Extending the range of your Torqeedo outboard with a portable Honda Generator

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fuss

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I just wondered ...Has anyone tried this out?

I could imagine the senario where you want to go somewhere beyond normal range, then the generator would keep you going.

You still have the advantages of a grease, dirt and impellor free lightweight outboard with more range for the times its needed.

I imagine the inverter generator would need some sort of protection against water.

Any examples?
 
fuss said:
I just wondered ...Has anyone tried this out?

I could imagine the senario where you want to go somewhere beyond normal range, then the generator would keep you going.

You still have the advantages of a grease, dirt and impellor free lightweight outboard with more range for the times its needed.

I imagine the inverter generator would need some sort of protection against water.

Any examples?
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It would be simpler and more satisfactory to carry a small petrol outboard for back up


In fact you could the leave the electric one behind!
 
VicS said:
It would be simpler and more satisfactory to carry a small petrol outboard for back up


In fact you could the leave the electric one behind!
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Ok, lets try the small petrol backup to the Torqeedo...... so I decide to do an extended trip. I get in the dingy and dismantle the Torqeedo and put it back on board my sailing boat. I then get my backup outboard that I imagine is seldom used and manhandle this into my dingy and then attach it to the transom. As its an extended trip, I then get the external fuel tank and place this in my dingy, pump some gas through and start pulling on the cord... Yes it started, so all good and actually we went the whole way there and back trouble free.
So now we unattach the backup outboard and replace the torqeedo. We better fresh water flush the backup as it more than likely will not get used again for a while... also we better drain the fuel too, lets not forget the carb, luckily we can do both at the same time.

Hmmm, cant imagine that many Torqeedo owners would have a small petrol outboard backup.... But I can imagine a few of them having an inverter generator onboard for other tasks.

Thats why I thought to ask the question.
 
E bay the electric anchor , accept the fact they are pants when used anywhere other than a boating lake and buy a petrol outboard , use the petrol from the generator to run it and leave the generator behind ?

Or

Get half a dozen truck batteries or golf cart jobbies and a second dinghy to tow behind you ?

Or

Fit your tender with outriggers and large solar array

Anyone any other suggestions ?
 
Surely some cruiser with a Torqeedo also has a small inverter generator and has tried this out?

I'll set the scene ... Its late afternoon and cloudy, anchored in a nice bay, some friends have just called to say what a great place they have found on a beach 2 miles away. The Torqeedo is not fully charged, so you throw the 1kw honda inverter generator in the rib just incase (fits in a plastic bag(looks like someones shopping)).... and you're off.
 
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With the cost of the Torqueedo it might be cheaper to charter a boat to take you where you want to go! It suffers from the same problem as all mobile electric transport. The flex isn't long enough.
 
fuss said:
I'll set the scene ... Its late afternoon and cloudy, anchored in a nice bay, some friends have just called to say what a great place they have found on a beach 2 miles away. The Torqeedo is not fully charged, so you throw the 1kw honda inverter generator in the rib just incase (fits in a plastic bag(looks like someones shopping)).... and you're off.
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No you check that the Seagull's tank is full. It only takes a few seconds to recharge it even if ts empty. Grab the spare can of fuel just in case and you're off.
 
fuss said:
Surely some cruiser with a Torqeedo also has a small inverter generator and has tried this out?

I'll set the scene ... Its late afternoon and cloudy, anchored in a nice bay, some friends have just called to say what a great place they have found on a beach 2 miles away. The Torqeedo is not fully charged, so you throw the 1kw honda inverter generator in the rib just incase (fits in a plastic bag(looks like someones shopping)).... and you're off.
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The electric outboard is 30v DC, your 1kw gennie will be 240v AC and 12v DC and about 5 amps. You could charge it from the gennie but it's going to take 8 hours.
 
KevB said:
The electric outboard is 30v DC, your 1kw gennie will be 240v AC and 12v DC and about 5 amps. You could charge it from the gennie but it's going to take 8 hours.
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Surley you would use the 10A Torqeedo charger powered by the 230 volt AC output from the generator. Charging times are about 11 hours!
 
Sorry to waken this one up after so long...and particularly if the Torqeedo-naysayers are still bent on belittling alternatives to petrol...may I ask that their scorn isn't vented here?

The OP's question seems to have related to small Torqeedos, intended for dinghy use...but perhaps the bigger "Cruise" models would be adaptable to a hybrid power supply...

...such that a small yacht might rely for short distances & mooring purposes on the Torqeedo 2kw auxiliary, powered by battery...but for longer distance work, mightn't a 'suitcase generator', (assuming its output is equal to supplying the Torq directly, albeit through an inverter) enable longer range, not just by recharging the battery?

Cost aside, it sounds like a nice solution to me, literally...I recognise the need for an auxiliary, but nothing will persuade me to enjoy or ignore the noise from a petrol outboard.

I may take a day or three to read any replies. They're all going to my junk file for some reason. Very irritating.
 
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Don't apologise, I wasn't here back then and I am thinking electric.

Things have moved on with Toqueedo and battery technology but the point is still interesting. How about putting the generator in a tender with sound proofing?
Also, places like Rutland Water have banned petrol outboards but is this a possible loophole? Similarly, in lakes where electrics are exempt from payment.

Petrol outboards are there to prevent you hearing your passenger's comments. Seaguls should be limited to country shows, next to the old stationary farm engines.
 
I'm sure I've read blogs of cruisers charging their Torqueedo's from their gensets so can't see why this would be any different. The only observation I'd make is that 3 hp outboard is about £500 and weighs well under 20 kilos, possibly as little as 13. A honda EU 20 weighs just over 20kilos, costs over £1,000 and still only produces 6 amps or so. I would imagine that you can't charge a Torqueedo whilst it's running so it would also mean you need two batteries and I would imagine a spare battery is a good £500, although you may already have one anyway I guess. Against that you would also have an excellent generator you could use to get cheap and pretty quiet power wherever you wanted it of course.
 
grumpy_o_g said:
I'm sure I've read blogs of cruisers charging their Torqueedo's from their gensets so can't see why this would be any different. The only observation I'd make is that 3 hp outboard is about £500 and weighs well under 20 kilos, possibly as little as 13. A honda EU 20 weighs just over 20kilos, costs over £1,000 and still only produces 6 amps or so. I would imagine that you can't charge a Torqueedo whilst it's running so it would also mean you need two batteries and I would imagine a spare battery is a good £500, although you may already have one anyway I guess. Against that you would also have an excellent generator you could use to get cheap and pretty quiet power wherever you wanted it of course.
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2000 W @ 12 V is Munch more than 5 A, more like 140 A
Runing the OB in hybrid mode it's more than plenty.
Another solution is to use a battery that can be charged faster, lifePO4?
charge faster, more usable AH/kg
 
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That's the whole point, surely...the Honda suitcase gennies are VERY quiet, and you'd only occasionally be using it.
 
Unless it's on a duck pond or other mirror flat water, I wouldn't be wanting to put a mains generator in a tender.

Electric outboards are brilliant for one thing and that's lake fishing.
For a tender, they are mostly only any use when you'd be better off rowing.
 
Hmm. But I was particularly wondering if there are good reasons why a hybrid electric arrangement wouldn't suit a larger, drier application like a small cruising yacht, hitherto reliant solely upon a petrol outboard.

I seem to remember Top Gear concluding that the Fisker car's use of a petrol engine to generate a current which drove electric motors in the wheels, was more efficient than connecting the I/C engine directly to the wheels. It sounded improbable, but pleasing.

If a boat's propeller requires less variation in RPM, isn't this possibility even better suited to boat-auxiliaries than automobiles?
 
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