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 Post subject: eVolve - whats the news
PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2014 9:45 pm 
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Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 8:57 pm
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Location: Salem, Oregon USA
I'm thinking of purchasing the eVolve elec motor. Has any of you with ears on done this ? It sounds good for expedition trips with the solar panel for recharge. Opinions ?
I'm about to undertake a long voyage with strong tidal currents.


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PostPosted: Fri May 09, 2014 6:30 am 
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Location: London UK
i have one, but have subsequently installed a honda outboard as well.
Evolve -= great for emergency use but you can only use it till the battery runs out.
Outboard- take more fuel and carry on as long as you like

CC

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PostPosted: Fri May 09, 2014 8:29 am 
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Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
YakAttaque:
I've been working on this kind of stuff for 3-4 yrs now and have researched out the Evolve for use on my TI. I'm a Watertriber and wanted to enter the Watertribe EC challenge 300 mile race in Florida in their class VI (experimental electric class). I worked out all the calculations as far as run time power consumption, etc and came up way short. I would need 50-60 hrs of continuous power (about 200 watts) in order to average around 4mph for the whole race. Even with twin solar panels, and a fuel cell (which I developed for the event), I still came up short.
Actually there was a guy entered in the EC challenge 2 yrs ago with a Windrider 17 and a torqeedo 403 motor (same motor used in the evolve) with duel batteries and a solar charging system, I believe he ran out of juice and gave up. Of course this is my interest area so we talked quite a bit before the race. I knew (from my own research) that he wasn't going to make it even before he started, especially with a huge 450 lb tri that is a bear to paddle.
The Evolve system is without a doubt the best system available today bar none for electric propulsion. If I still owned a revo or Oasis and wanted to have some back up propulsion for venturing off shore a little further than what would be normal I would definitely have on stored in my hatch for emergency.
Where we typically go down in the keys it is very dangerous venturing too far with fierce currents that will get even a stock TI into trouble unless it is specially hardened for far offshore use, and can't overcome the strong currents and trade winds, which can be a handful if in the wrong direction (definitely not for the faint of heart, and boy do you have to know the waters well with adequate shore support (help when you need it), or else next stop Cuba).

I'm with Chopcat on this one, here is a breakdown of the costs.


Evolve V2 $2099
Spare battery $720
Solar charger $620
Total $3439
Average power sailing speed 4-5mph
range about 20-30 miles (way less if in emergency situation)

Single Honda 2.3 gas engine $950
PVC motor mount (home made) $30 bucks
Gas (about a dollar a day to operate)
Annual cost (sailing once per week) $1032
average sailing speed 6-8 mph
range 150-200 miles (carrying 2.3 gallons of fuel on board, 14 lbs of fuel)

Duel Honda 2.3 gas engines ($950 x2) $1900
PVC motor mount (home made) $35 bucks
Gas (about a dollar a day to operate)
Annual cost (sailing once per week) $1982
average sailing speed 8-10 mph (hopefully eventually I hope to average 10-12 mph once minor tweaks are completed). So far fuel consumption remains about the same as with the single motor (obviously you use more fuel per hr with twin engines (not double, about 1.25 times more fuel so far, but additional testing is needed), but your going twice as fast so MPG actually increases)
range possibly 200 miles (still needs testing) with 2.6 gallons of fuel on board (17 lbs of fuel)

The Honda weigh 27lbs ea and are extremely compact and easy to carry if needed ( I keep mine permanently mounted on my TI on the trailer (the motors have never been removed)

Here is a pic of my duel Honda's
Image

The duel engines is probably overkill, a single engine setup is way more than adequate.

Here is an old video of my single engine setup (previously posted)
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDGNxvCyVeI[/youtube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDGNxvCyVeI

Here is a video of my duel engines in action
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO1uuzBLBec[/youtube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO1uuzBLBec

Of course most of what I have is overkill, we are scuba divers and often go offshore (mostly around Key West), I have the boat specially hardened for offshore use with massive sails and hull re-enforcements, along with radios, flares, full nav lights, life raft,


With my setup I get 75-100 miles per gallon fuel consumption consistently (fuel consumption average still holds after a yr and a half of continuous use). Of course to get that type of economy you have to pedal 100% of the time, and also keep your sails working as efficiently as possible (even when under power). With two strong peddlers fuel economy increases even more.

I have to admit the Honda engines far exceed any of my expectations as far as quality and reliability, I'm sure other brands are equal, I just happen to have selected a Honda, after wearing out my first (not a Honda) motor after 3 yrs of use on my TI.

At the really low throttle setting that I use (under 1/4 throttle) the Honda engines are extremely quiet and you can easily talk over them. Basically I go out sailing every weekend and have lots of fun for under a buck in fuel per week. Of course if you have enough wind you just tilt them up and don't use them.
Realistically we don't notice much if any speed degradation if we have 1, 2, or even 3 200 lbs adults on board. The boats sails just fine, we only notice a slight speed loss when we have 4 or more people on board. So in the mix of things another 30 lbs (or 60 lbs with duel engines) in the boat means absolutely nothing.

