how to enjoy themselves.

@rickkwitkoski1976

2 ай бұрын

@timlamarre8680 A tiny bit. WGs don't produce much power. Add a current regen system too. But then you need 5kn current, more maintenance, more systems to fail, MORE COST!

Kudos to you for calling out the unpracticality and very real dangers of the "green climate saving sailing scam" for many diehard sailors. Thanks for being honest unlike numerous other sailing channels who are just running ads for this or that product virtue signaling to attract the "bewildered herd" to get more views. Keep on calling it like it is, thanks for the knowledge you're sharing in all your videos!

@laurapitre5797

2 ай бұрын

It's sad watching cruisers fall for the unrealistic b.s. being peddled by some of the green youtubers like UMA etc.

Kubota? Say no more. And a Kubota that wants to transition? A nightmare 😅

Those Fisher Panda generators seem to be one large piece of constant trouble with very poor backup service. Mads on Sail Life has also had nothing but trouble with his Fisher Panda generator which was relatively new when it started giving trouble. The Honda's are quite the opposite - they just go forever, very reliable although as you say they use petrol. 🤗

@rickkwitkoski1976

2 ай бұрын

@liamwhelan57 Yes. I immediately thought of Mads too. FPs seem to be junk. Abd then... Dan on Uma bought a HONDA when they sailed to Svalbard and Iceland. Neither their solar nor their regen was going to keep up with their "all electric" boat and he knew it. Did Uma dump their propane for induction? I don't remember. Brian did on Delos. With their new boat though, solar and storage is going to be maxed. Energy density of all of that still isn't equal to petroleum fuels.

You are the number Sailing channel. Please don’t change your no BS approach.

I like very much like your candid view on electric power shortages & BMS issues and your humor of course. Thanks for your effort SV Skoiern IV

Enjoyed the content - thank you. Have been sailing through SE Asia for past 2 years (Our 5th cruise into the region over the past 25 years). Our power demands have 'grown' substantially over the years despite fitting LED everywhere and other energy saving devices etc. Recently we upgraded to 545w of solar and 560amp/hrs of lithium. On a bright sunny summer day we almost break even (3300 watts) to cover our energy needs. To supplement our solar, we have a Honda 2 KVA petrol portable, an engine driven 5KVA generator & a Balmar 120amp alternator fitted to the engine. The engine is a 65HP Perkins with technology that is about 50 years old and has absolutely no electronics in it's control systems. The same modern-day engine (now made under licence by CAT) requires a factory trained technician complete with proprietary black box computer to fault find. Not idle for remote cruising In my early career I was a submarine engineer on a diesel electric submarine, so understand and appreciate the technology for electric drive. The problem then and now (electric driven submarines have been around for about 130 years), is having to recharge the power. In our submarine at idle the power would last 2 or 3 days. At full speed - 20 minutes. Its a simple equation if you need 65HP to drive your boat, you need this in either as a diesel or as an electric motor, with a similar sized generator to replace the power being used. As I said enjoyed the content. Too many folk are drinking the Green cool aid without real world experience.

Like your show and the honest way your videos are made If it is BS you say so Plus your boat is amazing

Bukh a/s fra Danmark er store på dieselmotorer, velrenommert fabrikat fra 1899 og med forhandlere over hele verden,

Good video on solar energy technology, thank you for sharing

I have 1000 watts of solar and 1300 amp hours 12v lipo ( 15.6 kwh) . I run the largest 12v fridge I could get and a 24/7 Pi 400 / icom 7300 and tuner 24/7. at this point no inverters. Oh, and I run a vhf system also. The Lipo's gulp up (store) solar power during short gaps in the storms when the sun is up, and even give me 60 watts in complete cloud cover (it helps if its an extended storm) . My Renogy can make power from almost nothing. Love my system. I'm expanding a little more soon but I think I'll be fine. Incidentally, a modern wind generator will "feather" during extra high winds and not damage itself. That technology has been around for 30 years and is now highly developed. I run my own DIY Lipo batteries with my own BMS systems and can even measure right down to the cell. If you have a bad BMS, the cells will be fine for quite a while and then they will go out of balance. From what you have said, you sound like you have a bad BMS. One bad BMS will increase the voltage to all the batteries. Increasing the voltage to the other batteries by the one out of balance will make ALL of the batteries stop charging !

Thomas you need to cut back on the fake taxi streaming at night..lol 😆

Great sailing channel buddy. Thank you.

