Alternative Propulsion Thread

[Chief Engineer]

What about the Tesla Turbine run off of hydraulic fluid?

[Rising Star]

Originally Posted by osirissail

Do you have a specific message in the group you linked to? I cannot find anything in that group except a one line statement about one instance where an installation was not done correctly. Please expound on the suggestion you made that there might be more "negative" aspects of the "e-pod". I am working with a friend who needs something like the "e-pod" and we would like to hear everything we can from those who are using it.

On the electric boats site refer to message 12098. Also see message 11913 and under that one I suggest a read of 11932.

I am not suggesting anything negative, simply suggesting thinking about the opinions of folks who have already walked the walk.

[Phish Phart]

Thanks for the "heads up", Merrick. I checked the messages you noted as well as other postings at the Yahoo site. Until that 12098 posting I hadn't heard of any problems with Re-E-Power or their products .... quite the contrary. I alerted the company via voicemail and hopefully they will reply to said posting.

I did locate another company (Bellman) BELLMANN Drive Technology - Mooier kunt u niet varen with a similar style product ("AquaPod"). Bellman has recently been acquired by Mastervolt.

I am in a holding pattern until things shake out!

[Phish Phart]

Originally Posted by Phish Phart

Thanks for the "heads up", Merrick. I checked the messages you noted as well as other postings at the Yahoo site. Until that 12098 posting I hadn't heard of any problems with Re-E-Power or their products .... quite the contrary. I alerted the company via voicemail and hopefully they will reply to said posting.

I did locate another company (Bellman) BELLMANN Drive Technology - Mooier kunt u niet varen with a similar style product ("AquaPod"). Bellman has recently been acquired by Mastervolt.

I am in a holding pattern until things shake out!

Correction: Mastervolt became a part of Bellmann. The AquaPod looks like a high quality product .... I don't have any pricing info.

[osirissail]

I have been looking through the Bellmann website and they have a wide assortment of marine electric motor types including AC units. The pod versions come in an assortment from retractable to rotatable (steering) to surface mounted. Also they appear to have serious 3-bladed propellers on the pods versus the "trolling motor" type props.

[suzuki]

sail=catamaran,primery power=sail,secondarypower=outboard(4 stroke only), or tons of batteries & 2 eletric motors,but unlike monohulls catamarans don't use ballest so you figure it out.

[Phish Phart]

Originally Posted by suzuki

sail=catamaran,primery power=sail,secondarypower=outboard(4 stroke only), or tons of batteries & 2 eletric motors,but unlike monohulls catamarans don't use ballest so you figure it out.

Monohulls = sans training wheels

[fastcat435]

I just read the following on
Green Car Congress: Researchers Develop Solid-State, Rechargeable Lithium-Air Battery; Potential to Exceed 1,000 Wh/kg


Researchers Develop Solid-State, Rechargeable Lithium-Air Battery; Potential to Exceed 1,000 Wh/kg
21 November 2009

Sample UDRI solid-state, rechargeable lithium-air batteries, and Dr. Binod Kumar.
Engineers at the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) have developed a solid-state, rechargeable lithium-air battery. When fully developed, the battery could exceed specific energies of 1,000 Wh/kg in practical applications, the researchers wrote in a paper published online 13 November in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society.

[Fortytwo]

Styer told me March '09 they were looking to add a regenerative option to their system by the end of '09. I've asked them for an update and they have yet to respond.

http://www.steyr-motors.com/products/pdf/hybrid.pdf

"Intended initially for displacement craft between 1.5 and 20 tonnes using Steyrs own diesels of between 55hp-285hp, DEHS interposes a 48V motor generator between the engine block and the gearbox. This provides three propulsion modes: plain diesel; pure electric, and boost- during which both the diesel engine and the electric motor drive the propeller - normally for short periods of acceleration. Whenever the main engine is running the generator charges the battery bank. It is also used to start the main engine, eliminating the need for a separate starter motor."

[OceanPlanet]

There is a Steyr parallel hybrid on the newly launched Zogo, built by French & Webb in Belfast, Maine.

I was able to supply the LiFePO4 battery pack which saved them about 600lbs while adding about 20% more capacity than they would have had with AGMs.

YouTube - ZogoShort.mov

[fastcat435]

attached is the spreadsheet for weight , capacity and cost comparison between AGM and Life and cost comparison over a 10 year span.

[OceanPlanet]

Originally Posted by Fortytwo

Styer told me March '09 they were looking to add a regenerative option to their system by the end of '09. I've asked them for an update and they have yet to respond.

http://www.steyr-motors.com/products/pdf/hybrid.pdf

"Intended initially for displacement craft between 1.5 and 20 tonnes using Steyrs own diesels of between 55hp-285hp, DEHS interposes a 48V motor generator between the engine block and the gearbox. This provides three propulsion modes: plain diesel; pure electric, and boost- during which both the diesel engine and the electric motor drive the propeller - normally for short periods of acceleration. Whenever the main engine is running the generator charges the battery bank. It is also used to start the main engine, eliminating the need for a separate starter motor."

I'll be hanging out with the Steyr reps at the Maine Boatbuilder's show tomorrow...so I'll bug them about the regen option! Would make their hybrid drive a pretty cool (albiet expensive) option for cruising.

[squirrel]

There are 17 pages of this post and the only alternative propulsion method discussed, that i could see, is electric motors... Surely there are others! How about using a kite? Heres proof its been done, Kite Sailing from California to Tahiti - Anne Quemere | YachtPals.com
Any one got any experience? Or those airfoil type mast-sail that Jacque Cousteau had on "Calypso"... Could that be done on a smaller, single mast vessel?

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by squirrel

There are 17 pages of this post and the only alternative propulsion method discussed, that i could see, is electric motors... Surely there are others! How about using a kite?

There are only 7 pages to me, but then if you click your optins you can vary the amount of posts per page.

I have mine as Newest first so I am always on thre page that has, well, the newest post first!

As for alternate energies and kites, how about sails. Pretty unique idea, but there ya go

[sarafina]

Originally Posted by squirrel

There are 17 pages of this post and the only alternative propulsion method discussed, that i could see, is electric motors... Surely there are others! How about using a kite? Heres proof its been done, Kite Sailing from California to Tahiti - Anne Quemere | YachtPals.com
Any one got any experience? Or those airfoil type mast-sail that Jacque Cousteau had on "Calypso"... Could that be done on a smaller, single mast vessel?

I was thinkin maybe squirrels, on steroids ya know?