T-Pain Is On A Boat: Re: [Electric Boats] Chevy volt battery pack in a boat

Friday, August 28, 2015

Re: [Electric Boats] Chevy volt battery pack in a boat

Thank you for that Jason, it was useful information for wrapping my head around sizing the pack for my boat.

Can anyone speak to the fire risk of these Chevy volt batteries?

I believe they are lithium magnesium. (Different from cobalt?) Are these significantly more dangerous then the liFePO? Are there fire extinguishers that would put out such a fire? Could you put them in a fire proof box? (So much for the weight saving!)

Any thoughts on the risks or strategies to mitigate the risks would be helpful.

Thank you!

Anton

On Aug 28, 2015, at 6:13 AM, Jason Taylor jt.yahoo@jtaylor.ca [electricboats] <electricboats@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

I have a "1 hour" battery pack. That means my 5kw system, in my 4 ton boat has a 5kwh pack. I find it sufficient for club racing and day sailing in my river/lake with a 1kt current. And not much more. You may want to consider a single pack for testing and moving the boat about the marina, but for venturing further than a few (under 5) miles, you'll definitely want to have at least a 4-pack of those batteries.

The general consensus for a standard install is 1kw/ton for motor power and about 2kwh/ton for battery storage. So being a 10ton boat, you would want at least a 10kw motor -- the AC35@48V & 500A can develop up to 25Kw so you're good there. But if you want any kind of range, you're going to want at least a 10kwh battery pack (5 of the Chevy Volt packs you mention), but a 20kwh pack may give you a better operational envelope. The Westsail 32 is a heavy displacement, sturdy boat that can handle some really rough conditions. Your motor seems well-sized to power it. But only 4 Chevy Volt packs may not provide the boat the energy storage capacity it would need to perform under those conditions.

I am also interested in learning more about these packs. That seems like a very good price.

/Jason

On Aug 27, 2015, at 16:31, Anton antonherbert@earthlink.net [electricboats] <electricboats@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

I am considering the Chevy volt batteries in my conversion.
The guy in Livermore who is selling them assures me that the water ducts are not for cooling but for heating the battery in cold climates.
$550 for 48v @ 45 amp hour plus $200 for the bms. I am thinking of getting 3 or 4 to start with. My system is the thunderstruck ac35 on a Westsail 32 (full keel 10 ton sailboat)
Any thoughts? Concerns? Advice?
Thank you
Anton Herbert

On Aug 10, 2015, at 10:48 AM, mark.internet@yahoo.ca [electricboats] <electricboats@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Has anyone tried a chevy volt battery pack in a boat.
They appear to be reasonably priced for the AH's.
It looks like they have 48 volt and 24Volt modules.
They are water cooled and maybe one could add a pump and run lake water through them for cooling.

if someone has used one please let us know how it works

Thanks