Boats should have a spot for a Honda portable generator. Those have to be wildly more reliable. Anything integrated into a boat will be such low production it will have bugs. Nobody really thinks you can go full electric. Even the giant electric Silent boats know you need a diesel generator, because you do. No matter how advanced solar, wind and batteries get, even if they were 100% perfect, power needs are too variable. If you hit the point where you need more power, you need fuel. Newer batteries will help if they double in power density, but still wont solve the problem.

We have over 1700 watts of solar on our catamaran which is almost always enough for day to day living but we use our Honda 2000 to make water. Here in Thailand electric propulsion is a serious pipe dream of of solar! Thanks for being one of the only channels to tell the truth! We checked in there during the dry season a couple years ago and it was done by lunch time.

@SailingwithThomas

2 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for your kind words and for confirming my statement. A real and experienced sailor will see the difference between a “KZread” storm, and the real deal. Telling the truth comes with a cost, and most likely not the fastest way growing a channel. However I prefer to be busted in telling the truth rather than the opposite no matter how unpopular it can be. Being on a remote rural place is different from anything else. You can’t just go and buy a new this or that. Also things cost money, and if I can contribute to future sailors avoiding my mistakes and even better, not base their planning on misleading information from KZread I have a greater success than high numbers in viewers and subscribers. Who knows we might share anchorage in the near future. Don’t be a stranger if you see BE FREE, please come over and say hi 🍻

@rickkwitkoski1976

2 ай бұрын

@@SailingwithThomas Can you critique the Winns and their new hybrid cat then? Granted, they have a MUCH larger channel than you do, so also have way more money.

@SailingwithThomas

2 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for watching. I’m trying to stay away from commenting other channels, also I don’t have the blueprint. I once bought a camera due to amazing review on KZread. Not the best investment I have made. This thought me a lesson showing me the responsibilities we who upload videos have. Some might actually believe in what we are saying or showing. So it’s better to stay with the truth. Not always the easy path to follow, yet in the long run it might pay off. Thank you for being here

Sailing with Thomas: always new adventures! (Even when the rats came swimming towards the boat :-)

With you all the way Thomas!!🥰👍😎🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Hi Thomas! Loved this. We live onboard our new to us Seawind 1160 catamaran. We have 1400 watts solar on a massive arch servicing 5 x 200 ah Lithium batteries. We lived on a mooring ball for 5 mths in Sydney with no power dramas. Until this week when we have had just a week of overcast weather and it slowly but surly wound us down. I have a Yamaha 2kv generator that got some use for sure! Luckily we have outboards so plenty of fuel for the generator! Heading to Indonesia in July so we shall see! Sun is out today so my batteries up to 75% already!

Give your gen a name and it will feel better 😂 ❤ from 🇨🇦 BC

@nooneanybodyknows7912

2 ай бұрын

It would need to be a unisex name. 😅😂

I build comms huts and trailers for mine sites. Best thing I ever did was get rid of gen-sets and going 100% solar. Here is the deal, not quite functional for boats yet, but here is the through process to aim for. A grey day which is full cloud but not dark, will deliver about 30% from your solar, and you get about 8 hours per day of charging. If you budget solar for 10x your daily consumption, then you need to budget battery to get through the consecutive dark days. This varies depending on the location. One feature about batteries is their life decreases exponentially with the depth of discharge, so it is effective to put as much battery as possible into the array. Then if you split the battery into two or more arrays, then you can prioritise one array as critical and the other for comfort. The comfort array will have a shorter life span so you can run it close to death, instead of replacing the array at half-life. Then the comfort array is replaced the priority is swapped so the newer array becomes the priority. The battery life on my comms huts has a design life of 20 years, of which I plan to get 10. I have some trailers out there with 12 years on the batteries. While this is not possible on a boat given the real-estate limitation for solar and battery weight considerations, as power density increases in both and prices come down, this is what to aim for.

Welcome to Indonesia. Immigration taking a long time is normal, this can have 2 causes. First: they're just taking it slow and phoning back/forth to their head office to make sure they do it right, second: the first, but now also trying to see if you get a little... pressured for time so they can put the "well if you pay us X amount it can be done sooner" game on. Patience, padawan - it'll work out. Nice power bank by the way, and throw that Fisher-Panda overboard. Or heck, find a local that wants it and get yourself something better.

A great video like always. That motor sailer looked very impressive, so much space. I'd love to see the engine room on that boat. Cheers

On another note - the hard-dodger is a very good idea. Have been thinking about the same for my Bavaria 39 Cruiser. Should be possible to design something functional and "good-looking". I want one too - even though I sail in Oslofjorden and not on the 7 seas 🙂 I really enjoy your videos!

