I am looking at three different motors. Obviously I am limited to brushless since I also have a gasoline engine. Would the Mars ME0913 be overkill? The boat displaces 6700 lbs. I have pushed it with a 6HP outboard quite nicely.
I am also looking at the ME0907 and the Mars 3001. Are they essentially the same, in terms of power output?
What does everyone think of Kelly controllers for brushless motors? I figure on going 48V and thinking about the KBH48301 or the KBH72301 for the smaller motors. The 72 would allow me to upgrade the battery bank at a later date. If I go with the bigger motor, I have been recommended the KBH72701 controller. Any comments are welcome.
What I have in mind is keeping the Atomic 4 for now (I will replace it with a westerbeke diesel if the seawater cooling ever does it in) and installing a sprocket around the prop shaft or possibly on the coupling. The electric motor will mount with the shaft facing forward, aft of the Atomic, coupled to the prop shaft with a chain drive, and gearing adjustment will be accomplished by changing the sprocket on the motor if needed. With regen I will be able to charge the batteries with the running engine, or with the prop windmilling under sail power. I might add a wind generator, possibly homebrew. So my general mode of operation will be to motor out of the marina with the electric and the batteries that I recharged from shore power, sail around and use regen to help recover the charge used while maneuvering on the electric, use the electric when mechanical propulsion is needed, run the Atomic 4 if the batteries get low both for propulsion and for regen/recharging, and use electric for docking, etc, recharging from shore power. I will be cutting my fuel consumption to almost zero or maybe even zero for short trips, but still have the gas engine there if I need it, coupled to the shaft where it can turn the prop most efficiently. Howzat sound?
Would I be asking for trouble if I tried using the electric drive for starting the gas engine with the gas engine in gear? I would like to just ditch the 12V alternator too, and just have the 48V bank, maybe tap one battery for the Atomic's ignition coil excitation, or use a dedicated DC-DC converter. Hey, won't even need the 12V for the coil if I ever get a diesel, right?
Back to the big ME0913 motor. Will that work well with a 48V bank? And at low power settings, will it use up the charge significantly faster than the smaller motors running at the same power output? I was thinking that it shouldn't make a whole lot of difference, except I would have that top end power available if I needed it, and maybe I would get longer motor life.
Now here's another question. Okay, say I already have the motor and controller installed. I am at anchor, so can't regenerate power. Cloudy weather means can't even get a decent trickle into the batts. Can I use another similar motor and wind prop as a wind generator, regenerating power with the propulsion controller?
Thanks for reading, and thanks for any help.
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