Some boards are geared up for higher horsepower and have very low wattage and low amperage motors so I can't always go by the wattage or how many amps it has. The Pipemaster boards are known for their 200 watt motor and their 350 watt all terrain motor. Most all terrain boards have 600 watts and 800 watts that are powerful.
The components might not be as powerful as far as torque but the engineering to get a 200 watt motor to power up steep hills. The Pipemaster board, for example, at 200 watts out powers many of the boards going up hill and at top speed than many of the more powerful boards. It also runs for 20 miles and is super green.
200 watts uses much less battery and at 7 amps instead of 10 to 20 amps, uses even less electricity. The Pipemaster has the highest run time of all the boards I tested but the least torque starting out up hills.
Note: A motor can be rated at 10 horsepower but it is the output horsepower I am concerned with. There is input horsepower and output horsepower. A powerful motor has more continuous duty horsepower than the peak horsepower also. This all has to do with how they gear up their motor and speed controllers. A smaller motor that works at a super high RPM like the motor from Pipemaster, can produce the same amount of power as a larger motor running at a very low RPM. But, in the long run the smaller size motor will usually get hotter unless its a low amperage model.
To really know the true horse power I need to now the voltage, amperage, and efficiency ratings of the motor. A bigger motor runs at lower RPMs and can give the same continuous duty ratings as a smaller motor with faster RPMs. So I can't always go by who has the fastest RPMs
Horsepower is Meaningless to me if I don't know the motor's wattage and amperage.
Horse power can mean peak horsepower, average horsepower, running , output horsepower, input horsepower, or even startup horsepower with bare motor speed with no belt or weight on it. Wattage is what tells me how powerful the board's motor is. Each amp added makes a big difference in the power of most boards. Some have the same wattage but 7 amps all the way to 20 amps on many of them out there. The heavier the rider is, the more amperage the motor will draw. See my amperage page. Better motors deliver more horse power and use less wattage. The goal is to keep the motor small and get the most power as having a motor under it and keeping the board as low to the ground as possible.
Note: on a poorly designed motor it creates a lot of friction and more wattage can be needed. The 200 watt example creates less heat and friction and has the motor efficiency of a higher wattage motor. Many people think that a low wattage motor is going to be slow. I also take into consideration if the motors have copper or aluminum windings.
It can help to study how different power is created with different types of motor. I have a motor review page also that might help you understand more. The amperage and wattage review pages can also help.