What Ibtake from another great video is a good person meets good people, and all are richer for it, fair winds.

Hope the immigration issue works out

Really good one👌we love the truth 🏅👍😊

Something odd there. We have lived in SE Asia for the last 5 years. 440 watts of solar power gives us about 2kwh on average every day. We live just fine with a fridge, freezer, and watermaker. It's only once in a blue moon that we need to run a generator, and that's with non lithium batteries. Perhaps check the efficiency of your insulation on your fridge n freezer?

Crazy! Am I right you had to wait 10 days to get the information they couldn’t make a proper check in?

@SailingwithThomas

2 ай бұрын

I had to wait 23 days for the immigration. They demand a visit onboard just as health and customs. I totally don’t understand the value of this even after 24 hours. Anyway you never want to argue. On the other side the weather was so bad it would not made much of a difference end of the day

Hmm I haven't watched your video yet Thomas, but i think you might be experiencing the same "issue" I have with my bank account.... if too little is coming in and too much is going out ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 😂😂😂😂 Best regards from Jarle. I'll watch the video tonight 👍

@SailingwithThomas

2 ай бұрын

Ha ha😆 Yea the principles are the same. I hope sharing the truth makes planning more realistic for those wanting to sail long distances. It’s a different ballgame than holiday sailing. All the best ⛵️

Hi Thomas, starlink is an absolute power gremlin, they suck power so much.

CIGS solar panels. Expensive but an amazing solar solution. HoboTech KZreadr shot a CIGS solar panel with a couple of rounds from a revolver; and it continued working!. Shading a CIGS panel results in a marginal drop ln power, whereas a regular panel drops to zero. Especially useful when adjacent to the mainsail. Doubt it will solve completely your power needs but reckon it will help a lot. Just a thought. My day is better when Thomas uploads a new video. Thanks.

That's the reality of cruising outside of the common areas, and what makes it worth the trouble of taking the path less traveled. I agree with your experience of generating electricity. Many people are reporting that the real world use is far less than what the specifications of their system indicate over time. If only Honda made a small diesel generator, eh?

Amazing video ❤

Thank you Thomas for another great video! How great to meet other sailors so hospitable.

From my understanding the rule of thumb is you need 3 times solar panel volts to battery storage amps

Excellent content, heck yeah subscribe! Thanks Thomas.

Your show is great . All my life, I Have lived near the ocean Now I am in G.J. Colorado and I don't like it I am to old now. ALL the sailing on you tube makes me feel good THANK YOU Tim

Either add a high power alternator to your existing main engine which are available up to 10,000 Watts or replace the Fisher Panda with a mechanical diesel generator.easy peasy lemon 🍋 squeezy.

"sundowner"= Come over to get drunk with us.

Ah Indo! Love it or hate it. You can't beat it.

On board inspections- I feel violated for you!!!

@SailingwithThomas

2 ай бұрын

It’s almost unreal to waste so much time! At least I could make videos. Thank you so much for watching 🙏🏻

It might help you change your batteries to run the connections to a bus bar instead of chaining them together. All of the leads should be the same length to reduce resistance differences. Isn’t it amazing how reliable a honda generator is compared to a panda even though a gas engine is more complicated than a diesel.

the cliffhanger ! ;)

Why anybody would even use a generator with the amazing high power alternators that are available nowadays is beyond me. It's easy to get one or two additional alternators in Mount them to your boat's main engine and they will at least equal if not far exceed the output of the generator and charge your batteries faster thus maintaining an efficiency of fuel use

thank you

@SailingwithThomas

2 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for watching 🙏🏻

With a new computer, this chanel came up when i looked at youtube. I wish i had discowered it before, but at least now i have started watcing from the beginning. And since i am quite interested in solar systems, having buildt a system at one of our off-grid mountain cabins, 250km north of Oslo, that alowes me to charge our electric car 3 hours a day on a sunny day, i find this interesting. To me it seems like you have way to smal solar panels. 3x245wats is not that much. It looks like it is room for one more panel, besides the other 3 and if you replaced them with bigger panels they might also be longer, giving you even more solar power. At another cabin, i am about to instal a 450 watt panel it is, 103x208cm and 24kg. Imagine 4 of those besides each other, insted of the 3, 245watts you have. But the first thing you should do is to detach the faulty battery at the bottom, it drains the system.

