T-Pain Is On A Boat: Re: [Electric Boats] wish to build a controller...

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Re: [Electric Boats] wish to build a controller...

that would depend on what type of diesel/electric you are trying to control? i will presume that this is the only drive i.e. no sails etc and so no prop regen. the two basic approaches are quite different and require different control methods:

1) where a diesel engine and a motor/generator are close coupled and then directly coupled so that either can the drive props.

i have no direct experience with this type of system, mainly because the choice/matching of the electric motor/generator to pair/couple to the Diesel engine is absolutely crucial or overall system efficiency can suffer hugely, but i would think the well trodden path of hybrid electric cars can give you all the info you would need?

2) where the diesel engine drives an alternator/generator only, (forgetting non electrical e.g. providing hot water by heat exchanger etc). this is the easiest for anyone to put together (in theory) and really only requires that, as far as the diesel is concerned, you turn it on and off depending on load requirements.

if you want to make a truly universal unit for this type of system, i.e. one that monitors electric motor load, onboard/living load, battery level, alternator output, other supplies like shore power etc then there are a few around e,g, the Victron Quattro which do all the above with the important load share not just load shed and also provide 1,2 or 3 phase sine wave output.

i won't waffle on any further. i have spent months looking at systems from Aquawat through Mastervolt and Panda to the individual different component "stitch together", and while it seems fairly straightforward on paper/in theory, as always the real world will screw theory every time so if i can be of any further help please ask.

On 20 September 2012 14:59, Michael Mccomb <mccomb.michael@yahoo.com> wrote:

i have been good with IC pics for quite along time and even have a couple of patents... i'd like to build my own controller because it seems to me that in general these devices are extremely overpriced

i'd be interested in what functionality people would like to include in a controller if they could simply choose whatever they wished... ought to explain a bit more, i wish to build a controller that will completely manage a serial diesel electric propulsion system from A to Z including automated battery charging and well, just everything

i probably understand MOST of the various senor inputs and control outputs that must be provided for and have no problem with any of those but i do have a couple of questions that will probably reveal my extreme ignorance concerning certain functions

for instance.... How does one control fuel flow to a diesel engine electronically. I am really interested in the Hatz / Lombardini type engines but think of fuel flow as being mechanically controlled rather than lending itself to electronic control. I'd love to get ANYONE's input on this question and thanks in advance.