Recent content by mettleramiel

Go to the forums on otherpower.com . They have tons of info on building your own wind turbine and even sell lots of the parts needed to do so. 5m blades is very large to start off with, though.

I've been out of the mobility equipment repair business for a few years, but if anything, innovation in the industry is slow, so I imagine not much has changed. Yes, you can program the controller with a pc, or a proprietary device that mobility dealers have. Not much can be done, however, as...

Frank! Man, I miss your site so much! No lie, it was one of my favourite sites for years. Your projects always hit a chord with me. Here's hoping that you get back on the building wagon!

Yes, you can lower your bill, but not the way you want to. Off grid inverters have no way to hook up to your house. You would need a battery bank and run things directly off of that. All that inverter you linked does is allow you to charge the battery bank with ac as well as dc and run direct...

I don't know what you are going to use for power input, but let me tell you right off the bat that alternators are meant to run at very high rpm. Depending on what your power source is, it might be easier, smarter and more efficient to use a motor or dynamo.

1-yes, you can get headlight polishing kits at any automotive store. 2 -no, you can put as big or little battery as you want as long as the voltage stays the same. 3- if the motor fits, no new fork is needed. The increased torque at the fork would be so negligible. I would get a new fork if you...

Can't really tell from just the outside, but the chances that you can just add another battery to that controller are very low. I would confidently say that you cannot do it. The motor should be fine to take the extra voltage, but at only 500 watts, you will not likely get any more speed out of...

I've been slowly accumulating power tool cells by collecting them from the battery recycling bins at hardware stores. Every one I've been to is happy to let me take as many as I want. Most of the time, the cells are useless, but often there is a broken bms or only a couple bad cells or sometimes...

Just looking at the number of views this thread has, I'm curious if you might get a better response pinning this thread to the top of each page rather than making it a sticky. I know, personally, I skip right over all stickies and only found this by accident.

Previous comments are correct. Keeping our panels, clean and cool, using MPPT and tracking are the only ways to maximize your panel efficiency. Yes, mirrors concentrated onto the panels will increase your output, but you have to constantly adjust the mirrors, otherwise they will shade the panels...

Coming from someone who sold batteries for scooters for years, I'm willing to bet it is the batteries, but they might still be ok. What you should do is first charge them each individually or in parrallel to balance them. Next, lead acid batteries like to be cycled a few times, especially when...

They are still predominantly brushed. In fact, Invacare, one of the biggest powerchair manufacturerers discontinued their brushless motors years ago. Some of the biggest players, Permobil, Pride, Invacare, Shoprider and Sunrise, none have a brushless option. Power chairs are so far behind...

I'm really looking forward to this thread!

Mobility scooters will have SLA in them and they will almost assuredly be dead. The controllers are useless as they are not modifiable. Sometimes the motors are ok, but they are always brushed and come with an electric brake attached that would be better off removed. The throttles are just a...