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Maneuvering propellers are a standard on boats longer than 50 feet, but more and more boat owners are deciding to install them on shorter boats as well. The advantages are many and allow those at the helm to be able to be safer, especially during some delicate maneuvers or difficult conditions, such as mooring and unmooring. Max Power’s new Eco Pro series models have a brushless AC motor, making them truly unique and new to the market.
The big evolution and innovation we find inside Max Power’s Eco Proportional series maneuvering propellers is the new AC Brushless motor. As the acronym AC suggests, this electric motor does not run on direct current, as brushless motors usually do, but on alternating current, with a number of not insignificant advantages:
The first salient fact concerns the weight, which is 30 or even 40 percent less than the corresponding DC motor. Turning to operation, the first considerable advantage is the energy consumption of the AC motor, which is about half that of a conventional DC motor. It is also a much more efficient motor (has an efficiency of about 95 percent) and generates little heat during operation. This means that the motor can work for hours (as long as the batteries are charged) without overheating. Speaking of batteries, if the smart sensor notices that the batteries are getting low, it will automatically reduce engine revs to save energy. Brushless motor also means zero (or almost zero) maintenance, a not insignificant fact to be absolutely taken into account. And as for operation, the engine is 100% proportional, so it responds to the owner’s commands and power requests perfectly and precisely, avoiding wasted energy.
The Eco Pro series includes 90 kgf (kilogram strength), 110 kg f and 130 kgf models to date, but the range will soon expand with new, larger models. All thrusters are equipped with a 185 mm diameter propeller and a very precise joystick for proportional control, and it is also possible to connect the engine to theproprietary application available for any smartphone. From there, battery voltage and charge, consumption, engine temperature, and RPM speed can be monitored. A very useful function of the application is the alert system that alerts the owner if the battery is too low or temperatures are too high. The 90 kgf model is powered by 24 V and is suitable for boats from 28 to 46 feet (8 to 14 meters) in length, same power supply for the 110 kgf model which is instead designed for boats from 32 to 51 feet (10 to 16 meters). In contrast, the larger thruster is powered by 48 V and covers the range from 35 to 60 feet (11-19 m).
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