Electric Go Kart?

[FlyFrog]

I have been thinking about possibly making an electric cart, what knowledge does it take? whats the minimum price? i have the frame already, whats the best options to keep it cheap?

 

[EpsilonZero]

What frame are you using and how much does it weigh, how much will the driver/passengers weigh, what terrain will it be used in, what kind of performance do you want, and what is "cheap" to you?

 

[FlyFrog]

its a home made frame me and my buddy made last winter, weighs probably 90-110 pounds, and a 135 pound driver, decent speed and take off, nothing special and id like it to drive on the street and a pretty smooth yard

 

[redflash]

my experience from doing it.......The $100 motors ( 1800-2000 watt) are crap. If they over heat ( big tires, weight, hot day) they fry and blow up, additionally they really don't have enough power to pull an adult or heavy kart. Some guys double up and use tandem motors.
Now the 500 dollar motors are great, but by the time you get motor, controller, and batteries, you have $1,500 dollars in addition to your Kart.
I wanted quiet......so I tried electric. When a HF 212 is only $150.00 why spend all that money on electric, unless you want to play with technology.
In my opinion gas is simplicity and technology is headaches. my 2 cents

Da Redflash

 

[EpsilonZero]

With something that small, one of those little brushless 3000W canister style motors would work. They can handle around 40A usually, which is pretty easy to achieve with a small lithium battery. I can drive the jeep I built for my son off-road with a less powerful motor and just 24v with no issues. I used a little 500W motor in his kart and I can drive it 20mph on the road. There are tons of options from super cheap to as expensive as you want. Do you have a picture of the frame?

 

[FlyFrog]

my experience from doing it.......The $100 motors ( 1800-2000 watt) are crap. If they over heat ( big tires, weight, hot day) they fry and blow up, additionally they really don't have enough power to pull an adult or heavy kart. Some guys double up and use tandem motors.
Now the 500 dollar motors are great, but by the time you get motor, controller, and batteries, you have $1,500 dollars in addition to your Kart.
I wanted quiet......so I tried electric. When a HF 212 is only $150.00 why spend all that money on electric, unless you want to play with technology.
In my opinion gas is simplicity and technology is headaches. my 2 cents

Da Redflash

ya i perfer gas or any combustion engine for that matter, i just want to try something different and learn new things, get better at wiring, understand electrical components n such

 

[FlyFrog]

With something that small, one of those little brushless 3000W canister style motors would work. They can handle around 40A usually, which is pretty easy to achieve with a small lithium battery. I can drive the jeep I built for my son off-road with a less powerful motor and just 24v with no issues. I used a little 500W motor in his kart and I can drive it 20mph on the road. There are tons of options from super cheap to as expensive as you want. Do you have a picture of the frame?

i sadly cant view the videos due to restrictions put in place byy my school and i use this forum at school but thanks for the info, any links to motors and or batteries to get me started?

 

[EpsilonZero]

Do you have a picture of the frame?

 

[FlyFrog]

Do you have a picture of the frame?

I wish but not at the moment, i have to get back out to my grandparents to get pictures

 

[FlyFrog]

i based the frame off of my klipper kart, it has a few differences and needs to be finished like the top frame rails, steering , seating and axel hangers, so i have room to adjust where things are placed and make room for the motor and batteries n such

 

[Functional Artist]

Check out Damien

It's motivated by a 48V 1,800W brushless motor (~$150.00)
...& powered by (4) 12V 12AH SLA batteries (~$100.00)
https://www.diygokarts.com/community/threads/damien.40084/

Here is a video of it "in action"

 

[FlyFrog]

Check out Damien

It's motivated by a 48V 1,800W brushless motor (~$150.00)
...& powered by (4) 12V 12AH SLA batteries (~$100.00)
https://www.diygokarts.com/community/threads/damien.40084/

Here is a video of it "in action"

sadly cant see the video but do i need a controler? what all does it take to get one to drive? motor batteries and controller thats all?

 

[FlyFrog]

damien looks a lot like my cart if was made in 2016 not 1996

 

[Functional Artist]

Maybe visit your local Library.
You should be able to watch all of the videos you want, from there

 

[FlyFrog]

Maybe visit your local Library.
You should be able to watch all of the videos you want, from there

not sure if the school wifi blocks youtube videos or if the computer does EDIT: i found a way to watch the video, pretty neat, is that a spedometer in the dash? or rpm

 

[Functional Artist]

That meter tells you the Voltage of the battery pack (red)
...& also, the Amps your drawing, at the time (blue)

For more electric kart info, check out Excalibur
https://www.diygokarts.com/community/threads/2020-excalibur-electric-racing-kart.43462/

 

[FlyFrog]

That meter tells you the Voltage of the battery pack (red)
...& also, the Amps your drawing, at the time (blue)

For more electric kart info, check out Excalibur
https://www.diygokarts.com/community/threads/2020-excalibur-electric-racing-kart.43462/

i remember watching excalibur, that was the first electric kart that got me thinking lol, its a really well made cart

 

[Denny]

Frog, follow Kevin’s advice. He has been there, done that, got the T-shirt so many times he can clothe a third world country!

 

[Oviasnzm]

Can some body tell me which one is better in performance as well as making cost? Should i go with electric or Gas etc

 

[Denny]

Gas has a much lower cost to build. Also ride times are much longer and minimal cost to maintain. Higher fuel cost and long run times. And great off road.

Electric higher cost to build, lower cost to charge. Short run times and repairs can be very costly. More environmentally friendly. More of a on road or smooth surface vehicle.