I'm thinking on Wind Hippie Sailing and she met you in the Carib and you helped her with the motor. She sailed quite a distance as well with a boat that barely makes 5kn without watermaker. Anyway your "BMS" problems is likely a damaged battery cell (LiFePo chemistry). This can be seen on a cell monitor included with the device or by measuring the cell voltage. The cell with the highest voltage is the problem

@SailingwithThomas

2 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for watching and your input here. Yeah Holly is keeping it simple in good and bad. I have no numbers in how many sailors I have helped with drinking water after I left the Caribbean. Many places the drinking water is not healthy or even safe. Some places you would need to carry it for a long way, and no dinghy dock etc. so having clean and safe water onboard is not only a luxury. In my age your kind of done with “camping” and want some facilities that makes you feel more like home. When I was young I sailed on holiday with my 36 footer without engine, no toilet or any fridge. It’s possible but not necessarily something you want as a full time sailor. But Holly is cool doing her own style and things. Love her for that. We are still in touch. All the best 🍻

@rickkwitkoski1976

2 ай бұрын

@RalphKoettlitz Holly got a new engine in NZ. She's doing "ok" and keeps it simple. But she also has generous people helping her out. I like her stuff but that tiny "tramp" boat wouldn't be for me. Same as Huub. He's playing it safe and staying in the Caribbean. But he also has a "tramp" boat. I hope Dani stays with him. But she isn't a spoiled "rich" girl either.

@RalphKoettlitz

2 ай бұрын

@@rickkwitkoski1976 I watched this accident with the motor. It wasn't a fundamental catastrophe for this type of vessel. When I watched a video about Vinson of Antarctica , my mind changed. Such a tramp boat worked even without motor. A modern boat is a race against electronic tech. Simply enjoying the sailing isn't easy.

Have you looked into tossing the panda overboard and 1) installing a diesel fuel tank there; 2) a large 24v (300a) second alternator on the propulsion diesel, and; 3) using dcdc 24-12 to keep the starter battery/windlass 12v batteries happy? The F-P hasn’t been “seaworthy” as an energy source. A large 24v alternator on the propulsion system would allow you to “high idle” in neutral to run as a genset and while under way, the excess power not needed by the propulsion can be tuned with a Wakespeed or Zeus external regulator. More solar is always good but getting the most energy out of each liter of diesel when you need it is freedom

Wow those are tiny solar panels maybe you need some big boy panels

Generator problems aside if you are very deficient in solar. Especially for a boat, your size

KZread storm 😅😅😅😂😂😂

I use a wind X generator with good success.

Water pumps don't last more than 150 hours????? that is insane. All these sensors etc are also the bane of my existence in cars as well, I seriously want my old normally aspirated diesel ute (pick up truck) that I stupidly sold years ago to get a modern version. With it's quater vent in the door windows and manual wind up/down windows, it was simple, rugged and tough as Mike Tyson, it was a beautiful beast and what I'd give to go back to that ute. I'm afraid all these gizmo's nowadays are ruining things, like in your case, a Kubota diesel engine is a great engine, but they probably get a bad name because of the shitty generators using the engine

👍

Hi Tom, in your opinion what is the best way to top up your batteries? Run the engine for an hour or two every day? A decent generator or a second alternator ??

An electric motor would be less troublesome with fewer moving parts. With more solar, wind generator, roller generator, and hydro regen you wouldn't need to suckle at the local diesel come rain or shine. Ditch the carcinogenic petroleum, get induction and heat pump and make life easy. Granted, babying the "reliable" is an hilarious subplot. 😄

@laurapitre5797

2 ай бұрын

How is he supposed to feed the electric motor???😅😅😅

@rickkwitkoski1976

2 ай бұрын

@G11713 All of that COSTS MONEY! And none is as energy dense as petroleum fuels. Fewer moving parts. Sure. But when SOMETHING BREAKS, as it will, you are still screwed. Dan and Kika on Uma went to Svalbard and Iceland on their "all electric". Dan bought a Honda backup genset. Going those places without that would be foolish. He still had the petrol outboard anyway. Let's wait for the verdict from Nikki and Jason Wynn on their brand new hybrid cat!

Go fully electric! Be a MAN! Peter is doing it. He is a real man. He made San Blas speak his name. He is a legend. So be like Peter. You can do it.

@laurapitre5797

2 ай бұрын

He's a legend in his own mind. Sad watching him beg for money to build a boat instead of earning it like normal people.

Your battery bank doesn't match your electricity generation. Wind generator/watt and sea water turbine would allow you far more freedom from diesel. Tusan takk for the videos!

Is a folding ebike too bulky for you to store onboard? I sure would be nice to have to explore islands you visit and to run errands.

❤

does your auxiliary power scheme any wind micro-generation…

Why do you not use a wind vane? Too small for your boat?

