Solar Powered kart Help

[aaronbleop]

Hello,
In school i'm in the experimental science program (Science Fair) and I really want to try and make a solar powered kart for my project. I plan to build my frame out of some really light material, but I don't know which to use and how to go about that. Then there is all the electrical compentents that I need to learn about; I know a little of the basics though. Which cheaper, mind you, solar panel should I get? How many Watts/Volts are sufficient to get a decent speed out of this thing? Does that even matter? Or does it all come down to the battery size? What other compents (like controllers and stuff) will i need and where can i find them cheap? are there certain things that aren't compatible with eachother? How would this work? Any additional ideas? Assume I know nothing... Thank you for your help!

P.s. my teacher has a really small (maybe a foot long by half foot wide) panel that I can use... But I don't think it's strong enough.. The label on the back reads:
Power > 5Watts
Voc > 22V
Isc > 450 mA
Vop > 13.5 V
I don't know what this means

 

[DaiSan76]

You aren't going to get enough power out of a photovoltaic cell to get what most people would call a "decent speed". The world speed record for a car powered by only solar energy is 55.2 MPH, but that is a very expensive car.
746 watts is 1 Horsepower, and as you can see from this link, $39.99 gets you a 6 watt cell that is 18" by 12".
http://www.batteryjunction.com/6wpanel.html?gclid=CIPemN74srkCFVNo7Aod5ycAzw
Your project is possible, but it's going to be expensive, and you'll need to manage your expectations of speed.
You can get pretty much everything you will need, except for the solar cells, from this website. I have started you on the controllers, but you'll obviously need a motor, and some sort of potentiometer to control speed.
http://tncscooters.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=41
Good luck!

 

[itsid]

First: forget about running a kart off of solar cells at all!
Yes it can be done, no I'm pretty sure you cannot afford to do so

You would need around 100 such solar cells for about the power you could get this car moving at all (500W)

But what you can do is use such cells (maybe 10 or so) to recharge the battery pack you mounted, it'll take quite some time depending on the capacity of course, but if you not only build a go kart, but a go kart and a small go-car-port with solar cells to recharge it I think it's a good idea.

'sid

PS you're the third with just a few days that ask about a solar cell kart, so you might want to use the search function to see what the others are up to.

 

[aaronbleop]

I like the idea of charging it, it seems more obtainable... Do you know anything about HHO generators? would this be a good combo with the proposed setup?

 

[aaronbleop]

or would that just require more energy than i would produce from the generator?

 

[itsid]

HHO then what? a fuel cell to create electrical energy?
I think a 'simple' hydrogen fuel cell would be the more promising approach, but they are expensive too.
So it can be done of course, given the right amount of money and time.

If you want to go the Hydrogen route, then add the fuel cell to the kart-port,
let it produce hydrogen all day - any day and store the hydrogen in a gas tank, then, if you plug in your kart, you can use that to recharge the batteries in just a few hours,
even at night

'sid

 

[aaronbleop]

Can you give me a specific list of parts i'd need for a basic electric kart, just to start off with? I know I need a motor, batteries, and wheels and such; but what and how do i get other than that? So list, please, EVERYTHING like sprockets, and throttle, and switches, and controllers, brakes, and anything else i'll need. Also, how do I know whats compatible? Like what sprocket do i get with what motor and axle and stuff. and What throttle do i get with what motor, i am not to good with the Watt and Volt thing and especially when it comes down to knowing how its compatible. This is my first project like this.

 

[itsid]

don't forget the controller
Throttles are basically potentiometers in a fancy case,
that tells the controller what power it should apply to the motor.

I cannot tell you what you should buy though.
As I told rash in one of the other threads,
I don't know what you need, I don't know what you want and I surely don't know what you can afford.
You have to make your own decisions on that.
And, since almost everything else depends on one or two important such decisions
it's pointless to start on the wrong end.

I can tell you what I would do though:
first: find a cheap yard or street kart (rear motor) that looks sturdy,
I'd go for a dual rail I think.
Having that I'd measure how many batteries I can fit behind the seat.
to assume how much capacity I could have.

Then think.. how far, how fast, how long should this thing move.

based upon that I would make a decision on the motor, checking different makes for each possible power (let's just assume anything between 1200W and 1500W and 36-48V)
that requires reading the spec sheets of said motors, and compare them, making pro and contra lists etc.

Knowing what motor I want, I'd do the same for the controller (much shorter list)
Hvving the motor and controller, I'd check where I to mount it on the kart,
what sprockets I need to give me the results I want etc.

And after that I'd go and add the batteries that still fit onto it.
check my brakes, and take it for a ride

Volt * Amp = Watt
and
Amps * time = Ah (Amperehours)

For some reasons why this math on Watt Volt Amps and battery capacity don't give you exact results, check out this thread .

'sid

PS
If you have a motor (specific make and model; "in mind" is good enough)
just let us know and we can check on the controller part.

 

[landuse]

Regarding HHO, look at these

http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=17343
http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=16704
http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15110

 

[aaronbleop]

If you have a motor (specific make and model; "in mind" is good enough)
just let us know and we can check on the controller part.

Thank you so much. If I were to want this thing to travel around 20mph (32km/h) What kind of components would be good? In the sense of what will be strong enough to push maybe 200+Ibs at that speed? Also where should i get these parts?

 

[aaronbleop]

Can someone explain the differences in performance between these four?
http://www.electricscooterparts.com/motors48volt.html
http://www.electricscooterparts.com/motors60volt.html
Which is best for what i need?

 

[itsid]

You're welcome!

For spotting the differences...
Those look to be the MY1020 from
http://www.unitemotor.com
But I only found one range map and that's for a 24V motor so no help at all.

I cannot tell what differences they might have (other than the obvious voltage rates)
So, you might ask that webshop for help.
or directly at unitemotor.com

I'd go for a 48V motor, maybe even a 36V in order to reduce the amount of batteries in series to run it.

For the components you need...
MrGentry uses the same motor on his kart.
See his question about cooling said motor
Since he's a teacher, I think if you drop him a PM, he can tell you what model in what setup he has mounted (exact motor model, battery configuration, controller, sprockets etc.) and since his kart is going 20mph which is the value you asked for, you could simply copy his setup.
That'd be a good starting point (as you know it's working)

'sid

 

[ScottLyons]

Hello,
In school i'm in the experimental science program (Science Fair) and I really want to try and make a solar powered kart for my project. I plan to build my frame out of some really light material, but I don't know which to use and how to go about that. Then there is all the electrical compentents that I need to learn about; I know a little of the basics though. Which cheaper, mind you, solar panel should I get? How many Watts/Volts are sufficient to get a decent speed out of this thing? Does that even matter? Or does it all come down to the battery size? What other compents (like controllers and stuff) will i need and where can i find them cheap? are there certain things that aren't compatible with eachother? How would this work? Any additional ideas? Assume I know nothing... Thank you for your help!

P.s. my teacher has a really small (maybe a foot long by half foot wide) panel that I can use... But I don't think it's strong enough.. The label on the back reads:
Power > 5Watts
Voc > 22V
Isc > 450 mA
Vop > 13.5 V
I don't know what this means

hello friend were you able to complete the project? Please share some useful information as I am working on similar solar kart project.. Reply asap