[Gene]

Hey you guys,

I've been reading this forum for some time now and it got me interested in building my own EV. With the information i found here i got started on a first project.
The plan is to use parts from an old forklift to convert a cheap chinese build quad bike into a workable ev.
So mathematicly : quad + old forklift = EV1
I start this thread so everybody who is interested in the project can follow my progresss (hopefully i'll be able to finish it). It also gives me the possibility to ask questions and advise. Since i have very little to no experience in working with electric motors i know i'm going to encounter numerous problems that will need solving, so any help is more than welcome.

First i dismantled the motors and wiring from the forklift, got them wired up and working.
The pumpmotor specs are : 24v,3300w,185A comp
The drivemotor specs are : 24v,1250w cont, 75A, series
First problem, which motor to choose?
The pumpmotor is in good condition, powers up great on a 12v battery, should provide enough power to move the quad, certainly on a higher voltage.
The drivemotor i'm not sure, motor seems to have some friction when it starts turning, powered by a 12v battery. The specs are lower than the pumpmotor but the motor itself is a little bigger, has double brushes. Windings are very dirty, so i should probably clean it somehow before i use it if i go with this motor for the conversion.

[Gene]

The quad bike stripped, only ice mounted. When i remove it i can try to mount one of the electric motors on the chassis. Probably i will try them both to see which one preforms best.

[madderscience]

interesting build. your biggest challenge may be figuring out where the batteries go.

For the best range, a couple of 12V golf cart batteries (160lbs or so), for best performance, a lighter pair of 12V AGM deep cycle batteries (anywhere from 50 to 150lbs).

as for motor selection, the drive motor is more likely to be designed for continuous duty, but for your purposes it may not matter. probably the motor with the bigger brushes and bigger commutator would be the better bet. (better current handling capability).

the motors may have a splined output shaft on them, it could be fun to figure out how to interface that, but for quick and dirty, you can fit almost anything together if you just weld it.

Good luck.

[Gene]

Here are some photo's of testmounting the pumpmotor.
Its mounted without making any adjustments to the motor or chassis, just to see how much space it takes. The holes on de mountingplate of the pumpmotor correspond exactly with the holes in the chassis for the original motor, what a coincidence
I'm planning to do the same testmount with the drivemotor but for this i need to make some adjustments, its not going to be as easy as the pumpmotor.
My idea is to mount them both and see how they preform, first just with a 12v battery, then a second in series to have the 24v they had in the forklift. This with no controller, transmission mounted temporarily (probably with a quick weld as you said) to see which one moves the quad the most, maybe do a little spin round the car park, just by holding the battery cable to the battery. The most powerfull will be the one that i'll use.
The drive motor is a bigger series motor than the comp pumpmotor but i'm not sure about its condition. It has bigger, double brushes, windings are heavier but it just doesn't run very smooth. I'll post some pictures of it when i open it up to drill the holes for mounting it on the quad.
For the batteries i'm planning of using deep cycle gel batteries, 12v, connected in series to obtain the necessary voltage. First i thought of using 250ah,12v batteries, i could put 2 on the inside of the chassis easily but i think i'll first decide on which motor at what voltage to use (probably 48v) and do some testing before planning the battery pack.
The 250 ah batteries would be great for range, but they weigh a lot (about 70kgs a piece).If i use 100ah batteries(29kgs a piece) maybe i could fit 4 of them where the original ice and gas tank where, would be just fine, but that's something to worry about later.
I appologize if my english isn't a 100% correct, doing this conversion is actually a good exercise to freshen it up a little

[bblocher]

Very cool build. Following along...

[Twilly]

Both of those motors seem a little big for your build. When looking for a forklift motor myself, I was looking for about a 9-10 inch motor ( 120-160 lbs ) for a mid sized car. I am currently working on a small dune buggy project, and I want with a 6.5 inch motor ( 50 lbs )

Just the weight of those motors are going to kill your range. Maybe you could consider trading someone who has a small motor and a car project?

Just my 2 cents

Twilly

[Alchemist]

I like it!! More pictures please - Thank you!

[Gene]

Hey,
Thx for the replies guys, alway nice to communicate with people who share the same interests.
Its true that the motors are a bit big but i hope one of them will have enough power to provide a fun torquey ride.
The forklift they came from was already 30 years old with 7000 workinghours on its clock but easily picked up a load of 1000kg (approx 2000 lbs that is i think), so although the rating on the motors was a little dissappointing, they should both be powerfull enough to move the quad bike with me on it.
Range is not that of an issue to me, a rage of about 20km (approx 12miles) will do, but i would like good acceleration and a decent top speed, aiming for about 60mph (approx 90km/h).
The size of the motors is an issue because it is not easy to mount them firmly to the chassis, but i think the weight of the batteries matters more (4 bats weighing approx 30kg a piece = 120kg or about 250lbs) than the weight of the motor (about 60lbs).
For the moment i don't know how the motors preform, i first want to find that out. I don't know yet what i'm going to do with the spare (if they are both good, something i doubt very much).
I attached some photo's of the interior of both, windings and brushes.
The drive motor doesn't run as smooth as the pump motor, i noticed that the first time i tested them without a load. On the picture you can see that it is rather black on the inside, also i think the brushes aren't properly aligned, maybe this is the reason why is doesn't power up as well as the pumpmotor.

[Twilly]

I was not trying to talk you out of using the motor, That is part of the fun here. But keep in mind, you are using a motor larger than the warp9 I used in a Ford Contour. And my car had more get up and go than it did with the ICE... So imagine having a 200hp V6 on your 4 wheeler... Just be careful

[willsr]

Jaguar is apparently planning to attack the upstart Fisker Karma head-on with an extended range electric version of the all-new XJ. The completely reworked XJ is due to arrive in July and hit dealers in December with a look heavily influenced by the smaller XF. A year later, the Indian-owned British luxury automaker will reportedly launch a plug-in version with 30 miles of electric only range that should help the big car get 47 mpg (US) and a CO2 emissions rating of less than 120 g/km.

Jaguar will be able to introduce this new model now that it has approved for a new EU loan for developing greener cars. Jaguar already has an advantage over some of its competitors because the full-size XJ is comparatively light thanks to its aluminum construction. Lotus Engineering and Caparo are helping Jaguar with development of the ER-EV powertrain.

Additionally, Jaguar and Land Rover are rumored to be developing micro-hybrids, full parallel hybrids, smaller diesel engines, and boosted gas engines along with even more Weight Reductions for the full lineup.
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