Can't you get a bigger motor and go and catch some real fish, like tuna? For Christs sake, even pilchards are better than squid! Next, you'll be saying that you'd prefer octopus, but you could save a lot of trouble and waste by eating your old inner tubes instead.
Noted, thanks. However, I was considering news cells but still with the DIY approach?
So, if I wanted 12V and say 50Ah (useable) I'd need 14 packs in parallel?
Sorry, I see the balance board you mentioned but not the mod bit (but it's late and I'm tired) nor sure why or how I would use it (other than to balance multiple packs in parallel possibly). FWIW I have an iCharger 1010B+
They're 5Ah each, so 50Ah would be 10 bricks. You can plug 6 into the balance board. I'd plug in 5 and connect the lipo alarm to the 6th. When the voltage gets to 14v, unplug the 5 from the balance board and plug in the next 5, or have two banks of 5 with two alarms and two balance board, then you only have to swap over the main connector from each bank.
But isn't that assuming a 100% DOD or are LiPo's rated in their useable capacity (and if so, what DOD does that typically represent please)?
So this is only regarding charging?
That looks a neat (and waterproof) solution. ;-)
Nice find. ;-)
Sweet.
No, it's worse than that mate ...
Or for about the same price even!
Well, in practice I don't generally *carry* the battery very far or if I do, I stick it (and all the other junk) on a lightweight folding sack barrow, and once lowered into the boat it isn't really an issue till we lift the boat out again ...
They were on sale at a boat show I went to to pick up my new Seahopper Kondor but I didn't get chance to check them out (too busy rowing and electric outboarding round the lake and on the Thames). ;-)
And that is a very tempting combo eh.
Alarm on each pack set to 3.65 V/cell and a beefy balance charger. You have to be there when they are charging so best idea is to make that time as short as possible. The 300W Reaktor is a good economical choice, it is a repackaged iCharger which is a charger with a very good reputation. I have a couple of Reaktors in my kit. You will hear the alarms at sea, no need for a cutoff. They can be hard to hear in heavy traffic if your battery is in the bottom of a panier bag...
So, am I right to conclude from that that assuming those things don't happen, these things are very very reliable / safe?
I was thinking about that and wasn't sure if that would then turn it into a grenade?
Ok.
Something a mate once said that I've never forgotten (not only because he rarely said much of real value but that it has been really handy <g>) and that is 'You can manage what you can measure'. However (as you have already observed), once you have taken your measurements you rarely need to take them again. The exception being battery / cell volts, *unless* you have that automatically monitored etc (audible alarm / cut-out etc).
I have the 1010B+, will that do?
Ok
I'll need to take my own bag of salt then as we normally boat in freshwater. ;-)
The ammo box stops projected flames from melting your plastic boat. LiPo doesn't explode it projects smoke/flames, watch those axe man/plane crash/car crash youtube videos again. Isn't there one that gets shot with a .38???
Yes it is a violent projection of energy but doesn't get classed as an explosion in my book. An Ammo box is designed to prevent exploding munitions from doing too much damage so you can imagine a LiPo brick fire isn't going to scare it.You would have wouldn't you...
yep it is a 300 W 10 Amp charger. Great charger for home made 36V Li-Ion batteries without a BMS btw...10C x 10 Amps = 100 A or about 25 Amp real world discharge rate. You could run your motor at 15 Amps off one pack if you needed to (I do on a daily basis - 6S+4S 37 V 10 Ah battery), it has the juice. I am only going to use the 2 x 10000 mAh 4S for my boat because I have them on hand and am changing my LiPo strategy on my bike - moving up to 12S.
She's going to be cute. ;-) I was looking (fairly recently) to build a light plywood rowing / outboarding skiff but really don't have the room or time (and why I ended up first with the 12' Porta-Bote and then, because it wasn't very rewarding to row, the 10' Seahopper Kondor).
