Hello Electric DIY, I need Help =D

[Evilmongoose]

Hello DIY, I need Help, Electric Skateboard ^_^

Hello,
I'm fairly New to the electric side of DIY, I just finished my first gas powered go kart, and I'm starting on the my next project, BUT I need help, Lots of it.
(here is the link of my first project)
http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=21496

The New project idea is this: Electric Skateboard (on a budget)
This project id actually be able to use around school and get me around campus much easier (I go to school in the US 3rd largest campus)
So far I have gathered these parts:
1 turf deville Mountain board
1 City bug scooter

The turf deville mountain board is in very great shape so i plan to use those big wheels that have independent suspension and bolt them onto the neck of the scooter (the part where the scooter rises to hold the handlebar shaft and front wheel >see pic<) so obviously id be using the city bug frame as the chassis where id bolt a skateboard deck onto. Id be using the drive and brakes from the city bug it self, and obviously it be running on 3 wheels 2 from the front axle from the turf deville, and the back wheel would be the drive/brake wheel from the city bug)

Here is where I need help:

>The batteries are 2 , 12V 12AH batteries ( think they are about 10 LBS each), and they are Dead, So I need to be pointed towards cheap and maybe lighter alternatives, that would give me a good amount of range on a charge. ( very sure its a 24v motor).

>I need to know how to build a good and portable charger for it (or somewhere i can buy it cheap) something that firts confortably in a backpack encase i have to charge it in school, or fits inside the frame itself

>The electronic/computer/console that the city bug comes with, Im not sure but i think it is dead, not sure how to check it for life/ test it (Is it a good idea to bypass it completely and just make the throttle and On/off switch?)

> It has a key ignition type thing and i do not have the key, how would i circumvent this completely

> the belt for the motor is missing, How can i go about finding the specific belt it needs or where can i buy a cheap one?

(I wont be home till Monday so i cannot give you guys picture updates but i have attached the pictures of the general idea of the project and the parts i have gathered)

Thanks in advanced for the help I really appreciate it!

 

[Evilmongoose]

Ok, not many electric folk around here, so here is what I've gathered on my own, ill try and hit each of the key points above.

>best price bar none is eBay, if requested I can link the specific dealer but they beat any other price by about ten bucks per piece and the shipping was almost free. I decided to go with lighter batteries since I am trimming so much weight off the scooter frame for the electric skateboard, I did not need as much AH ( Amp hour) I went with 2, 12v 9ah batteries thwt weigh about 12 pounds for the set instead of th old set of 2, 12v 12ah beasts that weighed about 10 pounds each. ( obviously using them in series to power the 24v 200w motor) if my math is right I only lost about 12 min of battery life, that I might have evened out with the amount of weight I've removed.

> many options here some 24v chargers on eBay go for about 10-15 bucks, you'll need to wire it in yourself using a 3 pin connector, think it will look nicer then just soldering and electrocuting yourself accidentally. Or I'm thinking about DIY'ing this also and building one from an old PSU I have laying around.

> batteries have not arrived so I am SOL on this for now.

> see above

> local guy selling it for like 20 bucks, found on online but not sure on the shipping charges.


...... So if anyone could help me out figuring out how to create an electronic throttle for this I'd appreciate it. I've hit like 30 walls trying to figure out how to do it.



Thanks for your time

 

[machinist@large]

Welcome to the forum!!! We go from almost no activity on the electric front to a handful in just a couple of weeks. I hope things get interesting on this front; I might learn something......

 

[Evilmongoose]

Welcome to the forum!!! We go from almost no activity on the electric front to a handful in just a couple of weeks. I hope things get interesting on this front; I might learn something......

Thank you

 

[landuse]

Yup, not too many electric people here, but we love seeing the projects. Please keep us updated

 

[Evilmongoose]

So ive solved the charger issue, i did a lot of digging and thankfully being a student in a pretty large university finding an electrical engineer was not terribly difficult. Also came across this:
http://www.wikihow.com/Convert-a-Computer-ATX-Power-Supply-to-a-Lab-Power-Supply

So basically hooking up the -12v and the +12v wires from an old Power supply will give you the 24V required to charge the batteries. those should usually be any yellow cable and blue cable coming out of your PSU. Hooking up 2 or more +12v will cause them to simply up the Amps and give you 12v still because they will run in parallel. Why that actually IS, is WAY!! beyond my knowledge.

So ill keep doing my HW on this project, to keep you guys entertained and hopefully get some help/feedback

 

[Camn]

Cool project man. I would definitely not charge your batteries with the PSU because it has no monitoring device which means it could boil and potentially fry your batteries. It also provides far too much current for proper charging. Invest in a proper charger that will turn off when the batteries are charged.

 

[Evilmongoose]

Cool project man. I would definitely not charge your batteries with the PSU because it has no monitoring device which means it could boil and potentially fry your batteries. It also provides far too much current for proper charging. Invest in a proper charger that will turn off when the batteries are charged.

Yep already bought a small 24v 2 amp charger. A small electronic speed controller since the old one was completely unresponsive, also bought some small connectors for it and an electronic thumb accelerator that fits on the brake lever so I can do brake and accelerate with the same hand. Ill keep you guys updated. Also I could use some help finding a good mountainboard truck and wheel combo that doesn't break the bank. Earlier I posted that I was going to use the dirt devillle but the wheelbase is ways too narrow and super tall, I need something much more low profile

 

[Evilmongoose]

Ok here's a good update (about time)
I was home this weekend and most parts got here, sadly the speed controller box got home the hour before I had to leave for the week, but with that being said everything has arrived, I put in the belt and got the motor running, and started assembling the from end steering skateboard truck which is much much easier said than done. However with all the parts there I believe ill need one more weekend till I have my first working prototype. Sadly this weekend I have to study for my LSAT on Monday so I probably won't work on the electric skateboard this weekend. Here's the picture of what I have so far and I can safely say it is looking pretty freaking good.
Feedback suggestions and ideas are more than welcome and looking for suggestions on the name.

 

[landuse]

That is looking really good. It should be a blast