As a new user Im a bit overwhelmed by the huge amount of usefull but sometimes old content in this forum where for me it is very hard to find out what is outdated/obsolete and what is time proven good. So therefore It would be very helpfull if somebody could recommend the most favored designs for 2022.
Im especially refering to Props+ Duct (for safety reasons I like to have a duct, also efficiancy with duct is supposed to be higher afaik) including the Motor recomendation.
Im relatively heavy around 220 (with gear 230+) lbs. Additionally I intend to use a Sniper rifle case board with a huge and heavy 18s20p battery setup.
What would be the motor, motor power and duct + prop recommendation?
Board: The sniper board is a fun concept but has a lot of drag, i’d recommend something else for a heavier rider. We’re about the same weight, i use a 110L board now but started at 150L which was definitely easier to learn on.
Motor: I think the 65161 motor is still the top choice for price/performance.
Direct drive outrunners like 80100 and 63100 are cheaper and work suprisingly well but i’ve had two dying on me. I think cavitation inside the motor eat away the winding varnish after some time so for a trouble free efoil life i’d go with something else.
Props: there are some interesting alternatives these days but the flite propeller is probably the cheapest, and it’s good! Beware that you’d need to enlarge the hole in it to fit the 65161 motor (motor with pin and threaded axle)
Battery: In the beginning it’s more than a bit tiring to ride, both mentally and bodily. Therefore i think that your planned battery is overkill, both to build, buy, haul around and ride (on a first build). You could make the compartment large enough to fit two medium batteries if you’re really going for the ride time gold but start with building one.
Controller… I don’t know. I kinda doubt anyone has enough experience to really be able to recommend one quality wise. I’ll probably get some angry comments regarding this but even if you’ve used something trouble free on 5 consecutive builds doesn’t mean it’s quality. I hope the others can chime in with their best recommendations.
Foil: I currently use the Gong curve LT. The price/performance of the gong foils is great.
Ducts: Efficiency-wise they don’t add anything other than drag for efoils.
Safety-wise: All ducts i’ve seen create a nice confined chopping space for your fingers so i personally doubt that they give added safety… I don’t use one and i don’t see the point really. Better to use a plastic prop and skip the duct. The flite prop is not sharp on the leading edge or tips.
Board: A big question there, well copy sniper Idea was because lack of alternative. Do you have a source for a 150L board. Also a nice feature of the sniper is the Aluminium plate as ESC heatsink, how will the thermal management be for this 150L board?
Motor, Battery and Props: ok thanks.
Controller, ok Il find one, this is currently my least concern.
Ducts safety: Hmmm well since im a regualar surfer and relatively new to foil I was already a bit worried about the foil itself hitting me. Having a 6kW “Blender” on it doesent really improve this situation :P. Somehow I would feel safer to have some risk management here; another idea I had was to use a accelerometer/gyroscope in the board and try to detect falls, however I dont have any reference data for this approach.
Hmmm my approach Idea in general was to compensate inefficiancy (Drag) with more power/battery capacity.
Where are you located? I have started a new build, planned to make a board in the coming weeks, could be possible to make a twin board while i’m at it. If you’re interested then PM me.
I am following this forum since june, 21st. This is a good topic, where @TME222 describe very precisaly every thing done at his efoil.
I need help to understand whats going on with my e-foil.
I started whith a 65161 - 100kv motor, with a 75267 esc, using lipo batteries from a old drone, at total 12Cells, and almost 10Ah. I am using a board which I used to do a standup paddle foilling surfing, it is a 6’0", that I can stay on my foot or on my knees.
the foil was a 80cm wing with a 80cm aluminium mast.
the first time, the heavy batteries was inside a housing, on the stern of the board, and the propulsion wasn’t so good, and I didnt have anougth speed to takeoff.
after this, I tried to put the batteries at the mid position of the board, but didnt get the speed yet.
more one time and i had problems with the esc and change it to a new one from flipsky, and it receives at maximum 60V.
EDIT: i saw that the previous post was old, hope that @Rafaclaro3 has got it working already I’ll leave the info anyway, might help somebody.
Original post:
All info about a system is needed to do fault finding, from the information posted it’s only possible to guess on some things.
bad propeller
ESC settings that need to be looked at
ESC not powerful enough
low lift wing
The long story: to get drive and lift these things are needed:
Enough torque:
enough current ?
enough motor size
right winding for the current
Matched ESC and settings ?
Enough rpm:
Motor kV*voltage
matched ESC settings ?
A matched propeller:
Without a good propeller you can have all the rest but no drive and lift. Flying Rodeo/flite prop/ manta prop/a bunch of 3D printed ones from this forum work well. The prop delivered with the 65161 motor does not.
The right wing and stab ?
With a really fast and small wing (especially paired with a small board) there will be difficulties lifting even with a 65161 fully powered. With most wings no problems. My gong YPRA small wing just barely lifts even with motor getting all the juice it might need so that’s the limit for my weight and board.
The right board ?
board is less important than one might think but a big pig of a board can have too high resistance and suction from the water. A really small bord that sinks deep can also be problematic but most inbetweens will work OK if the rest of the system is halfway optimised.
I’ll leave the info anyway, might help somebody.