Epropulsion Spirit 1.0 Plus - Bigger Battery Upgrade! Increased Range!

[@goodcitizen4587]

Cool! I'm going to try this as well. I've ordered the Spirt solar charger but I'll also pick up the External Battery Cable. Neat steering setup too!

[@drez20001]

Thanks. It's simple but it works.

[@jasonnorton2188]

Pretty cool setup

[@drez20001]

Indeed!

[@transsib]

Great video! I'm pleasantly surprised that the controller seems to recognize the external battery's larger capacity as it immediately indicated a longer remaining run time!

[@drez20001]

Thanks. I agree. It was nice and interesting to see.

[@WayneTheBoatGuy]

Well that's pretty wild!

[@outdoorville]

I bought my Spirit 1.0 at the beginning of 2019. It’s a remote-control version and runs on 40.7 nominal volts. The battery hasn’t been performing well for the last two seasons, so I decided to replace it with a new one. I contacted the seller and he advised me to buy a cable for external battery use. I tried to start the motor with that cable, but nothing happened. I contacted the seller again, and he had to consult the factory. The factory said it couldn’t be run with an external cable and advised me to buy a new battery, as they are no longer manufacturing batteries with 40.7 nominal voltage. Here is their offer for the new battery: 1. I should pay the price of the new Spirit Plus battery. 2. Pay for software updates for the new battery to make it compatible with the older voltage system. 3. Pay for the software update for my remote control. 4. The motor needs to be send also for the upgrade. Even after the update I cannot use the external battery cable or buy a new stock Sprit battery without the battery software update cost.

[@ttnyny]

Thank you for the informative video. I seems clear from your test run that the standard ePropulsion battery is not necessary for the operation of the motor. Your images showed some electronics in the ePropulsion battery case, but I am assuming that this is only the charge controller. If I am mistaken, I would be happy to know. Thanks again.

[@ttnyny]

P.S. If I were going to use the ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 with an external battery and without the stock battery, I would need to keep the tiller and tiller-based controls. As far as anyone knows, does this change the analysis?

[@drez20001]

You can use your own battery banks as long as they are between 39 and 60 volts. The tiller head will estimate run times and wattage used but is not as accurate as if you were using the battery that was designed for the motor.

[@perlago21]

what battery is that ? could you give more details on the connection?, amazing video sir

[@alexlorenzo5085]

Hello! Fantastic video🎉 I'm thinking of buying the same battery. It's a problem it says 51,2V but needed voltage is 48V? Regards

[@drez20001]

Thanks. The ePropulsion motors will run from about 39v to 60v. No problem using 51.2v batteries that will actually in reality charge up to around 54v.

[@stephenavery8683]

Have you had any problems using this battery set up since you made this video? Does the different amperage of the 51.2v batteries make a difference(25 vs 50 vs 100 amps)? May be a stupid question as I’m new to all this.

[@mdovera2]

Is there a battery you recommend for the 1.0 original not the plus? also what is the part number for the extension that I assume will be the same for both 1.0 and 1.0+

[@denizaltinezer1440]

Hi! First of all, great video. Very interesting job! I have tried connecting the charger that came with the original battery to the two plus and minus pins on the motor connector plug. Strangely the motor doesnt start. I am wondering if those four smaller pins somehow play a part in this mystery? Keep up the inspiring work! /Deniz

[@drez20001]

Thanks for your comments. Very appreciated. The charger will produce enough voltage but can't supply the needed amps to make the motor run.

[@denizaltinezer1440]

@@drez20001 the reason the motor wasnt starting is most likely because it has a fault. Showing the E21 error code. I will try again when the motor is fixed and working again.

[@sterlingbrown8036]

Your external battery costs much less than what Epropulsion offers, even with the purchase of a cable and charger. I want to extend the range of the Spirit Plus on my sailboat. Thanks for posting your experiment. I've seen 48 volt lithium batteries, 20 amp hours, and wonder if they would also work. Lighter, easier to haul up and down dock ladders. They're designed for e-bicycles, I think.

[@drez20001]

Indeed. It's not necessary to buy the proprietary battery unless the form factor is important. A boat with some storage capacity could easily carry enough battery for long run times. The sailboats I used to have would have worked very well with this little motor and a couple LifePo4s in the hold.

[@CUForever1964]

Cool video. Have been considering doing this myself but unsure of which battery to get. What are you using to charge the battery?

[@drez20001]

Thanks. I bought a good 48v smart charger off Amazon. Cost about $150 or so. Lots of charger options out there.

[@kayacatal]

I wanna ask, The motor functions are showing same as original battery with external battery?

[@drez20001]

The tiller readout makes approximations on the battery state of charge and draw usage. It works but is not as exact as the battery that mounts to the motor.

[@jxdigital]

How does the controller calculate the runtime if it doesn’t know the external battery capacity? Or did you program it somehow? Also 20% usage after one hour of full throttle can’t be right, like you said the original battery gets about 1 hour total (which is what I also get on mine, would I go full throttle all the time). I mostly do around 300 Watts which gives plenty of runtime, but I’m really interested in using another external battery like yours.

[@jxdigital]

I just figured out the Spirit 1.0 EVO model has a different tiller menu, with the option to set the battery capacity. I have the 1.0 Plus (same as yours), which doesn't have this option (while the manual says it's no problem to use a larger external battery, like you did). So I wonder how you changed this setting?

[@jefflindner3320]

How heavy is the boat you are pushing?

[@drez20001]

The boat is a 1967 Glastron Futura. Weighs about 500 pounds empty.

[@mdovera2]

Is there a battery you recommend for the 1.0 original not the plus? also what is the part number for the extension that I assume will be the same for both 1.0 and 1.0+

[@drez20001]

Any 48v battery will do the job from lead acid to LifePo4 units. The LifePo4 batteries will certainly last far longer and can be run down virtually flat compared to lead acid that shouldn't be taken below about 50%. I've had fine results from the LifePo4 batteries on Amazon. I've tried several manufacturers and they've all been fine. The cable is pricey but is plug and play. I ordered mine from Tiny Boat Nation: tbnation.net/products/epropulsion-48v-e-series-lithium-battery?variant=39661945946247&currency=USD&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwzby1BhCQARIsAJ_0t5Pt3rJOLUVqOAKmqQk9MBB8EP-B5x2i-w_k3WcIYwI0CO-zDj8V3wkaAnYeEALw_wcB

[@drez20001]

I just ordered two of these for a new boat motor project. amzn.to/3YrFPjq