INFINITE RANGE ELECTRIC CAR - DIY Build

[@industrialvectors]

As a KZbin university graduate and city keyboard scribe, please let me tell you how you should improve your project.

[@DrewBuildsStuff]

Haha best comment! Pinned 👍

[@alexjeffs7092]

Comments are KZbins bread and butter. Any engagement is good. Even this in bad taste criticism of the engaged audience that surely will have some albeit minimal effect on people making suggestions which is harmless.

[@bigskyproducers]

I'm sitting here waiting for the expertise in the comments lol

[@tsanteri]

​@@bobscat-wj4ub *could HAVE

[@WillHurtUrFeelingz]

​@@DrewBuildsStuff You kno how they make lights for bicycles that can be powered by a little wheel that set on the bike wheel basically making it motion powered. Can you attach something like that to all four wheels to make a difference? & would it work at all in any way to make & or keep power?

[@markalmond916]

Awesome to see someone build a solar car from scratch, design the electrics and put the whole thing together with tools in the garage? Brilliant !

[@technologytom]

Great vid. I used to teach sci/eng. and loved it when students wanted to do renewable energy projects. In the 90’s someone worked out that a typical ‘family solar electric car’ would require pv panels with the area of half a tennis court in order to give the typical commuter average mileage per day. Pv panels are now much more efficient and who knows what the future holds in store.

[@todddonovan9780]

Well this was created for entertainment value and I was thoroughly entertained...again. Sometimes youtube actually comes up with videos I want to watch. I'm impressed with the level of quality and sophistication given the incredibly low cost. I would no doubt overbuild and spend too much if I tried something like this. Absolutely fabulous.

[@ronarmstrong835]

I'm going to play with this on Sketchup. Thanks to your hard work and thought, I think that someone with modest design skill could greatly improve this, making it lighter and more compact, while increasing output. Thanks for all the effort.

[@alecbang4484]

I think it has massive real world practical purpose man! Most car rides people take are relatively short errands which they could 100% be using alternative sustainable modes of travel, even as a grocery getter for most people it’s insanely practical and useful, amazing work man.

[@shealdedmon7027]

You live in fantasy land!

[@alecbang4484]

@@shealdedmon7027lol why do you think that? Plenty of people ride ebikes and drive electric cars all over the world now do they not?

[@shealdedmon7027]

@@alecbang4484 spending just a few minutes thinking about what you said should reveal the answer you seek!

[@xexkansichi]

IMMENSE Real world practical applications. Especially if we can figure out a way to turn the trailer into a truck bed combo. You have no idea how genius this is.

[@rogerdouglas2306]

surprised nobody has done it yet but the ideal panel is actually a vertical cylinder of panels facing inwards to collect light. an upside down thermometer shaped glass would b placed in the center with the bulb up top grabbing light from 360 degrees and sending it down the shaft emitting light in all directions to the cylinder panels below.

[@donnewton2223]

This is the coolest thing I've ever seen. Now, leave the drive sprocket on one of the bike wheels, and have it turning a 12 or 24v generator passively (you might have to construct a gearbox to get the minimum revolutions), that's fed into the solar charge controller. The gearbox should diminish the loss in efficiency due to the added drag of the generator. Might just get you through the cloudy patches.

[@PeterWolfThings]

More battery capacity might just done the trick considering you often produced more than you was ablet o store/use up. Nice project, I really like the way it turned out. Thanks for sharing!

[@Edokimos123]

Hey man, when fitting up your frame always put plenty of hefty tacks on all corners or sides of each joint, as you tack you can tweak/double check square and level, it also helps keep it from warping as you weld it up. Also for each joint weld opposite sides at a time to further decrease warping.

[@martinfoster5163]

Love it! I was going to say, you need a video crew so you don't have to double back for all your cool shots. "Stunt double"! That's hilarious. I could see this working well in deserts. Especially ones with long days. A few improvements come to mind. Add lightness. Cut the weight considerably. Fairings for improved dynamics. At least for the driver. Different tires with substantially lower rolling resistance. Bicycle racing tires come to mind. I understand this was a DIY project and I'd consider it a successful proof of concept. An improved version would need a team approach and substantial funding = universities with grants. The Aussie race across the desert comes to mind.

[@alexanderye7705]

Thank you not only for the such a brilliant project done, but for sharing the detailed construction setup, too. Subscribed! I'd like to build such cart, but with some amortization on the wheels and for the seat, and roof-like triangle trunk with solar panels installed on the sides and on separate charge controllers each to minimize the current loss between the strings and maximize side sun. During the day it should be fine for all of them, hope.

[@phillhart2990]

Loved it! Wondering how this will perform when you get to the fiber-glass chasse version. You mentioned that there was no practical application - "yet" but I do think there is. What you have here is proof that it can be done, and I commend you. I really think that you've done amazing work here.

