Sunday, January 22, 2017

Apollo 13 sequel (part 1)

We have been a bit challenged since my "fuel discovery" on day #3(?) with how to conserve fuel and still keep essential equipment powered on. For us, essential equipment is, in order, electronic navigation, autopilot, weather computer, sat phone, refrigeration, fresh water for cooking & washing (we have plenty of water for drinking in reserve bottles), other electronics (phones & laptops).
Our biggest power consumer by far is the autopilot at about 15-25 amps each time it corrects our course, but, boy, does it earn its keep! It corrects our course around 20 times per minute so quite a draw. We occasionally hand steer when changing course and sometimes "just because", but 99% of the time it's doing its thing day in and day out. (We also have a second autopilot on board in case this one fails).
Refrigeration is our second biggest consumer. We've discussed eating what remains in the freezer, which is a separate unit from the refrigerator, to cut back on that power draw. That draw is about 15amps when it's running but this is more sporadic. Of course, each time we open the door adds to power consumption.

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