Question on potential issues with submerging a 12 or 24v sealed marine battery.
I am looking at purchasing a torqueedo electric motor for a small dinghy I plan to purchase for my 39 foot sailboat this year.
I am deciding between a 2hp version that has integrated battery and a larger version that requires an external battery.
Holding me back from the external battery, is a concern that an external battery could be problematic if the dinghy is flooded with enough salt water to reach and short the battery terminals.
A tech wrote me that I should not worry, that 12v is not enough to overcome the resistance of the water.
I had not heard of this before, is this true? Is it still true for 24v?
True or not, a reasonable coat of dielectric spray would be enough for a short immersion.
True or not, a 2hp dinghy motor is not going to be used in rough conditions, it just won't push the boat and passengers. In moderate conditions it's unlikely that you'll have much water in your dinghy.
Torqeedo torque is pretty amazing, Russ. I have a Travel 800 here that I used on two boats last summer, and I was fairly shocked at its low speed power. I could leave my 11' tender Weaver clipped to the stern of Gizmo and swing the whole mass -- 37' x 13' boat, float and big chains -- with some authority.
I'm sure it would push that tender, or the 9' RIB I tried it on, against a big chop and wind. What it won't do, like a gasoline 2 hp, is put either of those small boats on a plane. I believe these numbers from Torqeedo:
http://www.torqeedo.com/us/hn/products/travel/range.html
Dan,
I assume you are talking about an AGM battery when you say a "sealed" battery. I doubt any good quality AGM, such as the DieHard Platinum, would be adversely affected by an occasional dunking in sea water. As mentioned a good coating with a dielectric spray should provide good insurance.
I run my dink with an electric trolling
motor and use two small agm batteries in a
plastic toolbox with A/b/off switch and waterproof
connectors through the toolbox side. Works great
and batteries charge while dink on davits through the same connectors.
The battery box never leaves the dink. In a small dink
this is more practical than rowing as mate and
dog do not leave enough room for proper sweep
of oars.
Brian