One of the most frequently asked questions people have about an electric outboard motor or whisper motor is how long you can sail with it. You need to know two things to calculate this:
The amount of Ah (ampere hours) of the battery.
The amount of ampere that an engine pulls
Sailing time Formula
You can use the following formula to roughly calculate the sailing time.
Battery Ampere-hour (Ah) x 85%, divided by the amount of ampere that the motor pulls = sailing time in hours
How many Ampere hours (Ah) does the battery have?
A (sailing) battery has a capacity expressed in ampere hours (Ah). This is an indication of how long a battery can deliver an amount of ampere. The higher this number, the more energy a battery can hold and the longer it can drive an electric motor. For example, a 100 Ah battery can power an electric motor that pulls 25 Amps for 4 hours (25A * 4 hours = 100 Ah). If the engine were to pull 10A at a lower speed, the battery could be sailed for 10 hours.
In fact, the amount of Ah is the same as the size of a gas tank. The larger the gas tank, the more fuel can go in and the longer you can drive on it.
How many Amps does the electric motor draw?
How much power the motor draws is crucial to calculate the sailing time. Most manufacturers indicate with their product how much Ampère the electric outboard motor or whisper motor consumes nominal / average and maximum. If you have this information you can calculate how long you can sail for. The exact sailing time does depend on sailing conditions, type of boat etc.
To give an indication of the sailing time we give the following example:
A specific 30 lbs whisper motor has a nominal consumption of 15A and a maximum consumption of 30A. The motor is powered by a 105 Amp-hour battery. This means a sailing time of on average power 105/15 = 7 hours of sailing time. The maximum consumption (full throttle) is 105/30 = 3.5 hours.
How far can I empty a battery?
The best-selling batteries for electric boating are deep-cycling batteries. These can be sailed up to about 80%. So you have about 20% left over. If you go over this once it's not so bad. Completely draining your battery structurally ensures a greatly reduced battery life.
If you use such a battery, you should actually have 20% of the total amount of Ah. The sailing time in that case is therefore shorter than outlined above. See the example below:
You sail with a 30lbs whisper motor with a nominal consumption of 15A and a maximum consumption of 30A on a 105Ah deep cycle battery. The battery is discharged 80%. So there is 84 Ah left. Nominally you can therefore sail 84/15 = 5.6 hours. With maximum consumption you can sail 84/30 = 2.8 hours.
To extend the life of your battery, you must always recharge the battery after using your battery (within 24 hours). If you store your battery for a longer period of time, for example in the winter, make sure that the battery is fully charged.
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Weather conditions and sailing time
The weather conditions can have a major effect on the battery life and therefore the life. For example, a whisper motor that pulls 20 Amps to propel a boat forward under calm conditions, requires 30 Amps to get the boat forward under the same conditions and in heavier weather. If you regularly sail under more severe conditions, take this into account when choosing the right battery.
Extend battery life and sailing time
You can do a number of things to extend your sailing time with your whisper motor or electric outboard motor:
Gebruik een elektromotor met een traploze snelheidsregeling in plaats van een stappenschakelaar. Dit is bijvoorbeeld het verschil tussen de Minn Kota Endura C2 (stappenschakelaar) en de Minn Kota Endura MAX (traploos).
Koop een zwaardere motor op 24 volt (of zelfs 36 volt). Zulke motoren leveren een gelijke of hogere hoeveelheid stuwkracht tegenover een lager amperage. Als je echt lang wilt
Vaar uw accu niet helemaal leeg. Het is onverstandig om een accu helemaal leeg te varen. Hierdoor gaat de levensduur van de accu achteruit.
Vergeet de accu niet tijdens de winter. Het is erg slecht voor een accu om maandenlang ongeladen te zijn. Dit zal de levensduur sterk inkorten en de prestaties verminderen. De accu in ieder geval eens per maand aan de lader leggen of bij voorkeur de accu gewoon standaard aan een druppellader te leggen.
