User:Jeffreycarllloyd/enes100/Electric Cars

Link to project Ekart team page.

Week0 Activities
-Research ways to regenerate discharged lead acid batteries

|INSTRUCTIONS TO REGENERATE "DEAD" BATTERIES www.ehow.com

-Research Speed Control units

Problem Statement
How can I utilize a bunch of old car batteries and two motors to make an electric go kart?

Task1 Assignment
Collect or coordinate items on this list to facilitate the regeneration of dead Lead-Cell batteries

-Magnesium Sulfate (a.k.a Epsom salts)

-Baking Soda -3 Phase Charger

-Protective Clothing (i.e Full Face Mask, Forearm Length Acid Proof Gloves, Acid Resistant Clothing)

Wash the cells and coordinate a charger.

Task1 Comparison
Was unable to acquire a donor lead acid battery therefore I was unable to test the above theory. I did collect everything else that was needed to conduct the experiment.

Week1 Activities
Created a power point presentation justifying the cost of the project and a request for the school to sponsor to SMET event where teams from other local can compete with their electric go-carts.



Constructed an preliminary itemized parts list that list part specs, price and possible vendors.



Task 2 Assignment

 * Secure at least one donor lead acid battery for testing
 * Test electric motor for compatibility

Week 2 Activities
I examined the donor electric motor for compatibility for our project. Two problems associated with the donor motor is that is vertical shaft design whereas a horizontal shaft would be ideal. After examining the design the way make the motor work would be do build a plate and bracket that would place the motor horizontally.

Motor Shaft
The shaft is unique will require a custom sprocket or the original piece

The rear of the motor has a clutch like devise that once engaged with the actuator locks the motor. This may be a brake of sorts.

Task 3 Assignment

 * Mock up motor bracket
 * Test the motor as it is running identify defects/issues

Task 3 Compassion

 * I was able to mock up the motor mount.
 * Could not get the motor to cycle.

Week 3 Activities
I constructed a motor mount mock up using plywood.





The design is solid and the problem I can see is the clearance of the sprocket and chain and the mounting hardware. Depending on the thickness of the sprocket and the thickness of the steel of the mount their could be a problem with interference of the mounting hardware and the drive of the chain.

I had difficulty getting the motor running. The resources to perform a proper test were unavailable. I attempted with a battery with a rating of 750 cranking amps with both sets of leads to the same battery to no avail. The motor is rated at 46 amps but apparently a series of batteries is required to operate the motor.

Task 4 Assignment

 * Finalize presentation

Task 4 Comparison
I finalized the presentation

Week 4 Activities
I reworked the presentation on a different format. Instead of Power-Point I went with an online software that is a enhancement to the typical Power-point presentation. The source was from | prezi.com.

| The presentation is contained here

The hopes were to construct a prototype go-cart then present to the board a request for funding a more elaborate set up. One that would eventually be competed with. The difficulty of the project, was the limited amount of resources.With the proper allocation of those resources the project could really take off into something worth rallying behind.

Our strategy was to convince the board that it was in their best interest to pursue this funding by way of sponsoring a small competition. One that would stress the STEM curriculum provided here at Howard Community College, although focusing primarily the Engineering discipline. Pitting local Colleges STEM programs to our own.