Results tagged “scooter” from The GPSy EV Project

The weather was finally nice enough to commute to work this week on my Piaggio Boxer EV with Prius NiMH batteries.

Here's the data from my CycleAnalyst:

	Run #1 1.18 (To)	Run #2 1.18 (From)	Run #3 1.19 (To)	Run #5 1.20 (To)
Distance	5.2 km	4.85 km	4.21 km	4.19 km
Efficiency	45.1 Wh/km	39.2 Wh/km	42.2 Wh/km	47.6 Wh/km
Energy used	234.23 Wh	189.87 Wh	176.92 Wh	199.03 Wh
Charge Used	5.90 Ah	4.28 Ah	4.01 Ah	5.01 Ah
Max Amps	106 A	101 A	91 A	101 A
Average Speed	20.6 km/h	23.3 km/h	24.8 km/h	24.1 km/h
Max Speed	36.6 km/h	40.3 km/h	39.0 km/h	36.6 km/h
Starting voltage	---	49.9	50.2	47.2
Ending voltage	43.8v	45.9v	---	44.2v
Run time	15 min	12:30	10:10	10:24

My commute is slightly uphill on the way to work and downhill on the way back, which accounts for the difference in energy efficiency going to and from work.

The bike feels much lighter than with the SLAs and faster too (even with the gear reduction) so I have to say it's an unqualified success. I just hope I can get good life out of these batteries.

After Run #4, I was in a rush and so I put the charger on and went to a talk and then came back. About 3 hours had passed and the charger had over charged the batteries. It actually wedged the battery holder apart. So I'm worried now that my batteries will be weakened -- even though most of the bulging has subsided.

I reinforced the battery holder this morning and we'll see how it holds up.

I've been asked if I had to register my Piaggio Boxer in CT and get it plated and insured. When it was a gasoline scooter in Minnesota, I had it plated and insured (and have a MN title for it). When I got to Connecticut, I was told that because it was 49cc, it fell under the moped provision and didn't need to be titled, registered, or insured.

Here are the requirements for mopeds in CT:

a. goes no faster than 30 mph

b. displaces less than 50 cc

c. has an automatic transmission

d. less than 2 brake horse power

e. and after 7/1/97 the need for pedals is deleted from the requirements.

When I did the EV conversion, I think I remained within the moped parameters. The scooter is geared so it doesn't go more than 30 mph; it displaces 0 cc which is less than 50 cc; it has one gear and a centrifugal clutch, so it is automatic; brake horse power is a defunct and idiosyncratic measurement system with no easy equivalent in other systems; and it has pedals.

So I should be good. If I'm forced to register it, I have the Minnesota title which I can always transfer to CT.

Today I visited my local flea market and picked up a real find. A used Razor e300 (or maybe e200, not sure) electric scooter with charger for the unbelievable price of $25.

The hitch was that the scooter didn't work when I tested it out. The seller originally wanted $30 but I bargained down to $25 because of its condition. The LED power lights came on, but it didn't move. The battery read full but no motor motion. I decided that for $25, I could part it out and still get my money back and so I bought it.

I came back home and the batteries were indeed dead. A little massaging from my higher-end Soneil 2408 charger and the batteries came back to life. They don't seem as though they have their full capacity, I'm doing an amp-hour test on them with my Watts-Up tonight.

I put in the SLA batteries from my Pocket Rocket and took it for a zip around the neighborhood. Lots of fun -- until a car pulls out in front of you. Still, you can only go 10-15 mph so there's limited trouble that you can get into. And even with the newer SLAs from the Pocket Rocket, my range was only around 3 miles.

I'm going to see what I can do to hop it up, perhaps use some NiMH batteries instead of SLAs.

(Originally posted: July 6, 2008)

Well, I went to Tractor Supply Center (TSC) today and all they had were imperial sized pulleys (1/2" and 3/4" bores). The motor that I have must be a metric size one because the 1/2" hub pulleys were too large. I bought some 1/2" hub pulleys anyway since I wanted to see if it would work as a proof of concept (and just around how much more power I'll need).

Now I just have to make a mount for the motor. I think I'll just use a piece of 2x6 wood that I have laying around and make a simple mount.

I took the motor, motor controller, batteries, and everything else out of the Razor. I tried to play with the motor controller. It turned out the "throttle" on the bike was only a switch and not a potentiometer. I tried using a 5K pot but the motor speed (unloaded) didn't seem to change any. I'm not sure if this controller is variable or not, but it wouldn't make any sense not to be, right? Maybe I need more resistance.

If I can get the pulley and V-belt on next weekend and cut the mount and drill it out, I'll be able to get the electronics in and the mo-ped on the road to test it out.

---

To answer some of the comments on the previous post:

1. Definitely 240 watts is too little, if that is the actual rating of the motor. Once I get this to work and can show proof of concept to my partner, my budget for getting a bigger motor should be approved.

2. I thought about a hub motor and might go down that route if belts/pulleys become too much of a bugaboo. It'd certainly solve a lot of problems except the financial ones -- most ones I've seen are $300-500 right? That's about $200-400 over my current budget (until I can prove that this will work, and that I haven't ruined my partner's mo-ped in the name of science).

Karen



Original forum posting and comments: <a href="http://visforvoltage.org/forum/3973-modifying-my-piaggio-moped-part-2">VisforVoltage.org</a>