T-Pain Is On A Boat: Re: [Electric Boats] Hooray

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Re: [Electric Boats] Hooray - my parts have arrived.

Great news!

My install is going much slower. I did get word that my charger, BMS and SOC meter have been received at the boat, however. And my new prop and coupler are on their way. So this weekend, I will install the gear reducer and take measurements for my new prop shaft, which I hope to get machined locally next week some time.

My batteries are another matter. I probably won't see them before month's end.

Cheers,

/Jason

About your battery... You realize that it has a 20 or 30A max draw rating? This probably relates to the internal cell interconnect size and the wire size of the pos and neg outputs.

As for charging, do you have a means of monitoring individual cells for balance? As you discharge, if there is an imbalance, your effective pack capacity will be drawn down to the weakest cell. And as you charge, the cell with the lowest internal resistance will charge fastest, limiting capacity on the charge size. Without call-level monitoring, you risk overcharging that cell, causing it to overheat and possibly fail. Something to watch out for at the least.

On Jun 4, 2014, at 16:16, "dominic.amann@gmail.com [electricboats]" <electricboats@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

My parts - 5 Kw BLDC from Golden Motor, controller, 48 v 20 Ah battery, charge controller, and motor controller have arrived. I await the reduction gearing from Thunderstruck (en-route in Sacramento right now). If that gets to Niagara Falls by Friday, I will be in a position to have my motor installed this weekend.

Right now, I left my battery being charged. I understand the charger has automatic cut off, so it should be safe.

I estimate this first battery should be enough to run at cruising speed (4.2 kn) for half an hour. I expect to buy another battery later this year (as funds allow), and perhaps two more before next cruising season, depending on how this all works out.

With my drill, some bolts and some angle iron, I should be able to have it all mounted up in a day or two of sweating and cursing. Then I can finally launch.