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

charles_reed said:
An alternative would be to have a couple of spare batteries, but recharging such beasts on a 12v only supply really rules that out.
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I don't understand the problem with this. That's how we charge the Torqueedo now through an inverter from the main battery bank, which gets recharged when motoring in a calm. If we had the time to spend more than a couple of days at an anchorage I would invest in solar panels for the main battery bank.

Longer range in the dinghy would just mean attaching a 12v battery in parallel to the torqueedo as the Torqueedo sites suggest which would be a lot safer and less silly than a 230v generator, but it would be a bit of a faff and not needed by us yet. I can only imagine needed one if we anchored over a mile away from a town and did multiple trips in quick succession, allowing for now recharge time back at the main boat, and that would just be bad planning.
 
charles_reed said:
I'd second VicS suggestion.
An alternative would be to have a couple of spare batteries, but recharging such beasts on a 12v only supply really rules that out.
A 2 stroke OB of 2.5-3.5hp is about the same weight and considerably more useful than an electric Torqueedo.
There are a couple of places where you can still buy them (2-stroke outboards) legally in the British Isles.
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I have yet to need the spare battery which I bought for my Torqeedo. As has been said, you can trickle charge the Torqeedo battery directly from the ship's 12V supply. The battery lasts for a very long time from fully charged.
The only thing I dislike about the Torqeedo is literally its weak point....the shear pin. I intend to replace mine with a non shearing one. :nonchalance:
 
maxcampbell said:
I am considering hybrid propulsion for the small sail cruiser I'm building, but that would be an inboard Lynch motor fed from 12v lead acid batteries, which themselves would be chargeable from solar, shore power and an onboard genny. My main objection to that is that the only place for the batteries is under the bunks, which I don't fancy.
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To get the energy storage in lead acid batteries as you get from 1kg of diesel you need 90kg of batteries - and that's when they are new. They only get worse with age. So to store the same energy as is in a standard 5 litre petrol can you will need half a tonne of batteries.

Good luck. I hope you never want to go far using battery power.
 
dancrane said:
I guess the basis for those figures is an imagined like-for-like electric equivalent to substitute for the average diesel’s output. But that isn’t what I hope to achieve.
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Ok then. Lets have some figures. What size boat are you proposing having electric power? How far do you want it to go? How fast do you want it to go? How do you intend recharging the batteries when away from shore power?
 
Floyd Raser said:
What about Lithium Polymer batteries which are apparently 20 percent lighter? I'm afraid I don't know the density stuff you quote but google it, unless you already know?
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And have you ever investigated what lithium batteries cost? Let me give you a clue - lithium is a nasty dangerous metal with limited supply. It's difficult to extract and dangerous to handle. And there's huge competition for it to power every mobile device on the planet. It's not getting cheaper any time soon. So even if you could get 4 tonnes of lithium battery in your boat, would you be prepared to pay £20k for them? Ever wondered why electric cars have to be subsidised by the government to the tune of £6k?
 
Dougal Tolan said:
Right now there are dreamers flying personal jet packs, hover boards and hover bikes some people just make their dreams reality.
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But there are no dreamers (at least here) who have managed to achieve what Dan is after - viable electric auxiliary power for a small sailing cruiser.

Just a lot of hot air about how desirable it is, but absolutely no idea of how it can be achieved using current technology - nor even known future developments.
 
GHA said:
http://www.elcomotoryachts.com/
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Unfortunately they don't tell you how much power it uses, but there is a clue in that the current draw of the smallest 5hp equivalent is 100 amps at 48v. Leave you to work out how big a battery bank needed and then how to charge it. Oh and BTW it is nearly twice the price of a petrol outboard or similar size before you even think about the batteries.

I can see applications for such a thing, for example short duration use on lakes with shoreside charging facilities, just like inboard electric power is used on lakes and rivers here - but not for small sailing boats.
 
AngusMcDoon said:
And have you ever investigated what lithium batteries cost? Let me give you a clue - lithium is a nasty dangerous metal with limited supply. It's difficult to extract and dangerous to handle. And there's huge competition for it to power every mobile device on the planet. It's not getting cheaper any time soon. So even if you could get 4 tonnes of lithium battery in your boat, would you be prepared to pay £20k for them? Ever wondered why electric cars have to be subsidised by the government to the tune of £6k?
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The time you taking to write this is time you will never get back.
 
Tranona said:
Unfortunately they don't tell you how much power it uses, but there is a clue in that the current draw of the smallest 5hp equivalent is 100 amps at 48v. Leave you to work out how big a battery bank needed and then how to charge it. Oh and BTW it is nearly twice the price of a petrol outboard or similar size before you even think about the batteries.

I can see applications for such a thing, for example short duration use on lakes with shoreside charging facilities, just like inboard electric power is used on lakes and rivers here - but not for small sailing boats.
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Would only last a few minutes, but that is the same as about 15 eCigarettes. Another battery technology that could have been built much earlier than the demand made it worth while.
 
AngusMcDoon said:
Until the problem of recharging time is solved, if ever, [electric cars] will never be more than a minority choice as they just don't fit in with most people's lifestyle.
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On a point of order, I disagree with this one. There are an awful lot of cars, mostly small hatchbacks, that spend their whole lives trundling between home, work, the local supermarket, perhaps the kids' school or a gym, and spend all night every night outside the owner's house. There might be other issues, but there are no lifestyle problems with such cars going electric.

Pete
 
prv said:
On a point of order, I disagree with this one. There are an awful lot of cars, mostly small hatchbacks, that spend their whole lives trundling between home, work, the local supermarket, perhaps the kids' school or a gym, and spend all night every night outside the owner's house. There might be other issues, but there are no lifestyle problems with such cars going electric.

Pete
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Maybe. But for boats, specifically the Torquedo outboard, I find the long recharging time a bigger problem than the running time.
It must be possible now to introduce fast chargers. The power tool industry is down to 15 minuet charging in the best cases.
 
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