I’m trying to make my efoil as cheap and simple as possible, so I decided to attempt a direct drive system. Before I order all of my parts, do you guys think this system will have adequate power to foil? I can always adjust the propeller, but I want to make sure I don’t end up buying something that won’t fit my needs. Thanks in advance for the help!
propeller: for me to big, this motor has around 7N of torque, aim for 20km/h with a 35% rpm drop at least, something like the solas plastic propeller maybe cut
The problem is: if you go cheap on parts which might work, but don’t work after testing, you will either buy better parts which might again work, or you buy parts which are tested and will definitely work.
So if simple is meant like, simple structure less parts, then you have to go direct drive.
If simple is meant like, no adjusting, no testing, straight forward instructions, then I would go the inrunner + gearbox way, maybe @Hiorth Build oder PM build.
The parts you listed maybe work, but nobody tested it. And in my opinion they are a little bit undersized. An ESC which has not a single protection (temp cutoff, current controll…) is likely to burn if stressed to hard. And you will stress him because you might use your motor at or over the maximum (at least for testing and learning getting up).
So I would recommend to read the build threads about their experiences and failures then decide if you want to experiment on something new (which will probably burn some money) or follow one of the instructions.
I have a box full of electric gadgets that didn’t make it into the board! Weighs about 5kg. Full of cable glands, cables, connectors, fuses, temperature sensors, buttons, more cables, more connectors, silicone sleves and Battery testers. There is a lot of stuff in R&D that doesn’t make it i to the final build.
I was a bit concerned about the ESC as well, but the maximum that the motor can pull at 12s is 80A (Since they are supposedly limited at 4000w). As long as it had ample watercooling, I was crossing my fingers that the 80 amp rated ESC would do the trick. Hard not to try for $60, but you guys are probably right.
I’m still hooked on the simplicity of direct drive but it’s definitely uncharted territory. Will a proper direct drive setup match the efficiency of a typical gear drive setups used on here? Lots of discussion but I’ve only seen a handful of people try it.