[@tjlin72]

I can see total off grid living with RV decked panel on all sides and a towing vehicle. A pop up style RV with light material. Could pair this up with a Tesla but off road off grid can be possible with your concept. Or even for short work distance and never having to pay for electricity to charge your car or for gas. Keep it up and keep building !

[@indylmc]

I am truly impressed. Well done. I look forward to seeing the next big thing (or small thing)

[@derekshepherd410]

Man this is so cool. In my opinion it IS an infinite range electric Car. I Wish we could build something like that in Germany, too. Greets. You Rock.

[@woodrow7201]

Drew, in case it hasnt been mentioned below, change your tires from nobby to smooth pavement tires and run them about 10% over their max. Take a fishing scale and attach it to the rigg and pull on it to see what the rolling resistance is of the whole vehicle.

[@EverlastingEclipses]

this has always been in the back of our heads and you just proved it works . now we just need revolutionary technology in the future where all this can be sized down to a small go kart and be able to ride all day long with no charge.!!!!

[@drakemcchesney4474]

I've always wanted to see this vision realized. Great video! Maybe the next step would be to add more rotary generators like a small windmill on the front or small alternator on the engine? Idk

[@JellyBeanz]

This build has real potential. You already got the goal of theoretical infinity range in good weather conditions. Now imagine making it as light weight as safely possible, make it more aerodynamic, proper cooling for the panels, street wheels with minimum profile. Finding a good solar panel to battery ratio. Like there could be sooooo much more possible with this base! This is extremely intresting!

[@adriangasser5624]

I like the project very much, and i hope one day every car will work like that! One very small input: It seems that some washers are partially covering a little corner of the solar panels. I would try to avoid that, because a very small edge of shadow drops down the power of a panel disproportionately much.

[@charleskeyessr4288]

Great video, The off grid homes use more batteries and/or a generator backup, Hybrid cars use the engine to charge the batteries . So a 1500 watt generator and gas would add some weight to the car, run the numbers and see how far each gallon of gas for the generator($350) would add at night or on a cloudy day.

[@silverismoney]

cool go kart you could easily build storage into it and make it a grocery shopper / delivery vehicle. Your back roads look pretty awesome too by the way. It reminds me a lot of where I grew up just fields.

[@AMXM-do5kw]

Probably oil companies won't like this video , good job my man keep goin

[@nineeight6]

The CIA

[@lukeb5584]

Awesome project :) Great video. The only suggestion I can think of that could produce some improvement is make the frame from aluminium tubing instead of steel. That would certainly save quite a bit of weight.

[@car_pal]

This is so cool, I didn't know a bunch of solar pannels could harvest all that energy to move a lightweight "vehicle" for that many km!

[@samuelmontenegroserniotti7146]

Try adding regenerative suspension! Its basically using the resistance of a generator applied to the wheels displacement to reuse the up/down forces as energy for batteries.

[@notconsenting6633]

I've wondered why somebody didn't come up with one of these yet. Super awesome

[@powoxi]

It's a very good product. I'm glad I got it

[@Quacks0]

18:30 "Ready to rock --- look out, world --- here I come! I'm gonna be totally doing world-domination here with my long-range petrol-free jalopy!" :P Love your upbeat-rockin' soundtrack during the morning-to-mid-afternoon portion of your ride, plus the clip of the cute horses at 20:55. :D

[@suvrasekhardas3513]

Great project and thanks for uploading the results... truly....should be motivating for many

[@mason-wr1we]

Your vidoes have inspired me to make a snowbord park in my backyard before this winter season great content

[@JackGardener17]

Only good on a clear bright sunny day like southwest. Anywhere else and its quite limited. Though I really do love watching more attempts made and it does work so far!

[@arman3400]

Loved the vid. You've got a lot of comments so you probably won't see this but just a heads up for some practical advice. Those tires that come with the cheap bikes online are *really* poor quality and will fail/puincture on you, you will get a flat quick and on a vehicle like yours, it's not easy to swap/repair a tube. Those are 20x4's right? You're best off with Kenda tires, OR you can even install 3.00x16 Shinko 244s (yes 16inch motorcycle tires will fit on the same rim as a 20inch fat bike rim). Anyway again, really enjoyed the vid.

[@NeoStarImpact]

this was a great video to watch. Love when people get down and grind something cool.

[@philc.9280]

I love these solar projects. Just wondering you could probably eliminate 2 or 3 panels by creating an aerodynamic roof that would shorten the vehicle and give you some shade too. Then regenerative brakes maybe?

[@harshakiranarla]

20:49 man here I thought the camera was falling lol.

