Commentary: Amped Up on Cigarette’s Electric Top Gun
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02-22-2013, 11:33 PM
#14
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Let's get one thing straight Matt...the color is awesome.
The continuing partnership between AMG and Cigarette is tremendous and should be admired.
The battery systems have a way to go . We tested Lithium Ion batteries for the past couple of years and really struggled with the internal cells. The impacts that an offshore boat takes are sharp and hard and lead to internal Cell damage and shorting. We were not able to overcome the challenge and turned back to Lead acid. Charging was also a difficult issue. I wish them the best of luck and like Arruda believe that some variation of these boats are in the near future.
We are happy to transfer any knowledge we learned during on water testing if Cigarette is interested.
m
The continuing partnership between AMG and Cigarette is tremendous and should be admired.
The battery systems have a way to go . We tested Lithium Ion batteries for the past couple of years and really struggled with the internal cells. The impacts that an offshore boat takes are sharp and hard and lead to internal Cell damage and shorting. We were not able to overcome the challenge and turned back to Lead acid. Charging was also a difficult issue. I wish them the best of luck and like Arruda believe that some variation of these boats are in the near future.
We are happy to transfer any knowledge we learned during on water testing if Cigarette is interested.
m
Marc,
You missed the point on this topic. You were trying to use them as Turbine start batteries. They are not designed for that use, that's why they failed.
Cigarette is using the correct battery packs for the application. They just do not have the KWA to give then the range they need without a range extender.
The 65Kwa packs they are using cost about $100,000 each, and they are using 4 of them, so they did not cut any corners.
02-23-2013, 01:38 PM
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Reminds me of 30 years ago when I was 12 and I got my first high performance R/C car. Cost a ton, spend 2 days building it then play with it for 5 minutes, charge it overnight then 5 minutes of fun. Spend the next 12 months and 10 times what it first cost on better batteries and chargers and things to make them last longer. Then I got smart took the controller and servos out put them in a GAS car and I still have it and it works and I decide when I am done playing.
I understand stuff like this needs to be done and its a learning curve but until it better in everyway and cheaper than a gas one I will stick with gas.
I understand stuff like this needs to be done and its a learning curve but until it better in everyway and cheaper than a gas one I will stick with gas.
02-23-2013, 02:35 PM
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Reminds me of 30 years ago when I was 12 and I got my first high performance R/C car. Cost a ton, spend 2 days building it then play with it for 5 minutes, charge it overnight then 5 minutes of fun. Spend the next 12 months and 10 times what it first cost on better batteries and chargers and things to make them last longer. Then I got smart took the controller and servos out put them in a GAS car and I still have it and it works and I decide when I am done playing.
I understand stuff like this needs to be done and its a learning curve but until it better in everyway and cheaper than a gas one I will stick with gas.
I understand stuff like this needs to be done and its a learning curve but until it better in everyway and cheaper than a gas one I will stick with gas.
Those were the old days sir. Almost everything in RC today is battery. Even large planes
One of my hobbies besides boat racing, is 3D RC helicopters. You would be hard pressed to find a gas, or a nitro Heli at the field these days.
The electrics out power the nitro, or gas by over 50%, and are way more reliable.
Unlike full size EV cars and boats. Lipo batteries are the choice, as they are the lightest available.
However, cell management, and battery volatilety would not work for this type of batteries in EV cars and boats.
We fly a 8hp motor the size of a large egg, for 8 min on a 5000ma battery pack. Hard to compete with.
Electrics are the way of the future for sure.
Again. Hats off to cigarette for thinking way forward I to the future.
02-23-2013, 03:32 PM
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Btw, I work on the Polaris EV Ranger and their Gem car line, and we just got the Zero bike line so I get to ride and work on and see all the problems and the good first hand. They all have the good and bad and we try and sell them to who and where they work best. I wanna get 2 of the Zero bike dirt bikes so we can ride without the noise and I have a Gem car as a demo for around my hood. But at this level the price is close to gas stuff of the same style the only complaint is how long the battery's last, so when it's 5mil for and hour of use or 500k and you can run it till you run outa money for gas the EV boat has a long way to go. When they are about the same cost over a 5 year period at about 100 hours a year of use then they will have something.
02-23-2013, 06:08 PM
#20
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Btw, I work on the Polaris EV Ranger and their Gem car line, and we just got the Zero bike line so I get to ride and work on and see all the problems and the good first hand. They all have the good and bad and we try and sell them to who and where they work best. I wanna get 2 of the Zero bike dirt bikes so we can ride without the noise and I have a Gem car as a demo for around my hood. But at this level the price is close to gas stuff of the same style the only complaint is how long the battery's last, so when it's 5mil for and hour of use or 500k and you can run it till you run outa money for gas the EV boat has a long way to go. When they are about the same cost over a 5 year period at about 100 hours a year of use then they will have something.
