Speed & efficiency test, Zebco Rhino BLX 70 brushless motor & Oskwig 370s aluminium boat

[@symonsaz]

Any motor is most efficient at lower speeds because of fundamental hydrodynamics. The more speed you go, the more drag you need to fight against.

[@wedkawodaiprzygoda5324]

Brawo🍗🥂

[@steffenseikat512]

Nice test. If I put this motor on a 330cm x 110cm 25KG inflatable, do you think it would go much faster or is this motor only for trolling at low speed? Cheers Steffen

[@borealadventure8340]

Hi Steffen! I don't have direct experience from an inflatable but my 330x115cm 38kg aluminium boat is actually a tad slower with this motor (compared to the boat in the video) as it is less streamlined and more rectangular in shape. From what I've seen most boats seem to top out at ~4 to 5 knots with this motor so I guess yours would as well depending on the shape of the boat, friction and so on. I would say this motor is mostly for trolling purposes but you aren't as handicapped compared to using a common 30lbs motor if you are only relying on the trolling motor for transportation. Both in terms of speed and handling choppier waves. cheers

[@steffenseikat512]

@@borealadventure8340 Thank you for the quick answer. It helps a lot. Cheers

[@MaxRades]

What battery do you recommend exactly for this rhino blx 70?

[@borealadventure8340]

Sorry for the late answer. I'm using a 150Ah LiFePO4 battery as stated in the equipment used above. Any good LiFePO4 battery will do I guess. It is possible to use a Pb based battery as well but the Peukert loss will be significant at higher amps as this motor can draw up to 50A (60A with sport mode activated). A Pb battery would be fine though for a slower pace, like trolling below ~2.5 knots.

[@vasilisnikakis7779]

What kind of fuse do you use?

[@borealadventure8340]

I'm using a 70 amp fuse

[@larsvegas1505]

Id like to see some more on sonar interference.. ive had 3 different sonar units (dragonfly/humminbird/garmin) on my lithium, together with my old motorguide trolling motor (and even a minn kota trolling motor), both gave heavy interference to the point where i cant see fish on the sonar when i put on the motor.. motor off its fine.. i thought maybe a brushless motor would help with this issue.. wich is a mayor issue for me..

[@borealadventure8340]

The interference is really bad unfortunately when running the sonar on the same battery as the blx70. I had better luck with older non brushless motors. I'm using a small lead acid battery for the sonar as the interference is really bad.