T-Pain Is On A Boat: [Electric Boats] Re: Diesel Generators for electric conversion

Sunday, August 16, 2009

[Electric Boats] Re: Diesel Generators for electric conversion

Mike,

I thought I was downplaying boat speed by only asking for 80% continuous. I should have clarified that personally I would sail on any boat with only 80% speed for 5 minutes, and anything under 25 feet with only a paddle.

My Herreshoff 55 will start it's electric life with 16 used golf cart 6v dock charged batteries, an old Curtis controller, and an old GE 96VDC 23hp direct shaft drive. Perhaps more goodies later. What I love about electric drive is the forward compatibility... you can start cheap and short ranged, then upgrade you electron supply as time, money, and new technology permit.

Mark Stafford

--- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, Mike <biankablog@...> wrote:
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> Mark:
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> Do you really need to go at 80% of hull speed? I pulled my 27 HP Westerbeke diesel out and use a Honda 2000i generator via the battery charger for bulk charging and it can also push the boat at 2.9 knots without drawing from the battery bank at all. Which is a slightly less than half of my boats hull speed. It's small, quiet and easily portable. Plus I can use it to make ice with the table top ice maker I bought. Boat drinks anyone? <g> I never want to go back to having a diesel onboard. I like the smell of clean down below too much and my boat is a "sailboat". I find that most of the time I don't even use the generator at all. You might want to try a similiar setup at first. If it does not work out you could always throw in a diesel generator in at some point in the future and sell the Honda or just use it to make ice.<g> Anyway that's my two cents.
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> Mike
> http://biankablog.blogspot.com
>
> --- On Thu, 8/13/09, Eric <ewdysar@...> wrote:
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> From: Eric <ewdysar@...>
> Subject: [Electric Boats] Re: Diesel Generators for electric conversion
> To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Thursday, August 13, 2009, 8:16 PM
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> Great ideas.
>
> However, my prioritized constraints are weight and size, followed by cost. So what are our options?
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> Weight of 48V 200ah battery bank?
> Size and weight of 48V 100A diesel generator?
> Total area of 48V 5A solar array?
> Size and weight of 48V 20A wind generator?
> Total cost of system including the traction drive system?
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> Will all of this fit on a boat that can be driven at 80% hull speed by an electric motor that draws less than less than 4.8KW continuous?
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> If so, what happens to the sailing performance of the boat? (just in case one wants to spend a little time with the motor off)
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> Compared to this solution; a Yanmar GM20 is lighter, smaller, more reliable, more powerful, cheaper and simpler. But it's not as cool without the silent running capability, as long as we don't count sailing.
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> Don't get me wrong, I really want to go electric. Check my intro post for info about my potential project.
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> Eric
>
> --- In electricboats@ yahoogroups. com, "Mark Stafford" <mstafford@ ..> wrote:
> >
> > Dave,
> >
> > Hear here! 48VDC, 100A marine diesel generator, 200(+) AH battery bank, 5(+) Amp solar charging, 5(+) Amp regeneration, 20(+) Amp wind generator, brushless (AC) or brushed (DC) motor sized for the boat to 80% hull speed continuous, all competitively priced and sized.
> >
> > Where can we buy such a system? It seems to me your humble opinion is right on target!
> >
> > Mark Stafford
> >
> >
> > --- In electricboats@ yahoogroups. com, "Dave Hackett" <dave.hackett@ > wrote:
> > >
> > > 4KW @ 48v = 100A (minues losses, etc). Looking at the torque curve for say
> > > the Perm 132 @ 48v/100A = 20Nm with a rotational speed of 2203RPM. So, if
> > > you had an ICE with the same output, how fast would your boat go given the
> > > various weather conditions? That's the simple math. IMO, as long as the
> > > electrical system matches the ICE system (or does better) you will have the
> > > same performance with the benefits of using only electric (hopefully) a good
> > > portion of the time - meaning total cost of ownership goes down.
> > >
> > > The challenge is the components. How do you get 48v from a generator into
> > > the motor without going through the batteries, and if you did go through the
> > > batteries, how do you prevent overcharging? Then, how do you get a 48v
> > > battery bank to run it when not using the generator and how do you charge
> > > the bank (AC, 48vDC, solar)? All the variables mean more components, which
> > > drives the cost up and makes the system vulnerable to breaking down.
> > >
> > > IMO, the ideal system is a 48v bank ~400AHr, 48v DC generator, solar panel
> > > or wind generator inputs and all the components that make it work integrated
> > > into 1 box (possibly liquid cooled). When the bank gets past 50-80%
> > > (depending on battery type), the generator kicks in and does the bulk
> > > charging. The wiring is plug and play and it all fits in a space equal to a
> > > normal ICE engine. I think the electric motor and components have come a
> > > long way towards this goal in the past few years but literally no work has
> > > been done on the generator side.
> > >
> > > DaveH
> > >
> > >
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