Deisel-Electric

[jet_morgan2000]

Hi, Does anybody have any experience, costs etc., of Deisel Electric units for 10 to 12 metre long craft, and the names of any manufacturers would be a help ?
Thhanks in advance !

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[ongolo]

Vot exactly is a deisel electric unit? Never heard of one, but I am technically quite clued up.???

curios ongolo

<hr width=100% size=1>So what......... it floats

 

[TrueBlue]

What do you mean by "Diesel-Electric", or perhaps more to the point:-

What are you going to do with it? - propel the boat, and or generate electricity?
What type of boat do you want to put it in.

You can buy -
Generator sets.
Combined motive power and power generators (Beta's PropGen), but because of their bulk and cost are more suitable to larger craft or narrowboats.

I have not heard of a true diesel electric - i.e. generator supplying power directly to an electric motor - in the realm of a boat, simply because the cost would be very high.

If you need to have the power plant sited remotely from the propellor shaft, this can be accomplished using hydraulic pumps and motors, but they are expensive and alleged to be not very reliable.

Please might I ask you to fill some more details on your bio (User Options), as if you had I (and others) migh be able to give you a more direct answer.

Beta Marine:-

BETA MARINE BETA MARINE LTD, MERRETTS MILLS, BATH ROAD, SOUTH WOODCHESTER, STROUD, GLOS. GL5 5EU. UK TEL: 01453 835282. ...

do "conventional" engine and gearbox combinations,
Generator / gearbox sound insulated sets,
AC generators attached to engines (not quite the same as the above)
and will discuss their postion on hydraulics.

I haven't posted their website (betamarine.co.uk) as it appears to be broken at the moment.



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Stop what you're doing and wait my signal

 

[sailorman]

VETUS do a unit might be worth looking on thier site

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[Talbot]

seem to remember a unit being displayed in PBO abt 3-4 months ago. Have seen this concept before, but AFAIK it is really more suitable for larger craft. if you were trying to simplify the installation, the suggest you consider a hydraulic system, but also include the bow thruster and windlass within the hydraulic system. I suspect you could hook up a gearbox to the engine to enable power to be diverted to a decent generator when the hydraulics were not being used. You would also avoid the extra weight of lots of batteries.

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[ongolo]

Locomotives use it too. Bit big and somewhat heavy.

<hr width=100% size=1>So what......... it floats

 

[Joe_Cole]

Re: Diesel-Electric

You're right. It was certainly in either PBO or ST. I think it was being used on a launch (on the Thames?) by River Police/Harbour Authority or someone like that. It had a ****** great bank of batteries. They used it on electricity for tootling about, but when they needed some speed they switched the engine on.

Joe

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[TrueBlue]

Re: Diesel-Electric

Locomotives (some of the earlier ones, I think) use a diesel as a generator which is directly connected to high voltage motors located on each axle if not on each wheel. It's easier to transmit power via an electric cable, and to direct that power to several points - remember a loco: may have 4,6,or 8 axles - than it is via shafts and gearboxes. It certainly used high voltage (?1KV or more) and high current. The whole system is very expensive, complicated, and heavy. You may have seen Channel 4's restoration attempts on a Blackpool tram, the speed change mechanism was incredibly complex and generated a lorra heat.

The Thames launch is one of the EA's "police" or inspection launches and has been modified to add an electric motor and a lot of very heavy, large and expensive traction lead-acid batteries. It was done to promote green boating. Again, the difficulty is that the technology is not quite there yet - a breakthrough in battery design is long overdue, as well as charging points everywhere.

Unless you have a need either for fully electric cooking and are prepared to run the engine while you cook, or need a bow thruster (in a 30 footer????) AND your boat is a narrowboat, then forget it There's plenty of 'poor quality' space at the back end of a boat for a conventional engine and geabox. Cheap and reliable.

So there!

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Stop what you're doing and wait my signal

 

[boatless]

Not a lot of use for 10m boats, but I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned the true diesel/electric boat. The submarine! Diesels used only for charging, electric motors drive shafts, allowing much more useful rpm characteristics to be exploited.

<hr width=100% size=1>my opinion is complete rubbish, probably.

 

[jet_morgan2000]

With modern Deisel engines becoming cleaner to use and more powerful, also with the advances in electric motor technology maybe it is time for a bit of experimentation ... Both the deisel engines and motors will have a better power to weight ratio than some of their earlier equivalents ... I feel another 'Winter Project' coming to the fore.
Thanks to everybody who chipped in with their two-pennyworth ... ALL opinions and suggestions are more than welcome.
I'm off to find some old props and shafts then raid the local car scrap yard etc., for Project bits.
Don't hold your breath though ! Cheers, Jet_Morgan.

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[spark]

Spark is fitted with a prototype electric auxiliary drive system which we are currently testing on a voyage around the coasts of UK/Ireland. She only has a 4-stroke suitcase genny as a back-up to overnight shore power charging, wind genny, and regen when sailing, but we reckon that diesel/electric is a good combination, although it probably only becomes cost effective until your boat is over 40ft. If you want to find out more follow the link below.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.sail-spark.co.uk>Spark's Summer Voyage 2004</A>

 

[boatless]

You should be very proud. Will follow the website, and would love to hear more of the economics.

<hr width=100% size=1>my opinion is complete rubbish, probably.