Well, it happened.
After five and one-half year of absolute reliability, over 800 trips, my EP system died.
The PMAC controller gave up the ghost with a MOSFET failure. That's never convenient, but it is made worse by the fact that the boat it's in is a launch, not an auxiliary sailboat. No sailing back home.
I had a choice to make; either purchase two PMAC controllers (one spare), or purchase a brushed motor, a suitable controller, and a reversing contactor.
I went for the brushed system.
I sold the PMAC motor on ebay (somebody got a nice 5kW motor for $127), and bought a Motenergy 0709 which has the same mounting pattern as the previous motor.
I had installed a couple Alltrax controllers in other launches, and was impressed with their features and ease of programming with a laptop, USB cable and free software. I went with their SPM 48300 for my launch.
The benefits if I had chosen to stay with PMAC technology:
1. The installation would be simpler
2. The system would continue to be state of the art, which appeals to me.
The downside:
I could no longer blindly trust the controller, and would feel the need to have a spare aboard. On the water I am a fairly self-reliant guy, operating in an area where there is little boat traffic much of the year.
In the final analysis, the ability (in an emergency) to operate the boat in a limited fashion without a controller, or reversing contactor, or dc-dc converter, or throttle, or main contactor won out.
I hope to never have to jury-rig the system this way, but I can, if I ever needed to. And I didn't have that option before.
-Tom
PS: It looks like the PMAC system was somewhat more efficient, I'll get some measurements on a calm day and report back.
Posted by: boat_works@yahoo.com
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