Update on the electrification of my boat. The decision has been made to go with two ePropulsion POD 6.0 pod drives.
I was able to get two of these from Tiny Boat Nation in Georgia at quite a discount, plus they included the side mount controls for no additional charge. They have been delivered and are awaiting spring weather for the work to begin.
Primary decision points in the "pro" column:
- Opens up a lot of space inside a small boat, allowing more space for batteries and storage
- Removes the maintenance and complexity of the propeller shaft and packing (the dripless seal would have required a pump to be added)
- Removes the Walter v-drive
- Moves any motor noise and all motor cooling to the outside of the boat
- Provides two completely independent drive systems, sharing only a common set of batteries
In the "con" column:
- The pods are outside the hull and exposed to debris strikes and would require coming out of the water for any repair or maintenance
- The pod props are much lighter weight aluminum and not nearly as robust as the big brass prop I have now
- Life expectancy of the pods is ???? There are anecdotal forum posts about problems with the Navy 6.0 outboards which share the same hardware and electronics as the pod drives. The troubles seem to be primarily related to the motor controller, and more specifically the cooling fan for the motor controller. In the Navy 6.0 outboard application the controller and cooling fan are on the transom near the water, definitely a more exposed place than mine will be inside the hull above the batteries with a set of fans continuously blowing over them. If the math is right, I should be able to cruise at 5 knots with only a 25% load on the pods. Hopefully that low duty cycle will lead to a long, trouble free life.
The batteries will consist of one string of EVE MB56 628Ah cells and two strings of EVE MB31 314Ah cells for the 48v drive batteries. That comes out to about 64kWh of capacity. 12v house loads will be supplied by two SOK 314Ah batteries, which will charge via a Victron 48v-to-12v charger. 1500 (or maybe 2000) watts of solar will be on top, and a Victron Multiplus II 5000VA will provide the charger (70a) and inverter functions. Finally, my existing NextGen 3.5kw diesel generator will remain, eliminating any range anxiety that was there.
Hopefully I'll get this all wrapped up in April and May and be ready for sea trials by the end of May. I've taken the measurements I need and will be building the waterproof battery boxes over the winter. With a little luck they'll slide right into place. If not, that's what the power planer is for.
Thanks - Lars
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