Paul & Sabrina's Cheap EV Conversion - Page 37 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

MPaulHolmes · 11-28-2008, 11:52 AM

There are a bunch of holes at the other end (the end attached to the adapter plate). That's also where there is a messed up "fan" of sorts inside the motor. It previously sucked air through the holes where the brushes are, and blew them out its end, but not very effectively.

MPaulHolmes · 11-28-2008, 01:59 PM

So I usually drive gently, starting in 1st, and then 2nd to keep the amps down........

NO MORE BABY!!!!! HAHAHAHAHHA!!!!

Well, maybe I shouldn't be too cocky right now, but I did lots of HILL driving and start and stop driving IN 2ND ONLY!!!! I was using 160-200 amps consistently. I don't even drive that jackrabbitish in my Kia Spectra. The blower was barely audible. The sound from the motor and the sound with the blower is about the same. When I stopped, the 2 gauge cables were warm, but the motor stayed cool (well just a hair warm, but mostly cool).

Granted, I only drove for like 10 minutes, but in that time the motor would have been warmer I think. I need to try a longer drive and see if it keeps it cool then.

MetroMPG · 11-28-2008, 02:52 PM

Sounds like a grand success. How hot was your motor getting before? (Sorry for being lazy and not combing backwards through the thread).

The ForkenSwift motor body has never been too hot to touch. Not even so hot that I couldn't leave my hand on it indefinitely. With the exception of the commutator end bearing - it gets hot. Jim Husted said: "normal".

MPaulHolmes · 11-28-2008, 05:09 PM

To give you some idea as to how hot it was getting, let's just say it's hotness was the multiplicative inverse of Oprah's *******...

It's a 60 pound motor. After about a 4 or 5 mile drive in stop and go traffic, the motor would be hot. I could keep my hand on it, but holy cow, it was toasty! It's supposed to be rated at 103 amps at 1 hour, but part of the fan blades inside the motor were broken.

MPaulHolmes · 11-29-2008, 01:46 AM

I drove the car 4.6 miles with several small hills along the way, using pretty heavy acceleration. The fan was on the whole time. When I got to my parents' house to watch a movie, I checked the motor temp out.

Result: The top half of the motor was "gently warm". The bottom half of the motor was "hot" but not as hot as without a blower.

Hmm... Any suggestions on getting the bottom half cool???

Idea #1: Take the blower off the top, attach a hose that splits into 2 hoses, and have one hose attach to a hole in the top of the motor, and the other hose attach to the bottom of the motor.

Idea #2: Buy another blower, and then have one mounted on each side of the motor (no room under the motor because of the piece of wood splash guard)

Idea #3: Move to Alaska. That'll keep the motor cooler than a frozen monkeyturd.

Christ · 11-29-2008, 01:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MPaulHolmes

Idea #1: Take the blower off the top, attach a hose that splits into 2 hoses, and have one hose attach to a hole in the top of the motor, and the other hose attach to the bottom of the motor.

Good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MPaulHolmes

Idea #2: Buy another blower, and then have one mounted on each side of the motor (no room under the motor because of the piece of wood splash guard)

Better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MPaulHolmes

Idea #3: Move to Alaska. That'll keep the motor cooler than a frozen monkeyturd.

BAM! (I actually hate Emeril.. but it was funny in my head.

Anyway, have you ever considered fixing the fan that's inside the thing? Or directing the airflow through where the OEM cooling fan used to blow...

I wonder if a larger fan pulling air through the motor would do you any better than the one you're using now? Perhaps something connected to the shaft of the motor on the other end, with a shroud around it?

Sure, technically, it's more drag on the motor, and will cost you distance... but you said yourself, you're not going as far as this thing will go anyway, and it might net you more distance in the long run by running the motor cooler.

Another consideration on the same thing might be a thermoswitch-controlled fan that pulls air through the motor from the open end, but isn't directly connected to the motor... i.e. has it's own smaller motor.

It won't take much more than a radiator fan to cool it, so it shouldn't be an issue finding something to use.

MPaulHolmes · 11-29-2008, 02:06 AM

Interesting. Pulling air instead of pushing it.... That gives me some stuff to think about... Thank you, Jesus (is that your first name?)!!!

Christ · 11-29-2008, 02:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MPaulHolmes

Interesting. Pulling air instead of pushing it.... That gives me some stuff to think about... Thank you, Jesus (is that your first name?)!!!

God, no. (Dry humor, pun intended.)

My SN is also my first name, as far as any Gov't agency is concerned. Last name is Pettitt. (French-English, means "smallish one", as in "Petite")

It's kinda laughable that so many people get offended by my name... not saying that you are or are not offended by it, just a comment.

If it makes you more comfortable, you can call me Chris, or just "C".

Christ · 11-29-2008, 02:14 AM

The idea of pulling the air rather than pushing it comes from the fact that you already have a poorly operating pusher fan in the motor housing... it's not doing much, but helping to direct airflow... Add a puller to that on the other end, and you could possibly have the key to keeping your heat down, and keeping the motor evenly temperate... I'm assuming this is a good thing for E-motors.

Shouldn't be too hard to make a cone that fits your motor on one end, and a small round fan slightly larger than your motor on the other... place the fan so it's pulling air through the motor, find a way to fasten it, then wire it up with a thermoswitch, so it only works when the motor gets over, say, 120*F.

I'm not sure what the optimal temp for your motor is, so bare with me on that.

MPaulHolmes · 11-29-2008, 02:25 AM

Hmm... I like how you think. I will think upon this... I'm sort of glad it didn't work perfectly. I hate it when there's nothing to fix or improve.

Actually, I think the fan inside the motor is a puller rather than a pusher, since it's right near the exit holes.

My wife's grandma's name is Virgin Mary. She has like 12 kids, all named after people in the bible.

Virgin Mary == 12 kids? how does that work?

By the way, I still need to fix the DANG super beetle shimmy, then it's on the freeway!!!!!