Hope this helps you
Bob


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PostPosted: Fri May 09, 2014 2:06 pm 
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I have installed an evolve a few weeks ago at my TI. I have bought a second hand one-year old model, which has never been used before and tried it now three times. It is very useful in windy conditions (my battery holds 3 hrs against 4-5 bft at an average of 5 km/h) and if the wind dies on longer trips. For me, the evolve is an important safety issue, especially for longer off-shore rides at the Baltic Sea.
pros: easy to use, easy to recharge, lightweight, relatively easy to install, quiet action. cons: limited reach, relatively expensive, but the price of my second-hand one was more than fair.
cheers
henry


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PostPosted: Fri May 09, 2014 11:55 pm 
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Location: Salem, Oregon USA
Thanks for the comparison of choices chopcat, and
Thank you for the definitive research fusioneng! That is very interesting, I think if I were to use my TI for reaching long distances for the primary purpose of fishing, that would be the answer. It's obviously the most economic sense. When it's time to go into strong winds and currents, I think about the outboard option.
Yet I'm still leaning toward baltic_henry's points on using the evolve: fitness of purpose for sailing/peddling as an auxiliary assistant when needed and not too much in the way. I do annual solo expedition trips with my TI (1-2 wks), and I'm fond of the idea of having a backup motor mounted conveniently out of the way in the unused peddle mount, which won't add much weight for the sailing experience. I also like the compactness, since I need cargo space. I'm concerned though about the limited power life, and I'm hoping the solar panel will be a practical way to renew the battery.


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PostPosted: Sat May 10, 2014 5:52 am 
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Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
Yakattack:
Every one has different needs, and the TI is really suited to be tailered and modified to fit whatever needs a user may need. Obviously my purpose is to get out to our dive sites as quickly as possible with our TI as a mother ship often towing other kayaks and an inflatable equipment raft (serves it's purpose well) without having to buy a $60k boat and having to store it at $350 bucks a month for dry storage in Florida (who in the heck can afford that). Anymore our TI spends 90 percent of its time fully rigged on the trailer for full blown sailing and we don't do kayak only expeditions up rivers and camping much anymore. Your choice of the evolve for the purpose you mentioned is perfect as it is very compact and light weight and can be used equally well in kayak mode as well as full blown sailing (my motors must be removed when in kayak mode). With the solar panel option you will be able to daily recharge the batteries for the next days adventure.
Good luck
Bob


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PostPosted: Sat May 10, 2014 7:22 am 
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Location: South Florida
I'm not into solar panels for expedition use, but for serious charging (other than tablets or cell phones) it seems like some large panels may be needed, and they would be need to be exposed to the sun for a significant time each day. I'm sure knowledgeable people could figure it out, or, maybe just buy some solar panel system and do a trial & error--but that might be expensive. What sort of system are we talking here?

Keith

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PostPosted: Fri May 16, 2014 1:13 am 
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From an "economic" and "range" point of view a fuel driven outboarder surely is the best solution.

But then again - it is surely louder than the evolve, way more heavy to transport, may be a bit "stinky" on the fume side and I believe fuel driven outboarders need to be maintained.

After my evolve broke down (caught a fishing line in the motor which resulted in water getting into the motor which resulted in a blown fuse in my battery due to overcurrent) I seriously considered buying a small outboarder but in the end it was too much "headache" for a "nonhandyman" like me. (building brackets to fix the motor on the TI, maintenance of an outboard motor, draining non used fuel before storing the motor and so on).

The evolve is supersmall...battery and motor fit in the front hatch, after use just plug the battery in a power outlet and it is "plug and play"...the ideal solution for me.

But again - for a serious offshore sailor who knows how to handle fuel driven motors and doesn't mind the noise and fume and transport of a heavy motor a "real outboarder" may be the better solution.

Peace
Serbi

P.S. the problem is if you ever got used to a motor on your TI you won't go out again without it.


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PostPosted: Sun May 25, 2014 12:43 am 
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Location: Salem, Oregon USA
I'll have to admit, there is one more reason that I'd like the hidden/silent evolve... power boater comments: "wow, look how fast that kayaker is going without any wind, he must really be in shape". :D


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PostPosted: Sun May 25, 2014 1:18 am 
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Location: Forster, NSW, Australia
Next thing, someone is going to say that when sailing against another Island, they pedal like mad when the opponent can't see their legs moving! Who would ever do that??? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

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PostPosted: Sun May 25, 2014 3:23 am 
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Location: Pompano Beach, FL
Outboards vs Electric - my 2 cents worth.

Outboards smell :(
Outboards make noise :cry:
...........edited due to political sensitivities......................
..................................................................................
Outboards require costly maintenance :(
Outboards require fastidious flushing (especially the new 4-stroke Honda) :(
Outboards are more susceptible to the second law of thermodynamics -> entropy (see #5) :(
Outboards don't utilize GPS technology :( that records and retrace paths, set cruise control, and more :!:

but the best part I've saved till last... :shock:

Outboards can't do this..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FGAjVRvodA

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Last edited by proyak on Sun May 25, 2014 5:45 am, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: Sun May 25, 2014 4:42 am 
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Agree with most of your comments, but you misspelt "polluting valuable groundwater to save a few bucks"

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PostPosted: Sun May 25, 2014 4:55 am 
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tonystott wrote:
Agree with most of your comments, but you misspelt "polluting valuable groundwater to save a few bucks"


Opinions vary...(see also 'Global warming') so I edited out the hot button issue so as not to distract from the main topic.

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PostPosted: Sun May 25, 2014 5:50 am 
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Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
That is way cool, I see no reason you can't have both ( I'm sure that is the intent of the unit ( on powerboats).
Have you tried using your sail while the unit is running (power sailing), I'm thinking it will double your range and increase your speed.
Ps the Honda 2.3 is air cooled ( no flushing needed), just like everything else it just needs to be rinsed off with fresh water at the end if the day.
Bob


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PostPosted: Sun May 25, 2014 5:56 am 
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fusioneng wrote:
Have you tried using your sail while the unit is running (power sailing), I'm thinking it will double your range and increase your speed.
Bob


All the time Bob....when there is suitable wind.

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