Question about EV motors.

[The Toecutter]

One more thing, is it in any way possible to have some kind of regen system, so I could set the wheel down and have it spin the motor in reverse to recharge the batteries.

Yes, but not with a series wound DC motor.

You'll need either an AC setup(inverters are expensive) or a seperately excited DC motor(affordable home-brew control systems are complicated).

Most EV enthusiasts don't even bother. Regen only extends range by 10-15% anyway.

[omgwtfbyobbq]

In an all electric maybe, but I was thinking about using it for deceleration when using the diesel too. So I could grab all that energy that would've gone to the brakes and recharge the batteries with it. Do you have any idea what the efficiency of a seperately excited DC motor is?

[MetroMPG]

You could also stick an alternator or generator on the tail shaft of a normal series wound DC. I've seen that done once or twice.

[omgwtfbyobbq]

Hmmm... I wonder if the output is clean enough to charge a NiCD battery? In any event it's something to tinker with. Thanks!

[JanGeo]

reconfigure an alternator for high voltage output to recharge at 36-48 volts and figure on recharging lead bats right after use - nicads not so often but they have a greater charge/discharge energy loss.