[@Benn25]

relatively easy method to make it way more effective to collect light : add the possibility (with a hand lever?) to orient the panels toward the sun. only one axe (left and right?) would help a lot, especially for this last scene with the sun setting, but if you can do dual axes, that would be incredibly efficient. automatic tracking would be even crazier! amazing build anyway.

[@erNomic]

Very cool! Now you need 3 times the panel area and on board batteries to go all night and back into the next day.

[@carolewarner101]

Sweet! I'm no engineer and don't know the structural integrity implications, but could you have used aluminum for your frames vs steel? It would be so much lighter weight that as long as it was structurally sound, I'm thinking your max distance would definitely be increased. Would also be interesting try putting on a light weight "windshield" that met up with your rear panels to increase the aerodynamics by decreasing the drag a bit. Cool project!

[@pws3rd170]

3:58 A grinder and paint makes me the welder I ain't

[@OldManPaul]

Nice work Drew! You are one bad ass man! My dream build here.

[@goldenroux612]

I love solutions, they inspire me to think outside of the box. Are there dynamos you can put on all the rolling parts, that can feed into a separate battery pack. Then as the sunlight wanes you can switch over?

[@andreferrigno6025]

amazing project... i really enjoyed this... i always was curious about this myself ... i wonder if you could have added in a whole bunch of very small wind turbines to generate more power on cloudy days but when it is still windy ?

[@johnblyth9787]

Great project, and could be some valuable information here. I would guess an aluminium frame on trailer would be much lighter, and extend range. An earlier start time would help no end. My take away, if you needed this amount of panels for a bare bones one person vehicle a small sedan would only gain a small percentage of range from a practical panel addition. Something I have wondered.

[@biologicalhazard552]

The reason why standard solar panels weight and cost more, is because the glass in front of them does not impact the amount of light that hits the cells, is easy to clean even with chemicals and protects the panels from hail and other climate related hazards. Now, for fun and nice weather, I totally agree that flexible panels are a better option. Really awesome build, I am jealous!

[@balaurpopescu]

A tip related to welding, when you are welding and the weld is hot, hit it with a strong hammer, this way you avoid cracking the weld

[@Arjun_gupta-v8c]

The live casino games are my favorite. The blackjack tables especially. Feels like the dealer is right there with you

[@Dark0neone]

I love the horse-drawn carriage then the solar car passing each other. Pretty poetic!

[@p.reactionrecommendation2253]

This is my ever favourite video in KZbin ❤

[@TimJSwan]

I about cried when you held the frame with your hands while trim nailing it.

[@danieloneill9093]

That was absolutely amazing that you could do that.

[@SDZ420]

Pretty sure you can put up a prop on the front that can turn a generator as well?👍🏼👍🏼 4:45

[@richardsrandomadventures]

the original car is the most practical, especially if you add a nice big cargo area. imagine having that little cart for a country town, trips to the grocery store, cruising around for free for 20 years until the batteries need replacing. i’m going to build it, you’ve inspired me :) all aluminium.

[@SmartMan01]

Amazing! I love the upgrade.

[@civilianlink]

I think this is the most inspirational video in KZbin.

[@jennywhite-d2b]

I would love to see this same concept applied to an ultra light. Imagine covering the wings in these flexible solar cells and a small electric motor. Unlimited flight range is a dream.

[@maroonsr20]

perfect sunny day, rock hard tires, perfect roundabouts, maybe even ceramic bearings...eliminate most loss!!

[@Endrebogfjelldal]

clean build and i would never tought it would work

[@ptdung231291]

This is the coolest thing that I have ever seen

[@wespaul1997]

Loved this build. I have subscribed to see more DIY builds. Thank you.

[@FT__Cool_Stuff______-of5pi]

This is great. These are the kind of cars that should be getting developed by big companies and sold for mass use. And that could make them lighter, more aero, with more efficient tires, etc - so it's doable without needing a trailer or with quite little charging. People will say "Oh it's not safe because it's so small compare to other vehicles". Well.. it's the other vehicles, roads, and laws that should change. We've went way too far down a stupid path and now we have individual people driving to work in massive 7,000 lb vehicles

[@arnegerhardsen3755]

Thanks Drew. In the future we will probebly use evs with solar in their paint. Best wishes from Arne in Norway

[@williamwilliam728]

I averaged 161 kms per day on my cross-Canada bicycle tour. I'm figuring with my gear and food there might be a slight decline in range. But, that puppy would make the ride so much easier. However, I was in fantastic shape once I finished my ride and had a resting heart rate of 40 BPM. I have a feeling I would have gotten fat with this cool ride!

