The TEMO·450 is an electric outboard motor for dinghies and
small sailing boats. Given that our dinghy motor is electric, questions of
battery and autonomy or range often come up, and rightly so! Don't
worry, we’ll explain everything in this article.
Electric boat motor with integrated battery
The battery of our electric boat motor is a 290 Wh lithium-ion battery which is located in the grey tube. This protects your battery by sealing it in. The battery on this model is not removable, it remains permanently fixed in the grey waterproof tube. This way, there’s no battery to change and you avoid any problems with connections !
You can recharge the electric sculling oar using AC at 220 V or DC at 12 V in 3½
hours. However, do not try to extend the autonomy of the motor by charging it while you are using it: you will damage the battery. The use of solar panels is possible, but there needs to be an intermediate battery between the panel and the motor. Finally, as our portable electric motor is lightweight and compact, (see article on advantages) you can even take it to a restaurant with you to recharge it during a trip ashore. Not bad, eh ?
The autonomy of our portable electric motor
As experience shows, while you haven’t got the possibility to change the battery, 1 hour of autonomy on average is enough to easily make several short trips in the dinghy. The autonomy will vary depending on the use you make of it.
If you’re ever out in bad conditions (current, wind, chop, fully-laden
dinghy...) at full speed, you will see closer to 45 minutes of autonomy. If you
sail at cruising speed, in good conditions (see Houat video) and without being
over-loaded, you will have around 1¼ hours. You can find more details about
the weather conditions in the video or on our blog.
It is also possible to increase the range of the electric sculling oar by optimising
battery use. It can propel light boats at an average hull speed of 3 knots. Since the trigger is progressive, running the motor between half and full power will allow you to reach an average speed of 2.5 knots. This way, you consume less power, and you get to enjoy the view a little more !
To make sure you don't have to get the paddles out, you’ve got a real time battery gauge on the handle. A blue bar means about 15 minutes of autonomy remaining. Just like on your car, you even know how much is left in the tank! When there’s only the red outline left, you’ve got about 12 minutes before your portable motor stops.
So there you have it, and we hope you understand a bit more clearly! And so that our portable electric motor has no more secrets for you, check out all our other articles