Chris:
Yes, you sure can charge as you motor. I do depending on my needs. If I find I need to use the motor i will operate on batteries only for and hour or two until the battery bank has dropped to around 80% capacity. Then I start thinking about firing up the generator. I've got an 8 ton 30 foot sailboat and the Honda 2000 generator I use can push the boat along at 3 knots in calms using just 900 watts of power from my Zivan NG-1 battery charger which is used as a power supply in this case. So your boat should move along quite well depending on the motor you decide on. I often don't need to run it for long because I have a sailboat and the wind usually picks up along somewhere along the way. But, I have operated using just the generator for up to ten hours during an unusual windless day. More often if I have been using the generator and the wind picks up I will throttle down and let the generator start to charge the battery bank back up so there is less run time (if any) at anchor. With your lighter boat you should have plenty of power available for electric or hybrid operation for your needs.
Capt. Mike
http://biankablog.blogspot.com
From: cober_chris <cober_chris@yahoo.ca>
To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2012 10:32 PM
Subject: [Electric Boats] Charging battery bank while underway..
To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2012 10:32 PM
Subject: [Electric Boats] Charging battery bank while underway..
Hi folks, I've posted this a couple of places, but I think I may have finally found a good forum for this question:
I'm designing a small electric boat, because I like quiet slow cruising, and aim to use it in small Ontario lakes and the Trent Severn canal system. 18-20 feet long, 4 foot beam, for 4 or 5 people. Basically an oversized canoe, very light (less than 500 pounds including batteries, I hope).
I was thinking that the easiest way to do the electric propulsion would be to use all off-the-shelf stuff from BassPro shops.
Here is my plan right now:
- Minn Kota 24V trolling motor, maybe 80#
- 2 batteries (or 4 smaller ones if it made more sense, see below)
- Minn Kota onboard charger (2 or 4 bank, 15 amps per bank)
What I'm looking for is a light boat (as few batteries as possible) with 2 or 3 hours of cruising time via the battery bank, with the ability to extend my range occasionally with a 1200 watt generator. Of course, I can charge at the dock/campsite/lock with an onboard charger and generator, but here's the question:
Can I charge a single battery bank on-the-go, while using it? Say I want to keep going for most of the day, would it be possible to start the generator up on the water, and have it charge the batteries while I keep going? Or is that not a good idea?
I'm thinking my boat would chug along ok on 500 watts (guessing), and a 2 bank charger can put about 400 watts back into the batteries in bulk charge mode. A 4 bank charger (15 amps x 4) would put over 800 watts into the batteries in bulk charge. That would certainly be enough to continue cruising with my canoe.
I know there are also safety considerations, I'm thinking to install the generator in a sound-insulated box on the transom, with a blower for ventilation, and with grounding.
Is this silly? I posted on one general boating forum, and the majority of responses were "get a gas outboard". Any ideas appreciated.
I'm designing a small electric boat, because I like quiet slow cruising, and aim to use it in small Ontario lakes and the Trent Severn canal system. 18-20 feet long, 4 foot beam, for 4 or 5 people. Basically an oversized canoe, very light (less than 500 pounds including batteries, I hope).
I was thinking that the easiest way to do the electric propulsion would be to use all off-the-shelf stuff from BassPro shops.
Here is my plan right now:
- Minn Kota 24V trolling motor, maybe 80#
- 2 batteries (or 4 smaller ones if it made more sense, see below)
- Minn Kota onboard charger (2 or 4 bank, 15 amps per bank)
What I'm looking for is a light boat (as few batteries as possible) with 2 or 3 hours of cruising time via the battery bank, with the ability to extend my range occasionally with a 1200 watt generator. Of course, I can charge at the dock/campsite/lock with an onboard charger and generator, but here's the question:
Can I charge a single battery bank on-the-go, while using it? Say I want to keep going for most of the day, would it be possible to start the generator up on the water, and have it charge the batteries while I keep going? Or is that not a good idea?
I'm thinking my boat would chug along ok on 500 watts (guessing), and a 2 bank charger can put about 400 watts back into the batteries in bulk charge mode. A 4 bank charger (15 amps x 4) would put over 800 watts into the batteries in bulk charge. That would certainly be enough to continue cruising with my canoe.
I know there are also safety considerations, I'm thinking to install the generator in a sound-insulated box on the transom, with a blower for ventilation, and with grounding.
Is this silly? I posted on one general boating forum, and the majority of responses were "get a gas outboard". Any ideas appreciated.
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