T-Pain Is On A Boat: Re: [Electric Boats] Next problem: batteries and others.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Re: [Electric Boats] Next problem: batteries and others.

Victor:

I've had flooded batteries on board and also Gel and AGM. Life is better with the Gel and AGM. Back in the diesel days I had three flooded batteries two for the house bank and one for the engine. Maintaining the house bank was easier but, the engine battery was in a bad location under the cockpit and I could never really see the water level. Even when being careful I still ruined a number of shirts and pants from acid spills. If you have a location where your batteries can be maintained and inspected easily flooded should work. But, I really like not have to worry about maintaining the batteries and making sure I had distilled water on board when cruising. Since going electric I now have six batteries on board (four for the 48 volt bank and two gels for the house). IMO That's a lot of flooded cells to maintain and a lot of distilled water to carry. Having the AGM's means one less thing to worry about IMO.

Capt. Mike

http://biankablog.blogspot.com

--- On Tue, 4/27/10, vjmtymo <vjmtymo@yahoo.ca> wrote:

From: vjmtymo <vjmtymo@yahoo.ca>
Subject: [Electric Boats] Next problem: batteries and others.
To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, April 27, 2010, 1:01 AM

I've finally found a good source for drive pulleys, bearings and so on so thanks to all the advice here on this site.
Now to batteries - would flooded work? I have a steel boat and there are some who think this is a bad combination although the batteries would be in a sealed compartment and well vented to outside. Really, how many people here with sailboats have mopped the acid out of their bilges or battery boxes due to flooded cells? I don't recall this being a serious issue 25 years ago when all you could get were flooded deep cycles in your sailboat. Can't say after a spell of rough water I've had to clean up a mess from the batteries. In fact right now I have a fully topped up deep cycle battery keeled over about 15 degrees from vertical and I'm rolling it from side to side and nothing is spilling out. After a minute, still dry on top. I might swing it around the room some but knowing my luck the strap will break and it'll go through the wall. Opinions? Experiences?
What would be the real advantage of AGM's aside from the obvious of little gassing and maintenance, mounting? Prices - ouch! Never liked that little detail about them.
And part 2: I've been recommended an AC drive system for the boat (36ft, steel hull, about 17,500# displ) since the Et-rT motor may not be able to cut it, even at 60v. Man, I'm starting to get that feeling again from when I started building the boat years ago - too many opinions and not enough real experience. Boating is rife with this dilemma, just like hunting and, well, most subjects now that I think of it. I appreciate the caution but can anyone REALLY say I need a lot of power or necessarily AC for this project? Skip the regen issue for now. Again, lay the advice on me and some experiences if you've got them.
Again, appreciate the help.

Victor