Isabella
October 21, 2013
Dear James,
I thought I would give you an end-of-the-season update on my Electroprop 5KW Independence. This year I took the leap—and took Isabella off the umbilical cord completely. Isabella’s first home is Oxford, Maryland; but her second one is down the street from me, at a community dock that has no shore power. The summer is now almost over, I have taken a number of trips out to the Bay, and I am delighted to report that between the solar panel and wind generator, I have kept both the 48V and 12V battery banks fully charged.
As you know, Isabella also has a Farymann diesel generator. Because I have a 30 minute trip from my dock to the Bay, I have fired up the 6.5 HP Farymann and used it in diesel-electric serial hybrid mode when the winds have been unfavorable. Total fuel consumption for the summer: maybe three or four gallons. Unbelievable!
When we talked during this past year, one of the things I have come to realize with greater clarity is that as the technology improves, I will not need to replace my entire system, but rather each component of that system, as cost allows or as performance tempts me! While my Odyssey PC1800 batteries have years of performance left in them, for example, I can already foresee a day when I will want to move to Lithium batteries. And, of course, there are expected improvements in solar panel technology. Compare this to replacing an entire diesel power-plant and, well, it is obvious that the component systems you have designed have the clear edge over conventional diesel-only power-plants.
Finally, an observation that hits me each time I leave port: electric drive technology is so beautifully smooth and quiet. The dreaded diesel rumble, which always spoils the first leg of a trip into nature’s tranquility, is absent. From the moment the dock lines are cast off, there is only peace and joy.
Keep up the great work!
Best,
Josh M
Dear James,
I thought I would give you an end-of-the-season update on my Electroprop 5KW Independence. This year I took the leap—and took Isabella off the umbilical cord completely. Isabella’s first home is Oxford, Maryland; but her second one is down the street from me, at a community dock that has no shore power. The summer is now almost over, I have taken a number of trips out to the Bay, and I am delighted to report that between the solar panel and wind generator, I have kept both the 48V and 12V battery banks fully charged.
As you know, Isabella also has a Farymann diesel generator. Because I have a 30 minute trip from my dock to the Bay, I have fired up the 6.5 HP Farymann and used it in diesel-electric serial hybrid mode when the winds have been unfavorable. Total fuel consumption for the summer: maybe three or four gallons. Unbelievable!
When we talked during this past year, one of the things I have come to realize with greater clarity is that as the technology improves, I will not need to replace my entire system, but rather each component of that system, as cost allows or as performance tempts me! While my Odyssey PC1800 batteries have years of performance left in them, for example, I can already foresee a day when I will want to move to Lithium batteries. And, of course, there are expected improvements in solar panel technology. Compare this to replacing an entire diesel power-plant and, well, it is obvious that the component systems you have designed have the clear edge over conventional diesel-only power-plants.
Finally, an observation that hits me each time I leave port: electric drive technology is so beautifully smooth and quiet. The dreaded diesel rumble, which always spoils the first leg of a trip into nature’s tranquility, is absent. From the moment the dock lines are cast off, there is only peace and joy.
Keep up the great work!
Best,
Josh M