Since the beginning of September we have been sailing through Spain, from Hondarribia on to Zumaia, Bilbao, Santander, Llastres and finally to Gijon. In Gijon we stayed longer than planned, as we noticed during our sailing that our 207 Ah AGM battery bank was slowly giving up the ghost. In addition, we noticed that the existing wiring was too thin, especially after we added some new equipment to the system and the cables were heating up excessively.
In order to continue sailing safely and reliably, we had to use the engine more and more often during the trips to charge the batteries. Shortly before Gijon, the battery bank then failed completely. The last part of the route we had to use both the sails and the engine to run the navigation equipment and have light on board.
In Gijon, we decided to tackle the problem. After careful consideration and comparison, we decided on a 300 Ah lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery from a promising start-up in Bavaria. This battery promised the performance and reliability we needed. In addition to the battery, Hendrik installed new, adequate wiring, a main fuse distribution board and smaller fuse distribution boards, and a battery-to-battery charger. These conversions gave us plenty of power, as lithium batteries offer many advantages. In addition, we installed a new solar panel.
During the reconstruction, we took the opportunity to get to know the city of Gijon better and to gather some wonderful impressions.
