S4 E36. New project gasoline/electric Cushman golf cart. 212 cc predator swap

[@Dis-Emboweled]

"Dispite it's shabby appearance, this thing is actually in bad shape" I laughed so hard I had to rewind the video to see her what I missed! 😂

[@the0leman]

Reminds me of a teacher I once had. "That was a great answer.... for a question that was not asked". I almost fell out of chair.

[@ferrumignis]

That was hillarious, I thought I'd misheard it at first 🤣

[@silverfin198]

"that's not a problem, because I don't care." - Robot Cantina

[@oddshot60]

Sounds like the makings of a T shirt to me!

[@geoffreyc1027]

I’m totally incorporating “that’s not a problem, because I don’t care” into my vernacular

[@MichaelRBaron]

​@@oddshot60 Or a coffee mug for the office!

[@lindsaydempsey5683]

Definitely need to add that one to the Merch store some how some way.

[@threeme2189]

@@lindsaydempsey5683 This as well "Dispite it's shabby appearance, this thing is actually in bad shape"

[@Adam-nv9zo]

Robot Cantina is out here revolutionizing the auto industry 😂

[@GioVr84]

That s a prius golf cart xD

[@blubb7711]

It’s basically a new Nissan or Mazda 😂

[@HarryTwatter]

@@GioVr84 more like a Chevy Volt

[@darwinskeeper421]

@@GioVr84 Not quite, the Prius is a parallel hybrid. The motor is connected to the drive wheels to maximize highway fuel efficiency but there is also a generator/battery motor setup. It's complicated but maximizes fuel efficiency. This is kind of like a series hybrid, where the motor drives a generator that charges the battery pack that drives the motor. The idea is to keep the motor operating at its best efficiency point. My understanding is that the efficiency losses in the generator, battery pack and motor are larger than the efficiency loss in a normal drivetrain so you really don't gain that much in practice. The difference is that Jimbo is eliminating the battery pack so it's really like a diesel electric locomotive. It will be interesting to see how it works.

[@GioVr84]

@@darwinskeeper421 um...woow...I was t being serious man...but thank you for the big effort you put to answer me 🥲

[@danielwickman4774]

I think this is how trains work

[@thetoasterisonfire2080]

Yes, although car alternators kinda suck as generators, a large bldc genorator would be better suited

[@djaydeved]

@@thetoasterisonfire2080 also edison motors is doing this with their hybrid semi trucks iirc its called series hybrid? rather than having the engine connect to the wheels in some mechanical way, its just an electric drive with a generator on it get the performance of a EV and the range of a ICE

[@JSabh]

​@@thetoasterisonfire2080 Exactly, he is setting this thing up to fail with an alternator that is lucky to produce 1kw. All he has to do is bolt in a 5kw genset and a speed controller for the motor. I have built electric vehicles and you need at least 3kw to move that thing up a slight hill.

[@Pointlesschan]

@@JSabhhey, no spoilers 😝lol

[@100PercentJake]

@@JSabhsmall rickshaws with 72v batteries and 3kW motors on the axles are extremely common in china and India, and on various website you can buy a single cylinder gas genset with a built in battery charge controller that are sold as range extenders for those vehicles. I’ve been wanting to get my hands on one to play with but they’re ~$700 and the gas engine portion of them is not very good quality.

[@dwartfarquart9590]

Jimbo, I had the same golf cart for many years. It was indestructible. You have chosen well for your platform. Early models only had a brake on one wheel. Thx again for the education and entertainment.

[@robotcantina8957]

I prefer four wheel carts, but this one appears to be very well made and is perfect to develop the idea.

[@lindsaydempsey5683]

I was impressed to see that it appears to have a fully functional differential, and not a solid rear axle. Very nice and probably much kinder to the golf course grass.

[@walter2990]

​@@robotcantina8957 One "pro" thing about the 3 wheel carts is that they can sharper than the 4 wheel versions! We'll, you got that going for you! A "con" is that in operated fast in reverse, the 3 wheel carts will flip much easier. Have fun!

