Hi John,
It's kind of funny that you think that "better ways to measure the 'gas level'..." are needed.
I think that we can all agree that the fuel guages in our cars are acceptable. We should also be able to agree that those guages are more precise than accurate (you can google the difference between the two terms) but for our purposes they are good enough.
The SOC (state of charge) meter on my boat is considerably more precise and more accurate than any fuel guage that I've used in any other vehicle (even a few EVs).
So the bottom line is that we already have much better ways to measure the 'gas level' in our boats than any other boat. So I don't think that any improvement is needed in this area. Perhaps you have a personal story about how your electric boat ran out of electricity even though the fuel guage still said that there was charge in the bank.
I believe that the "running out of gas" fear is more about the size of the tank. And as most of the poeple that have converted their boats to electric can attest to, most of those fears may be unfounded. I was certainly worried about my 8kWh battery bank being too small. The only time I've run it down below half full (based on usable capacity, not total capacity) is when I've been testing the boat. But it comes down to how one uses their boat.
Just like I don't suggest 2 seater sports cars for people with 5 kids, I don't suggest electric drive for boaters that do a lot of motoring. It's all about picking the right tool for the job at hand.
Fair winds,
Eric
--- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, "John Green" <v_2jgree@...> wrote:
>
> Hi, Arby,
> As I said, the home made battery is a poor example,...
> Overall, I think that the credibility will come as a natural process,
> once:
> 1 - There are more electric boats so the purchasing public is aware of
> the electric option. One area that this will no doubt occur is with
> smaller outboards with smaller efficient batteries. It is already under
> way in the kids toys field.
> 2 - The battery technology improves, increasing the range to remove the
> fear of 'running out of gas'. 'Running out of gas' is no doubt a major
> stumbling block. Maybe better ways to measure the 'gas level' would be
> the way to go....
>
> John
>
>
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