Electric Kart

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jmauld

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I've been making progress with my son's kart. I've got the frame finished and I'm ready to mount a motor on the back of it.

The goal is an off-road kart that has plenty of torque to go on bumpy off-road trails and reach 12-15mph, with a 50-60lb boy on it.

Based off what I've read, it seems like I need something around a 500 (or maybe a 750?) watt motor and controller to do this.

I was thinking that I could start out with 24V and this motor and controller.

Would this motor:
http://www.monsterscooterparts.com/24-volt-500-watt-electric-motor-05t-chain-sprocket-my1020.html

plus
http://www.tncscooters.com/YK48-2.php


And if that doesn't work, move up to a controller that will handle 36V and add another battery?
 
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gotbags-10

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for an off road kart i would deff move up to the 36v 750 at the minimum. If it were me i would go with the 48v 1000w motor. I am currently using that and works pretty good. I am using a kelly 100 amp controller on mine but limiting the current to 50 amps. With the smaller controllers you wont get the full potential out of the motor not to mention u can burn up the small ones pretty easy.
 
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jmauld

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Okay, I'm sold with going with the 36V 750W motor.

Where did you find the kelly 100A controller, and does it have reverse?

The MY1020 motors come with a #25 sprocket. I have found a #35 sprocket that can be bored to 10mm to work with the MY1020 shaft, but I'm curious if a #25 chain would be sufficient for what I have planned?
 
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jmauld

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Well, he's taken the cart out for a couple of test runs now.

Here's a short video of it running at 24V, 500W.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmauld/5582018997/

Unfortunately, I think he blew the controller today by holding the brake pedal while pressing the accelerator. I'm going to start research on the 36 V controllers (hopefully, I'll find one with reverse) and then put a brake override switch on the brake pedal so that the motor will be disabled with the brake pressed.

If you have any suggestions on a switch that would be easy to use, please share.
 
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Bluffer

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Thats a great looking cart, what did you use for a throttle?

Where did you get your batteries
How much did the cart cost to build?
 
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jmauld

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It's only getting about 25 minutes at the moment. I'm using two 7Ah batteries that I pulled from one of his other toys. There's lots of room to go with bigger batteries. I intend to go with at least 12Ah batteries.

His new controller is expected to come in this week, so I'll probably end up at the battery store this weekend.

Bluffer, I used this for a throttle:
http://tncscooters.com/product.php?sku=101125

I have about $500 into the kart, but that was using all new parts. New tires, new wheels, spindles, axles, steering, etc. If I were to do this again, I would buy a kart off of craigslist with a blown engine. I also would only power one wheel with the motor, or use one motor for each rear wheel. The motor has difficulty overcoming the friction caused by the live axle while he's turning at low speed.
 
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NSR

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jmauld said:
Okay, I'm sold with going with the 36V 750W motor.

Where did you find the kelly 100A controller, and does it have reverse?

The MY1020 motors come with a #25 sprocket. I have found a #35 sprocket that can be bored to 10mm to work with the MY1020 shaft, but I'm curious if a #25 chain would be sufficient for what I have planned?
Click to expand...

Hi,
Great looking kart!!
I am also building a electric kart for my 5 year old boy. I was going to use Alltrax controller and some big motor but decided to scale it down due to his age. I think 15mph should be more than enough. So far I have bought a steering/spindle kit, Currie 750w motor and a controller rated at 1000w. The problem that I am running into is the axle sprocket. The motor has a #25 11 teeth sprocket. The axle I will be using is just some generic 1" or 1.25" live axle available every where. However, I have not found a axle sprocket that will fit the bill. What is your set up for the axle/sprocket?
Thanks a million.
Steve
 
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theo

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jmauld said:
It's only getting about 25 minutes at the moment. I'm using two 7Ah batteries that I pulled from one of his other toys. There's lots of room to go with bigger batteries. I intend to go with at least 12Ah batteries.

His new controller is expected to come in this week, so I'll probably end up at the battery store this weekend.

Bluffer, I used this for a throttle:
http://tncscooters.com/product.php?sku=101125

I have about $500 into the kart, but that was using all new parts. New tires, new wheels, spindles, axles, steering, etc. If I were to do this again, I would buy a kart off of craigslist with a blown engine. I also would only power one wheel with the motor, or use one motor for each rear wheel. The motor has difficulty overcoming the friction caused by the live axle while he's turning at low speed.
Click to expand...


Look around for a old 3 wheel handicap scooter, they have a diff. you can adapt to the kart. These are cheap.
 
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baer

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Very nice. Here are tips from my experience
- though maybe too late, think carefully about the position of the pedals so they won't be too close to the seat as the kid will only get taller over time
- front bumber should be wide and cover also the front wheels to protect the spildles
 
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jmauld

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I've made the rails so that the seat can be positioned further back. There is also about an inch of adjustment in the steering.

Good point on the bumper. He has already ran into a tree. Fortunately, it was dead center, so the steering parts didtn't absorb any damage.
 
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