[@andreaskarg1903]

Dude, you are my hero. For YEARS I’ve wanted to build something like this and experiment with all the possible ways of arranging the power train, from DC motors with direct resistance-control to DC with electronically controlled excitation current to single-phase AC with a transformer and tap changer all the way to a 3-phase setup with a modern electronic motor control inverter. Couple that with all the shenanigans you can do with the engine (throttle, rpm control, …) and you get an infinite range of possibilities to play around with. I‘ve never had the means nor time to even try any of that, so imagine my excitement when I saw the thumbnail to today‘s video! I‘m glad you‘re doing it, I‘m hoping you have loads of fun with it and that the rest of us viewers do too, so that this can become another long-running series of crazy nonsense! :-)

[@joshg1244]

This is pretty cool. You’re basically doing what locomotives have been doing for years! Next step is to add a battery and auto start the gas motor to make it a hybrid!

[@marco23p]

Indeed! Semi-old school DC locomotives use the same concept for control. Series DC traction motors, an AC alternator with a rectifier bridge, and the field of the alternator is controlled to regulate the current. Then, the RPM of the main engine is controlled with the "gas handle". Even older locomotives have DC generators, but that mostly dates back to when diode bridge rectifiers weren't readily available (which is a long time ago). Newer trains have AC drives.

[@gaw5024]

I like how Edison Motors calls their vehicles EVs with on board mobile fast chargering

[@RogerioCosta1.0]

Is a fun name but still a good idea. The concept is you can have a small engine always working at its most efficient RPM and the charged battery holds the peak loads that the small engine would not handle alone. That is how modern diesel/electric trains work and they are way more efficient than pure diesel trains.

[@boredom.victim]

it's a great system and I can't wait to see the final product ❤

[@MisfitzMotorsportsLLC]

We are running a bit late today, but happy Sunday Jimbo! And a huge thank you to all of our nation’s military veterans this Veterans Day weekend. We honor and appreciate you!

[@turningwrenches9524]

Mustie1 is the Bob Ross of small engines, and your Doc Emmit Brown from Back to the future 😂

[@100PercentJake]

Super cool project Jimbo! The same working concept as a diesel electric locomotive. You’re correct in that this is far less efficient than a direct mechanical attachment due to the number of energy conversion steps from petrol to mechanical to electrical and then back to mechanical. However, there are three massive advantages to this setup. 1. Electric motor driving the wheels can result in very smooth power delivery and no shifting gears or changing ratios to accelerate. 2. In theory the gas engine can be optimized via carb tuning and camshaft design to be optimally efficient at one specific RPM, and run at that rpm to generate electricity. Gas/diesel generators are generally tuned to run at one specific RPM instead of provide smooth power through a range, which makes them more efficient than a gasoline car because they can be better optimized. 3. The biggest advantage is that you could add back a reasonably lightweight 36v lithium battery and charge controller to provide a large amount of power for just long enough to accelerate once or twice, and then any excess generated power while cruising can be used to charge the battery back up. This would wildly expand the performance envelope of the entire powertrain to be equivalent to a much larger gasoline engine, and the result would be more efficient than that larger engine would be. This is more or less the working concept of every hybrid in the market, but this specific implementation is mechanically similar to the BMW i3, Fisker Karma, and the upcoming RAM Charger. It would also allow short distances to be covered under only electric power so you can sneak out without notifying the neighbors 😉 I’ve been dying to do a similar project for years now and I can’t wait to see where you take this!

[@Zenas521]

No sooner do you fix the reverse gear in the 670cc Predator powered 1969 Renault, you get yourself a shabby three wheel Cushman Golfster without reverse. I love this channel!

[@robotcantina8957]

Thanks!

[@npsit1]

I like that you don't always do the typical "will it start" or "found this nice 1940 car sitting in a barn in siberia and i'm going to drive it 18,000 miles back to my house" videos. Kudos.

[@bosh6604]

This feels uniquely unrelatable

[@s.kammerer1206]

the basics of a train locomotive! Prime mover!

[@mungtor]

This is gonna be cool. I really want to see how you set up the throttle and whether you're going to scavenge a typical drive-by-wire accelerator pedal, and then how that works. Also, next step should be a coal-fed steam boiler to feed a steam turbine, to run the alternator... to turn power the electric motor. Coal not being liquid, I think you could call that a "solid state petroleum battery".

[@GordonWillis-z8t]

Slapping my forehead and laughing, awesome comment!

