Bow lights .25 Amps
Running light 1 Amp
Interior lights 2 cabins well lit 4 Amps
Radar and GPS 1 amp standby, 1.2 transmit (ood, this shoud be measured again)
Autopilot standby 0 amps
stereo 0 amps
VHF listen 0 amps
mastlight .01 amps
Spreaders 1 amp
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3 comments:
Your VHF definitely pulls some power on standby. Say, 1 amp.
SSB pulls a few amps on receive and maybe 20-30 amps transmit depending on model and how well it is installed.
Do you have LED nav lights? If not, they should pull 2-3 amps with three lit. Do you have a tri-color masthead?
The autopilot can be a real hog while under way, especially in any kind of seaway.
I am going by the readings on the ammeter, but perhaps the VHF bypasses the panel. I don't think so. The bow lights were very low at .25 amps for both bow and stern, and the running light was 1 amp for just the one mid mast. It doesn't really make sense.
I would suspect the ammeter, but why would it work on one and not the other?
I am probably not going to worry too much about the lights, becasue, as you say, the autopilot will be the hog.
I have had good succcess in turning the gain way, way down, so that the autopilot makes only very minor adjustments. This works great in predictable seas. Even if the boat is yawing around a lot, the autopilt does nothing more than small corrections, and the yawing averages out. If conditions change suddenly the autopilit is easily confused and overwhelmed, so the on watch crew takes over, re-sets teh gain, and give it back to the autopilot. Saves a LOT of energy.
No LED nave lights, but I am looking into them, mostly for reliability's sake.
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