Upgrading PDQ powertrike hub motor

[Fuzzy Head]

Hello everyone.

I am in need of some advice with upgrading the hub motor to my trike:

Basically it is a wheelchair modified with a bike front end designed to hold a hub motor and battery pack. It has been a few years since I bought the trike, over the time I have had it it has been invaluable, but the DC brushed motor is not powerful enough to handle some of the up hills I must tackle. Not to mention general wear and tear as well as advancements in technology. So it is time to upgrade.

My trike is something I am highly dependant on until mobility improves enough, so it must be reliable above all else. Second importance is uphill torque which is what I am really lacking. My current motor slows to a barely moving crawl on some of the up hills I must deal with. I am also hoping to improve battery longevity. Stealth is important, I use it to go most places so it must be college library friendly and function well very low speeds. Be a self starting motor. Also the battery packs I am using are 36v (which I will keep)

As reliability is so important I have found choosing parts and sellers difficult but have found a kit that may be what I need:
http://em3ev.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=36&product_id=138
The seller has prices in GBP (which is nice) seems to understand what they are selling, have lots of different options, provide lots of information and appears to be passionate about what they sell. Which certainly makes them come across as credible. I am not sure how much delivery will be yet. And the MAC motors seem to be built to a good quality from what I have read.

From the kit link above I am thinking these may be best:
9FET 30A 35-75v controller (chose higher voltage parts to improve lifespan/reliability)
12T 200rpm motor windings (lowest speed, highest torque)
front wheel (gap is approx 115mm on trike)
20inch DM24 alex wheel
Full twist throttle

Is this seller and selection good for my needs or are there better alternatives out there?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

 

[Fuzzy Head]

I have yet to get any responses. Either I have posted this is the wrong section or you are all too obsessed with speeeeed to care about reliability in your hub motors and controllers.

Is it worth moving this topic to another section (like the electric bicycles/e-bike technical section) of the site where it is more likely to get viewed by someone who has experience with reliable hub motors to help me out?

 

[Miles]

Hi Fuzzy,

I suggest you get in touch with Mark Higgon at Team Hybrid:
http://www.teamhybridebikes.com/

http://teamhybridebikes.com/products/choose-your-bike-for-conversion.php#

[youtube]huADEIQ7iG4[/youtube]

 

[Drunkskunk]

Paul at EM3ev knows his stuff, and is well trusted around here. The MAC12 is a great motor for most of your needs, and will produce the most torque of the available options. But it does have a drawback. While it is a very quiet motor, its a geared drive, and going to be louder than your current motor.

 

[Fuzzy Head]

Thanks for the replies.

I just contacted Team Hybrid.

They advised the Heinzmann motor which is of an 11 year old design but is apparently incredibly reliable. It appears to be a simple DC brushed motor and after finding the datasheet it does not appear to be much different from my existing motor. At least from what I know about my motor, so it may not provide the uphill power I need. But I do not know what make of motor the trike has. It has a symbol which can be seen in the photo but I have found no writing on it. Can anyone identify the motor for me?

It also got me thinking, inherently are DC brushed motors more reliable than 3 phase motors? Although the simplicity means very little can go wrong on the DC motors. I would imagine that the brushes grinding with the commutator (I think it is called) would be a high source of failure compared to relatively reliable solid state technology, with no parts physically grinding, of 3 phase motors.

What sort of noise levels would I expect going along at low speeds with the Mac12?

Thanks
Fuzzy

 

[wired2thebrink]

Hi do you still have the wheel chair btw ? I have one for my wife but need parts