Lots of people many cling to the older petrol outboard engines citing expense, range anxiety or fear of longevity for reasons they won’t go electric. I commute every day and I switched to electric. Here’s my real world take on the debate of petrol engines vs electric motors…I grew up with petrol outboards. I\u2019m from a family that loves boating. One of my earliest memories from the 1980s are of my lesson in petrol outboard engines and their idiosyncrasies. Christmas day, in the garden, being shown how to start a 2 stroke 4hp outboard motor.\u00a0 It was clamped into a large dustbin full of water. I was about 9 years old at the time. It was a rather energetic lesson in how to pull start a reluctant motor. The motor in question was an old Suzuki that started off life as a reliable engine and gradually as it aged became more and more of a gymnastic event to get it going.
\nNever mind the shell suits of the early 90s, we\u2019re talking about the petrol outboards, they were our only option at the time.<\/p>\n
Anyway, here we are, 40 plus years later. We have mobile phones more powerful than any home computer from the 1980s and 90s, we have comfortable electric cars capable of faster acceleration than any petrol super car,\u00a0 I can control my autopilot from my James Bond esque Garmin watch ( A Quatix 7, look it up, it\u2019s absolutely brilliant) and technology that has made lives unbelievably brilliant and so much easier than 40+ years ago. We have wind farms, solar farms, home solar power, house powerbanks and brilliantly portable lithium powerbanks instead of noisy gen sets.
\nYet, some folks cling to their noisy, smelly Petrol outboards in the fear that anything else is inferior.<\/p>\n
What are the arguments in favour Petrol outboard engines?<\/p>\n
It is tried and tested technology, you know where you are with petrol and since they banned the sale of new 2-stroke outboards, we now have 4-stroke petrol engines to deal with and some ageing older 2-strokes still in circulation on the second hand market.
\nThey are cheap to buy on the secondhand market
\nThe spares are readily available. You can find the spares for most common outboard engines available in chandleries and dedicated dealers. (online and in shops)
\nYou can carry a spare can of fuel to help boost your range.
\nRefuelling takes minutes.<\/p>\n
What are the arguments in favour of Electric outboard motors?<\/p>\n
They are established on the market for nearly 20 years so the technology has been tried and tested.
\nSpares (not that there\u2019s many actually needed) are readily available via chandleries and dedicated dealers (online and in shops)
\nSome electric outboards allow for solar charging while they are in motion.
\nThey can be topped up from any electrical outlet, 12v DC to 240 AC and Solar.
\nYou can carry an extra battery (for some models) if you need more range
\nThey show their power remaining and some have estimated time remaining clearly visible on a display
\nThey have forward and reverse by touch button
\nVery quiet running, you can have a conversation easily sitting right by it, even at max power.
\nThere\u2019s no maintenance required.
\nNo servicing costs.
\nNo fuel or oils involved so no mess
\nA rinse with fresh water is the only maintenance required.
\nCan be easily stowed in any locker, cupboard or bunk in any position.
\nMost can be submersed briefly, are not adversely affected by\u00a0 a dunking.<\/p>\n
for a group test of electric outboards, we got a bunch of the best electric outboards together to see how they compare. a few more have become available though since this test.<\/p>\n
What are the arguments against Petrol outboard engines?<\/p>\n
Messy, oil residue on the leg can end up on your clothes or other furnishing. Carrying in the car needs care.
\nVery particular stowage position, must be stored in a way to avoid oil\/fuel flooding the chamber
\nAnnual servicing costs and time
\nNeed to go to a fuel station to get petrol
\nYou can\u2019t tell how much fuel you have left unless you unscrew the fuel tank to look inside.
\nThere\u2019s no external range indicator.
\nIf the engine is even briefly submerged, it will need to be stripped down and cleaned out to avoid engine seizure.
\nNoisy, some can be very noisy
\nSmelly. especially 2-stroke older engines
\nyou need to run them dry for safe stowage and to avoid a blocked carburettor<\/p>\n
What are the arguments against Electric outboard motors?<\/p>\n
Expensive outlay at the start
\nCan\u2019t be charged from empty to full as quickly as a petrol engine
\nThey are limited in power\/model options.<\/p>\n
What are electric outboards like to live with and will I save money in the long run?
\nAt no point did I consider what I might save on petrol as a consequence of switching to an electric outboard. That was\u2019t part of decision making process for me. But if were to work it out, I\u2019d say I would use between \u00a37 (5 litres\/1 gallon)and \u00a314 (10 litres\/2 gallons) each week on petrol, which over the course of a season of 7 or 8 months would cost Approximately \u00a3380.\u00a0If we add on the servicing costs and my time taken to service, we\u2019re looking at roughly \u00a3500 per year to run a petrol outboard on my tender, used as a frequent commuter to and from a pontoon to my boat on a mooring.
\nMy outboard motor cost me, as a slightly used model, roughly \u00a32000.
\nOnce I switched to electric, the first thing I did was work out just how many times I could go to and from my boat for how much battery depletion. Surprisingly I was able to go all week without needing to charge. But rather than let the outboard run completely empty, it was much easier to just top up, occasionally from my onboard boat battery bank over night, then let that charge back up by solar power in the day. Or\u00a0 bring it to my office in the day and plug it in for a charge.
\nLifting the outboard off and carrying it to my car is made easy due to the way the bulky bracket of my chosen electric outboard, the award winning Remigo,\u00a0 stays on the tender, allowing the outboard to be a little less heavy, and much easier to transport than if the bracket remained attached.
\nWith the array of outboards available these days, there\u2019s something suitable for almost everyone.
\nThe post Petrol outboard engines VS Electric outboard motors: real world comparison appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lots of people many cling to the older petrol outboard engines citing expense, range anxiety or fear of longevity for reasons they won’t go electric. I commute every day and I switched to electric. Here’s my real world take on … <\/p>\n