Electric motor conversion e27

[mordust]

Well, after torturing myself over the pros and cons of converting to electric propulsion, I am pretty close to pulling the trigger.
I have looked over some of the threads and past discussions.
I would love to hear from some of you who have crossed over. Maybe you have some updates, some more recent thoughts and advice? Any new ideas? Opinions on available systems?
And, would you do it again?

Thanks,

Bob Greene

Makele

 

[Glyn Judson]

Considerations for making an electric motor conversion.

Dear Bob, It might be of help to know what your sailing habits are: do you only use the engine to get out of the slip and into nearby open waters or do you motor/sail distances of, let's say 10 to 20 miles? Given that the only two boats I'm familiar with here that converted have only used them for very limited range. Coincidentally the boat next to me is all electric but is strictly used for racing and only gets turned on to get i no open waters. All that said, with possible recent advances in technology as regards the efficiency of propulsion motors and battery banks, your range may or may not be limited according to how you propose to use the motor. As an example, our slip is 32nm from Catalina Island and it takes 40 minutes just to clear the marina break water. On windless days, there's no way an all electric motor would serve us over to the island and back, maybe not even a long yet limited distance "motor" sail in Santa Monica Bay unless …………………we had a gen set aboard sufficient to properly and rapidly enough, stay ahead of power consumption. Where do you typically sail and how far do you do that under power? I think those are the two major questions I'd ask myself when trying to decide on an all electric conversion. Cheers, Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey CA

 

[mordust]

Considerations/electric conversion

We have our boat in Lorain Ohio on Lake Erie, about halfway between Cleveland and the Lake Erie islands, each of which is about 25-30 miles away. I would say 90% of our motor use is to get in and out of the harbor and is no more than 10-20 minutes and often less. Once a year we may go to the islands or to Cleveland, and if the winds or weather are terribly unfavorable we probably would wait and go another time.

Bob Greene

Makele

 

[Pat C.]

A lot may change in the next 5 years regarding this topic, as the electric/hybrid auto industry develops advancements, especially in battery technology. A link to an article by Nigel Calder several years ago...

http://www.oceannavigator.com/January-February-2011/Battery-revolution/

A lot of interesting thoughts there. I would probably wait a little longer.

 

[Christian Williams]

Lotus Flower electrified

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/entry.php?27-Ep

 

[Mark F]

Hi Bob,

The link to Lotus Flower that Christian posted can give you some idea of the performance of the motor and batteries in an E27. Would I do it again - without a question. The simplicity, reliability, low maintenance, no fumes, quiet motoring, low maintenance are pretty nice aspects of an electric auxiliary on a sailboat. Range can be an issue. With new Lead acid (AGM) batteries (4@ group 27 and 4@ group 30) I motored for 7 hours at 4 knots and used about half of my capacity (clean bottom flat seas). For me that's plenty of range. I could not do that today, 6 plus years into the AGM's life. My plan is to repower with lithium. There are some venders supplying 48 volt packs for very reasonable prices. I really wish my batteries would actually die so my hand would be forced .

 

[Glyn Judson]

electric drive.

Guys, I drive a 2008 Prius, my first new car ever and if I outlast it, my next car will be all electric. Even the electric Prius with ICE backup with only an 11 mile range on battery would suit me just fine. It turns out that average errands run 11 miles or less, out and back home again but I digress. I visit a fascinating blog every week hosted by Jack Rickard from his shop in southern Missouri. He records it every Friday and the edited newest edition is usually available by sunday, Monday at the latest. Jack & his sidekick Brian Noto are all about all-electric vehicles, the four wheeled kind. But just recently he's bought an all electric runabout that I'm sure we'll see him in, running up and down the wide Mississippi(?). His blog is here: evtv.me It's all pretty neat technical and cutting edge technology that he discusses and builds. My two cents worth, less in value I might add than Loren's two cents worth. Glyn

 

[Rick R.]

Guys, I drive a 2008 Prius, my first new car ever and if I outlast it, my next car will be all electric. Even the electric Prius with ICE backup with only an 11 mile range on battery would suit me just fine. It turns out that average errands run 11 miles or less, out and back home again but I digress. I visit a fascinating blog every week hosted by Jack Rickard from his shop in southern Missouri. He records it every Friday and the edited newest edition is usually available by sunday, Monday at the latest. Jack & his sidekick Brian Noto are all about all-electric vehicles, the four wheeled kind. But just recently he's bought an all electric runabout that I'm sure we'll see him in, running up and down the wide Mississippi(?). His blog is here: evtv.me It's all pretty neat technical and cutting edge technology that he discusses and builds. My two cents worth, less in value I might add than Loren's two cents worth. Glyn

Thanks for the link Glyn! I think Jack Rickard could help anyone converting their Ericson to electric!

 

[mordust]

Electric motor conversion e27, con't

Well!

We are pressing ahead with our electric re-power for Makele, and have decided to go with an Electric Yacht
QuietTorque motor. Now the fun begins. If I can push the snow away and get to the boat I will start to remove the old Atomic 4 next week.

I've gleaned a fair amount of information from many of your past posts and blogs. Hopefully I can add something to the forum along the way as well.

Right now I am in the process of matching the right prop to the motor and to the boat. I've seen a couple of
12x10 3 blades, and maybe a 12x14 3 blade.
How are these working out and would you change them at all?

