Flyer has a unique hybrid system. She can run as a conventional diesel, but she also has two 100 kW motor / generators that can be clutched in, allowing her to run as a pure electric boat. It's truly delightful being in electric mode --- something like a sailboat, with just a light background hum.
This propulsion trick requires some truly massive batteries --- almost 400 kWh worth (compare to 50-80 kWh for a Tesla model 3). All that power has to run through a set of inverters --- two for the propulsion motors, one for the rest of the boat's electrical loads. Most of the time, the system works great.
But then there are the other times.
Yesterday was one of those times. The inverter used to run the house loads tripped five times in the afternoon until we finally gave up and started up our Bollard 32 kW genset. It's been running since.
We're not sure exactly what the problem is, but we do know that it doesn't like La Paz. I'm not just being flippant: the water here is at least 8°C warmer than in the northern Gulf, where the unit ran for days without any problems. My theory is that there is an airlock in the inverter cooling system, which allows just enough water to get through most of the time, but not enough when the water heats up. Unfortunately, clearing the lock is not a simple matter as the unit has meters of small cooling hoses running through it, all of which have to be independently cleared.
There also seems to be an issue with the hybrid system's many CAN bus connectors.
Right now, we're heading to Agua Verde where we have a busy schedule with local fishing groups and school children. I'm hoping to get a few quiet hours on Monday to take the cooling system apart.
Life on the bleeding edge...
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