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Battery Comparison for Foil Drive Gen1 SystemsUpdated 3 months ago

To prolong the life of your Gen1 battery, read this article about correct battery charging and storage.


All batteries are purpose designed, built, and tested specifically for the Foil Drive system. Every battery is carefully manufactured and extensively tested in house, featuring a built-in Battery Management System (BMS) to ensure user safety. 


All of our batteries are Lithium-Ion, we have an article explaining the battery chemistry and how you can best look after your batteries to maintain performance for longer. Batteries should be considered as a consumable and will lose performance over time like all other batteries.


COMMON QUESTIONS


1. ARE THEY CROSS COMPATIBLE?

Batteries are NOT cross compatible between the Assist and the Assist PLUS as they run on different voltages. This also applies to their chargers. 


 


2. WHAT IS THE BATTERY MONITORING SYSTEM (BMS)?

All Foil Drive Batteries have a built in Battery Monitoring System (BMS). These manage the charging, balancing, voltage cut-off, internal resistance and temperature.  


KEY FEATURES BETWEEN FOIL DRIVE ASSIST AND ASSIST PLUS 

FOIL DRIVE ASSIST PLUS™ - 28V

The Assist PLUS has a higher voltage and is capable of producing more power output than the Assist. Because of this, we are able to provide three different battery options. All three Assist PLUS batteries produce the same thrust, it is simply the physical weight, capacity and therefore runtime that is reduced.


3. WHICH BATTERY IS BEST FOR ME?

ASSIST PLUS - STANDARD 12.6aH

The Assist PLUS comes factory with a Standard battery (unless otherwise selected at cart). This is the largest capacity of them all and provides the longest runtime.    

Voltage: 28v     

Capacity: 12.6ah     

Energy: 362.8wh     

Weight: 1.7kg (3.7lb)     

Total Kit Install Weight: 3.7kg (8.1lbs)     

Recharge Time (From 10% SOC): 3 Hours


IDEAL FOR:    
- Flatwater Foil Driving (E- foiling): You must only use the Standard Battery for flatwater foiling. 
- Riders above 80kgs: This isn't a hard and fast rule as board size, rider skill level and use case come into play. However, riders above 80kgs will likely burn more power getting onto foil, hence we recommend the Standard battery for the longest runtime.
- SUP Surf Foiling: For the longest possible session time, the Standard Battery is your go to! Run the motor 20cm below the board and E-foil back out to the line-up.         

- Traversing: If you plan to traverse far offshore, the standard battery will allow you to go further.


WHEN IT IS NOT THE PREFERRED SELECTION:

- Wing Foiling: Competent wing foilers will find they are only using a small portion of the standard battery as they only need it to get on foil.  

  

- Riders under 50kgs: Several customers choose to teach their kids to foil using the Assist. Smaller riders may prefer a smaller battery to limit the amount of weight on the back of the board. 



Assist PLUS - SMALL 4.2ah

Coming in at just 0.6kg, the small battery is the ultimate, lightweight companion. 

Voltage: 28v     

Capacity: 4.2ah

Energy: 120.9wh     

Weight:  0.6kg (1.3lb)     

Total Kit Install Weight: 2.6kg (5.7lbs)     

Recharge Time (From 10% SOC): 1 Hour


IDEAL FOR:

- Proficient downwind riders only using their kit to pop up,

- Wingers as a backup plan to avoid getting caught offshore and the walk of shame! 

- Travelling! These batteries are approved for air travel! Click here to learn more about airline travel with these batteries.


WHEN IT IS NOT THE PREFERRED SELECTION:

- There is strictly NO E-FOILING with the small battery. Not only will the battery go flat very quickly, the constant current load required to flat water foil is very demanding on the small number of individual cells in the small battery and will diminish battery longevity. 


FOIL DRIVE ASSIST (ORIGINAL) - 22V 
The Assist has one battery available and is designed for assistance only, as the name suggests.


Voltage: 22v

Capacity: 12ah     

Energy: 259wh     

Weight: 1.3kg (2.8lb)     

Recharge Time (From 10% SOC): 2.5 Hours 


IDEAL FOR:

- Lightweight riders

- As an assistance tool only


WHEN IT IS NOT THE IDEAL SELECTION: 

- Flat water E-Foiling

- Heavier riders





Related Articles - Click to Read:
 Lithium Battery Use, Care and Storage
 Testing the Voltage of a Foil Drive Battery or Charger
 Installing Batteries into the Box | Gen1
 
Charging the Foil Drive Batteries


To learn more, check out the other articles on our Help Centre which can be found under the 'Support' tab on the website.


As always, if you have any questions, please reach out to us at [email protected]


Happy Foil Driving!

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