Thanks,

Bob Greene

Makele

 

[Mark F]

Hi Bob,
Are you gong with the Quiet Torque 5? I think that is the same motor that SolidNav used in the unit I installed on Lotus Flower. The controller is a newer model Sevcon (gen 4) on the Electric Yachts setup so the prop performance may be a bit different than what I have found. I am using a fixed 3 blade 13x13 (if I remember correctly) and it is at the upper end for my setup. The down side to a prop that is too aggressive is that you might over heat the motor or controller, the controller will protect itself by reducing the current output. The up side is better regeneration while under sail.

Have you decided on batteries?

 

[mordust]

Hi Mark,
I've obviously been discussing all of this with all of this at Electric Yacht (Mike). a lot of our discussion revolved around being on Lake Erie as opposed to you guys on the ocean. Our waves are closer together than ocean waves and when the wind comes up a little, we have somewhat more chop than you might see. So with that in mind, and coupled with the fact that the weight or displacement and length of our boats are right at the upper end of their recommendation for the QuietTorque 5, I am going with the 10.Half way in between would be ideal, but they don't have that. So I guess I will err slightly higher than I need, rather than be just where I need to be or slightly less.

Likewise with the prop, I like the idea of a more aggressive prop for efficiency if I need to power along for awhile or any distance, but (if my knowledge of props and pitch is correct) I might need to compromise and be a little less aggressive pitch-wise to power through some of the chop we get here. The guys at Electric Yacht are now recommending somewhere along the lines of a 12x10 three blade, but are looking at it a little more closely so not 100% sure yet. BTW. They have been more than helpful at Electric Yacht. For that matter, all the vendors that I have spoken with have been great.

Not ready yet to go Lithium on the batteries. So right now I plan to go with 4 Mastervolt AGM's. the Slim Line 185's, which are now confirmed to be 200AH. If you haven't seen them, they are about 22" long, 5" wide, and 11 inches high, so it looks like I may be able to fit 2 of them in the old engine compartment with the motor.

That's the plan for now, while always open to more thoughts and discussion.

Thanks.

Bob

Makele

 

[Loren Beach]

Hi Mark,
I've obviously been discussing all of this with all of this at Electric Yacht (Mike). a lot of our discussion revolved around being on Lake Erie as opposed to you guys on the ocean. Our waves are closer together than ocean waves and when the wind comes up a little, we have somewhat more chop than you might see. So with that in mind, and coupled with the fact that the weight or displacement and length of our boats are right at the upper end of their recommendation for the QuietTorque 5, I am going with the 10.Half way in between would be ideal, but they don't have that. So I guess I will err slightly higher than I need, rather than be just where I need to be or slightly less.

Likewise with the prop, I like the idea of a more aggressive prop for efficiency if I need to power along for awhile or any distance, but (if my knowledge of props and pitch is correct) I might need to compromise and be a little less aggressive pitch-wise to power through some of the chop we get here. The guys at Electric Yacht are now recommending somewhere along the lines of a 12x10 three blade, but are looking at it a little more closely so not 100% sure yet. BTW. They have been more than helpful at Electric Yacht. For that matter, all the vendors that I have spoken with have been great.

Not ready yet to go Lithium on the batteries. So right now I plan to go with 4 Mastervolt AGM's. the Slim Line 185's, which are now confirmed to be 200AH. If you haven't seen them, they are about 22" long, 5" wide, and 11 inches high, so it looks like I may be able to fit 2 of them in the old engine compartment with the motor.

That's the plan for now, while always open to more thoughts and discussion.

Thanks.

Bob

Makele

Regarding the prop situation, you might want to consider a three blade feathering prop. Those all allow for changing the pitch. They do cost more, though.
(I used to use a 2 blade Martec and the pitch was externally adjustable. A diver could have easily done it without a haul out. It involved turning a screw that was secured with a locking nut.)
On second thought, then you would lose any potential advantage of charging the batteries while under sail. Everything's a compromise....

Loren

 

[Macgyro]

Atomic 4 removal



Be careful removing the Atomic 4. That sucker's heavy. I nearly lost mine over the side of the pier because I tried to move it with a wheelbarrow. I looked at the electric conversion, but my budget said no. I ended up with a good used Atomic 4, but I still wish I could have gone with the quietness and reliability of an electric.

Good luck!

-Dean

 

[mordust]

Thanks Loren. Thanks Dean. Dean-it helps when the kids are done with school. Kinda like getting a raise!
At least that's how it worked with my situation.

Bob

 

[Mark F]

Good call on the Quiet Torque 10 if I replace the motor on my boat I will likely go with a 10kw motor. You generally don't need the extra power but it seems you will be working the motor at a lower level and that has to be a good thing right? Plus it will be the Tesla of E27's!

I like Loren's suggestion of a feathering prop, you could really dial in the optimum pitch. I have read about folding props being able to be used for regeneration, not sure if a feathering prop would work for regenerating. One thing regarding the batteries, how are you going to charge them? If at the dock were you can regularly charge, lead acid will work fine. If you are going to have long periods between charging lithium is more tolerant of low charge levels.

 

[mordust]

The boat lives its warm weather life (may-october) at a dock with shore power. so charging there won't be a problem. Most marinas in the area also have shore power available.
For any trips we do any distance from home port in Lorain, Ohio, we plan to carry a small Honda or Yamaha
"suitcase" generator. It might never be used, but storms can kick up pretty quickly on the Great Lakes. It would come in handy if I ever need to get to a port in a hurry.