| Owner | Crazy Al from www.ElectricCarConversionBlog.com | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner's Other EV | Electric Tibi Kart | ||
| Location | near Canberra, New South Wales Australia map | ||
| Web/Email | WebPage | ||
| Vehicle | DAP go kart A DAP go kart converted to Electric. The go kart is a similar style to what Ayrton Senna would have raced in when he raced go karts, before going to Formula 1. The era this go kart came from was late 1970s to early 1980s. At the moment, it has a 250 watt motor and it is possible to drift with it. The motor is a starter motor of a small industrial engine. | ||
| Motor | 450980 Permanent Magnet DC Sticker on motor says United Technologies Automotive. It is a modified starter motor which puts out 250 watts. During 2012, this go kart became a dual motor Electric Go Kart. With the motors wired in parallel, it pulled 739amps. April 2013, motors rewired in series. Going to have to put another battery so it can run at 24 volts. Hardest bit is mounting another battery. | ||
| Drivetrain | Chain and sprocket. Simple and effective. | ||
| Controller | No controller as such. There is a solenoid relay which allows power to go from batteries to Electric Motor. It is either all power or no power. August 2011 update - I made a square wave generator to create pulse width modulation. This then drove relays. This home made motor controller sort of works, but it is not very smooth and needs to be refined. | ||
| Batteries | 1 Interstate Megatron II MT-26, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, AGM I was using a 12 Volt marine battery, but looking to test other batteries and possibly other voltages. August 2011 update - I have started to use an Interstate battery 12 volt battery. When I measured the current draw on start up and acceleration of my electric go kart, it exceeded 300 amps. I love using this Interstate Batteries battery. | ||
| System Voltage | 12 Volts | ||
| Charger | Been using a solar charger with a 4Watt panel and KEMO regulator. As the solar panel is not big enough, to get the extra electrons into the battery, it gets stuck in a LPG powered car that is going somewhere anyway. | ||
| Heater | None. I wear my racing overalls, shoes and helmet when I drive it. | ||
| DC/DC Converter | None | ||
| Instrumentation | None, but I have a multimeter handy which I use whilst not driving. | ||
| Top Speed | 18 MPH (28 KPH) It has an estimated top speed of 18mph. This electric go kart has been geared for acceleration and it does not need much speed to get it to drift. | ||
| Acceleration | Not sure, but it is capable of drifting - seen an ex-race car driver drift with my electric go kart. | ||
| Range | Unknown, as the Optima battery I'm using is 4 years old and been used in that time. August 2011 - with the Interstate battery, I have not tested my range as I have been refining my motor speed controller. | ||
| Watt Hours/Mile | I have not measured the amps. August 2011 - on acceleration it was 300+ amps. However, I did not measure the voltage during acceleration. Even though, I'm running 12 volts, upon acceleration, it does not mean that the battery is delivering 12 volts. | ||
| EV Miles |
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| Seating Capacity | 1 | ||
| Curb Weight | 80 Pounds (36 Kilograms) I'm guessing it is 80lbs without batteries. I have not measured it, so I can't be sure, but I have no problem putting it in the back of my Volvo wagon. | ||
| Tires | Dunlop, but would like to upgrade to bigger rims and Mojo tires. | ||
| Conversion Time | It took me several attempts over 2 years. If you want to read about my electric go kart story, then you can check it out at WebPage . If I had to repeat the process again, it would be less than a week. However, I'm trying new things so the amount of time I spend will increase. | ||
| Conversion Cost | Including the purchase of the go kart, but excluding price of the battery, I estimate all up under $250. However, I'm trying new things so this cost will go up. | ||
| Additional Features | Instead of using the foot to accelerate etc, I have a push button switch, operated by the left thumb. It is positioned on the bottom left of the steering wheel, just like the Ferrari 430 Scuderia's start button. | ||
| This Electric Go Kart is fun. I'm looking to put a more powerful motor on it and add battery capacity in the future, but currently, I enjoy driving it as is. I will probably build another electric go kart, purpose built for drag racing, drifting and burnouts. I'm going to display it at the Electric Vehicle Festival in Canberra on 25th September 2011. | |||
Electric Go Kart by ElectricCarConversionBlog.com
“Crazy Al's Electric Go Kart”
Last Updated 04-11-2013
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