24 replies to this topic

[Caramanos2000]

Were should I start? Had in mind a 750 watt 36 volt motor from ebay and maybe use 3 car batteries, perhaps 2 motors? Vehicle must be either 3 or wheeled and will be recharged with a car battery charger and a 12v trickle solar charger. Any links tips and ideas would be great:)

[YT2095]

other than LOL NO WAY

lets do a little maths 1`st, 750W is roughly 1 horse power (so that that bits ok).

750 divide by 36 volts will draw ~21 amps, so that`s ok too (unless you want to go very far?)

the whole thing falls flat on it`s face with the "trickle charger" solar part, you see there`s no such thing as a Free Lunch, so you have to put back in what you take out! (minus losses).

so unless your prepared to charge it for a year to get a 10 minute ride out of it each time, forget the Trickle thingy!

[YT2095]

I could carry on also, you have to forget using Car batts too! use SLA type Leisure batteries, they`re designed for such abuse and periods without charge etc...
why dont` you use a Single 12 or 24V electric disability scooter motor or wheelchair motor?
their not FAST but you`ll get a greater distance for your efforts

I still stand with what I said about the solar jobby, forget it!

[Arthur Brown]

OK 746watts is a horsepower and a small car is 30+ hp

think of an HP as about 50cc of engine.

With simple switch controller there is no economy with a fully regenerating switch mode controller there is some possibility.

Solar recharge depends on the solar in your region! As I think you are in Mexico then your sunshine times and brightness will be greater than ours in the UK.

5 years ago the equation was that a 60litre fuel tank contained the energy equivalent of a battery weighing about two tonnes

[Andrew]

Point on interest. Did you know that you can get 700W motors that are an inch in diameter and an inch and a half long, that are 95%+ efficient and have no brushes?

The day of the electric car came and went (well was assassinated by the US). But it's coming back, faster than you might think!

[Arthur Brown]

Electric cars will happen. However I'm not sure that the petro-chemical industry is ready to let it happen yet.

Solar power is currently too inefficient to be a viable alternative to mains electricity in the UK. However in remote or especially sunny locations this is obviously a better deal.

[digger]

Very interesting stuff is happening on the electric vehicle front at the moment with the advent of modern electric motors, batteries and control electronics.

There are even very interesting kits available for converting small cars to EV's, although these kits are mainly available in America (surprisingly).

My other hobby is 7 style sports cars (I have a Bike engined MK Indy, bloody quick), I even pondered the Idea of having an EV 7 (but I only have so much time to play). It would seem there has even been an Ariel Atom (or similar) converted to EV in Silicon valley 0 - 60 in around 2.5 seconds!!!!

Click this link for a very cool electric car

[icarus]

ive been planning to build electric car or electric motorbike for a while.The motor wants to be permanent magnet as is more efficient no energy waisted energising field coils. The controller needs to deliver pulsed dc with varied mark space ratio as speed control . at low rpm the motor will die quickly as it cannot dissipate heat so temp sensing and forced fan air cooling at low rpm. regenative braking driving the motor as a generator is good . My questionable idea is to run a constant speed diesel engine off un- taxed dyed diesel driving a generator charging one battery whilst driving off the other. As no connection between battery on charge and propulsion unit no duty payable on fuel and no applicable law to prevent generator left running on timer whilst you are shopping. Initial full charge of both battery packs is by off peak electricity diesel gen for increased range perhaps trailer mounted . For those overseas uk has diesel fuel dyed red with no duty on it for use off road mainly by farmers or buiding site generators. the limiting factor is the weight of the batteries. leisure batteries are excellent as are batteries for fork lift trucks .

[digger]

ive been planning to build electric car or electric motorbike for a while.The motor wants to be permanent magnet as is more efficient no energy waisted energising field coils. The controller needs to deliver pulsed dc with varied mark space ratio as speed control . at low rpm the motor will die quickly as it cannot dissipate heat so temp sensing and forced fan air cooling at low rpm. regenative braking driving the motor as a generator is good . My questionable idea is to run a constant speed diesel engine off un- taxed dyed diesel driving a generator charging one battery whilst driving off the other. As no connection between battery on charge and propulsion unit no duty payable on fuel and no applicable law to prevent generator left running on timer whilst you are shopping. Initial full charge of both battery packs is by off peak electricity diesel gen for increased range perhaps trailer mounted . For those overseas uk has diesel fuel dyed red with no duty on it for use off road mainly by farmers or buiding site generators. the limiting factor is the weight of the batteries. leisure batteries are excellent as are batteries for fork lift trucks .

Interesting Idea, however the questionable idea as you put it is very questionable (public transport / another vehicle for long distances).

How efficient do you think your generator will be? We have a few megawatts of installed CHP diesel gens at work (converted to gas). They are extremely efficient and only manage around 30% - 35% electrical efficiency IIRC. How much is red at the moment? 45p per liter? so if you manage 100% charging efficiency and 100% conversion back to motion it will still be much more expensive than just running a diesel car on pump diesel. Why not just make bio diesel, that is now tax exempt for up to 2400 liters per year for private individuals (P.S. I can get large amount of veg oil for reasonable prices as I work in a refinery).

[Caramanos2000]

Trickle charger is not main source but merely a complement. Speed is the goal. Battery suggestions with links would be great and the motor I am talking about is from a scooter.

[digger]

Trickle charger is not main source but merely a complement. Speed is the goal. Battery suggestions with links would be great and the motor I am talking about is from a scooter.

The following sites are a good starting point to get into the technology

Good general site on EV's
Battery info from above site
company that sells conversion kits (also some info)

[dr thrust]

no,no,no i think your all missing the point here, electric motors belong on milk floats, washing machines and ball mills! go with internal combustion ford v8 for me ,baby , in fact go on u tube and check out 351 clevelands, suck it up

Edited by chris m, 15 January 2008 - 07:53 PM.

[digger]

no,no,no i think your all missing the point here, electric motors belong on milk floats, washing machines and ball mills! go with internal combustion ford v8 for me ,baby , in fact go on u tube and check out 351 clevelands, suck it up

I agree about big block fords mmmm (esp of the Shelby mutant variety, responsible for speed limits on UK roads!!!), however some electric cars are getting pretty quick. That Tesla Roadster thing would out drag any production big block ford!!!! (chassis made by Lotus too so should handle well)

[Andrew]

There is something romantic about something that goes bang bang bang, has thousands of moving parts and makes a bloody loud roar.

But when your getting spanked by a milk float, you'll soon want one.

EVs are going in the direction of Li based battery technology at present, then a few years from now,
DLiBH cells or
advanced sebeck devices + liquid/solid fuel or
LiH cells with either advanced sebeck devices or fuel cells.

The problem with fuel cells is that there is not enough Platinum in the Earth's crust to produce enough cells for all the cars, let alone everything else. This is why advanced sebeck devices and Li based battery technology is being researched so much. Advanced sebeck devices will revolutionise the way we do just about everything that involves movement or power, when they become commercially viable.

[Andrew]

Click this link for a very cool electric car

Here is a very similar development.

http://www.lightningcarcompany.com/