Was this Fortress a good buy

[vgsdvawt]

Hello form members,

This is my first post so hopefully I'm following proper procedures.
I just bought a Fortress A9Y1X00273 motor. I paid $100.00 Canadian. It's a 24v unit with an electric brake. As this field is totally new to me I do have some other questions but first of all I want to know if I should go out and buy another one for backup (the source has two more on hand). Thanks.

 

[mettleramiel]

That, of course, depends on what you are trying to make. That motor is out of a scooter and is internaly geared for slow speed but high torque. I have seen them take 36v alright but stop working at 48v. The brake is also either on or off, there is no way to use it lightly. So, if you want to make a slow speed vehicle that climbs hills well or tows things, it would be great. Anything else, not so much.

 

[vgsdvawt]

I bought the motor hoping that I might be able to use it as a generator. My intention was/is to adapt it as a generator driven by a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT). After checking this forum I'm now wondering about using it as a motor to drive, possibly, a garden cart to help with my landscaping, etc. But, right now I would like to find out more about the motor. I don't want to dive right in and take it apart to see how it works so I'm hoping you can give me some clues. For example I found that I can not turn the shaft by hand! I Is this due to the type of gearing, is the brake ON when power is OFF, or is there something wrong with this motor? There is a short lever with a spherical knob on the end of it that protrudes from the brakes end of the motor. I can move the lever a few degrees but it doesn't seem to have any bearing on moving the shaft. What is this lever for? Also does anyone know if this motor will operate as a generator. Does it have permanent magnets? Appreciate your initial reply and hope to hear more. Thanks, Bob

 

[mettleramiel]

That lever is the brake release. You should be able to turn the shaft when that is disengaged. It will still be hard to turn by hand because of the gearing at that end. If you were on the other end, it would be very easy. And yes, the brake is on by default. If you aply 12v to the 2 wires coming out of it, it should turn on and release.

This motor would make a poor generator since a turbine, especialy a VAWT, would never be able to turn fast enough to generate any useful power. There aren't any PM magnets inside (if I recall). A garden cart would be a good thing to use this motor for. Like I said, low speed, high torque. If I were you, I would just take off the brake (should be 2 or 3 bolts) and run the motor without it. It's really not necessary unless you want to park this thing on a hill and are concerned about it running away.

Out of curiosity, what made you buy this motor? If it was used, it wasn't a particularly good deal since they are such a common motor to get used that at work we just throw them away when we get them now. You should research a little bit more on what a suitable motor would be before you spend much more money.

 

[vgsdvawt]

The idea with the VAWT application was to use the output shaft of the motor as the input shaft of the turbine to gain generator speed with the gearing up. The idea of having an electric brake would be a big benefit for a wind turbine for shutting the turbine down under extreme wind speeds and for maintenance reasons. Would be a major benefit for me but only if the motor will work as a generator.

I tried the brake release lever in both positions and still couldn't rotate the shaft even with extra leverage from locking pliers. Is it necessary to have the voltage applied to the brake to release the motor regardless of where the brake release lever is? I haven't applied any voltage up to this point.

The motor appears to be unused - no sign of wear or dirt of any sort.

There is a slot in the motor case about 1-1/4 long and about 3/16 wide. There may have been some sort of label covering it but it is uncovered now. I can see a small part of the insides of the motor. Visible through the slot is a screw on what appears to be the armature and it seems like the slot is there to access this screw. This has me totally puzzled. Any help here? Thanks, Bob

 

[Roy Von Rogers]

If you want a wind generator this is the place.

http://www.windbluepower.com/

Roy

 

[mettleramiel]

No idea what the slot is, never noticed it before and I don't have any fortress motors on hand to find out. I havn't tried turning them by hand at work, I just release the brake with the lever and aply power to the motor. You're not going to hurt it, so give it a try.

On another note, for small wind aplications, gearing is never a very economical option. With an industrial sized turbine, there is plenty of torque available to overcome the mechanical losses introduced by the gearbox, at home sized though, not so much. A much better way is to make your own alternator that is designed to work at your local average wind speed or to buy a generator that is made to work for small turbines. Idealy, you need something that will reach charging voltage at about 150rpm.

As far as the brake goes, I don't know how big your turbine would be, but I will tell you that it wouldn't have to be very big for the turbine to overpower it and with the way the brake is designed, the turbine would wear it out and make it useless in a matter of minutes. Simply shorting the the power leads on the motor will work as a sufficient brake. You could also buy a charge controller with a dump load option that would load the turbine down in high winds. Although, if this is still going to be a VAWT, high speeds are never too much of a concern.

 

[vgsdvawt]

I'm not set up yet to test the motor but will get to it asap. Have to agree with all you have said re small wind applications relating to gearbox, etc. I am collecting information on making a permanent magnet alternator based on designs developed by Hugh Piggott. http://www.scoraigwind.com/

Thanks, Bob

 

[mettleramiel]

Also check out otherpower.com, it's a great site to find other poeple who have made alternators based off of Hugh's designs. The forums are unbelievably helpful.

 

[moggy]

I use one on my Quad bike first thing I did was remove the brake housing and the disk under it this disables the brake i then took a large sprocket 9 inches across
centered it on the original sprocket drilled and bolted them together . mounted it to drive my right rear tire only a 18 " wheel I used the original fortress controller at first
running 24 volts with type MK 8GU1H 12V, 31.6AH i later upped to 36v with a new controller http://tncscooters.com/product.php?sku=101205
and 3 batteries MK 8G22Nf 12V, 50Ah (20Hr) Sealed Gel Cell 111 pounds of batteries frame + motor 195 pounds + me 200 + total weight around 526 pounds
speed 34 KPH