Electric conversion: Project ForkenSwiift

[JanGeo]

Just so you know I built a scooter with 67lbs of lead Hawker batteries and a frame about 48lbs added to that is my weight and you get about 300lbs and I can go about 25 miles on a charge 36 volts 25 amp hours. This is with a 92%+ efficiency motor. The Advanced DC motors are in the 70% and lower sometimes depending upon RPM and current - it amazes me how poor they are yet everyone uses them. I have to wonder when I putt around town in my Geo just how much HP I am generating in the motor at really low rpms - I shift into 5th at 25mph.... You could probably run around town a lot in first gear with a 6000 rpm motor and have plenty of torque - will have to plug the numbers into my spread sheet sometime and see what I get.

[MetroMPG]

what motor are you using?

my friend and i considered the idea of doing mopeds or motorcycles, but it came down to wanting something that could be used in all weather with an additional passenger, and which is also street legal. which means metro EV.

[JanGeo]

www.eCycle.com MG13 but you should consider some of the newer motors they are building maybe a solid slot double stack and a 400 amp controller with your lower voltage and bigger batteries. It's always tricky when dealing with higher power levels but they have the efficiency way up so you don't have to deal with a lot of cooling. If you wanted something smaller then stick with two or three wheels and keep it clasified as a motorcycle then enclose it in a full body.

[JanGeo]

Yup they are pricy but you can pay now or push your electric car later when you run out of energy . . . They are going to be really light if that is a factor plus they freewheel / spin pretty well with the controller turned off but it depends upon the controller driving it. Don't forget that they are brushless and have no cooling holes for air to carry dirt into the motor and the water cooling option could provide you with some cabin heat. It also makes a great generator so depending upon how you regulate the power to the motor input would determine power/loading. Typically the switching buck-boost stage driving the motor input has fets pulling up to the battery voltage and down to ground at some duty cycle determined by the throttle and current limiting. Now if you can get it to just pull up to the battery voltage you would have a "freewheel" drive effect and if you have it pull down you would have a braking/regen effect. Of course you could always just pop it into neutral. One thing you would want is a smart motor speed controller so that you could monitor the transmission input shaft speed and regulate the motor speed to match when shifting into gears - maybe a button on the top of the shifter that you press which would make the motor run at the speed that the transmission is in and allow you to pop it out of gear with no loading and then speed up or slow down to motor as you move it towards the next gear to allow it to shift right into gear without grinding and thus not require a clutch.

[Matt Timion]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

some good news: persistence on the phone paid off with a local forklift service company. i finally talked to one of their service technicians who says they have a complete 48V used forklift that they'll sell for $500. this would be a great source for not only the motor (10hp continuous series wound), but for switches, fuses, contactor, controller, potbox, gauges...

That is awesome news. Does it have a controller as well? I imagine this would give you everything you need, including some batteries.

[SVOboy]

If he's 450km south I might want it,

[JanGeo]

Yeah they are made heavy to lift and not tip over - consider driving it to where it has to go or towing it there. Do you have AAA up there or maybe the back end of a Tractor Trailer. Sounds like NOT the way to go for parts - they are all designed to be heavy not efficient for car vehicle use.

Those electric cars sound interesting - if RI ever passed the NEV law they could be used around town here. I would consider converting one over to one of my more efficient motors and then maybe a different Li-Ion battery pack and really make it go. When they first rented something simular to them in town many years ago they went for $20,000 each.

[Sludgy]

This site has some great information regarding low speed electric vehicles, motor vehicle laws and technology. AC motors and inverters are coming soon to electric vehicles near you.

http://www.golfcarcatalog.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=check_this_archive&step=3&arc hive_id=112

[MetroMPG]

yeah - ac would be good - more efficient.

AC is not for the faint of heart or for the frugal owner.

but that second point rules me out on this project!

[Compaq888]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

<img src="http://img.shopping.com/cctool/PrdImg/images/pr/177X150/00/01/4a/61/82/21651842.JPG" align="right">

found another beater: 91 firefly 4 door. red. owner says it runs and only needs brakes to pass safety. i suspect it needs more than that since it's been parked for more than a year.

the suspension mounts are OK, but there's a hole in the floor.

i offered $100, she countered with $200. i said i'd get back to her.

the 4 door weighs a little more - just shy of 1700 lbs.

God damn that is some cheap *** cars. You and SVOboy should work together. You get cars for cheap and he gets parts for cheap. You guys need to open a used dealership together.