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

A "carboniferous battery" you could say. (I think I spelled that right? Lol)

[@tauncfester3022]

You gonna add to Jimbo's education of being a boilermaker and operator? My Father always kept his boilermaker and operator's license current almost up to his 80th birthday. kinda crazy but it was my Dad's plan to build a wood fired home heating system he made himself.

[@paullangenkamp]

I clicked like as soon as I heard the words petroleum battery 😁

[@andiepants1840]

Wasting power in the name of fun is the best part of this channel!

[@SeraphimCherubim]

Interesting. Can't wait to actually see the power conversion loss. I'm glad you are doing this project.

[@thetoasterisonfire2080]

If done properly, an electric transmission can be more efficient and more powerful than a mechanical one. But with that motor, and useing an alternator it will not be. As alternators kinda actually suck as far as generators go and a 12v system will be far to lossy. Now if the alternator was instead a large blcd generator and with adequate power electronics it would be a different story.

[@blubb7711]

The problem will be the generator and the terrible vintage dc motor. If he would you proper ac motors, this thing could be rather efficient.

[@somethingelsehere8089]

@@blubb7711 The next iteration of this project?

[@blubb7711]

@@somethingelsehere8089 I hope

[@motorosso3349]

Your ability to choose off the wall projects is only exceeded by your ability to make them happen. Nice going, Jimbo!

[@justdave6587]

Thank you for all of this family friendly educational entertainment! You’re one of the few channels I let my 13 year old aspiring programmer watch. It’s a highlight of our week

[@subynut]

"Petroleum battery" I love it!! This is gonna be fun!!

[@bobirving6052]

Love your practical engineering! Good thing you had reverse fixed when you pulled up on Stinky 😄

[@robotcantina8957]

Indeed, Reverse was awesome to have! Stinky needs to find a better place to chill.

[@maximilianwimmer627]

You may have startled him out of a deep and comfy nap

[@0MyWay01]

I had a Cushman like that about 25 years ago. Put the motor and resistive controller in a Honda CB 750 frame. Tested it with 12v battery and my foot against the back tire and about burned a hole through boot😂 that will work!

[@mortimersnerd4156]

You won't loose me, I just love the projects and your tung-in-cheek humor! Keep going Jimbo!!! 😁

[@Bigshooterist]

Watching your channel each week just makes it clear how little I really know and how much I enjoy continuing that learning journey.

[@paulhall170]

This must be the only "Let's find a harder way to so something" channel on KZbin, I love it!!!

[@ygorlhano]

Guess this is one of the "fast charging" electric vehicles I see a lot of people talking about. Great video as always!

[@robotcantina8957]

This is a super fast charging petroleum battery. lol

[@shodefektiv]

"but thats not a problem, because i dont care" my life philosophy defined in one short sentence, thankyou jimbo

[@usget]

This is absolutely awesome. If it loses you viewers, I'll watch it twice to cover the gap. I'm jumping ahead a bit, but what about connecting your petroleum battery (pat. pen.) to some laptop batteries and then the laptop batteries to the motor? A homebrew hybrid drive would be a very Robot Cantina project

[@PaulinesPastimes]

How wonderful. Another slightly pointless exercise that provides interesting information along the way and much fun. You have made a sort of diesel-electric locomotive except it isn't a diesel or a locomotive. Brilliant. 😊👍

[@lindsaydempsey5683]

Jimbo, I love this new project. While I have a mechanical background, I've always been fascinated by old school electromechanical systems, some of which have been around for a very long time as you would know, but a lot of other people don't and I think that's what will make this project very interesting. Much loved old school electric drives include, things like diesel-electric traction, tram car electric only traction systems all using series wound traction motors and Ward-Leonard variable speed high torque systems for elevators and cranes. As an aside, I was working on a brand new cargo ship in the mid 80's with Japanese built gantry cranes that used a massive Ward-Leonard drive for all three directions. Before that time, and since I have never seen a crane of any sort that was that smooth and that fast. Magic to watch in the hands of a good operator and super reliable too.

[@simongrace2538]

A well set up ward-leonard system is smooth as. I used to repair the motor/generator units used on lifts

[@JoeBManco]

What a worthy project for this channel. I'll be watching it for certain.

