Black and Decker Leaf Blower.. can i do this ?

Ypedal

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Moncton NB, Canada
Ok.. so i have one of those B&D leaf blower/mulchers, gotta haul around this long ass extension cord that always ends up being 10 ft too short....

Googled it and aparently it either has an Induction motor or a Universal motor... but i can't determine wich it has..

Aparently, Universal motors can be run on either AC or DC, basically, i'm hoping i can just hook up a 24 cell lipo pack and run 100v DC from a backpack...

Buuuuuut.. before i go doing something worth putting on youtube with sparks and smoke.. figured i'd ask here first lol..

Do i need to get a big ass Inverter to run this ? or can i just hook it up to a battery and go ?
 
If its got brushes then its a universal motor.
 
Just ran dowstairs with my craftsman model C257.516220 leaf blower and hooked it up to 38vdc and it ran, slowly. It was drawing 0.8A.
Label specifies 7A @ 120VAC

The craftsman has a label reading "energy efficient permanent magnet motor".
I can feel cogging when I rotate the blower wheel.
(you should be able to hear brush noise if it is a universal motor)

I don't know if I've helped you, but you've helped me. I have a deep lot, now I can chase the leaves all the way back.
Thanks for the good idea.
 
Awsome !!

That was encouragement enough for me !

I spun the impeller by hand and could hear a faint tic tic tic of brushes type sounds as it spun....

Cut the AC wire, crimped up some andersons, hooked it up to 12 cell LiPo and hit the switch !!.. zoom zoom !! :D

This is gonna be SOOOOO much better !

I have a row of 5 huge maple trees that drop leaves like my ex's panties.. Last weekend i spent 30 minutes going over and over with the lawn tractor to mulch them up, I used to bag it all for the first few years but 30 heavy bags of mulched leaves is such a waste of plastic bags and too much work... mulching them up is way easier and eco friendlier.. good for the lawn too !

30 cells should make this puppy blow real good !
 

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:mrgreen:
 
What battery do we smash for all the lipo packs to fall out of? :mrgreen:
 
ypedal . want to see the smoke and spark from your blower :D :D :D don't forget the camera man for the first test we want to see the propeller explode :lol: :lol: :lol:


so can i use a stock electric weed heater to do the same like ypedal? because one of my neighburhood ask me convert it to battery
 
lifepo4ever said:
ypedal . want to see the smoke and spark from your blower :D :D :D don't forget the camera man for the first test we want to see the propeller explode :lol: :lol: :lol:


so can i use a stock electric weed heater to do the same like ypedal? because one of my neighburhood ask me convert it to battery


Anything with a universal motor runs better on DC than it did on AC. This means most drills, most handheld tools, vacuum cleaners, and most any high-rpm appliance. However, the speed control may not work correctly (for devices that use rectifiers for speed control).

Just don't try to run a cordless drill off a battery until you've mastered the battery hack in the above video, otherwise the AA's will cost you a fortune.
 
My leaf blower only has an On/Off switch, so no variable speed issues :D . I have tested it at 48v and seemed to run real good !!!!.. It's been pissing rain for 5 days now( have had over 120mm of rain and more on the way ) .. so no chance to try it outside just yet..

Since this is a brushed motor, one thing i'm not clear on tho, is will the DC voltage make the motor spin faster than the AC voltage ? or will it be the same regardless ?

I was planning on 100v of lipo, but daaamn that sucker spun fast on 48v already ! lol..

edit :
Found this : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_motor

talks about universal motors running on either AC or DC, and the speed control issue, nothing about rpm obtained on dc vs ac tho so i assume it makes no difference..
 
I've run several drills and saws off strings of lead-acid batteries in remote locations. Beats the snot out of using hand tools. Even with only 48v, they all worked quite well.

Right, the speed control won't work, it will be just full speed or off.
 
Since the AC will vary from 0V to peak voltage and back to 0V before reversing, then if it's *average* AC voltage is the same as the DC voltage you feed it, they'll be at the same speed.

