Electic car for kids

[zalem92]

Hello all !

First post for me....so hello to all and and please be patient for a beginner...!

I have a project to make a small electric car for my son.
My feeling is that the car wieght will be around 70 kg
Speed max 20 km/h
I'm looking for a motorisation and I found several type between 100 adn 600 Watt. (24V or 36 V)

What could be your recomendation ?

Thanks all.

 

[fechter]

400-600w should be OK if you are on flat ground.
24v will be easier to deal with the batteries and chargers (and less expensive). 36v if you want it to go faster.

 

[zalem92]

Ok Thanks.
Question I do have related to safety.

Using 36 V, is there any security issue with 36V in case of electrical exposure ?

Thanks

 

[dogman dan]

12v very safe, 24 a little less safe, and so on. All the kid cars I've seen in stores are 24v or 12 on the ones for very small kids. Mostly to gear the speed to an age bracket though, I bet. As well as pricing.

 

[Drunkskunk]

Any voltage is dangerous. 12v is deadly. Not, however, likely. usualy anything below 48 DC is usualy safe to handle for a novice in these type applicatuions. what is more likely to cause a problem is amperage. A few hundred thousand volts in a static pop you get touching a door knob after walking in socks across the carpet is harmless. its high voltage, but low amperage. By using higher voltage, you can use fewer amps to achieve the same wattage, rendering it safer in some regards.

Something like a Cyclone kit might be readily adaptable to gocart, and a 500 watt motor should be fine. My 500 watt motor powers a bike to over 55kph, so there is plenty of power. Top speed will be more a factor of gearing, voltage, and amps.

 

[vanilla ice]

Post some pics so I can copy you!

 

[Miles]

Hi zalem,

Maybe you'll find this useful:
http://buggies.builtforfun.co.uk/index.php

 

[curious]

I still remember getting a pretty bad electric shock when I was a kid playing with a 4.5V battery powered toy in the sea (salt water). So it is all about design and circumstances (conductivity). A sweaty person on a hot humid day can be killed by surprisingly low voltage.

 

[zalem92]

Thanks all for your answers.
Maybe you'll find this useful:
http://buggies.builtforfun.co.uk/index.php is a very intersting site from which I got bunch of information.
One of my last issue to find out prior to start the work is related to bicycle wheel transformation.
Effectively the wheels will be installed and the edge of shaft (not between arms of a fork).
So I'm still wondering how to do it, specially for the drive wheels (rear) that have to turn with their shaft.


Thanks for your help !

 

[dogman dan]

Trikes have a rear assembly that drives one wheel from a chain sprocket in the center of the axle. You can find them on websites that have chopper parts and other bicycle frame components. I don't know exactly where I saw them, but try googling using keywords like chopper bicycle parts, or chopper bicycle forks, to find em.

Better still, would be to find an adult trike in the garage sales or flea marts for cheap.