Or setting fire to your wooden boat / leg / coat / picnic in our case. ;-)
Yes, the videos seem to show a rapid expulsion or flame / gas and if allowed to vent away from anything combustible, are fairly short lived and so should be safe. Trap that pressure in a metal container with a rubber seal ... ? I'm not saying it wouldn't be fine or better than having them in a plastic box, just that when you see the HobbyKing 'Batbox', that seems to be more of what I would imagine would be a 'good solution' to the problem. And that brings me back to the safety thing ... it's obvious that LiPo (or lithium in general) seem to be more dangerous and I don't *remember* seeing so many charging / safety products surrounding most other rechargeable chemistries prior to Li? Lead acid batteries have been known to explode but that doesn't seem to be that common from simple overcharging? 'The nature of the beast' I guess and a 'cost' of having so much energy in such a small space?
Agreed ... it's a little pocket sized flamethrower. ;-)Isn't there one that gets shot with a .38???
Yes, you are probably right. ;-)
Hey, that's about the only good thing I've got by the sounds of it. ;-(You would have wouldn't you...
Cool. ;-)
Yes, I was amazing at that ...
Makes sense. However, we are looking for longer than 400 yard trips <g> and a goal of being able to electric outboard all day.
So that would be the likes of the HobbyKing 16A 4S's? Should I get several of those while I can and how sure that I'll not regret it (as it's going to be quite a financial commitment for us)?
Thanks for that mate. ;-)There are howtos on Endless Sphere IIRC, they have an electric boat section
With respect, I'm not 'getting worked up' about anything, this is a new field for me, we are talking a lot of money and it's not just me on a bicycle on the road (when talking about the on-topic use of LiPo's here) but potentially my family, in a small wooden boat, some distance from the land (in time if not actual distance etc). So, part of my questioning here is playing devils advocate and testing for the 'worst case'. Once I know that I can then work back to a more 'real world' usage but whilst accepting there are (extra, over say lead acid) risks. ;-)
Understood.
Understood.
Depending on the size of the box of course. ;-) Whilst I get your point, I'm pretty sure 4 x 4s 16000mA LiPo packs, even in a small ammo box aren't going to be anywhere near the weight and size of my existing battery! ;-)
Understood. That said, I am an electronics / field support tech (BT, Kodak, Datacomms Co) and have been soldering since I was about 7 and pride myself in both the care and neatness of my work. However, I have no issues re using a balance board either.
I'm assuming that if I went with 4 x 4S, 16A LiPos ... and was drawing a continuous 15A for 3 hours, the batteries wouldn't suffer from lack of ventilation (cooling)?
.
I guess that is like the 'what would I grab first when running away from your burning house'. Ignoring the idea that any reaction could make matters worse, I think once I saw smoke coming from my battery box I wouldn't be worrying about potentially throwing good packs away!
<burnt hand picture> Ouch. ;-( Trust me, with 48V (8 x 6V X 200Ah LA monoblocks) and a potentially massive short circuit current available in the EV I've had for over 30 years now, I treat all these things with a high level of caution and respect. ;-)
Quite, as I'm sure I will be, once I have some usage under my belt. Until then, I'll be proceeding with caution! ;-)
I'm sure you are right, but keeping it in context (and comparing apples with apples), would you say Lithium batteries are *as safe* as Lead Acid (in general)? Yes/No ;-)
Again, I'm sure you are right but this really isn't about questioning all the risks but just the comparison between what I already have / do and an alternative. I'm considering any potential *increase* in risk whilst still propelling my boat electrically.
Well (and playing devils advocate again here), it (and other things, like tides etc) do stop me from going on such waters and that's why I don't. So, to fully understand my POV (re the risk analysis) you would have to know the environment of how 'we' (because there are generally others in my boat who would have a different POV on what could be considered 'risky' to me) do what we do. Like, if rowing along a slow moving river we wouldn't generally wear buoyancy aids because: 1) We are unlikely to fall in for any reason (we don't stand up or jump around) 2) could stand on the bottom in most places and 3) we can swim. We might however wear them when rowing across a deep lake because of the depth or when sailing when there are real risks of capsize.
