Components guide for DIY eFoil

Build, Repair & Mod
1

Hi all. I’m putting together a list of components to assemble my first efoil.

  1. Please tell me where I can see what components are recommended to choose for building an efoil.
  2. What parameters should I use to choose a foil?
  3. I’m planning to buy a foil designed for surfing. Will this work? I care about efficiency, speed, and ease of use for a beginner.
  4. What parameters should I use to choose batteries? What size and what brand?
  5. How to choose a suitable propeller? Pitch, diameter, etc…
  6. Which propeller has better efficiency, closed or open?
  7. How to choose a motor?
  8. How to choose a board?
  9. I am planning to buy a wingsurfing board that is 30 liters more than my weight. It would be enough?
  10. Is there a list of recommended tested components?
  11. It would be nice if there is a link to tables where I can select the parameters of the components according to my parameters and requirements. Or parameter calculators. Or graphs.
2

Efoil motor FS65161 100KV 6000W 20S water proof for motorized surfboard | Flipsky.net – FLIPSKY

Is this a good motor?
Which variant is better, 100 KV or 120 KV?
Round with tread or splined shaft?

3

Hi, spend some time reading, it is all here.

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4

Have a look here:

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5

I read a lot of information, and I myself answer my questions, to which I found answers:

Best motor for beginners: Flipsky 65161 6000W, Round with thread, 100KV, $300.
Best propeller: Fliteboard Propeller, $45.

Please criticize my choice.

6

I use the 120kv 65161 and the flite prop and the vesc 7520 waterproof fromflipsky. All works well no problems aft over 150 sessions.

For board the fliteboard board only is quite a deal IMO. I got the carbon pro classic and the build quality far surpasses any DIY build. I have built a lot of boards over the years but went the fliteboard as its just hard to beat.

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7

If I understand correctly, for a 100KV motor I need 60 volts and 100 amperes, for a 120KV motor I need 50 volts and 120 amperes.

It is better to take VESC without water cooling, because as it is written here, it does not heat up much even without cooling.

8

No, where are you finding this information?

The 120kv motor is a better solution and can handle 14s (what you are referring to as 60v). The 100kv has zero benefit over the 120kv.
The current will depend on what prop you choose, what size you are, what foil you ride, your techniques etc…

9

Glad to hear you are reading and gathering info!

More on 100 vs 120 here

10

I don’t use water cooling just passive with the vesc mouited on aluminum plate atached to mast. Cooling is really good this wat. However I like the sealed vesc much less worry if it gets even a little water on it. Price is almost the same but a touch heavier than the plain one.

11

Doesn’t the lower current of 100 kV give a benefit over 120 kV?
The lower the current, the less losses in the ESC and wires and the motor, and the less heating.

1 Like
12

The link leads to the main page of this site.

13

Tap on the down arrow symbol on the upper right NOT the hyperlink to open the full thread.

15

I’ve already done this. This arrow only expands one message but does not open the full thread.

16

Sorry the link feature isn’t skmething I use much. Just use the search function to find the thread.

Good luck on your build

17

I was able to open your link. To do this, I needed to reload the page and quickly click on it before it changed. If you wait a little, the link stops working and leads to the main page. Looks like this is a site bug.

Thanks for the info. I read it and realized that 100KV and 120KV are almost the same. The only difference is the maximum ESC current and the winding inside the motor. So I choose 100KV to reduce losses and be able to use a cheaper ESC.

18

Do you have an idea of how you want to foil?

Requirements for EFoil only are different than foil assist and again if you want to do both.

My suggestion to you is either predetermine this or pick a collection of components that will allow a full range of capability. Buying individual pieces that are “less expensive” may not work out for you as they may not be up to the task that you settle on by forcing re-purchasing or at the very least a lot of initial “can’t get up on foil” problems.

Experienced builders/riders - and there a lot of them here like @jezza and @Larsb have done all that trial and error and documented the results. Ignore the advice and it’s going to cost you. :grinning:

19

First, I’m planning to attach a motor to my windsurf boat without a foil. It has a volume of 165 liters. I’ll go for a ride on the lake and the river. Sometimes I will ride in the ocean when there are no waves.
Then I plan to purchase a foil board and, having already had some experience and understanding, attach the motor to the foil.
The most expensive thing, as I understand it, is the batteries. I need to buy about 120-140 16850 batteries to get the required power of about 6kW.

20

Just jump right in to foiling and save the money. You can get a new Gong xover setup really high quality for great value. Mount the vesc on the top of the mast and bypass the water cooling option. You will learn some stuff on the windsurfer but have to rebuild and almost start again for a foilboard that works. Look for a used fliteboard board only. If you can get one for less than 2k$ you win. The hatch does not leak and you don’t need to start a composites factory in your house to make several.

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21

$2k is seems too expensive for a board. I planned to use a cheap $400 used wing foil board with a box with batteries attached on it.
Most expensive is a battery pack.

Are there waterproof VESCs with an external air-cooled radiator?