Big Electric Car Motor, Small Conversion

by Patrick L.
(Montreal)

BIG electric car motor, no batteries (unlicensed driver)

BIG electric car motor, no batteries (unlicensed driver)

I started an EV conversion project with an old Lincoln SA-200 DC generator from a welding machine.
Before investing more money into it, do you think this will work? I tested the motor on 48 volt and it runs good (no load). Can I use it for regenerative braking?

Hi, Patrick -
Jim Husted from Hi-Torque Electric says:

"Way too much motor. Where do you put the batteries?
The most common mistake people tend to make is put in too SMALL a motor for their conversion; and the second most common mistake? Too LARGE a motor. It’s a little like Goldilocks; you want it just right. 8^)

Everyone is battery limited by definition, so you don’t want to carry more weight than is needed as it could be used for battery weight, or just a lighter, more economically running conversion.

As for re-gen, it’s got some nice attributes, but the most I’ve ever heard of (reliably) is about 10% recovery in energy. This would equate to 22 to 44 miles in range from a 20 to 40 mile conversion. There’s more complexity and costs to do this so each must weigh their own needs.

I would not suggest using a brushed series wound DC motor for re-gen as brush arcing will occur."

- Jim


P.S. from Lynne: About Jim Husted...

He's with a company called Hi-Torque Electric; if you've been around EV-land for long you've already heard of him; he's been building and repairing EV motors since before you were born: )

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Brushed Gen Head as a EV motor
by: Weld Shop

I have a 4 cylinder kohler generator with a 5000 watt head I was thinking of using for a 5 mile a day EV work car in a GEO Tracker.
Would this work? and if so, how many volts and how many batteries would I need.
Dont know what kind of controller to use either.
Trying to go cheap on this project.
Also looking for some information on how to hook up the windings in order to backfeed it.
It uses the 12 volt battery to start the unit, but at 12 volts it turns real slow just to start the gas motor.
Am I farting in a fan or is this a viable project?
Thank you for any help.

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ALL METAL WELDING
by: Anonymous

I WOULD LIKE INFORMATION ON YOUR WELDING GENERATOR CONVERSION

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my idea
by: Anonymous

what if you try a alternator to recharge it?

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good luck
by: Anonymous

rite, pumping out amps... so basically, your not looking for a car that stores a huge amount of energy, your trying to build a vehicle that will charge a crap load and only need to exert it's self a little to move... that might work, but it's rather un orthodox. good luck to you.. that thing looks like it could pull a house if it wanted to. hope u don't blow the guts out of the transmission, remember electric motors achieve max torque at zero RPM, which means if u tromp on the gas u mite not go anywhere but the garage...

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SA-200
by: Anonymous

My dad had a Lincoln SA-200. He was a pipe fitter and had it in the back of a Ford F-250. He had about 100 foot of leads so could weld a ways away from the truck if he needed to.

As far as working in an electric car, I would think it would have lots of power, but it's also heavy.

Anyway, interesting project, good luck with it.

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not that big
by: Patrick L.

I know my motor looks a bit overkill but, I'm not looking for top distance, I'm looking for top acceleration. If you take a look at the White Zomby, 2 motors back to back, is perfect for the car's intended use.

Also, this motor does not arc at the brushes, remember it use to be a welder.

It was designed for pumping out amps.

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