The Model E
 

Hello all, I haven't been on here in awhile, and a lot has changed. In January, I started a Senior Pilot Program at my high school with two friends. What that means is that we get to take class periods off to complete a Senior Project to be completed by a set date in May. Our project: a home-brewed Electric Vehicle! Now, we've been working on the project since then so theres a lot of catching up to do and i'm short on time, but i just wanted to get the thread started and see some initial reactions. Pictures and more details will be up soon, but i can share that the base vehicle is a "suri," a four-person pedal-car type of vehicle. The motor is going to be a 24v, powered by 4 12v lead-acid batteries and controlled with a variable-speed controller. Thats all for now, tune in for more.

Sounds like you have a cool school, quite unlike the mill I went through, which almost completely destroyed my interest in learning.

youngun -

Like this, only better?!?!? :

http://www.internationalsurreyco.com...iddleposts.JPG

Gives me that "The Prisoner" feeling. In a good way.

Can't wait for the real pix!

CarloSW2

If you can go with higher voltage, it will reduce your controller cost, give you a higher top speed and allow you to use smaller gauge wire for a given speed.
36v and 48 volts are rather common, if you use hub motors electricrider.com has some that go up to 72 volts.

cfg83, that's exactly what we're working on, except ours is a bit older and less fancy but looks very much the same. we've removed that roof awning thing as well.

Frank- hahhha my school is hardly "cool," in general, but it does have some nice aspects to it that are much appreciated.

Ryland- We're most likely going with 24v because we are only going to be rocking 4 batteries, and we can get a 24v charger donated (most likely) or for reduced cost. We aren't looking to make it a speed demon either, as we're trying to keep it bike-path legal to make it more appropriate for our area.

Check your motorized bicycle laws, most states ban the use of the motor on a motorized bicycle on bike paths that are not part of the city street, this includes trails, side walks and over pass walkways, you can still use human power but not the motor, however most states have a 25 or 30mph speed limit for motorized bicycles.

Where my buddy teaches shop, the students run all kinds of lawnmower/go-kart mashups on the adjacent street, often with no brakes and dodgy steering. The principal just told the homeowners to watch out and shut up, in the finest diplomatic way.

Most state have some pretty interesting laws around vehicles that can be used on public streets if they are owned by the school and are used as a teaching tool, they tend to have to stay within a few miles of the school of course but they don't always even need license plates or a title.

...of course, the school "parking lot" can provide an 'interesting' slolam course at night when it's empty!

So... big day.

Today we stopped by a local golf course which I had contacted for possible donations, and we were given three 12v Trojan deep-cycle lead acid golf cart batteries, and a 36v motor controller . In addition, the kind folks in the maintenance department said that in a couple weeks or so they could throw in an essentially completely working Smithco Sand Star E sand trap groomer. Dont know what that is? neither did we. its one of these, except a 1996 version without all the bells and whistles, and the version pictured is a gasoline model.

http://www.smithco.com/images/produc...tar%202009.JPG

The only parts that are in less-than perfect working order are the steering and the sand rake mounted on the back. The six 6v lead acid batteries, 36v motor and controller, and all associated wiring and hardware (aka everything we need off of it) are in fine working order. They have a brand-new one on order, and if the higher-ups give them the green light, they will let us have it (as opposed to bringing it to the landfill!) To call this a score is an understatement.

ModelE -

Wow, hope the higher-ups say yes. Crossing my fingers for you.

CarloSW2

latest update... me and the guys were doing some welding, grinding, and general reinforcing of the frame. some pics are soon to follow.

anndd here are some project-encompassing pics

Snapfish: Share:Registration


just as clarification, that metal plate at the end is what will be under the plywood floor we're putting in (also pictured) where the engine will bolt into. basically it's just to add extra strength so the engine torque doesn't damage the plywood.

Any chance of posting pics to a site we don't have to register on to view them?

The sand trap machine was a score - congrats.

Wish I'd done cool stuff like this when I was in school.

yeah i'm trying. I tried to upload them, but they're too large for the size limit for jpegs. any ideas?

ModelE -

Make an album on Ecomodder and it will auto-size them to 800x600 max :

User CP -> (Networking) Pictures and Albums -> Add Album

CarloSW2

ecomodder album is made and is currently residing here:

Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - ModelE's Album: Model E Project

My mistake, federal law says that a bike a 750 watts with a top speed of 20mph and anything more then that has to fallow motor bicycle laws, but that with the 20mph/750 watt rule you are a bike and get to fallow bike rules, use bike lanes, bike trails, side walks.
with something that has 4 people I'm not sure ho the 750 watt rue works with 4 people on the vehicle.

another update... today me and my friends picked up an old electric golf cart from our school and hauled it over to the shop. it's been sitting outside for quite some time... the batteries are bulging, leaky, corroded and generally toast... but hopefully the 36v motor and drive/neutral/reverse switch still work. We had contacted a local paper and they wanted us to write an article on ourselves to be published, but as time is a precious resource we're probably gonna ask them to get a reporter to write the piece. the surrey itself is currently completely disassembled, with the motor mount plate welded on, waiting on a sandblasting and new paint, new tires, and re-assembly. more pics to come soon!