hi im new to the site i was trying to do some reserch on solar power.
im curently building a solar car out of 2 bikes and random scrap from an auto shop for a school competition.
i dont realy know anything about electical an was wondering if any of you could help
as of now i have a small 12v motor off a scooter a 4ftx2ft solar panel that puts out 18.45v a lot of wire and a deepcycle car batery
what would be the best way to hook it up and would it be beter to go with multiple batterys wired + + and - - and if so what would be the best way to do so and what kind of diod will i need to use.


also if any one wants to see pix of it let me know how to post them here

thanks.

 

You need to do some research.

• Look at Solar Home systems to see the interface required to connect a solar panel to a 12v battery.
• Get an efficient "H-Bridge" dc motor speed controller (with regeneration) to run the motor off the 12v battery. You can see how my son did this in his report on his "Hybrid Electric Bike" project at: http://doctord.webhop.net/scott/hybr...ler_report.htm

Good luck with your project.

JeffD

 

i checked the Solar home systems i think that thing will help you in your project. and i searched also the H-Bridge" dc motor speed controller, i find this image



maybe that diagram will help you in connecting the wire.
_________
hernznorma
auto man
auto repair shops
"H-Bridge" dc motor speed controller

 

Solar panels are current generators. Assuming your single panel produces ~8 amps of current in full sunlight, it is only a drop in a bucket for what you'll need for any type of propultion motor.

Can you please supply us with more specific detail... Motor current (Usually measured in watts, or xxx maximum current)

And solar panel current. If you're unsure of this information I can explain how you can test it yourself if you request, but you'll need a VOM which can read current of at least 10 amps and you'll need to KNOW what you're doing with it.

An automotive type battery is NOT a deep cycle. It is rated in CCA (Cold Cranking Amps)... which is designed to deliver that specificly amp rating for a maximum of 20 seconds before its internal plates begin to deteriorate. It is designed to deliver a quick burst of energy then begin to recharge again. Any other type of usage will destroy the battery. The battery is usually considered flat dead when it reaches around 10.5 volts. If you discharge an automotive battery that deeply only a few times, you will destroy it.

A deep cycle battery capacity is measured in RA (Reserve Amps) not CCA and has massivly heavy plates to compare and are the type typically used on golf carts. Their heavy internal components will not break down as the sponge lead plates will in an automotive battery.

A marine type battery is a hybrid deep cycle and automotive type. It is not a deep cycle battery either and won't stand up to repeated deep discharges and not last either.

There is also a matter of accident with any lead-acid batteries. They are extremely dangerous given the sulfuric acid and hydrogen gas discharges.

A better type would be a sealed type... which also uses sulfuric acid. It might rupture causing bodily harm if it gets cracked and spills its gel on you but it won't spill simply by turning over, and it is less likely to explode as a lead-acid type. If the plates in a typical lead-acid cell (As opposed to a gel cel) get exposed to air (Tilting or leaning of your bike etc) there exists a real possibility of explosion. The exposed air gap between the plates can cause an internal spark which ignite the hydrogen and cause the explosion.

If anyone here have experienced their car battery explode, it isn't during normal driving but while starting or jumping it off, during the large current drain while the water level is not maintained and too low. I had one explode a few cars ago and it dented my hood, blew sulfuric acid everywhere under the hood.

Your best bet would be to obtain at least another panel, connect them in parallel to charge an actual deep cycle gel type battery. The panels would not be fastened onto the actual bike but as an external charging station. Expect at least 30-48 hours to fully charge a battery depending on the solar outuput in your area and how deeply discharged the battery is.

If you make an external solar charging station, you still would technically have a solar powered bicycle. A benefit is you won't be lugging a heavy panel around with you, causing more wind resistance. Your charging station could be aligned properly to the sun, opposed to extreme and utterly useless non-alignment anywhere on your moving bike.

You -should- have a charge cntrolller, but you can recharge your batteries manually if you know what you're doing.

Before you proceed, I highly encourage you to google a reference to types of lead acid batteries, charging techniques and learn about the different modes of charging. I promise your research will only take a couple hours and you'll learn a wealth of knowledge and be far less likely to make some (possibly) life threatening or altering mistake.

If you expect the panels to assist your actual motive power directly, you'll need what? maybe 10 or so more panels (Just a quick rough guess) arranged on your bike.

The others here have provided some good links to motor controllers.
This is a link to my own DIY solar power project:
Solar Power Project

If you want to learn more about solar power, its applications and (rather severe) limitations - this is a group of the most qualified people I know at a solar power DIY website:
Solar Panel talk

 

Hey, Steve...

I just noticed your birthday listed at the bottom of the forum page.

Happy Birthday!

 

As we all know our natural gases are limited they are going to exhaust one day. So we have to invent new energy resource as an alternative and solar energy is the best resource. Now a days engineers are concentrating on this resource.

And Nick your are doing the great job by developing solar car form junk I appreciate you research i don't know more about this technology just one thing that Solar cars depend on PV cells to convert sunlight into electricity to drive electric motors. Unlike solar thermal energy which converts solar energy to heat, PV cells directly convert sunlight into electricity.

I am sure you will build a best car from junk, Best Of Luck.

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Pickup Trucks