Previously, the manufacturer ePropulsion had pod drives with 1, 3 and 6 kilowatt hours of power at 48 volts in its range. The P series offers significantly more power with 12 and 20 kilowatt hours. For both pod drives, ePropulsion uses an operating voltage of 96 volts. It is therefore necessary to commission companies with special certification for high-voltage technology for installation and maintenance.
Electricity instead of petrol
The drives are officially called Pod Drive 12 eSSA and Pod Drive 20 eSSA. The electric motor is therefore located under the hull. The advantages: Natural cooling from the surrounding water and space in the engine room, where the diesel normally has its place. The real highlight is a special adapter plate with which the electric drives can be easily exchanged for the saildrive of a diesel from Yanmar or Volvo. The holes are suitable for the SD25 Saildrive from Yanmar and the 120S, 130S and 150S from Volvo. This should make the conversion particularly quick and easy. The adapter plate is an extra and costs 565 euros.
The pod drive with 12 kilowatts of power measures 60.3 x 42.0 x 12.2 centimetres and weighs 31.0 kilograms. The more powerful pod with 20 kilowatt hours measures 64.2 x 59.6 x 16.8 centimetres and weighs 48.5 kilograms. Both drives have the advantage that the engine room remains free. The motor control unit is installed here and the remaining space is available for the batteries. In addition, a large diesel tank is no longer required after the conversion to electric drive. Both the engine room and the space for the fuel tank can be used for batteries.
Battery instead of tank
With the G series, ePropulsion offers suitable power storage units with an operating voltage of 96 volts. The G102-100 model with a capacity of 10 kilowatt hours and the G102-230 with 23 kilowatt hours. The lithium iron phosphate batteries are encapsulated in a watertight metal housing to IP67 standard. The smaller battery measures 68.0 x 50.0 x 30.0 centimetres. The larger one with a capacity of 23 kilowatt hours measures 128.7 x 36.6 x 29.5 centimetres. Up to eight batteries can be connected together. As a calculation example, ePropulsion quotes a range of 46 kilometres at 5 kilowatts of power for a 6.5 metre long boat weighing 2 tonnes at a speed of 11.5 kilometres per hour with the Pod Drive 20 and the G102-230 battery.
The pod drives can be equipped with various propellers from the ePropulsion range. This also includes a folding propeller.
The prices
The Pod Drive 12 eSSA costs 6,999 euros, the more powerful one with 20 kilowatt hours 8,999 euros. The price for the adapter plate in the event of a conversion is added to this. In addition, there is the price of the battery. The G102-100 model costs 5,999 euros, the G102-230 model costs 11,998 euros. Added to this is a gear lever from 400 euros and a charger for the battery from 680 euros.
