To anyone who might know. How to convert gas outboard to electric outboard.

[Lonnie Hyde]

I am sure that somone in this group has done this before. I might have to replace a 26.5 gas engine with an electric motor on a lower drive unit. I might have to change a gas boat to a electric boat, in order to use a private lake in a private community. It might becom an issue in order to get their permission to use the lake. I hope it will not, but the retired G.I. in me, must plan for contingencies. I have spoken with a very knowledgeable man who makes what I think is one of the best lower outboard units available, but he has not at this point, used an electric motor on one of his units. He did advise me to be sure to use a 1/4" drive system with the motor. The lower unit is designed for use with a Zenoah style engine. Some type or kind of adapter must be used to install a motor instead of the engine. I am just getting back into boating after being out of it since 1978, and am not familiar enough with all of today's hardware that can be used for this purpose. There is something to do this with I am sure, but I do not know just what it might be. Any advice or directions will be more than greatly appreciated. Best regards to all on the forum, Lonnie Hyde.

 

[RaceMechaniX]

Hello Lonnie,

There are several decent options if you have some basic fabrication skills. Both the Lawless and Insane lowers can be made into FE setups.
There are too many options for power systems but I will give a couple that I know will work reliably.

First start with the batteries. For a gas size boat ideally you want 8S, but you could get away with 6S. An 8S1P setup using 5000mAh cells would get you a good balance of power and run time.

I would highly recommend the Castle XLX2 with StumpFab cooling plate if you want the most reliable water proof controller. This is a 3 cell to 8 cell controller with plenty of amperage overhead. You could also look at the smaller Castle X8S also with a StumpFab cooling plate. This is also an 8 Cell controller, but limited to about 300A. Normally this should be plenty, but the depending on how sticky the hull is it could easily spike over 300A.

As for motors there are a lot of options, but you want to stay in the 20k RPM range or lower which matches up with gas size props. Assuming you use an 8 cell setup you will want to look for motors with a KV around 600-780kv.

A couple of options;
1. Castle 2028 780 kV 1/5 scale car motor
2. TP5650 8Y 720kv
3. TP5660 6Y 740kv
4. Leopard 5692 3Y 730kv
5. SSS 56104 6Y 600kv
6. LMT 4140/9 629kv This is an outrunner motor.

 

[rhomodel]

Not an answer to your question, but have you used already a good muffled 3 chamber pipe? These reduce noise considerable and might avoid you having to convert to electric. Be aware that a good FE set-up is quite noisy as well, not as noisy to an open pipe, or a pipe with an open muffler, but still.
Only issue is that I'm not familiair with all US retailers of 3 chamber muffled pipes, but there are for sure guys here that can help.

 

[Lonnie Hyde]

Thank you to Race MechanIX and rhomodel for you kind replies. I am impressed that both of you would take the time to help with my problem about the noise issue. I am just getting back into the hobby after a very long absence from it. Thank you for letting know about the pipe and mufflers. I didn't know about them. I still have a lot to learn again. Also not knowing anything about , ( new to me ) the electric boat world. This information will be needed and very valuable if I have to go that way. I am not competition racer anymore, just a sport boater. I am not building the boat to run in any particular class, just to have fun with it, is my goal. I know that a lot among you are racers, as I was when I was much younger, but today I am not quick enough with my reflexes and I don't want to damage other peoples boats. I love to watch a good race, but that is not me anymore. I will have to look into the two lower uints that I was informed about. Thank you both. Best regards, Lonnie Hyde. P.S. Is Dan Ellison in this forum. I am tying to find him. Any info appreciated.

 

[RaceMechaniX]

Hello Lonnie,
You did not mention which hull you have or which lower you already have. The more details the better.

Yes Dan Allison logs in occasionally. You can search for members and I believe he just uses his name as his avatar.

 

[Lonnie Hyde]

Hello Lonnie,

There are several decent options if you have some basic fabrication skills. Both the Lawless and Insane lowers can be made into FE setups.
There are too many options for power systems but I will give a couple that I know will work reliably.

First start with the batteries. For a gas size boat ideally you want 8S, but you could get away with 6S. An 8S1P setup using 5000mAh cells would get you a good balance of power and run time.

I would highly recommend the Castle XLX2 with StumpFab cooling plate if you want the most reliable water proof controller. This is a 3 cell to 8 cell controller with plenty of amperage overhead. You could also look at the smaller Castle X8S also with a StumpFab cooling plate. This is also an 8 Cell controller, but limited to about 300A. Normally this should be plenty, but the depending on how sticky the hull is it could easily spike over 300A.

As for motors there are a lot of options, but you want to stay in the 20k RPM range or lower which matches up with gas size props. Assuming you use an 8 cell setup you will want to look for motors with a KV around 600-780kv.

A couple of options;
1. Castle 2028 780 kV 1/5 scale car motor
2. TP5650 8Y 720kv
3. TP5660 6Y 740kv
4. Leopard 5692 3Y 730kv
5. SSS 56104 6Y 600kv
6. LMT 4140/9 629kv This is an outrunner motor.

Hello RaceMechaniX. Is it possible to have private mesenging on this forum? I am rather new to the forum, and do not navigate it very well. My home email, is [email protected] . My phone number is 760-241-2673. I do much better when speaking with an actual human. Looks like you know a lot about electric boats and I do not. I know that I will have a lot of questions that would take forever this way. Please advise. Lonnie Hyde.

 

[RaceMechaniX]

Hello Lonnie,
Yes you can send me a PM (Private Message) if you click on my name and select PM. I am at the internats now so a phone call will have to wait till next week when I return.

-Tyler

 

[LawlessMan]

If you want to go electric with a gas outboard, my Lawless Cutthroat Gas Drive is easily converted to FE by swapping the standard motor mount plate with one that will mate with your motor. There are two styles, one for 4-hole bolt pattern and one for 6-hole bolt pattern. With the adapter and a collet with a 1/4" square insert, the drive is ready to run. Call me or e-mail for details if you would like to pursue that option. [email protected] 607-687-0143