Alec,
Well, that is certainly a disposable engine! My guess is the Chinese use this for continuous duty like water pumps for agriculture perhaps. I'll bet it's a cute little guy with a large flywheel?!
My thoughts are toward the small end of the Yanmar and Westerbeke marine units. Quite bullet proof, (so long as you keep water out of the cylinders), worldwide support and familiarity. Yes, pricey but, at the lower end not too bad.
Post pictures of your progress, I am sure all will be very interested.
Thanks for the comments!
Joe
From: "Smyth, Alec" <Alec.Smyth@compuware.com>
Reply-To: personal_submersibles@psubs.org
To: <personal_submersibles@psubs.org>
Subject: RE: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Madsen's Inspiration
Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 14:53:41 -0400
Outstanding! Please see below...
#1 Diesel electric Which way to go . An engine turning a prop...or a generator running everything else?? Could I ask those Minn Kotas to do continuous duty for long transits or not even though they are submerged?I've given this some thought and actually bought a little diesel engine because it was so cheap, I wanted to run it and see just how bad the noise and vibration were. There are small chinese made diesels that cost under $300 brand new, of around 5 HP. And surprisingly, when the thing showed up it seemed to be quite decently built and started immediately. Still, as a matter of principle I wouldn't go out on a $300 engine farther than my batteries could get me back from. But back to the original question...Certainly, the configuration in which the diesel is installed as a generator would be easiest to implement. However, in looking for gensets I found there seems to be a minimum practical size for that configuration. In the very small space I have available in my hull (31" OD), I can't fit a DC genset that puts out enough power to push the boat. I can however fit in the little 5 HP diesel mechanically coupled to the prop. I think the easiest way to do so would be using three electrical clutches. They would connect (a) electric motor to prop, (b) diesel to prop, or (c) diesel to electric motor. I don't really expect to charge batteries afloat given the small size of the sub, but the last configuration in my case is for starting the diesel by using the main propulsion motor as a starter (the diesel is hand cranked).Current status is that I'll put things like through-hulls and mounts in the hull so it is ready for a diesel-electric phase II should I take the plunge. But if I made diesel-electric a phase I item, I'd never get in the water.************************************************************************ ************************************************************************ ************************************************************************ The personal submersibles mailing list complies with the US Federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. Your email address appears in our database because either you, or someone you know, requested you receive messages from our organization. If you want to be removed from this mailing list simply click on the link below or send a blank email message to: removeme-personal_submersibles@psubs.org Removal of your email address from this mailing list occurs by an automated process and should be complete within five minutes of our server receiving your request. PSUBS.ORG PO Box 53 Weare, NH 03281 603-529-1100 ************************************************************************ ************************************************************************ ************************************************************************#2 1/4" or 5/16"?? Not looking for depth capability here so much as corrosion allowance and extra weight gain. NR-2 at this point, has 108 cu feet of submersible volume. More weight in structure is less carried in lead but, what do I give up in terms of workability with that added 1/16th??
Make the hull thickness one of your last weight budget items -- just put whatever weight is left over from other items into the hull. It's more useful than carrying around ballast, and even if you don't go deep you'll have a greater safety margin.
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