This German translation of the original article in English was very kindly provided by Burkhard Hermes in October 2021 to facilitate access to the content for German-speaking readers and we are pleased to publish it here. Diese deutsche Übersetzung des englischen Originalartikels wurde uns freundlicherweise von Burkhard Hermes im Oktober 2021 zur Verfügung gestellt. Sie […]

This article is part of a series dealing with building best-in-class lithium battery systems from bare cells, primarily for marine use, but a lot of this material finds relevance for low-voltage off-grid systems as well. Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery banks are quite different from lead-acid batteries and this is most apparent when it comes to […]

Discontinued products still get documentation and support updates when relevant. SeaLITHIUM VRC-100 Advanced Alternator Controller This product was discontinued in 2018 and superseded by the new VRC-200 Charge Reference Controller. Download Product Manual Download Installation Drawings

In this article, we have a look at the Volvo Penta MDI electronic black box while relocating it off the side of a Volvo Penta D2-40B engine in order to protect it from the heat and vibrations. IF YOU OWN A FAILED MDI BOX, PLEASE CONSIDER SENDING US PHOTOS OF THE INSIDE AFTER LIFTING THE […]

In July, I wrote about my experience with a homebrew twin-transducer ultrasonic antifouling system over 3 1/2 years on the aluminium sloop Nordkyn. It didn’t keep the hull clean once the antifouling reached past its prime, but the results were nevertheless very valuable as the system eradicated hard growth like barnacles on the hull, even in the […]

Starting Point I had hauled out the sloop Nordkyn for its less-than-annual bottom paint job. It was November, that year had been long, and so was getting the thin stringy weed clinging to the hull. In this condition, the boat is unusable. I was determined to make the effort last and so I generously sprayed […]

This article is part of a series dealing with building best-in-class lithium battery systems from bare cells, primarily for marine use, but a lot of this material finds relevance for low-voltage off-grid systems as well. This article discusses the protection of lithium battery banks in the context of marine installations. A previous article detailed the design […]

This article is part of a series dealing with building best-in-class lithium battery systems from bare cells, primarily for marine use, but a lot of this material finds relevance for low-voltage off-grid systems as well. Integrating a lithium battery bank on board a vessel introduces a few additional constraints and challenges that don’t exist with lead-acid […]

This article is part of a series dealing with building best-in-class lithium battery systems from bare cells, primarily for marine use, but a lot of this material finds relevance for low-voltage off-grid systems as well. Here, we detail the hands-on process of building a lithium battery bank from individual single prismatic cells. There is more to […]

This article is part of a series dealing with building best-in-class lithium battery systems from bare cells, primarily for marine use, but a lot of this material finds relevance for low-voltage off-grid systems as well. Batteries are about voltage, current and capacity first and foremost. This article discusses the performance characteristics of lithium iron phosphate cells […]