Are you interested in purchasing an electric outboard motor? View the complete range here .
The amount of Ah (ampere hours) of the battery.
The amount of ampere that an engine pulls
Sailing time Formula
You can use the following formula to roughly calculate the sailing time.
Battery Ampere-hour (Ah) x 85%, divided by the amount of ampere that the motor pulls = sailing time in hours
How many Ampere hours (Ah) does the battery have?
A (sailing) battery has a capacity expressed in ampere hours (Ah). This is an indication of how long a battery can deliver an amount of ampere. The higher this number, the more energy a battery can hold and the longer it can drive an electric motor. For example, a 100 Ah battery can power an electric motor that pulls 25 Amps for 4 hours (25A * 4 hours = 100 Ah). If the engine were to pull 10A at a lower speed, the battery could be sailed for 10 hours.
In fact, the amount of Ah is the same as the size of a gas tank. The larger the gas tank, the more fuel can go in and the longer you can drive on it.
How many Amps does the electric motor draw?
How much power the motor draws is crucial to calculate the sailing time. Most manufacturers indicate with their product how much Ampère the electric outboard motor or whisper motor consumes nominal / average and maximum. If you have this information you can calculate how long you can sail for. The exact sailing time does depend on sailing conditions, type of boat etc.
To give an indication of the sailing time we give the following example:
A specific 30 lbs whisper motor has a nominal consumption of 15A and a maximum consumption of 30A. The motor is powered by a 105 Amp-hour battery. This means a sailing time of on average power 105/15 = 7 hours of sailing time. The maximum consumption (full throttle) is 105/30 = 3.5 hours.
How far can I empty a battery?
The best-selling batteries for electric boating are deep-cycling batteries. These can be sailed up to about 80%. So you have about 20% left over. If you go over this once it's not so bad. Completely draining your battery structurally ensures a greatly reduced battery life.
If you use such a battery, you should actually have 20% of the total amount of Ah. The sailing time in that case is therefore shorter than outlined above. See the example below:
You sail with a 30lbs whisper motor with a nominal consumption of 15A and a maximum consumption of 30A on a 105Ah deep cycle battery. The battery is discharged 80%. So there is 84 Ah left. Nominally you can therefore sail 84/15 = 5.6 hours. With maximum consumption you can sail 84/30 = 2.8 hours.
To extend the life of your battery, you must always recharge the battery after using your battery (within 24 hours). If you store your battery for a longer period of time, for example in the winter, make sure that the battery is fully charged.
proline boats for sale
Weather conditions and sailing time
The weather conditions can have a major effect on the battery life and therefore the life. For example, a whisper motor that pulls 20 Amps to propel a boat forward under calm conditions, requires 30 Amps to get the boat forward under the same conditions and in heavier weather. If you regularly sail under more severe conditions, take this into account when choosing the right battery.
Extend battery life and sailing time
You can do a number of things to extend your sailing time with your whisper motor or electric outboard motor:
Gebruik een elektromotor met een traploze snelheidsregeling in plaats van een stappenschakelaar. Dit is bijvoorbeeld het verschil tussen de Minn Kota Endura C2 (stappenschakelaar) en de Minn Kota Endura MAX (traploos).
Koop een zwaardere motor op 24 volt (of zelfs 36 volt). Zulke motoren leveren een gelijke of hogere hoeveelheid stuwkracht tegenover een lager amperage. Als je echt lang wilt
Vaar uw accu niet helemaal leeg. Het is onverstandig om een accu helemaal leeg te varen. Hierdoor gaat de levensduur van de accu achteruit.
Vergeet de accu niet tijdens de winter. Het is erg slecht voor een accu om maandenlang ongeladen te zijn. Dit zal de levensduur sterk inkorten en de prestaties verminderen. De accu in ieder geval eens per maand aan de lader leggen of bij voorkeur de accu gewoon standaard aan een druppellader te leggen.
Are you interested in purchasing an electric outboard motor? View the complete range here .
