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Our motors need very little maintenance
With good handling and care, a Rhino motor can give you 20 years of good service. You can perform the usual maintenance work yourself. Detailed maintenance (e.g. carbon brushes and seal checks) or repairs should be carried out by a service agent. In addition, Rhino Motors has an excellent repair and spare parts service that is unique in the industry.
Marine batteries (gel or AGM) are recommended. Ideally, a lightweight LiFePO4 battery (14.8V).
Lithium-ion batteries (LiCoO2) that are still on the market today are not optimal for most 12/24V electric outboard motors, as the higher voltage of 16.8V is not suitable for every motor.
This can cause damage to the electronic circuits if the motor is under a heavy load.
Our stern motors with a shaft length of 78 cm are fully suitable for the two common boat transom heights (15 inches [38cm] or 20 inches [51cm]).
A special “long shaft” model with a shaft length of 91cm makes sense for special types of boats (e.g. sailboats). Or you may want to use a separate/higher attachment to the fishing boat.
Please see the respective manual for the scope of the warranty.
Particular attention should be paid to the respective provisions for use in saltwater and brackish water. Depending on the model, special restrictions on use apply, which may affect subsequent warranty claims. Please carefully observe the rules that apply to the respective model!
1 lb = 1 English pound = 0.45 kilogrammes
This is the unit commonly used to indicate the thrust of an electric outboard motor.
Conventional outboard motors are mounted to the transom of a boat. In this case, the boat is pushed by the motor (drive motor).
A bow motor is mounted to the bow. Mounting the motor to the bow makes it possible to approach spots in a targeted manner and stop more easily. This type of mounting ensures precise manoeuvres against the current. Such motors show their strengths when the fishing area has been reached; that is why you will usually find them as a second motor in addition to the main motor at the transom. This type of motor proves very handy for fishing and confidently holds the boat at the hotspot or pulls it very precisely along the desired course or depth line!
The more complex design and control technology (e.g. GPS) for autonomous moving and stopping is usually more expensive and cannot be installed on all boats.
Here is an example calculation to help you understand the correlations: A VX54 motor theoretically runs on a maximum of 50 amps. With a 100Ah battery, the running time would be two hours at maximum load. Since the maximum load is influenced by numerous variables such as boat weight, current, wind, waves, sailing behaviour, etc., in practice this usually results in a much longer service life. In practice, we rather expect a power consumption of 20-30 amps per hour with this model. Taking into account the environmental variables, a running time of 3-4 hours would seem possible.
With this knowledge, you can calculate approximate ranges for other models and battery ratings.
Note:
Modern lithium batteries provide power differently. For example, the proportion of usable energy at the same capacity is about twice as large as with a conventional lead-acid battery (car battery). A 50Ah lithium battery is therefore comparable to a 100Ah lead-acid battery in terms of running time.
The propellers have been precisely tuned to the respective model in long test phases in the laboratory and in practice.
Any changes will usually have a detrimental effect on the behaviour of the boat.
If there is a need for this, please contact the customer service.
With an electric outboard motor, we want to get from A to B in a quiet, relaxed, cost-effective and environmentally friendly way. But what also counts is the time we can use with one battery charge. We determine the relevant data for this on our test bench, so that in the end we can guarantee particularly effective operation.
With our motors, about 80% of the electrical power can be used for propulsion, whereas with a combustion motor only about 25% can actually be used.
This positive balance in favour of the electric motor results, among other things, from the direct connection of the propeller to the motor shaft, whereas in the case of the combustion motor, the generated energy has to be redirected several times via gear wheels until it finally reaches the propeller.
For this reason, the conventional horsepower ratings usually given for combustion motors only represent to a limited extent what counts at the bottom line for an electric outboard motor: lots of time on the water with reasonable performance on one battery charge! These are the criteria that make a good electric outboard motor.
When buying, it is therefore better to pay attention to the correct ratio of thrust (lbs) to boat weight. You should rather ignore the horsepower specs (if available)! Here is another tip, as a rough guide: Per 100kg of mass (boat weight, fishing tackle, battery, occupants, motor weight) you should allow for a thrust of about 6-10 lbs.
Alligator clips are sufficient for the lower power requirements of our small motors. Larger models are equipped with battery lugs (the BLX additionally has high-current connectors).
Caution: Even if it seems impractical, a strong current may flow in the large models, which the alligator clips will fail to transmit fully from the battery terminal! Consequential damage may occur in this case. Therefore, a firm connection to the battery is a MUST!
Should the cable ever be too short: we also have a battery extension cable (9930 139) in our range!
Our proven brush motors usually have little wear and tear and run for far longer than 500 hours before the carbon brushes need to be replaced! The BLX70 and BLX110 models are equipped with brushless technology.
Brushless motors are virtually maintenance and wear-free. In terms of efficiency, these models perform even better than conventional brush motors.
Another option is to combine proven carbon brush technology with modern pulse width modulation (PWM) for motor control. High efficiency with continuously adjustable motor speed and attractive prices. This variant is found in the new DX-V series.
Our motors have undergone CE certification. Zebco Europe issues the respective EU Declaration of Conformity as distributing company. This can be handed out at any time upon request. These documents can also be found in every instruction manual on the last pages.
Each motor has a stamped serial number for registration, if needed. It is located in the upper third of the motor shaft. Another number is located on the propeller axle.
