Washing Machine POWER!!!

[Pyro]

Now that i've caught your attention with my title.
I have recently had my washing machine serviced and the engine was replaced, this came to no avail, so i had a new washing machine, so whilst rummbling through the old washing machine i removed the engine for any parts or use that i might need it for when i had the idea to build a go kart from it, i have built and used many go karts in my life from the age of 16, but they have always been petrol, so ive decided to start up this little project for my 15 year old son as a starter as he is intrested but has no idea what to do, like me i want him to build his own first go kart, to get the feel for it, this is a great way to go i feel, so anyways, the basics of it are very simple, its electric, powered by a washing machine, motor, 12v car battery as a power source, a dimmer switch as a regulator and a 12v-2-240v inverter for the power difference. this is thrown together, just the way it should be. :iagree:

So what do you think??

The power to weight ratio will all be calculated by me, so it will move, i dont have the actually specs on the engine but it will be more than enough i feel, the only problem i can concieve in the torq, and there for the acceleration, i dont really want to be fitting a gear box to this, even a 2-gear custom build is a pain in the arse and not really for the first go kart.

[brendonv]

I could be wrong but i dont think a wm engine would have the correct kind of power for a go kart. Yes they spin at high rpm in a wm but thats only pushing like 10-20kg, add a go kart frame and a person to that, it has to push (theoretically) about 60kg-70kg. Add friction and it has to push about 784N of force. Thats a lot of force for a small wm motor. Im not very knowledgeable with electric motors but i dont think it will go fast enough. Sure it will work but i dont think ur 15 yr old son will want to go 20km/h.

Someone tell me if im wrong.

[kibble]

Most washing machines use induction motors which have horrible starting torque so they have a starter coil which is disabled once the motor reaches a certain RPM with a centrifugal switch.

I hate having to say this, but I wouldn't recommend using it as it would be way more trouble than it's worth. :(

[Pyro]

What electric engine do you recommend for such a job then, i do belive you are correct with approx. 70 kg, do not worry about the circuitry, as i am quite adapt at this

[stephenm2682]

could you use 2? lol

[stephenm2682]

i seen on the net they are 80-350W, and run 1400rpm but that depends on the machine. don't know if thats enough power maybe with more battery power 36v?

[BradenM]

1000v. Go hard or go harder. Wire it to the grid.

[Pyro]

i seen on the net they are 80-350W, and run 1400rpm but that depends on the machine. don't know if thats enough power maybe with more battery power 36v?

i can run upto 240v through the inverter off a 12v battery, ok it will drain the battery at 20x the normal rate but this still means approx 1.5hrs of running time, plus i have a charger.

[stephenm2682]

if it works let me know as i am keen on the same thing.

[kibble]

If you're really determined to make this work, I believe it would be a good idea to gear it low. It will probably not give you fast speeds, but at least it could move you around.

By the way, what sort of drive mechanisms would you use? Belt, chain?

[jr dragster Tyler]

I would recomend a chain when using low power motors. Sometimes the belt pressure can make the motor a bit hard to get started.

[zabac70]

Doable , but not very efficient or fast...You're looking at 30 Ah no load consumption of the motor (at 240 V from battery-which is 12 V) and (probably) twice that with load. Look at the gearing of washing machine for (usually) 500 - 600 rpm of drum , so you can calculate your gearing. 350W motor on electric bike is sluggish (but it can move the bike with the person on it on it's own power, and the 250W must be assisted with pedal power). Good idea is to use two motors (as stephenm2682 suggested) for more power , but it complicates thing and make them more (considerably) expensive.

[dpaxson]

well a 240 volt 30 amp motor is way more powerful than 350 watts. it's more like 7200 but i really doubt the motor will pull 30 amps in the first place. I think if you're just going to make the thing a on/off type deal without a controller some kind of brushed dc motor would be easier. it is do-able with AC though

[zabac70]

My mistake - I forgot to say "from battery". And I said "consumption" , thinking of amp/h. 350 W motor on 240 V uses cca 1,5 A; therefore on 12 V - it uses 29,166 A. I'll correct it on the previous post.
p.s. English isn't my language, so mistakes are possible and if I mean to say something in one way it may sound different. Very sorry about this.

[Scumm]

I think Zabac meant amps/hour consumed. Deep cell batteries are rated in amp hours(AH). These ratings are best case scenarios for the manufacturer. The rating 20 AH means if you are drawing 20 continuous amps at the perfect temp for the cell you can run for an hour. When I first conceived my build (see Mobile recliner) I thought it would be easy greasy. I was way off, but I'm not discouraged. For building a electric go cart, I think the cheapest route is the 24-36v scooter motors($200ish for 2). The real cost for the cart seems to be the batteries.I'm looking at some 70AH marines from wally world for around 70 each. Golf cart motors run on 36-48v(also $200ish but each). If i were looking for a long term(3ys+ of regular use) I'd use a golf cart modified build. If you're looking for a cheaper short term build I'd go scooter. Unless you stumble on a good cart deal.

[stephenm2682]

or use car starter
http://www.geocities.com/hempev/plans.html
http://robertklee10.tripod.com/shock_pictures.htm
probably cheaper to buy

[zabac70]

Scumm is correct - that is what I meant. I've forgot also to mention the question about inverter current (what is it's rating - how much Amps can it take?).

[Raywelder]

Unless its a kickstart Briggs washing machine motor like I have,
Then I dont think it would work good for a go cart.

I do have a motor off of a 32 volt electric scooter, if you want it.

[oscaryu1]

Doable , but not very efficient or fast...You're looking at 30 Ah no load consumption of the motor (at 240 V from battery-which is 12 V) and (probably) twice that with load. Look at the gearing of washing machine for (usually) 500 - 600 rpm of drum , so you can calculate your gearing. 350W motor on electric bike is sluggish (but it can move the bike with the person on it on it's own power, and the 250W must be assisted with pedal power). Good idea is to use two motors (as stephenm2682 suggested) for more power , but it complicates thing and make them more (considerably) expensive.

350W sluggish?! I had a heavily-used 380W motor geared low, it would flip you if you didn't lean forward. And 250W motors are virtually standard motors put on electric scooters/motorcycles, ect... Now 250W geared LOW, pedal assist is a must, but otherwise, 250-350W is plenty.

[eesakiwi]

In NZ theres a F&P 'Smartdrive' washing machine.

You might know about them allready as they are used to make generators etc.

I'm not sure but I think they run off 50 Volts.
I think the transformer drops it from 240 V AC down to 50 V DC ...

I was thinking I could run it off 4 small car batterys & short circuit some connections to get the motor running at different speeds.
Thats when I wondered what a gokart would be like on 'spin cycle'.
Then I wondered what it would be like on 'wash cycle'.

Go forward 20 feet, Stop,
go back 20 feet, Stop,
go forward 20 feet, stop,
go back 20 feet....

You get the idea....
Anyway, has anybody used these motors on a GoKart?
How were they driven?