To Electric or not to Electric that is the question/
- Thread starter Udi
- Start date
Is it for a dinghy? If so, how long, what does it weigh, how much weight do you carry, what distance do you want to travel and how fast?
If it is for your dinghy, budget is not a constraint and you are not interested in top end speed the reasons for an electric outboard motor are: low cost to operate and maintain, mitigates water pollurion risk, no combustion fumes to breath, easy to start, lightweight, waterproof, no gasoline container, no carbureter, no oil, ultra quiet - does not scare fish away, solar-chargeable can provide infinite run time, zero maintenance, reasonable range and/or charge interval
You might find these articles interesting: Electric vs. Gas Outboard Motors: Which Is Better? | Boater Pal and Electric vs. Gas Boat Motor, Which One Should You Choose in 2020 (electricboatingtips.com)
If it is for your dinghy, budget is not a constraint and you are not interested in top end speed the reasons for an electric outboard motor are: low cost to operate and maintain, mitigates water pollurion risk, no combustion fumes to breath, easy to start, lightweight, waterproof, no gasoline container, no carbureter, no oil, ultra quiet - does not scare fish away, solar-chargeable can provide infinite run time, zero maintenance, reasonable range and/or charge interval
You might find these articles interesting: Electric vs. Gas Outboard Motors: Which Is Better? | Boater Pal and Electric vs. Gas Boat Motor, Which One Should You Choose in 2020 (electricboatingtips.com)
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The friends who have gotten electric outboard went back to gas.
We cruise with our club and many other boaters and usually the one with electric outboard need help from
ones with gas.
Re Charging and how far you can go with out running out of charge if you go to marina every night and can recharge than maybe will work out.
I use good clean gas and sea foam and so far all good
We cruise with our club and many other boaters and usually the one with electric outboard need help from
ones with gas.
Re Charging and how far you can go with out running out of charge if you go to marina every night and can recharge than maybe will work out.
I use good clean gas and sea foam and so far all good
I think electric outboards are just starting to get to a state of development where you'd want to use them on a sailboat. You probably really will want to have regeneration (or "hydrogeneration," as some manufacturers are calling it), which is only available on some motors, as of yet. There are also other desirable features (such as intelligent motor-sailing) that will likely become standard on e-sailboat motor controllers, eventually, but that don't exist on any outboards yet (so far as I know).
I recently watched some very interesting videos by a guy who has a company that makes drive systems for electric bicycles and is converting a bicycle hub motor to a sailboat drive. Not that this is what you want to do, most likely, but his explanation of the conversion process helped me to better understand the benefits of electric drive for sailboats. (FWIW, I was formerly engineering testing manager for an electric car company, so I'm not completely ignorant about electric motors and drives. But, even so, I didn't appreciate some of their advantages when applied to a sailboat until I saw these videos.)
I recently watched some very interesting videos by a guy who has a company that makes drive systems for electric bicycles and is converting a bicycle hub motor to a sailboat drive. Not that this is what you want to do, most likely, but his explanation of the conversion process helped me to better understand the benefits of electric drive for sailboats. (FWIW, I was formerly engineering testing manager for an electric car company, so I'm not completely ignorant about electric motors and drives. But, even so, I didn't appreciate some of their advantages when applied to a sailboat until I saw these videos.)
Interesting that marine electric motor companies are using the terms regereration............which means to restore and is widely used in biology, theology, chemical and petrochemical processing, oil refining and electronics industries AND hydrogeneration...........which means react with molecular hydrogen and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a catalyst and is uded in chemical and petrochemical processing and oil refining industries. Torqeedo, ePropulsion and Seadrive are using them interchangeably to describe a "feature" that provides the ability for sailboats to recover energy from a free-wheeling propeller and re-charge its own battery when under wind power as discussed in the articles below. Unfortuneately not applicable for small outboard motors used on a dinghy unless it is a sailing dinghy and you have space for the charger.
Propulsion adds hydrogeneration, 48V batteries to all models - Plugboats
Electric outboard motors: How new tech is weaning boat owners off petrol (pbo.co.uk)
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I'm used to gas powered outboard and I already own 2 gasoline powered outboards; why would I consider changing to electric and having to learn new operating and maintenance protocols. Not to mention the cost of the purchase for motor, battery and charger. The electric motors I have seen lack the power to buck a strong current or large waves and take too long to recharge. Of course it depends on how are you going to use the dink.
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From what I've seen, hydrogeneration is the more common term being used with marine outboard electric drives. But regeneration is the common term used in electric cars, trucks, motorcycles, and bicycles. I think it comes by analogy from other engineering terms, such as reheat, for systems or methods that recover energy that would otherwise be lost from the system.
My 2 cents .........as a chemical engineer hydrogenation in marine electric motor applications is misapplied.
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That's great for continuous use, Dave. But feeding the squirrels when you don't need the thrust would be inefficient. You'd also have a waste management problem.
I *loved* my Torqeedo travel electric outboard on my 15’ West Wight Potter. Reliable, easy to deploy, little maintenance… oh and no gas, fumes, spark plugs, etc, etc. Never looked back after I converted.
Thanks.
with full charge, what will be its endurance on a dingy with 2 persons onboard. ?
I also have a Torqeedo with a long range battery (915 Wh) for my dinghy and primarily use it to travel to shore or adjacent marinas so its works for my purpose..
A Torqeedo 1003C with a 915Wh battery reported has a range of 18 nautical miles (33 km) at a speed of 3 knots (5.5 km/h). Torqeedo boosts range with new Travel 1003 C You may be able to connect Torqeedo's solar panel and extend that range.
Depends on how fast you go. Full throttle? Guessing 45 mins. 1/2 throttle? Prob 3-4 hours. 1/4 throttle and you can go much longer - longer than you could stay awake. I had the 915 wh battery and also bought a foldable 120W solar panel and was able to extend the battery for overnight camping. With the sail and solar panel it was a great setup.
This solar panel worked well with my Torqueedo. I did tons of research ahead of buying the panel to make sure it was compatible
TISHI HERY 100W Portable Solar Panel Foldable with 4 Outputs Type-C/QC3.0/DC/USB Compatible with Most Portable Solar Generators Power Stations/Phones/Laptops/Tablet for Travel/Camping/RV/Hiking Amazon.com : TISHI HERY 100W Portable Solar Panel Foldable with 4 Outputs Type-C/QC3.0/DC/USB Compatible with Most Portable Solar Generators Power Stations/Phones/Laptops/Tablet for Travel/Camping/RV/Hiking : Patio, Lawn & Garden
TISHI HERY 100W Portable Solar Panel Foldable with 4 Outputs Type-C/QC3.0/DC/USB Compatible with Most Portable Solar Generators Power Stations/Phones/Laptops/Tablet for Travel/Camping/RV/Hiking Amazon.com : TISHI HERY 100W Portable Solar Panel Foldable with 4 Outputs Type-C/QC3.0/DC/USB Compatible with Most Portable Solar Generators Power Stations/Phones/Laptops/Tablet for Travel/Camping/RV/Hiking : Patio, Lawn & Garden