So which charger would you recommend?Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the Public mobile network.
Long time not posting. I converted my Dufour 34 sailboat to electric propulsion 9 years ago, this forum was a great resource during the design stage, at the time I reported on the process (the are several pics in the Photo section and some old postings). After over 5,000 miles sailing with electric propulsion it is a good opportunity to share some information and lessons learned.
The system has performed flawlessly for 10 seasons (72V initially, currently 48V, Kelly PM 72401 controller, MARS / ETEK ME0709 motor, Quickcharge 6-bank charger). We sail in the Upper Chesapeake Bay, mostly day / overnight sailing, and several weeklong cruises per season. Motoring time ranges from the few minutes it takes to get in and out of the marina to up to 20+ miles on windless days.
After sailing a couple of years with the initial configuration I made two changes: propeller and battery bank (the second time going from 72V to 48V, as explained later).
Propeller: as my sailboat is French (metric, with a very unusual taper) initially I postponed replacing the propeller as I also needed to replace shaft, coupling, dripless seal and cutlass bearing. The original 2-blade propeller was very inefficient, and in the end I replaced everything. The over-squared three-blade prop has had a significant positive impact. I even switched from LH to RH to have the prop-walk help while docking, a bonus. Impact on sailing, my concern, was not an issue, the prop starts freewheeling at around 3 knots and does not slow the boat.
Batteries (and range) were a concern from day one. By the third season I bought a portable generator to help when motoring long distances, and recharging while at anchor. About 150 hours of use so far.
Regarding batteries, LIFEPO4 was beyond my budget at the time of the conversion, so I decided to go with 6 West Marine branded Deka Group 31 AGMs (105 Ah, 72V), they fitted nicely next to the propulsion system. Performance was ok for the first couple of years, degrading rapidly thereafter, they proved not to be good traction batteries. Cheap flooded deep cycle followed, as LIFEPO4 were still too expensive for my budget and I wouldn't buy deep cycle AGMs again, they performed as expected, a couple of them dying prematurely.
This season I decided to consider LIFEPO4 and two other technologies, Oasis Firefly and Lead Crystal. I've been following LIFEPO4 since starting this project, so the concentration was on the other two, with extensive communication with both Firefly and Lead Crystal technical departments (both top-notch). I concluded that Firefly (obviously my personal opinion) are ridiculously expensive glorified AGMs, and their US master distributor is not a person deserving my business. I went with Lead Crystal light traction batteries, and I couldn't be happier.
I got interested in Lead Crystal after watching some videos testing their deep-discharge capabilities, proving they can be discharged to literally 0V and recover with marginal impact, and remain long periods on partial state charge without being affected (also, self-discharge is negligible). They are extremely safe, I learned later they can be transported on planes without special permit. Their US people walked the extra mile providing support with my application, working with me in defining the best configuration.
After considering one 72V bank, one 60V bank, and two 48V banks, using different battery models (all fitting neatly in the available space) in the end I went with two 48V banks to maximize capacity (my system was designed to allow different configurations from 36V to 72V). I installed eight 6-EVFJ-100 light traction batteries, rated at 115 Ah (10-hour rate). Ideally, I'd have installed a single 48V bank with double the capacity, however Lead Crystal require periodical charging with quite high current (0.3C, or 25A/30A for a 4-battery bank) which explains the two banks (one 230 Ah bank would require a 48V 50+A charger).
I have to say I'm constantly amazed by these batteries. I've almost tripled my previous range (compared to the 72V 105AH configuration) and never came close to draining them. I expect to have more precise information by the end of the season and I'll post an update.
The new charger has been the only bad experience I've had since starting this project many years ago… it has been with EVComponents (and its sister company EVAssemble). They offered me a "customized" KPES 48V 30A charger, claiming it would be programmed in about 9-10 days, then shipped via DHL to arrive in 4-5 days. It took almost three months for the charger to arrive and, when opening the box, I found a badly smashed unit that would not charge. EVComponents didn't bother processing the claim, dumping everything on me (dealing with DHL was no easy, they just don't care). EVComponents would not send a replacement unit until fully reimbursed by DHL, which took over a month. The replacement unit took almost two months to arrive, and it was again badly smashed, I had to replace a broken fan and straighten all four mounting flanges. However, it worked… twice! On the third charge it died after 10 minutes. Not surprisingly, EVComponents is not too eager to honor the warranty. BTW, their "custom programming" was a bad joke, the charger didn't even come close to the agreed upon parameters. My advice: stay far away from EVComponents, EVAssemble, and KPES chargers.
My next project: converting a classic launch to electric propulsion, to poke around nearby creeks on windless afternoons.
I hope this helps.
Alberto
Posted by: Kev <captainyoung@gmail.com>
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