electric scooter :)

[captainslug]

Originally Posted by MazdaMatt

So what's the point of the voltage rating on the motor?

That's the voltage at which the motor is expected to
- Not overheat
- Not destroy the bearings (which are rated for a certain maximum speed)
- Draw the indicated amperage under normal operation

A constant higher applied wattage than what is indicated will overheat the motor. A rotational speed too far above indicated and you'll start shearing the axle and bearings.
There are all kinds of ways you can tweak a brush motor beyond its normal factory specs. You can rewind it, add extra thermal management, or shift the alignment of the stator.

I had a 300w scooter of this type for quite a while. The motor handled 36volts easily, but the controller wasn't happy with the increase and eventually crapped out. The mosfets and capacitors inside of it probably weren't rated high enough to survive the higher voltage.

[jwxr7]

Originally Posted by captainslug

I have a blue one of those that I bought at a yard sale last summer for $2. It needed a belt and the throttle switch needed fixed. Mine is 24v 100w and doesn't have variable speed. The "drive" is just an on-off relay with some extra circuitry to make sure the speed is above 3mph before the motor comes on. I added a 3rd battery and it was a great improvement in performance but it melted the relay contact. I put a different relay in and bypassed the circuitry so it'll start the motor from a dead stop if I want. I've kept it at 24v since It wasn't my extra battery we tried. It only works decent on smooth level concrete. Even the road surface roughness slows it down alote. It may be worth trying 36v if you can mount the extra battery good if it has a hard tire and no suspension like mine. You will also want to see if yours uses the relay system to drive, and upgrade to bigger and better possibly variable speed control. These guys have lots of cheap parts to do that. http://tncscooters.com/view.php?page=Parts

[MazdaMatt]

mine is similar to that except it has solid rubber wheels, a removable seat post and a hinged handlebar so it can be folded down.

I never thought of scrapping the controller altogether in favour of a switch... the thing is so puny anyway that full-throttle-only would be fine.

I could also do a 0-12-36v stepping relay controller... hmmmm....

[Mogal]

Hehe, I have one of these scooters too. I have no seat option with mine.
Picket it up second hand, has a busted throttle, and no charger.
Its a 24v system... (2x12v batts)

With no charger, I haven't had a chance to play with it yet.
Looking for a (cheap) charger... locally they want 100 bucks for one.

[jwxr7]

Originally Posted by Mogal

Hehe, I have one of these scooters too. I have no seat option with mine.
Picket it up second hand, has a busted throttle, and no charger.
Its a 24v system... (2x12v batts)

With no charger, I haven't had a chance to play with it yet.
Looking for a (cheap) charger... locally they want 100 bucks for one.

TNC Scooters (Scooter Sales and Service)
They should have something for $15 or so.

[Mogal]

Ah, good price... I'll have to look into shipping costs to Canada.

Thanks,
Chris