noob with questions and ideas

ozzyu812

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Apr 6, 2008
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364
Location
"The Bog" NH
brushed vs brushless. Is the drag on brushed motors so bad that you have to run it all the time? 200 bucks more for brushless is it worth it?
To help charge the battery and increase range. I was thinking of mounting a car alternator to the frame. Using one of those sprockets that attach to the spokes to drive it. I think will be turning in the opposite direction as it does in a car. Would it make charge going backwards? If not, I think I can work out a way to get it rotating the right way. As for the speed, with a 14T sprocket on the alternator and 50T the one on the wheel, at 20 mph it will turn at about 900 rpm. With a custom 80T it will turn at about 1500 rpm. Do you think this would be fast enough to produce a significant charge? Keep in mind when the alternator is going 2-3x faster than the engines rpm when in a car.
When I was trying to find out more about brushed vs brushless, I ran accros this thread http://www.motoredbikes.com/showthread.php?t=6444&highlight=brushed+brushless. I dont really get why he even needs the gas engine. Just hook up th generator part of it the way I'm talking about with the alternator.
HOLD ON! That belt drive bike just caught my eye. http://www.bikeengines.com/bentest.htm That large "pulley" on the rear wheel should provide adequate rpm's for the altenator or Just for Kicks's generator. You'd think anyway. Wonder if they sell that part separately.

Well it getting late.

Thanks in advance!
OZ
 
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I'd go with brushless. Just easier, more efficient, & they'll last forever.

And forget the whole alternator idea. If you add more weight and more drag on the system, you CANNOT possibly get more than what you put in. And, realistically speaking, you WON'T get anywhere close to 100%.

Keep It Simple St00pit - KISS
 
NOT perpetual motion

I'm not thinking I can build a perpetual motion machine.:-/ I just don't want fry the batteries. Will an alternator provide a compatible charge? 20% return would do the trick.
I'm only goin to run electric for a year at the absolute most. I'm not looking to break any speed records I don't want to break the bank. This is the one I'm considering http://www.poweridestore.com/Model-409-Front-Brushed-Hub-Motor-Kit. If anyone knows of a cheaper one that has range of about 20 mi. and I can replace brushes if I need to, I hope to not have to use it that long. I mainly need help with NH hills.
 
The alternator will increase the rate of battery discharge not reduce it. The only benefit would be a micro processor that only used the alternator for breaking. Other than that, it would pull more energy to turn the rotor, than it would produce, hence, quicker battery drain.
 
If at all possible get a rear hub motor. The front ones are best for trikes and other bikes that can't possibly take a rear hub. I've heard of more issues with broken dropouts and weird handling with front hub than rear.
If you're on an extreme budget you could order a Currie Ezip Trailz from WalMart.com. I got one for my girl (and my own personal enjoyment).
They're not hela fast, probably 18mph under motor power alone BUT the whole bike is built tough as nails. I spent $350 on the bike shipped site to store (no shipping charge) and ordered a spare battery and charger from Currie for an extra $150. So for around $500 i have a nice tough 20mile range (on these hills) ebike for less than that kit plus a bike to put it on.
The hub kits range and speed will be better though, so you'll have to decide for yourself. Just thought I'd throw the idea out there.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=936799&fromPageCatId=133073&catNavId=133073
 
you picked a nice kit, but I would make 2 changes, First being a rear hub motor, and second would be to upgrade it to 48volts. Those Crystalyte motors are bulitproof.

Forget the alternator idea. it would cut your range in half. they don't spin for free. to make 500 watts of output, they would eat up 700 or 800 watts of input. I can break that down to a better explination if you're intrested, but the short version is it won't help, but it will hurt.

Regen braking is an intresting idea, but the rolling mass of a rider on a bike isn't much, so there isn't much kenetic energy to convert back to electricity. if you could recover 5% it would be considered amazing, but the slower you're going, the less there is to recover, and at 20mph, it probably wouldn't be worth it. for the same weight and expense, you could just run a bigger battery and get better range.
 
Thanks SirJakesus & Drunkskunk for your replies. I would have never thought of Wally World as a source! :eek: I will look into those further.
Time is short now I will come back to it tonite.
 
SirJakesus,
I had heard about the dropout problem and totally stripped my parts bike. In order to take the forks to work and get it reinforced or take it to a weld shop. As for the weird handling, I thought front wheel drive car handled weird until they grew on me.
That said, I think I'm pretty well sold on the E-Zip. I found this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=vuk-O6gk-RM That little motor is pretty powerful. It started that guy off from a standing stop with a near 1:1 gear ratio! Another plus is its not a rear hub motor, as I have other plans for the rear hub. I can think of a couple of different ways to mount it, partnered with a Happy Time. (I can't keep anything stock)So it would have long term usefulness.
I am having a hard time finding the extra charger and battery. Ones I see are alot more and don't look the same and cost more. Is this the right site? http://www.currietech.com.au/

Drunkskunk & kerf,
My gut tells me your right about the altenator. But I think I would have to try it just to see for myself. But its on the back burner for a while.
 
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The currie system runs off a left side freewheel. Unless you attached a happytime sprocket to that same left side freewheel you couldn't use the two systems together.... however i'm sure it's not impossible and it would be AWESOME to do :)
 
"quick" drawings

its late i will continue tommorrow
 

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