Giving up on Torqeedo. A bit of a rant.....

[noelH]

This will be the 7th season of use.

Zero issues outside of the poorly designed motor tilt hold bar. The original bent and sheared off. Torq "customer service" told me it was not designed to hold up the motor while sailing. Really??? Installed a replacement unit, but don't trust it. A short length of PVC plumbing tubing (IIRC 2.25") with a lanyard/velcro strap attached to it is slipped in holding the motor securely in the roughest seas for couple seasons. Dufus here. PVC from the "packrat" collection of stuff. Cost $0.00. An intelligent person would have figure it out before wasting time and money on the overpriced replacement part. Torqeedo has since redesigned the tilt holding mechanism.  Wonder why?

5yr/700 hrs you are suppose to replace the gaskets that seal the motor pod from water intrusion. Filled out the online service request form. Get an email with a link. Fill out the form at the attached link. But send it to one of the listed Service Centers. Which is where the original email was sent to. Repeat email to that Service Center. Received an email noting to contact their listed in the email service provider.  Sent an email to their service provider. More than a week ago. No response.  Original email was sent out two weeks ago.

Contacted the closest Torqeedo dealership. Reputable retailer of outdoor motor toys (boats,atv,snowmobiles...). Emailed reply within 24hrs noting they don't do any service work on Torqeedo. Have a set of "safety" Torx screwdrivers.  Figured I can diy. Problem. 2 motor cover gasket, 1 shaft/gearcase gasket and couple motor "gaskets" are needed. No shaft/gear case gasket listed, one motor "gasket" is backordered.

Really like the motor. So far, really reliable. The quality of the batteries is far better than any other lithium based batteries used (SnowJoe, Ego, Panasonic and Sanyo 18650, various 1 to 6s lipos for UAS). Minimal loss in capacity. No issues. Guessing Torqeedo's BMS, cell quality are better than most.
But their Customer "Service" sort of stinks.

So for a backup motor I just ordered the recently released ePropulsion elite. I need about 150 to 250 watts to generate enough thrust to move Vela in and out of the Marina. My only real need for a motor.  Not into motoring and motor sailing. With the Torqeedo I rarely use more than a total of 15% of whatever is left of the 975watt battery. Hopefully the elite battery quality is decent. Only a ~375watt battery. One reason why the Torqeedo batteries are in good shape has been their gentle use. Minimal discharge rates and % used. High discharge rates = higher voltage sag. Hard to dangerous for most lithium based cells. Add poor quality BMS and/or cells that are not balanced. Why lithium batteries prematurely die or worse..

Have a simple concept and design for a second motor mount.  The elite is probably too short to work on Vela's motor mount. Plus removing the Torqeedo in any type of seas is a pita. Elite is very lightweight with a slick design to attach the motor pylon to the transom mount.  Does require a 10mm hex wrench to adjust the motor rotation. I have always used the Torqeedo in the locked position and maneuver by rudder alone. But the elite would allow for locked to freely pivoting and every friction level in between. Thinking(danger...) of fixing a length of 10mm hex to a knob. Stick a magnet in the fitting and leaving the knob key attached to adjust easily from the cockpit while motoring. Lanyard also. 2 strikes already for no lanyard. Handheld VHS, my ancient Tilley.

Might end up just using the elite as the primary. Torqeedo becomes the backup.  Assuming I get all the parts before the gaskets leak. I like the idea of easily removing and installing the elite to the transom mount. No need for a "wart" to be hanging off the transom when under sail. No need to fear the following sea that may hit the motor. Just the fear of me getting hit. But 6-8kt sog surfing, roller coaster ride coming home on the South Channel is a kick.

[Spot]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Maybe somebody will figure out an aftermarket fix for this.

[noelH]

Just need the all the parts. Looked at an exploding diagram of the motor pod. Simple on paper.  Bit interesting about ePropulsion. They note 8-12 years of maintenance free use. A few pivot points to lube occasionally. Nothing noted about motor pod gaskets, prop shaft gasket needing replacement. Wondering if a bit of a scam with Torqeedo. The email from the "service" center noted parts would run $40 plus whatever their contracted service provider charges for labor. I added up $10.34 + unknown cost for the shaft gasket that is not listed.

First choice would have been the Temo 1000, but may not be available in the USA. Similar price to the Torqeedo Travel and ePropulsion Spirit lineup. The ePropulsion elite looks like another Chinese copy cat model, but with only 1/3 the battery capacity and 1/2 the maximum thrust. Supposedly zero maintenance like ePropulsion.