ePropulsion Spirit electric outboards now backed by 5 year warranty
ePropulsion is now offering a 5 year warranty across their Spirit electric outboards range, an extension of 2 years over the previous warranty package. Customers will receive the new package (for motors purchased from May 12) at no cost by registering on the company’s website.
There are a three models in the Spirit Series, all of which are covered: the Spirit 1.0 Plus, Spirit 1.0 Evo and Spirit 1.0 Evo Remote. First, the similarities between the models:
All models have a 1 kW direct drive motor that provides thrust and power similar to a 3hp combustion motor.
They can deliver this performance because there is very little power loss between the motor and the propeller. In a combustion outboard the powerhead and motor are at the top of the shaft and require gears in the ‘lower unit’ to transfer the mechanical energy to the prop.
Spirit electric outboards have the motor underneath the water, directly driving the propeller with no power loss from any gearing or linkage.
The battery (which floats) sits at the top of the shaft and clicks in like that on a home power tool. With energy storage of 1256 watts, it can basically run the motor at full power for over an hour.
The simple equation is that in one hour a motor consumes 1 kiloWatt hour of electricity per kiloWatt of power. With a 1 kiloWatt (1,000 watt) motor and 1256 (1.256 kWh) battery, there’s about a quarter of a kWh (256 watts) available after 60 minutes.
That formula is not always exactly true in real life, because of the way the battery discharges the electricity, but it is a good rule of thumb for roughly gauging the range of an electric motor. The company says that with the Spirit electric outboard on a 12 foot aluminum boat “on one charge, you can go 22 miles at 4.5 mph, or go fishing all day long at trolling speed.”
An extra battery can also be purchased, with ePropulsion recommending their own E-Series. The E-60 has storage of 3.072 kWh, the E-163 has 8.345 kWh.
Evo Spirit electric outboards feature hydrogeneration
The main difference between the Spirit Plus and the two Spirit Evo models are that the Evo models have hydrogenerating capabilities, meaning that the motor can be instantly converted to a turbine that generates electricity to recharge the batteries.
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This is only possible when the boat has some other propulsion method available, like windpower on a sailboat. The movement of the water under sail turns the prop of the Evo to create the hydrogeneration.
The Spirit 1.0 Plus and Spirit 1.0 Evo have a foldable tiller/throttle. The Spirit 1.0 Evo Remote has the capability for remote steering form the helm of the boat, in either a top mount or side mount configuration.
“We take pride in being the pioneer in the segment when we introduced the free warranty extension in 2021, setting a new benchmark for exceptional service and support to our customers,” said Chang Zhao, CMO of ePropulsion. “By adding another two years to our extended warranty, we believe our uncompromising commitment will set us apart in the industry and hope this encourages more boaters to make the switch to electric propulsion.”
