My previous one worked so well and I loved it except for the battery life - it was 12S2 - so the new one will be 12S3P using Reliance RS-50 cells so should give, hopefully, 1.8 x the run time.
I will use a Pelican 1170 box to house the electronics and battery. This box, while big, gives me options to use other battery configurations.
After reading @Jezzapost using a Duotone harness - I have just bought a Duotone efoil harness without the box, so once it arrives I will see what’s required to house the 1170 box.
So I’ve mostly built this new version but its not been a walk in the park - a lot of work for a lot of failure…obviously my engineering skills are lacking. My previous build so so much quicker and easier.
I used a Duotone harness - this worked great. Initially I tried a TPU printed plate that had upstands that slotted into the holes harness back plate. that was glued to the Pelican box with Fix 15… this popped off after first use. So I have now just run the grunt straps between the harness back plate and the EVA and put a M5 bolt through one of the harness holes through one of the buckle holes in the grunt strap - works great and no extra weight.
The Pelican box is a bit of a nightmare… made of PP things like Fix15 will stick but wornt stand up to pressure - even with serious prep (sanding, IPA x several times and flame treatment) and it leaks - even after taking out seal, cleaning, applying silicone and reseating. Also its super heavy compared to my old Camden Boss box. So wouldn’t recommend these. That said I know others have had great success with these. I am now looking at going back to a camden boss box… just havent yet decided on battery configuration.
After a semi successful first outing, it has now reduced to about 40% power and I cannot get on foil. I suspect water ingress in one of the phase wires or connectors - which is very odd as they are all surrounded in epoxy. it could be that I have 2 sets of MR60 connectors … so maybe I need to remove one or both.
All in all… its tested my patience to the point I suspect I might just buy a FoilDash… as it looks like they did a pretty good job. But as I have all the parts I might rebuild again and focus on light weight and simplicity.
I’m not sure on dimension of the box and what can and cant be done, but one of the simplest methods could be to drill through the box and then just use seals on the screws. That way there’s no bond and the purely mechanical fixing is solid. Think of it conceptually like any through hole on a waterproof connector with a gasket inbetween.
Yeah I still dont know where the water was coming from… my v2 through-box cable gland had so much adhesive in and round it and the whole thing covered with silicone on the inside… that’s why I’m assuming it was the boxes seal… but who knows. either way I’m ditching it as its too big and heavy… I have stripped everything out of it and refitting into my camden box which I know is super water tight and light and small enough.
I have decided to move away from the bigger battery setup I originally wanted for the v2 build (due to weight - and I love the waist setup) and will stick with 12S2P for now… as I also have 50 x RS-50 cells I’ll just make 2 packs. It looks like there are also some 60A cells on the market now too and also solid state batteries which look amazing - both providing longer run times (than my current P42A’s) … and also, I’ve noticed FoilDash’s approach… their standard pack is 12S2P and their max pack is 14S2P… good idea… more runtime for only 4 more cells instead of adding another string in series (another 12 cells) - although I do wonder which ESC they are using (how do you switch from 12S to 14S??).