Steve: Just be careful about mounting displays at the helm. I found out the hard way with my Xantrex XBM battery whose display was destroyed by it being out in the sun. Thanks to info I got here on the electric boats list from Myles I was able to repair the unit myself at a resonable cost. You can see what I went through in the repair here: I have reinstalled the XBM meter under one of the cockpit hatches where I can still see it when needed but, it is out of the sun and weather the rest of the time. The after market Paktraker remote looks real nice too with all data on one screen. A little overkill for my 48 volt battery needs but, could be real handy with your more extensive battery bank. Capt. Mike
--- On Mon, 1/18/10, Steve Dolan <sdolan@scannersllc.com> wrote:
From: Steve Dolan <sdolan@scannersllc.com>
Subject: RE: [Electric Boats] New member Saying HI!
To: "electricboats@yahoogroups.com" <electricboats@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Monday, January 18, 2010, 3:19 PM
That's it… I'm putting it on order! :o) I had planned on taking the plunge this week and appreciate another positive feed on them. I'll order both the Paktrakr and the Powercheq since the install would be best to do at the same time. Have you seen the "add on" screen for the Paktrakr at http://shop. gpev.us/product. sc?productId= 49&categoryId=1 ? I've talked to the manufacturer about a boat specific unit that would be recess mounted and larger than the one shown on site. I also talked to him about just a software package that might be able to be used with an existing screen such as a GPS or plotter. These would be added on after the Paktrakr small screen (the one that comes with the initial setup) which would be at the helm then an extension to the NAV station for a larger screen display. Though I finally got my Link-10 working somewhat right I find it to small for these old eyes and hard to read in sunlight to make it practical for this application. Everything I've read and can get my hands on says the Powercheq is worth while so I'm going for the gusto! Thanks for the input, Steve in Solomons MD
From: electricboats@ yahoogroups. com [mailto: electricboats@ yahoogroups. com ] On Behalf Of Mike
Sent: Monday, January 18, 2010 10:01 AM
To: electricboats@ yahoogroups. com
Subject: Re: [Electric Boats] New member Saying HI!
I bought a Paktraker as a backup to my Zantrex XBM which had display that failed. It works as advertised and their customer support was top notch and responsive to an issue I had. It's so handy to check the individual battery voltages at a glance without taking out the DVM meter all the time. IMO it's a great unit to have on an electric boat.
From: Steve D <sdolan@scannersllc. com>
Subject: [Electric Boats] New member Saying HI!
To: electricboats@ yahoogroups. com
Date: Monday, January 11, 2010, 12:45 PM
Hi Everyone,
I thought I would introduce myself to the group and give you a little background on my boat. I live in Centreville VA just outside of DC and sail in the Solomons MD area were I keep our boat Electra Glide (EG). She's a 41' Lagoon Catamaran with the Solomons electric drive system. My wife Cindy and I are new to sailing and this is the first boat we have owned so not only are we learning to sail but in addition we are learning about boats in general as well as having a high tech system that nobody seems to know much about. The sailing part has been a blast and the first year on the water has been nothing short of spectacular. We are taking baby steps at this point and haven't gone farther than Norfolk to Annapolis in our adventures but we have a plan and this year we will be doing more overnighters and adventures to expand our knowledge.
As for EG we couldn't be happier with our selection. 3 Cabins, 2 baths and more closets (Cindy's requirement) than we can fill. She sails well and will sail better. All the comforts of home and a view to kill for.
The electrics revolve around 12 12V AGM Northstar batteries that provide 144V at 210Ah to twin Solomons drive motors. Charging is accomplished by 3 means. Shore power, 15KW genset, and Regeneration from the props. We have a 144V to 12V inverter and a 6KW 144V D/C to 120V A/C converter. Charging is accomplished through a 3 step Brusa charger.
Overall the system works well, we motor off the dock and get out into the river to hoist sail, sail the day away and motor back in normally with as much charge as when we left. This is not to say we don't have a few "issues" that need to be addressed but for the most part, for what we use the boat for at this time, the system is great.
My biggest concern at this point is lack of proper monitoring of the system. I don't feel the Link-10 and a Voltage gauge is sufficient to protect the batteries or the fact that the genset is totally manual requiring monitoring to protect from over charging. To this end I am exploring both the PakTrakr and PowerCheq systems to monitor and balance the battery system and would love to hear opinions of these 2 options. The genset would require replacement at a huge cost at this time so I can live with the distraction and "manual" monitoring until the kitty is replenished. I've had a few instances where the genset wouldn't provide charging for some reason, I believe it's do to overdriving the motors and a low battery state but I haven't been able to create this condition at the end of the 09 season hopefully do to a better educated owner not doing something dumb. The other major issue is lack of wiring diagrams which is one of my winter projects and to that end I've started producing a detailed set of plans in CAD of what I got and cleaning up the wiring so it's better organized and labeled. One other thing I discovered was that the Genset battery was also one of the 3 house batteries and not dedicated. Something I will correct this spring by adding another battery at the genset instead of off the House set which is 20' away from the Genset and causing the Nav equipment to momentarily shut down do to a voltage drop on startup.
Well in a nutshell I'm learning and hope this site can give me some help to improve and expand my knowledge on Electric Drive Systems as well as hopefully I can return the favor. If you're down in Solomons MD at any time stop on by.
Thanks,
Steve in Solomons Island MD |
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