HYDROGENERATOR (Racing)

Property

QTY

1

DESCRIPTION

RACING (ALUMINUM)

MANUFACTURER

Watt & Sea

URL

https://www.wattandsea.com/en/hydrogenerators/racing-aluminium-hydrogenerator/

MEDIA

CATEGORY

ELECTRICITY

TODO

• On Le voyage de Saga we chose to invest into more solar panels and one more battery rather than in a hydrogenerator. On passage, when it is cloudy, we sometimes have to run one engine for an hour, but 80% of the time at anchor we are good!

• I really don’t like the Watt’N’Sea. It’s finicky to deploy and retrieve, vibrates when the powers full and is dangerous to pull up on passage. I stopped using it entirely and use the engines for extra power when required.

• With our 051 Crazy Flavour, we only needed to charge our batteries with the engine during 6/7 hours during our Atlantic crossing with watt and sea and 1100 solar panels. But in the Pacific we did not use the Watt and sea. I believe you can do without. And no need of extra fuel.

• We have 045 no 58 with identical solar/lithium. We used 60 liter diesel during our 10 day Atlantic crossing (approx 3 hours battery charging per day). We used also 60 liter diesel during our 15 day pacific crossing. The difference is turning off the inverter if not in use.

• Jan/Feb 22, O51/53 Vast Floating≈, crossing from Tenerife to Martinique. 800W solar on davits, Watt&Sea (racing version), no generator, 3x 180Ah lithium. B&G navi, autopilot always on, Radar at night, sat (Fleet One) every other hour at daytime,  standard Isotherm fridge/freezer combi, watermaker... We started with 2x 275 plus 80l spare diesel. We ran 5 of 18 full days under engine(s), mostly due to lack of wind plus partly shaded solar plus Sargassum blocking W&S.
• The W&S is expensive and fails easily (when blocked for example). It helped us through a lot of long nights, though. And we would miss it on passages.

• O45#32 Ningyo has done Atlantic & Pacific with standard WS. It is not perfect but suitable for our needs, constant, free and fossil free energy! Love the noise. Use engines only on anchor during longer rain periods.

• Nous avons effectué 2 traversées sur pimentrouge. Outremer 51. Étape à Gibraltar. Puis canaries et cap vert pour une arrivée à grenade. Retour nassau- Bermudes- açores et Gibraltar. Pas de carburant supplémentaire que la contenance des réservoirs. En panneaux solaires. Nous en avons 7 avec 3 batteries lithium. Nous avons du faire certains jours 2 heures de moteur pour les charger et faire de l eau.

• WATT & SEA RACING (ALUMINIUM)
• RACING - ALU
• GENERAL VIEW - OUTREMER
• TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
• OUTPUT CURVES
• INSTALLATION
• MAINTENANCE
• LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES WITH CONVERTER
• SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THE ENGINE?
• HYDROGENERATOR IN THE WATER WHEN THE BATTERIES ARE FULL?
• SUPPORT

WATT & SEA RACING (ALUMINIUM)

RACING Aluminium Hydrogenerator - Watt and Sea

Watt and Sea, naviguez à bord de voiliers de croisière ou de course avec les hydrogénérateurs. Watt and Sea est présent sur le Vendée Globe.

www.wattandsea.com

RACING - ALU

• Minimal Drag
• Automatic adjustment of the blades
• Racing hydrogenerators are equipped with a controlled pitch propeller, such as an “aeroplane propeller”. High speed launch is possible, putting the blades in the feathered position.
• Optimal energy efficiency
• Energy source for all range of speeds
• 2 years warranty

GENERAL VIEW - OUTREMER

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

OUTPUT CURVES

INSTALLATION

• The hydrogenerator should not be in the rudder blade axis to avoid water perturbations. 10 or 20 cm aside from this axis will be fine.
• The leg must be vertical in the lowered position for the production to be optimized : the propeller axis must be horizontal, aligned with the water flow.
• The recommended depth between the surface and the propeller axis is 300 mm (12 inches), even when the boat heels.

MAINTENANCE

• Watt&Sea recommends servicing every 2 years or every 10 000 miles. It should be noted that, regularly, you can :
• remove the propeller and clean the conical fitting
• check all the cables, to be sure it’s not cut , spoilt or pinched (what could damage the energy output, and generate some noise)
• check the good condition of the plugs (corrosion can damage/stop the power passage and the energy production)

LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES WITH CONVERTER

• Yes you can. Actually there is no need to set it up especially. However we suggest you to check in the battery manual that the recommended voltages are not under Watt&Sea’s converter (i.e. 14,3V / 28,6V) In case there is a difference between the two voltages, you can set it up with the free software available in the download section (homepage menu).
• Lithium-Ion battery management system’s often requires to be able to stop the production sources, for safety reasons. Then, the relay (see « accessories » in the homepage menu) has to be used to short-break the hydrogenerator when you need to stop the production.

SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THE ENGINE?

• No. The Watt&Sea converter will consider that the batteries are full, and stop the hydrogenerator production. It is better to lift the hydrogenerator up when you use the engine.
• If it is not possible, then you have to use an ON/OFF relay (see « accessories » in the menu), to be able to cut the power easily.

HYDROGENERATOR IN THE WATER WHEN THE BATTERIES ARE FULL?

• No, except for the 600W POD. We recommend to lift the hydrogenerator up when the batteries are fully loaded, as the generator will be on freewheel generating some more noise and giving more possibilities to meet an UFO.
• If you wish to let the hydrogenerator in the water, then you can set up an ON/OFF relay (available in « accessories »), to be able to cut the power easily.

SUPPORT

• Vous pouvez vérifier qu'une led verte clignote dans le boîtier pompe : ce qui signifie que la communication est bien établie entre convertisseur et pompe
• Vous pouvez passer en mode "MANUAL" sur la pompe puis pomper au maximum (bouton "pump") puis ensuite relâcher la pression ("Realease"). La pression doit monter au maximum (5,5 bars) puis redescendre à 0 bars. N'oubliez pas de bien repasser la pompe en mode "AUTO".

• Les paramètres électriques de la machine sont bons
• Les valeurs de production sont bonnes
• Pas d'erreurs spécifiques
• On voit le passage occasionnel en Floating (par exemple le 15 novembre), avec une réduction normale de la production car batteries presque pleines