Electric Barstool Racer

[j.concepcion54321]

Hey guys i have a 24 volt 350 watt currie motor that i took off of a schwinn electric scooter. earlier today the idea of a barstool race came across my mind and i wanted to see if i could throw something together out of spare parts. i have 4, 12 volt electric scooter batteries. i was thinking of making a frame out of some angle iron bolted together, and then take the steering shaft from the scooter and run that down to my front wheels. for the front wheels i was planning to use a steering assembly that i have from a mobility scooter. for the back i would use the 12.5 inch wheeels that the electric scooter had. the motor has a 6 tooth sprocket on it, and the back wheel has a 90 tooth sprocket on it. if i were to run the motor on 48 volts instead of 24 volts what kind of speed can i get. the motors stock rpm is 2650. Sorry for all the questions its just that im in the planning phase still and want to get this all right as this would be the first project that i do alone.

 

[shake this]

You need a speed controller that can handle 24 volts. You can over volt the moter but at 48 volts it might not last that long. However, you can't over volt the controller at all or you will burn it up. Mist guys only over volt a moter by 12 volts

 

[j.concepcion54321]

Do you know what kind of speed i would if i overvolted it to 36 volts?? and i have a controller but im not sure it works. could i just use a simple on/off switch?

 

[r97]

http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=9700

 

[shake this]

The speed will depend on the gearing and the overall weight of the kart and the driver. If you simply hook up an on/off switch you will have just that. Either all off or all on and no way to control the speed. Not the best idea when your dealing with motorized objects.

 

[j.concepcion54321]

Update: using the speed calculator with the sprockets that it has (11 for the motor and 90 for the rear wheel) it gives me a speed of about 12 mph. if i overvolted to 36 volts what would my speed be? maybe 20mph? i also have the rear of a pride mobility scooter with the differential, and the motor. the motor is 24 volts and its rated at 4500 rpm. i could take the motor off of it and try using that. but first id have to machine something to fit onto the shaft of the motor that i could put a sprocket on too. is it worth the trouble of fixing that motor and making the missing parts for it to function? or should i just stick to my lil 350 watt motor?

thanks

 

[anderkart]

could i just use a simple on/off switch?

Back when bar stool racers first started out, most guys used that setup with 12 volt car starter motors.
It would be full power or nothing, but it would work.

They simply used a momentary type on/off switch similar to these: http://www.google.com/search?source...h&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&fp=28021f1048a3561d
To send a 12 volt signal to activate the small post of a continues duty solenoid like this: http://www.amazon.com/Cole-Hersee-24106-Continuous-Solenoid/dp/B001FQL43U

You could connect 12, 24, 36 or 48 volts through the 2 big posts of these solenoid's, but your push button switch would need to only be sending 12 volts to activate the solenoids small post. You could achieve this by simply connecting your push button switches power source directly to the positive post of the very first 12 volt battery you had connected up in series. (that'd be the only one of your batteries with its negative post going to ground)

 

[r97]

please, if you haven't already read this!
http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=9700

if i'm thinking right you should have an estimated top speed of about 18mph with 36v. i'm not a huge fan of the on/off switch idea, but i suppose you could do it.

http://www.monsterscooterparts.com/24vo35unspvo.html


how many watts is the other motor?

 

[j.concepcion54321]

i dont know how many watts the other motor is because its in my shed which is covered in snow. im thinking its somewhere around 700-1000 wattsbecause it has to be a pretty strong motor to be on a mobility scooter.

 

[dan]

id go the push button idea with the solenoid, thats a great idea. gear it so that the motor will lag a little bit so you button on and the kart will gain speed rather then hitting full revs straight up. then just button off and u will slow down again. thats the way id be goin anyway.

cheers, Dan

 

[j.concepcion54321]

how much can i get a solenoid for?? is it hard to wire up push button to one??

 

[anderkart]

A high quality continuous duty solenoid is about $25 from here: http://www.amazon.com/Cole-Hersee-24106-Continuous-Solenoid/dp/B001FQL43U

Its simple, to wire it up:

Ether terminal of a 2-wire push button switch would be wired to the positive post of a 12 volt battery.
This switches other terminal would be wired to the solenoids only small terminal. (#2 on diagram below)

You would then use a battery cable to connect the solenoids large #3 terminal to your motors input .

The solenoids other large terminal (#1) would connect to your battery positive post. (also using a battery cable)

Your 12 volt batteries negative post would have a battery cable connected to one of your motors mounting bolts.

The solenoids mounting bracket would need to be grounded. This could be achieved by mounting it to the vehicle's frame.

Let us know if you have any questions so far.


Once you fully understand that part, I'll explain what all you'd need to do to end up with 24 volts using all 4 of your 12 volt batteries.

 

[j.concepcion54321]

im really new to solenoids and what are theyre real purpose??

 

[anderkart]

Its just a heavy-duty on/off switch made to handle high amperage flow. Instead of having a knob to turn it on, it gets an electrical signal from a smaller switch. When the solenoid's small terminal gets power it activates an electromagnet inside, which then makes an electrical connection between its 2 big posts.

Hey I just thought of easier alternative.
Instead of using a switch and solenoid you could get one of these: http://www.google.com/search?source...EQrQQwAw&biw=1259&bih=762&fp=3acf57885990a757 Its made to push with your foot, this is what older cars used for their starters before they used solenoids. All you'd have to do is connect it between your Battery + post and your motor.

 

[B man]

Nice idea. but what about this?http://www.monsterscooterparts.com/cu24v60hipem.html the motor i have.

 

[anderkart]

Should work just fine with that motor. That solenoid or foot-button starter switch are both built to survive 500 amp surges and should last quite awhile with up to 100 amp continuous duty use.

 

[j.concepcion54321]

hey sorry for not updating in soo long. my dads making me postpone this project until it gets better outside:/ ( We have like 16 inches of snow on the ground) . what motor do you think i should use the motor from the electric scooter (24 Volts, 350 Watts, 2650 RPM's) or the motor from the power chair (24 Volts, 475 Watts, 4000 RPM) ????????????????????????????????????

 

[dan]

hey sorry for not updating in soo long. my dads making me postpone this project until it gets better outside:/ ( We have like 16 inches of snow on the ground) . what motor do you think i should use the motor from the electric scooter (24 Volts, 350 Watts, 2650 RPM's) or the motor from the power chair (24 Volts, 475 Watts, 4000 RPM) ????????????????????????????????????

from the power chair, and volt it up to 36v would be good then

 

[j.concepcion54321]

ok thanks dan. one question. the motor has a shaft like this one

how can i hook a sprocket up to that??

 

[cboy]

use the scooter motor and overvolt it to 36volts.

I highly recommend using a 36v scooter controller you can get them for 20.00
pair with a scooter throttle for 9.99 and you have a variable throttle you can putt around or go full bore with......

check out tncscooters.com for cheap controllers/throttles.... monsterscooters also sellsthe stuff u would need...