Putting a electric motor in a car?

Question

Hey. Just wondering how i would connect one to the drive shaft(I think thats what its called. The motor is conected to it. Well the gear bow on the motor i think). Would i keep teh gear box or take it out. WOuld i atack the electric motor to the gear box then i could use gears?. Also not a must know but how does an electric motor throttle work?.

Answer 1

Connect the motor directly to the drive shaft and use a rheostat to control the speed.  There are drawbacks to EVs and I found a document which gives an alternative and which you may find interesting.

The Steam-electric Hybrid Auto

     There has been much talk in recent years about major changes in the auto industry due to oil prices, renewable fuels, alternative fuels and pollution.  There have been some changes and some experiments, which have done little to change an industry firmly wedded to the inherently polluting internal combustion engine fueled by oil products.  Consumers also want their cars to perform, handle, and have the same range as always.  To replace the IC auto then requires one that will look the same, cost about the same, be as convenient to use and go as far before stopping to refuel, but they also want one which is less polluting, more economical to drive and able to use various fuels easily.

     To be useful in an auto a fuel must be a compressed gas or a liquid, because solid fuels are too bulky and difficult to feed.  There are many alternatives to gasoline, but oil-based fuels will not disappear anytime soon.  We cannot grow enough crops to make enough ethanol or vegetable oil to replace oil completely, but we can reduce the amount of oil needed.  There is also synthetic gasoline and fuels made from coal, which is in abundant supply.  Hydrogen is a possibility someday, but it does require about five times as much hydrogen as gasoline to travel the same distance. Fuel tanks for hydrogen have to be kept near absolute zero [-459 degrees F.], or compressed as a gas to 10,000 pounds per square inch [a heavy tank] or stored as a hydride weighing about 1500 pounds.  Then making the hydrogen requires a lot of electricity, requiring the construction of twice as many electric generating plants, either nuclear or coal-fired, moving the pollution from the auto to the plants.

     Building the generating plants and using the electricity in electric vehicles also moves the pollution to the plants.  Electric Vehicles that can travel as far and as fast as an IC car require very expensive batteries, making the cost of the cars more than triple that of an IC car.  Being dependent on the electrical grid for recharging limits where they can be used and once at the range limit you would need a 220V outlet for the 6-hour recharge or find a recharging station, which could recharge the batteries in 10-15 min. Not exactly convenient or inexpensive.

     By using fewer or less expensive batteries an EV can be built for about the same price as an IC auto, but you get much shorter range, about 50 miles one-way and have to do without air conditioning, heat, power steering, brakes and such. Electricity is cheaper than fuel and 80% of your driving would be within 25 miles of home. For the other 20% of your driving, just buy an IC car or rent one.  That is not convenient and would force many to buy a second car or just not travel.   An EV may not be dependent on oil, but it is not as convenient as an IC auto and costs more.

     Since IC engines can’t use some of the alternative fuels without blending with oil and they pollute through incomplete combustion, there is another choice, external combustion.  External combustion of fuel using a forced draft produces fewer emissions than IC engines.  EC engines can use any liquid or gas as a fuel and they need not be highly refined.  An EC engine is a steam engine.   Steam engines have an efficiency of about 32% or more compared to an average of only 10% for an IC engine at comparable loads.  The steam engine produces more power for its weight, size, cost and complexity.  Its efficiency gives it good fuel economy.

     Using a steam engine to power the wheels of a car has a lot of good points, but there are some drawbacks.  A steam car may need 30 seconds to several minutes to build up enough pressure to move.  They can freeze in very cold weather. Stomping on the accelerator uses up your head of steam and for a moment the car will slow down.  Using modern technology and materials both the steam engine and the boiler can be made lighter, stronger and more powerful than those of the past and even more efficient.

    Some people reject steam based on lies they have heard, lack of knowledge or think it is a failed technology for autos.  No boiler in any Stanley or Doble ever exploded.  The Stanley boiler was strong and had safety features.  The Doble used a water-tube boiler, if a tube was to burst it was contained in a housing, which was open to the exhaust.  Steam cars died out because they were expensive, took some time to reach operating pressure [Dobles took 30 seconds to be able to roll and a few minutes to reach full pressure.] and the owners of the companies were perfectionists who only wanted to sell cars to those they thought deserved them.

     Having established that EVs are great for short-range economy and not for replacing IC cars and that steam power is cleaner, more efficient and more able to utilize multiple fuels. Let’s examine what would happen if steam and an EV were blended in a hybrid.

