I'm interested in converting to an all LiFePO4 battery bank but have concerns about the battery monitoring systems needed. Eric Bretscher (Nordkyn Design) brings up some very interesting concerns about using lithium aboard. From what I can gather, the main challenge is finding a way to protect the batteries and electronics from a surge in power when charging. To get around…See More

Looking for some advice if it is ok to bulk charge my 8A4D 48 volt AGM  battery Bank with a new 48 volt 30 amp power supply that I bought. It worked great in my Electro Sailing tests. Now I’m wondering if I can use it to bulk charge the 48 volt bank since it has double the amps of my NG-1 battery charger. I plan to set the power supply voltage to 56 volts and bulk charge the 48 volt bank. I will finish the charge with my Dual Pro 4  charger.The MK 8A4D batteries have a C/20  AH capacity of…See More

We have a power cat with twin diesels. Rather than going electric only, or serial hybrid, we are thinking of at least starting by keeping the diesels and going forward as a parallel hybrid.The parallel hybrid would have a new electric motor to a speed reduction unit (two differently sized pulleys), then by a belt to a wheel attached to the prop shaft. The attachment would be after the gearbox-engine, as our gearbox can freewheel safely and the diesel would be out of gear.We may start with one…See More

I try to maintain a clean engine compartment. The problem is, there are huge stains from years of oil buildup from the old diesel engine. We are afraid of damaging the fiberglass if we use the wrong cleaning solution. The list of worries is: oil has soaked into the fiberglass, preventing new paint from sticking, the cleaner may cause damage to the fiberglass/wood in the bilge, chemicals in the cleaner could cause corrosion of the motor mounts, and finally, hazardous chemicals may contaminate…See More

The DC Gearmotor works! As for the rest of the watermaker, we are saving that project for another day.This thing is brushed, and has (had) a warning label indicating that it could explode in a hazardous environment.Ideally, a brushed motor works…