First, I drive a hotrod Dmax daily and am not giving up my turbo scream. But I am a dreamer, and like to do strange stuff...
Me and the kids are building a 2 wheeled solar powered unofficial LSR (Land Speed Record, not racing). It is not likely to go faster than the mega-buck university racers, it's for fun and to see how fast we can go. AFAIK, the fastest solar vehicle without battery assist is 88kmph.
First, if you buy normal solar panels for your house, they are too heavy, and have a sheet of glass on top. This is too dangerous. So we have 10 x 100w semi-flexible panels that are roughly 8 sq ft each. So 80 sq ft of panel weighing 65lbs. About the size of a garage door. We are arranging them in a 4' x 20' array. You cannot even partially block the light going to the panels. Block 1% of the panel area, and your power falls from 100w to 20w (measured).
First trick is to see if a human can balance a 280 lb 2 wheeler with a 25 foot wheel base. We are starting with bicycle components for weight. We have a busted Trials bike we can use, but that ups the weight 50lb.
So we are making the frame, and rolling gear, and dummy weights, and will see how slow it can be ridden.
Then we add a battery pack that will emulate the solar panel output power. Then see how fast it goes, how stable, and make necessary changes. Last comes mounting the solar panels.
The frame is being welding by Mitch Fabrications who did the rollcage on our truck, and several other successful LSR vehicles. Should be finished up this week.
Note about solar panels - The only make peak power when given the optimum load. So you use a MPPT device (Max Power Point Tracking). You can't just use them as batteries, as they put out virtually no power without the perfect load, and it's a tight window. Ours are making 19.0v at 5.56 amps or 105w in testing after the MPPT. So about 1.40HP. Not a lot to work with. We are running two 500w DC motors rated at 24vdc. We will test them at 19v and 38v (pairing the panels) to see what makes the most power.
Will post a link to the U-Tube video of the "balance test" or you can see it on World's Dumbest Drivers 26 perhaps.
Why not a solar car? Weight. We can't use carbon fiber or honeycomb aluminum due to budget limits. Our limit is less than we paid for the fire protection for our truck.
Now, why would we do this? To learn something about solar, about EV technology, and something about aerodynamics.
In 10 years, I believe this tech will be significant for the common man. If you have a company do solar to your home, it's about $7-8 a watt. You can buy the parts for about $2/w, and installation cost is $1/w. The sales staff makes 1/2 the cost. We will reuse the panels after the attempt at the record to help power our home, and perhaps make a "bicycle assist" kit that doesn't require recharging with a 1/3 HP.
When I post the test videos, you must PROMISE to laugh.
How did the Electric Bug bite me? I saw a guy running a street legal Pontiac Fiero on batteries only at the dragstrip. It lofted the tires, and clicked off a 9.8 @ 134 mph blast down the 1320. This is quicker than 99.9% of street cars, and will abuse a Viper on the bottle. There is a guy with an electric private airplane that flies 203mph. A Cessna 172 goes about 110mph. This is not Save the Whales, this Hotrodding. I believe in 10 years, it will be real serious racing. There is already roadracing of electrics, and they are fast.
Me and the kids are building a 2 wheeled solar powered unofficial LSR (Land Speed Record, not racing). It is not likely to go faster than the mega-buck university racers, it's for fun and to see how fast we can go. AFAIK, the fastest solar vehicle without battery assist is 88kmph.
First, if you buy normal solar panels for your house, they are too heavy, and have a sheet of glass on top. This is too dangerous. So we have 10 x 100w semi-flexible panels that are roughly 8 sq ft each. So 80 sq ft of panel weighing 65lbs. About the size of a garage door. We are arranging them in a 4' x 20' array. You cannot even partially block the light going to the panels. Block 1% of the panel area, and your power falls from 100w to 20w (measured).
First trick is to see if a human can balance a 280 lb 2 wheeler with a 25 foot wheel base. We are starting with bicycle components for weight. We have a busted Trials bike we can use, but that ups the weight 50lb.
So we are making the frame, and rolling gear, and dummy weights, and will see how slow it can be ridden.
Then we add a battery pack that will emulate the solar panel output power. Then see how fast it goes, how stable, and make necessary changes. Last comes mounting the solar panels.
The frame is being welding by Mitch Fabrications who did the rollcage on our truck, and several other successful LSR vehicles. Should be finished up this week.
Note about solar panels - The only make peak power when given the optimum load. So you use a MPPT device (Max Power Point Tracking). You can't just use them as batteries, as they put out virtually no power without the perfect load, and it's a tight window. Ours are making 19.0v at 5.56 amps or 105w in testing after the MPPT. So about 1.40HP. Not a lot to work with. We are running two 500w DC motors rated at 24vdc. We will test them at 19v and 38v (pairing the panels) to see what makes the most power.
Will post a link to the U-Tube video of the "balance test" or you can see it on World's Dumbest Drivers 26 perhaps.
Why not a solar car? Weight. We can't use carbon fiber or honeycomb aluminum due to budget limits. Our limit is less than we paid for the fire protection for our truck.
Now, why would we do this? To learn something about solar, about EV technology, and something about aerodynamics.
In 10 years, I believe this tech will be significant for the common man. If you have a company do solar to your home, it's about $7-8 a watt. You can buy the parts for about $2/w, and installation cost is $1/w. The sales staff makes 1/2 the cost. We will reuse the panels after the attempt at the record to help power our home, and perhaps make a "bicycle assist" kit that doesn't require recharging with a 1/3 HP.
When I post the test videos, you must PROMISE to laugh.
How did the Electric Bug bite me? I saw a guy running a street legal Pontiac Fiero on batteries only at the dragstrip. It lofted the tires, and clicked off a 9.8 @ 134 mph blast down the 1320. This is quicker than 99.9% of street cars, and will abuse a Viper on the bottle. There is a guy with an electric private airplane that flies 203mph. A Cessna 172 goes about 110mph. This is not Save the Whales, this Hotrodding. I believe in 10 years, it will be real serious racing. There is already roadracing of electrics, and they are fast.