The Hybrid of Steam and Electric Power

     First one must choose the design of the steam engine best suited to generating electricity. There are several different types of steam engines: conventional piston, rotary, turbine, s***w and designs by Green Steam Engines, Cyclone Engines, Lynx Engines and others.  There are also experiments that are promising using the Tesla Turbine.  Gearing can take the most efficient engine speed and convert it to the best generating speed.  So say that we use a 15-20 hp. V4 single acting compound uniflow engine measuring about 21.5”W X 24” L X 12” H and power it with a boiler similar to the Doble measuring about 22” in diameter  and 13” H., the burner being a part of the boiler.  Couple it to a generator capable of 14 KW output which is smaller than the steam engine in size.  Use the generator to charge as compact a set of the lowest cost, most efficient batteries, such as those already used in IC/hybrid cars, as can be found, just enough batteries to go 50 miles at 70 mph.  Use the batteries to run an electric motor at each wheel [the Mini-Cooper has done that with an IC/hybrid] to give 4-wheel drive without any gears. The different wheel speeds in turns can be controlled electronically.  They also use regenerative braking to gain a little more efficiency.  This configuration provides the space to fit everything in without a shoehorn, keeping accessibility to the operating systems easy.

     To gain a little more efficiency the car would also use thermo-electrics to use waste heat from the used steam on its way to the condenser and the exhaust heat to generate a little more electricity.  By using a sealed system the water would be recycled with very little loss, so that adding a gallon of distilled water would be needed perhaps every 3,000 miles, engine miles, not actual miles.  By using electric heating strips the water could be kept just above freezing in cold weather. Yes that would use battery power, but if parked at home you would be plugged into the electric outlet, keeping the batteries charged.  If parked in a lot somewhere, the steam engine/generator would start automatically to keep the batteries charged.  That would use a little fuel, but not enough to be concerned about.  If left too long, the fuel would run out, but the water storage would be built strong enough to withstand freezing and the batteries would then stop trying to keep the water from freezing so there would be enough power left to thaw the water when the driver was ready to refuel and start the car.

     Since the AC, heat and power steering/brakes and other accessories use electricity they reduce the distance the car is able to travel under electric power, but in a steam electric hybrid it doesn’t matter, since it can generate its own electricity.  You would get the advantages of an EV, without the problems and the advantages of steam power without its drawbacks.  Changing from one fuel to another would require changing the burner nozzle, perhaps purging the tank and fuel line or changing the fuel storage tank.  The same design of car could be built to use different fuels, one type of fuel at a time.  Some would use furnace oil, some vegetable oil, some ethanol, some kerosene, some propane, etc. This would spread the demand over several different fuels.

     Sit behind the wheel and look at the dash.  You have a speedometer, a water gauge, a battery charge gauge and the usual idiot lights. Fasten your belt and turn the key. There is no wait to go.  Put the lever to R, the car will back up, by reversing the motors, slower than it goes forward even if you put the accelerator on the floor, just for safety. Then put it in D and go, using battery power.  You are driving on a hot night with the air conditioning on, lights on and listening to the CD player and you go 25 miles to work. Last night the steam engine generator started 8 miles from home so you were not sitting with dead batteries a few blocks from home, where you plugged into the house outlet. While you are at work your mother calls you because she is sick and needs you to take her to the doctor as soon as you get off work in the morning.  She lives another 25 miles farther away from your house, but you aren’t worried about having dead batteries, because you know the steam engine/generator will automatically start to keep the batteries charged even though you have to drive over 100 miles.  Then your mother decides to have you drive her 850 miles to stay with her sister and you just take your car and go. You stay overnight, with the car plugged in, and drive home.  You refueled on the trip. Just as you arrive home a storm knocks out electric power for 2 days and you use your car to produce emergency power to keep your, refrigerator, freezer and some lights on.  You

Answer 2

You need more research into electric vehicle construction. The modern day EV uses a solid state electronic controller that starts and drives the vehicle through a series of gear shifts (like a rheostat) and the differential is connect to rear the wheels. This is basic. The hybrid cars use a front wheel engine set up and a rear wheel electric assist system. The Electric auto association has books and info if you are interested.

Spartawo...

Answer 3

the simplest method for converting an infernal combustion engine is to connect to the gearbox/clutch.

there is usually a spline connection that you can fabricate a coupling to connect to the electric motor.

Electric motors have a much wider torque band than the original infernal combustion so first gear probably not required. The clutch is not needed. Electric motors can run in either direction  so reverse not strictly needed, but is handy to stop mistakes (pushing the reverse switch by accident at 60mph not recomended) & ease of fitting reverse lights & beepers etc

Most motors will have an associated controler that converts the pedal position to current. Most are solid-state electronics.

for more information & find others who can held join the battery vehicle society http://www.batteryvehiclesociety.org.uk

Answer 4

Every fully electric vehicle I have seen, up to and including a 300 ton dump truck used in mining, has direct drive rather than a gear box.  Power is regulated by a rheostat, just like the dimmer switch on your dining room lights.  For more details, look at an electric golf cart.