Paul & Sabrina's cheap DIY 144v motor controller

[wakinyantanka]

Originally Posted by MPaulHolmes

OK, please please please please don't try this at home, but someone who put a controller together decided to run his S10 truck at 192v to extend the range!!! We are talking about the 200v components here. He's gone 300 miles so far without any problems. His commute is about 36-38 miles per day. Around 6-8 miles of stop and go in town driving, and 30 miles at 60 mph. I don't know what to say. Fully charged, it has to be way over 200v. Ok, the capacitors are rated for 250v surges, but what about the mosfets?!

Is he liquid cooling that controller?

[MPaulHolmes]

No, it's just the regular old controller. Maybe the mosfets are more robust than I thought. I'm less worried about the higher amperage voltage spikes now. Heck, someone volunteer to run it at 500v and see what happens. hahaha

[wakinyantanka]

Originally Posted by MPaulHolmes

No, it's just the regular old controller. Maybe the mosfets are more robust than I thought. I'm less worried about the higher amperage voltage spikes now. Heck, someone volunteer to run it at 500v and see what happens. hahaha

Man That's impressive.

[bennelson]

Hey Paul,

Just keep on eye on the guy running the 192V pickup.

Other than it being "over-spec" for the controller, it sounds like a very cool project!!!

Take this as an opportunity to see what this controller can do!
Who knows! Maybe it will work for a pretty good long time?

The upside of high voltage is low amperage. Lower amperage means less heat and other problems. Maybe it will work out ok.

[harlequin2]

Originally Posted by MPaulHolmes

OK, please please please please don't try this at home, but someone who put a controller together decided to run his S10 truck at 192v to extend the range!!! We are talking about the 200v components here. He's gone 300 miles so far without any problems. His commute is about 36-38 miles per day. Around 6-8 miles of stop and go in town driving, and 30 miles at 60 mph. I don't know what to say. Fully charged, it has to be way over 200v. Ok, the capacitors are rated for 250v surges, but what about the mosfets?!

Just goes to show how conservative the manufacturer's ratings are. They guarantee a min Vds of 200V but they don't say what the max is likely to be! If this guy is using 16 x 12v batteries, his charging voltage is likely to be about 230V dc which is 15% over.
I bet that increased his top speed a bit too!
Wouldn't make any difference to the controller dissipation though.

I run mine from 45 Li cells which charge at 162V and I thought that was pushing it far enough.

[mora]

Paul, did you come up with bill of materials for "new" control board already? I'd like to build one more control board and later decide between mosfet/IGBT. 1000 amp anyway. To abuse my already abused cells a bit more. Hehe.

I also got the over-rev protection working on my existing controller. Works fine. Didn't have a chance to test in driving conditions yet, but it prevented revving over certain point in neutral.

I still need to find a way to get that OpenRevolt logo on top of my controller. Maybe silkscreening to metal? Don't want to use stickers.

[adamj12b]

Originally Posted by mora

I still need to find a way to get that OpenRevolt logo on top of my controller. Maybe silkscreening to metal? Don't want to use stickers.

Is there a particular reason you don't want to use a vinyl sticker? The ones I am selling are meant for car windows and outsides of buildings. I also did a heat test on them by running them through a t-shirt dryer which is almost 600 degrees F. I slowed the belt down so it was inside the 3ft oven for 55 seconds. When it came out it was the same shape, color and size. And I couldn't touch it!

Just something to consider.

-Adam

[mora]

I'd like the logo to lay flat on top of the controller. Like at same level as paint is, or very close to it. Or preferrably under a thin clear coating. I have nothing against stickers, I might get one and slap it in rear window later.

[adamj12b]

Originally Posted by mora

I'd like the logo to lay flat on top of the controller. Like at same level as paint is, or very close to it. Or preferrably under a thin clear coating. I have nothing against stickers, I might get one and slap it in rear window later.

OO ok. I can understand of wanting the look of paint. If its of any use, the vinyl is only 0.003" thick.

-Adam

[mora]

That's thinner than I thought. Maybe I'll get two and try to fade visible edges under the paint. If there are any visible edges, hehe.