batteries for electric kayak..?

[joco]

hi all.

ok my kayak season is done.

BUT i am thinking some rigging for my kayaks this winter.

one off the project to rig one or 2 kayak wit an eletric motor.

min kota 17 pound trust is the one i will use i think...lesss weight and less drag cause off smaller size.

but now i am looking for theeeeeee best batterie i can get..for my $$.

need 12 volt batterie...so light and that would last a long time.

i no a lot off people in here no there batteris. so.???

i was thinking weelchair batteries..but mabe there better.

as to be something that can be charge and recharge a lot.

thanks

joco

 

[tostino]

Well it really depends on how much weight you want to add to them. What would the most you would want to spend on the batteries, and the max weight be?

 

[vanilla ice]

Thats cheating.

 

[dogman dan]

Depends on what you call light. A good 18 ah wheelchair sla would weigh less than a 100+ pound trolling motor battery for sure. But both would have the same limitations of all lead acid batteries, voltage sag, high weight, and very low cycle life if discharged all the way. And a wheelchair battery would have pretty limited range so it may just depend on how far you want to go, and how much assistance you need. Another cheap but small 12v option is the 12 ah batteries used in kiddie cars. They are the same 12v 12 ah batteries used by a lot of electric bikes.

The best bet, of course, would be something like a 30 ah 12v pingbattery. Ping will make up whatever you want so no problem there. It would cost a lot, but be the size of a lunchbox, weigh only 15-16 pounds, and be alble to run till its 100% discharged. It would be able to run the motor at 30 amps rate of discharge for one hour. So used intermittently, you could go out for a couple hours with that one.

The compromise in between of course, is nicads. Still pretty costly, but like the lifepo4 they could be run down quite a bit lower than sla's without harming them.

Lastly, and likely to be pretty cheap, would be lipoly packs like the RC helicopters use. Incredible c rates make them ideal for making a very powerfull, but small and light pack. You might have to series connect a few packs to make 12v. You don't need the high c rate if the pack is large though.

 

[vanilla ice]

Try to go for the premium "EV rated" SLA if you get leads! Usually the extra cost isn't too bad over the regulars.

 

[joco]

ok

kayak/me/all equipement..= aprox....310 pound.


but you would have to had the electic motor weight and the batteries.

motor is not mutch if i use a 17 pound trust minn kota...mabe 10 pound for the motor mabe.

plus the batterie.?

thanks guys

joco

 

[SunCoaster]

I'd test the propulsion with an inexpensive Jupiter AGM battery before investing with a Ping custom battery.
What's your goal? Adding a motor to your kayak may change its boating classification.

 

[jag]

one off the project to rig one or 2 kayak wit an eletric motor.

min kota 17 pound trust is the one i will use i think...lesss weight and less drag cause off smaller size.

but now i am looking for theeeeeee best batterie i can get..for my $$.

need 12 volt batterie...so light and that would last a long time.

Personally I avoid splurging on "the best" when I'm just starting a new project. Better to try something inexpensive, see how it works and if I like it. Then if I do become hooked and end up using it a lot it is motivated to buy the best at that time. Avoids collecting a lot of expensive stuff that I don't use much.

Lead Acid are heavy for the capacity, but the least expensive choice. The Weight matters less in a kayak than on a bike. The only annoying part is lifting them in and out.
You can choose one big car/marine battery or several small wheelchair batteries.
It is less trouble to charge and maintain one battery, but it is heavy to lift in/out, and there would have to be enough
space for it ideally someplace near the middle of the kayak. Several small batteries are easier to locate without upsetting the kayak weight balance, but will take more time to put in / take out and wire up.