Tweet
Hi everyone,
I'm new hear so be gentle! I'm working on an interesting project which some of you will hopefully find interesting as well as being able to help me.
I have designed an autonomous boat that will be battery powered with the batteries being topped up with solar cells laid into the deck of the boat. The boat won't be made for humans to be aboard and will be like a drone. The end game is to be able to cross the Atlantic Ocean with the boat, remotely operated via satellite telemetry and a few other clever tricks.
Originally I had designed a 5 metre boat to give enough area for the solar panels but after discussing with various people, I decided to downsize the boat to 1 metre as it will be lighter and require less power. I will still need the right solar cell setup on the deck to offer a top up of the batteries through the journey.
What I need help with is the battery setup as I am pretty weak in this area. Some people I've spoken to have said that potentially, If I had the right batteries, I might not need solar as the batteries might get the boat across. I wouldn't want to chance this but I'm interested in knowing whether this is in fact a possibility?
So the main part of my post that I wanted to ask for advice on is what batteries and capacities should I set up in series to power my boat continually if possible while it crossed the ocean in a way that the solar cells would also charge the batteries. It might be that the power from the batteries would last for quite a long time and the charge from the solar cells might only be needed for short periods.
Information on the boat;
The boat will mostly travel along the equator, ending up in the Caribbean if it's successful to give it the best chance of maximum sun exposure. Another question that I have which is pretty integral to this stage of my planning is what size motor could my battery setup power? On the original design for the 5 metre boat, I had already sourced a 3kW motor but this is way above what I can expect to be powered now on my 1 metre boat. So can anyone tell me what power rating I could realistically expect my a good solar and battery setup to power? I'm currently looking at motors between 300W and 500W. Am I still expecting too much or is this a possibility? The rest of the parts on the boat including computer have power consumption that is negligible. The PC requires 2W and the autopilot 0.5W as an example.
I know this is a complex question and I'm not expecting someone to solve this problem outright but I'd really appreciate someone with a good level of knowledge to hazard an estimate by way of helping me get closer to answering my questions on the battery setup and potential motor power.
So to clarify, the two things I am looking for advice on;
- The best battery setup - which batteries, wattage, ratings etc?
- Which size motor could I expect to be powered? 500W? 300W? 100W?
This is just my private project which I'm hoping will lead to a great achievement. If someone is particularly knowledgable and passionate about electronics, I may consider bringing in a partner for the project who will be credited if successful.
If I can get some good advice, and anyone is interested, I'm happy to post progress and pics on this forum for people to follow once the boat is up and running.
Thanks all who read this for taking the time to do so and I hope to get some good advice and feedback.
Mitch
I'm new hear so be gentle! I'm working on an interesting project which some of you will hopefully find interesting as well as being able to help me.
I have designed an autonomous boat that will be battery powered with the batteries being topped up with solar cells laid into the deck of the boat. The boat won't be made for humans to be aboard and will be like a drone. The end game is to be able to cross the Atlantic Ocean with the boat, remotely operated via satellite telemetry and a few other clever tricks.
Originally I had designed a 5 metre boat to give enough area for the solar panels but after discussing with various people, I decided to downsize the boat to 1 metre as it will be lighter and require less power. I will still need the right solar cell setup on the deck to offer a top up of the batteries through the journey.
What I need help with is the battery setup as I am pretty weak in this area. Some people I've spoken to have said that potentially, If I had the right batteries, I might not need solar as the batteries might get the boat across. I wouldn't want to chance this but I'm interested in knowing whether this is in fact a possibility?
So the main part of my post that I wanted to ask for advice on is what batteries and capacities should I set up in series to power my boat continually if possible while it crossed the ocean in a way that the solar cells would also charge the batteries. It might be that the power from the batteries would last for quite a long time and the charge from the solar cells might only be needed for short periods.
Information on the boat;
The boat will mostly travel along the equator, ending up in the Caribbean if it's successful to give it the best chance of maximum sun exposure. Another question that I have which is pretty integral to this stage of my planning is what size motor could my battery setup power? On the original design for the 5 metre boat, I had already sourced a 3kW motor but this is way above what I can expect to be powered now on my 1 metre boat. So can anyone tell me what power rating I could realistically expect my a good solar and battery setup to power? I'm currently looking at motors between 300W and 500W. Am I still expecting too much or is this a possibility? The rest of the parts on the boat including computer have power consumption that is negligible. The PC requires 2W and the autopilot 0.5W as an example.
I know this is a complex question and I'm not expecting someone to solve this problem outright but I'd really appreciate someone with a good level of knowledge to hazard an estimate by way of helping me get closer to answering my questions on the battery setup and potential motor power.
So to clarify, the two things I am looking for advice on;
- The best battery setup - which batteries, wattage, ratings etc?
- Which size motor could I expect to be powered? 500W? 300W? 100W?
This is just my private project which I'm hoping will lead to a great achievement. If someone is particularly knowledgable and passionate about electronics, I may consider bringing in a partner for the project who will be credited if successful.
If I can get some good advice, and anyone is interested, I'm happy to post progress and pics on this forum for people to follow once the boat is up and running.
Thanks all who read this for taking the time to do so and I hope to get some good advice and feedback.
Mitch
Comment