RMS is probably a better term to use than "average", though. (never been too clear on this stuff when it gets into math and curves and such, my brain doesn't work that way I guess)

It's slightly more complicated than that, though, depending on design:

If the rectifier in it is a simple single diode like in one of the weedeaters I have, then it's only *half* the average voltage, as the other half cycle is completely blocked. Well, technically half the average power, but since it would begin slowing down for every half-cycle that the power is blocked, voltage is the essential part as it determines the speed at which the motor runs.

If the rectifier in it is a full-bridge, then it's the full average voltage, and would require twice as much DC voltage to equal it's resulting speed.
 
I've been wanting to make a cordless electric chainsaw out of one of the higher power electric chainsaws like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0021AFW3C/ref=s9_simh_co_p86_d0_i5?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=left-2&pf_rd_r=14YBP9CQQF4NSNZCTNS3&pf_rd_t=3201&pf_rd_p=1263271402&pf_rd_i=typ01

or this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Poulan-400E-18-Inch-Horsepower-Electric/dp/B00080OD9Q/ref=sr_1_9?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1289267801&sr=1-9

The good existing cordless chainsaws are expensive, small, and mostly underpowered.

A powerful, quiet chainsaw anywhere you wanted to take it would be cool. :twisted:
 
Ypedal.. I had the same idea on my 12A TORO leaf blower this weekend!

But when i tried it, it worked fine and the motor vibration are far less perceptible.. and no 60Hz vibration... just like with my vaccum cleaner..
SAME SOUND AS THE TESLA WHEN ACCELERATING !! :mrgreen:

But i also observed that the brush flash are more intense and the smell of flash plasma is also more perceptible... that is what worries me...

I think that since the voltage dont cross zero volt like with AC... the arc dont blow... exact think happen with contactor or relay between contacts....
( my conclusion...)

Si my question to someone who might get the answer.. is: does the AC motor contact and brush distance and seperation are different than on DC motor?


Doc
 
I cut up old pallets with my Black and Decker 18v rechargeable reciprocating saw. Hooked it up with a 5s lipo pack and it runs 3 times as long and quite a bit zippier than with the Nicads! :D :D :D
 
very nice not to have a cord,i cut my girlfriends lawn with a corded weedwhipper and it sucks :lol: .its to bumpy to use a lawnmower.jeez that is a funny sounding sentence.
 
Ypedal said:
[youtube]9CvpnnTWiJc[/youtube]

i have a leaf blower from my vacuum rigid , the motor is 6.5 hp peak but i dont find any information about it

what i want to do is to make a electric turbo to put in my car i made a test with and i have 3 pounds of pressure , i know its sound stupid just for fun
using a switch on the dash and open it only when i want to do race , if i don't get enougth boost i will have more fresh air in the intake of my 1.8 acura motor

i already have lipo 6s pack its a 20 minute conversion but i bit scare because it can be induction motor
 
Ypedal said:
When i manually spin the impeller on my Dlack&Decker i can feel the brushes notching..

Using a 12 or 24v pack with a 15 amp fuse would be a safe start for testing if in doubt.. :wink:


all of my pack are fused safety is my priority , my car suck 378cfm and the blower give almost 600cfm so maybe it can give some performance :D :D
 
Ah.. really nice video Ypedal! Excellent!

This weekend, i tried to put 48V lithium on my 24V SLA B&D lawn mower !

OMG !! :shock: ... With the what's up meter, i recorded a current peak to 132A when the motor started!!

and 5kW burst ( 7hp :twisted: )

and 3hp continuous.

But that permanant magnet brushed motor is not made for so high power :(

Time to install brushless!!.. i would love installing one of these turnigy KV130 of 7kW on it !! :twisted: :twisted:

Doc
 
I've been getting a fair bit of traffic from this video lately, someone must have linked it to a popular site or something..

I get daily emails from people all around the world from my website to ask questions, and my youtube video's from various projects i do... got this one today, how awsome is this !?

I have a pair of 2 year old twins, and they love your leaf blower with lithium batteries video. We have watched it about 50 times. Just thought you would get a laugh from knowing there is a preschooler running around saying "connect the positive of this pack to the negative of the next pack".

Sent from my iPhone :)
Have a great day!
 
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