[@rathorrath401]

This would be awesome for an electric bike. Of course weight would be a consideration. If you create the trailer with the panels higher up, you'd have some room for backpacking supplies and could theoretically travel the country without needing to gas up. Of course the original cost would make this at best come out even, but if you were traveling every year, then it'd probably come out a net positive. At least in theory. Real world costs might make it a loss still. Very cool man.

[@DennisKabui-bg6fz]

what an efficient youtube video and an incredible build.

[@jnemfarmtibulao]

Did enjoy watching and collecting ideas.

[@Dad-and-lad-adventures]

You should do wind turbines since you’re moving

[@GangaiKumar-s9n]

Bro the visuals are really good

[@GodX-io8hi]

wow great Video Thanks u for Sharing

[@ManFlaver]

Thats awesome! I'm picturing panels on a electric VW bus, or a tesla semi trailer.

[@Nubbe999]

Maybe if it was possible to tip the pannels 10 degrees to left or right depending on where the sun shines it would give more electricity. Or/also stacking them like a roof (like an upside down V) would give room to ad more panels on the same space but the drag would be higher

[@danialsuits8926]

That is very good inspirational music in the background.

[@m0of0m]

One question about overral effiency of this build? why to build additional trailer instead of building whole roof of solar panels? I belive that it will be much lighter and also will have sun protection for driver

[@AwkMike]

Whoa, why did the like button glow when you said we should like the video. And that's an awesome car for future generations to learn off from

[@philgroves7694]

Well done, and thanks for the vid!

[@babbalonian2]

19:40 Don't need a driver's licence, or insurance, because you're just traveling in your own property.

[@Bulgarian-ඩා]

So he owns the city skirts?

[@mzs114]

Thank you for building this.

[@Compliment_Thief]

Ok, may I make a suggestion as a self taught expert in physics….Try making the frame out of something lighter like carbon fibre. You will return far more efficiency! 🙏🏾

[@Iseenoobpeoples]

Will you send him tons of money and time for that?

[@cccenturion4480]

That's some impressive work for a home workshop. I'm hoping you're planning the mk3 version.

[@woodrow7201]

Very nice build, Drew, should be a near free grocery getter (after investment recoup) I wonder how much better it would do, especially at sunset, if the panels could be pointed at the sun without causing drag.

[@marvingonzalez-chavez5662]

More modern Solarpanels offer a lot more Watt / m² and are crazy cheap right now (Look at the Trina 445W for example). Also you can tilt them up to 30° on your trailer in order to get even more m² of Solarpanels on the same size Trailer and get a lot more Wh/m² in the earlier and later houres of the day since the sun is lower and the angle helps A LOT with this.

[@AbsurdTV1]

amazing step in the right direction!

[@ScottChirpich]

I wonder if you could build/program a little throttle controller. Program it so that at/above a certain speed it begins to stagger power back and forth between the motors to conserve energy?

[@riftvalley1765]

Hey Drew, good to see you again, I thought to cut the frame weight try to use aluminum in future, also your batteries look like AGM so why don't you try the Lithium?

[@naudegesin1472]

You can now make the trailer shorter and put up an A-frame with the panels on the sides to increase exposed area and capture those final hours too!

[@tsirhc13]

Maybe look into mini dc wind turbines. They have them on some RVs nowadays, Love the project to the fracking sun!

[@riskwolfz6780]

Is it possible to utilize an alternator to use the wheels rotation to charge a separate battery? While you use 1 battery you can charge the 2nd and then switch so you start charging 1st one again.

[@christomold3142]

Thats a really good job mate! ❤

[@MeetJ0Black]

I really enjoyed this video.

[@irmanyusrimdyasim3218]

this lot of space man.. u must use for your rooftop to minimize the space and make the roof if rain is coming or the hot sunny.. by the way.. good invention man... good job..

[@ummaaron]

bro you put some pedals on there for the lower battery situations and you're golden

[@gabrielist22]

would work indefnitely in the upper polar circle

[@larsvanderaa6449]

Great experiment, thanks!

[@cliffdixon2042]

Great job ! Now I'm curious how much weight u could save if u worked with a bike builder ...graphite and all that ..or aluminum frame for main vehicle with a roof that holds solar panels. And no trailer .. how light could u make may vehicle to not need a trailer

[@graymatters6155]

Cool, build for proof of concept! Outside of an aluminum frame or better yet titanium, more battery capacity, and an adjustable array to increase the sons absorption could be helpful

[@EWeditzz]

What beautiful country is this? And if its the us what state? absolutely amazing.

[@branimirantic3625]

You can have two panels up front, all the rest on the top (longer vehicle) so there is no need for the trailer. 4 more panels on the sides as doors that could use more of the morning and evening sun. And, of course, aluminum frame for the upper part of the vehicle.

[@nixice]

Curious to see what you could get if you added a regenerative braking system to it as well.