Scooter motor

[devino246]

Would an electric scooter motor work as a charger/alternator for a go kart?

 

[KieranM]

To a point yes, but really no

For the motor to start doing the job of an alternator it would have to get to a very fast speed. The motors are based along the same idea of an alternator but are not designed the same.

Think of it this way:
You can buy dynos for a push bike and they work great. You can use a small motor for small projects and you would want to be hitting 20mph to see a slight spark of light. Thus making you fall off in the dark trying to get that bit of light

Also the power the motor would produce would be minimal.

So the short answer is no. Its not worth the hassle. Best to buy an actual charging unit.

 

[oscaryu1]

Scooter motors are terrific alternators. Gear it right, and you can generate decent power. I'd use something 500W< though.

 

[devino246]

What gearing would you suggest?

 

[KieranM]

Scooter motors are terrific alternators. Gear it right, and you can generate decent power. I'd use something 500W< though.

not convinced do you have prof of this, pic/ video.

 

[brendonv]

Well it would work but dunno how well. Probably good enough to power some low wattage lights. LED ones would work well i would say.

EDIT: Btw u would need a regulator on it as well as the current and voltage will fluctuate otherwise.

 

[devino246]

Ill probably use the lights and if the battery still works at all, it too. I dont think they use much power. Hypothetically, if the motor uses 500W @ 2500rpm, if you turn it at around 3000rpm, you would get about 500W? It would only be like 20 amps @ 24V. Just hypothetically speaking.

 

[oscaryu1]

not convinced do you have prof of this, pic/ video.

There was another thread in this section somewhere. They use a gear reduction 250W motor (standard low powered scooter motor), and since it's 3:1 (I think) gear reduction, when used as a generator, the actual motor spins 3 times with 1 turn of the drive sprocket.

They hooked that up to a inverter and powered a standard 60W or so lightbulb with it.

Oh, and the motor was attached via a chain to a bike...and someone was pedalling it.

 

[Thedude]

I connected two rc car motors and set one of them up to run as a generator. I gave it 9 volts but it only produced 2.4 volts.

 

[devino246]

But the big thing is amps

 

[sedgy]

why dont u get a small alternator off a moped and hook it up to the runing motor just like on a car and that wud do the job i think not 100% sure but thats what i think im gona try wen i start building mine

 

[devino246]

Well i already have a scooter motor, but ill have to look into the moped alternator.

 

[oscaryu1]

Scooter motor is a much better choice. YouTube it, ALOT of people have made alternators out of them.

 

[devino246]

EDIT: Btw u would need a regulator on it as well as the current and voltage will fluctuate otherwise.

Where would i get a regulator? id like to have it running to a 12 volt battery.

EDIT: would wiring 2 of these in parallel cause double the voltage output, double the amperage output, or would it just mess everything up?

 

[devino246]

I got some new brushes for a motor i had, hooked the motor up to my drill press, and connected the wires to a multimeter. Its a 24V 8A @2600rpm motor. At 2340rpm, it produced 20.4V. At 3100 it produced 27V! Id think that if the voltage output is that close to the rated input, the amperage output would be similar. This motor was from one of those little standup scooters. I have an old scooter thats a little bigger, so that should produce enough amperage to charge a battery.

 

[brendonv]

Where would i get a regulator? id like to have it running to a 12 volt battery.

EDIT: would wiring 2 of these in parallel cause double the voltage output, double the amperage output, or would it just mess everything up?

It would do neither. You run your motor into one of those before the battery so it gives out an output of 12v. In an altenator, the faster the motor goes the more output it creates. However if u just hook that straight to a battery you will stuff it up. You therefore need a voltage regulator like that one to give a steady voltage. That thing doesnt double voltage or anything it takes a voltage < or = 12v and lowers it down to 12v.

You will also need a current regulator. These are a bit tricky to make for a beginner since you need to do a bit of math ie Ohms law. You can buy ready made current regulator circuit boards at electrical stores.

It will be a lot easier to use an alternator off a motorcycle as they already have the regulators so all you need to do is mount it. There also real cheap on ebay and stuff. They usually run off a gear so you just need to remove it and weld on a sprocket or pulley.

 

[zabac70]

Brendonv is right. Car(or motorcycle) has everything you need and it's all wired up (from alternator to the battery). Your approach is more complicated (and could be more expensive in the end , regardless of the fact that you already have the scooter motor).

 

[devino246]

Thanks guys. Ill have to look on ebay

 

[zabac70]

First car junk yard will do (neighborhood garages also)...

 

[devino246]

no junkyards within 30-40 minutes of here.