What is the make of that couple’s motorsailer?

@SailingwithThomas

2 ай бұрын

I believe it’s custom built, later extended by current owners and even modified a lot. Lots of space inside and out. Interesting yacht in many ways. All the best

When there is in a stupid car 98 kWh why should 17.9 kWh enough to power an ocean going boat?

looks like you need a wind turbine

Serious question -- What has happened to your skin and face? I almost didn't recognize you from a few years ago. Not sure if that is sun damage or what it is but please please see a doctor as that looks painful for sure. Way too many deep wrinkles etc going on there. Gordon Ramsey had something similar but not as bad and he had some of it fixed.

Maybe adding one of Rick's big bad alternators BUT that'll kill your main diesel if you just use it for power I'd suspect.

@SailingwithThomas

2 ай бұрын

Yes I have been discussing this with him. A Balmar 48V alternator would done the job. But a turbocharged engine is not happy running for hours with no load. The takeaway In this video is to see how much solar actually needed only to charge batteries for house batteries when weather is not on your side. I manage fine with my Honda as an emergency solution, but it’s not effective as it consumes lots of petrol. A low tech marine engine with no turbo and electronics is the way to go. Adding a Balmar or two on a dedicated engine. End of the day on a long distanse yacht you will find out that less is more! Keep things as stupid simple as possible. In the Caribbean I had more power than I could use.

@christurbeville7230

2 ай бұрын

I admit Im enamored with regen but you'd HAVE to have a much better genset - surprised you don't mention lightning's ability to kill an entire boat if its mostly electric or hybrid given your experiences. Love your tech episodes I still rewatch the old one where you describe why you chose Be Free in the first place! @@SailingwithThomas

@SailingwithThomas

2 ай бұрын

@christurbeville7230 Im thinking about a follow up on the electric episode. There is many really interesting solutions if you have deep pockets. However end of the day how eco friendly it is could be a very interesting discussion. The most fanatic green solutions are first of all not realistic, secondly if environment is important marketing and misleading information also is to blame giving not the correct picture. 95% of sailors are more eco friendly and leaving smaller footprints going with their old Diesel engine. I have managed to get some data and facts. It’s also a significant difference between what the majority need and could benefit from, versus the very few liveaboards and even fewer long distance sailors. Even within the last group the needs are very different. I know what I would had if money was no topic, and I was either building or buying a brand new yacht. Lots of myths, and sadly also lot’s of miss information. Misinformation repeated becomes truth, and this is something I want to point out. Lightning strikes do happen as I know first hand. But statically the need of sufficient power over time at your hands are greater. It’s lots of happy go lucky sailors with a KZread channel. The danger with this is because they are lucky to still be around, people think this is okay. Crossing oceans without a liferaft is done by some “influencers” and luckily their still alive. Same can be said of imaginary electric sailors. The fact they managed by luck doesn’t mean it’s safe or a good idea. I only try to shine some light on this, even though it’s not gonna make me popular.

@nooneanybodyknows7912

2 ай бұрын

​@@SailingwithThomasYou've earned my vote by telling the TRUTH! I have much respect for you. 💪

@SailingwithThomas

2 ай бұрын

@nooneanybodyknows7912 Thank you so much 🙏🏻

I don't understand. Why don't you replace that crap FP with a Northern Lights Gen, then get a high output alternator on your diesel engine. Then you would not need gas for the FP and if your Northern Lights Gen goes down for some reason, then you can charge while running your diesel.

looked like there was plenty of water falling from the sky, in god's water maker, you just weren't collecting it. it's much easier and cheaper to just reduce your needs, you call that "modest" but that looks like a hell of a lot to me!

The people going all electric and driving electric cars need to measure the cancer causing EMF radiation they're exposing themselves to with an inexpensive meter available on Amazon. Few would drive a Tesla if they understand the risks of EMF.

rip that diesel out and go all electric , its two wires red and black, spare parts , hell you could carry three electric spare motors for the weight of that diesel and its needed fuel n tank weight... with solar and wind power you caint go wrong .. its either windy and dark or sunny and still.. best to invest in both .. 15 grand would set you up and still have monies from selling that diesel power plant to the next person....

@laurapitre5797

2 ай бұрын

Did you even notice he can't produce enough electricity to power his needs even without a useless electric motor??

@tarpanc34

2 ай бұрын

@@laurapitre5797 gotta upgrade to have the fun and benefits.. caint run a house on one 500 watt solar panel..lol there are boats who are doing it with as litle as 10 to 15 grand start up.. and never ever have to buy fuel again.. thats sounds great to me..