[@brianb9410]

Geez, I can’t see how this could possibly work well enough to function as a conveyance. You have amazed me before so I will be watching!

[@ArthurCheesebag84]

This is a serious goof wagon. Three wheels, petroleum battery, and wooden seats. I love it.

[@802Garage]

"That's not a problem, because I don't care!" Perfect. It's like that meme from Arthur where D.W. says "That sign can't stop me, because I can't read!"

[@romanobezuidenhout7506]

Can't wait to see the end result! Thanks for first doing it old school before doing the electronic way. My imagination is working overtime with this one!

[@SteveRoadcp]

I reject your definition of normal Jimbo, and substitute it with my own, as it is completely normal for me to watch every episode.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

Jimbo- fixes the project without reverse Also Jimbo - buys new project, tests without reverse Im convinced he likes to show off his muscles by BEING the reverse 💪💪

[@robotcantina8957]

Seems to be a trend, lol.. I'm actively researching for a reverse switch right now.

[@DumbGoogle-yz9cr]

Lookup spdt relay reversing circuit but substitute the 2 spdt relays for 4 high power contactors have the field wired direct from battery positive and then into the reversing circuit then return to the battery negative that way the field remains one polarity and the armature changes polarity reversing the motor

[@michaelblacktree]

So Jimbo loses interest in a project, when it gains the ability to reverse? 😛

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

@DumbGoogle-yz9cr I've used that method for reversing an electric winch when the factory controls fail. We usually just pick up the cheap "old school" starter solenoids like an older vehicle would use, and go with those. They generally work longer than the rig the winch is on, after that 🤣 My dad sat me down with a piece of paper when I was a teen and taught me how. I was FASCINATED. Took me a couple hours to sort out. Lol

[@alexanderdaniels9039]

Awesome idea Jimbo! I have thought of this “petroleum battery” before but never came to fruition. I am very interested! I believe this could be the future of automobiles

[@brireed2006]

Congrats on inventing the hybrid vehicle, I mean "gasoline battery" 🤣.

[@MickeyMishra]

This channel and Warped Perception are my favorite channels on KZbin. Nothing even comes close to how good these are and how excited I get when I see a new episode of anything coming out. It's just plain good ol' fun!

[@AliceEmpireBreadfan]

This my favorite channel. It's incredibly dumb, yet incredibly smart. And every so often it teaches me a tidbit I didn't know. How fun.

[@iceman45ification1]

You've essentially created what locomotives have been doing for years only using an alternator with a small gas engine instead of a diesel-powered generator. Should work with no problem. Just gotta figure out the electrical and engineering part of it. I'm anxious to see how it'll all turn out. Nice work Jimbo!! 💪🔥

[@sandwichman8u]

Great that this came out today, for the past little while I've been tossing around the idea of making my own petrol electric miniature locomotive, go figure I'm not very knowledgeable with electrics so I've been spinning my wheels trying to wrap my head around some of the issues to overcome.

[@chrispenn715]

Wow a surefire Tesla killer 😂😂😂. Thanks for the fun video

[@Modna89]

This the dumb shit I love so much from this channel. Keep the chaos alive, please

[@tylerwatt12]

This is amazing. I originally found your videos because I was looking up the 420cc predator engines and used your videos as inspiration to engine swap a 70s Cushman Golfster (4 wheels) that originally had a Kohler engine

[@soupflood]

Finally, a petroleum - electric automobile! Almost like a diesel - electric in a train, highly efficient! Although you could greatly improve the system in the future by using a better (actual) generator (diesel) and a better motor (AC permanent magnet synchronous motor/liquid cooled), which can be controlled with a variable frequency drive.

[@Beni_777]

Oh yeah, I'm very excited about this conversion! It's like a diesel electric train.

[@somedude1119]

I usually lurk and don't comment, but this is the most I've laughed at any of your videos. Love the project. Also, this idea is actually something that Mazda is doing with their rotary engine. They're using it as a range extender to an electric motor.

[@stephengreen3566]

Keep up the good work. I love your projects.

[@michaelcrumlett187]

New project! Woo hoo! Can’t wait to see how this one turns out, or for the natural culmination of all of your projects: a Big Block French Honda Saturn Harbor Freight diesel electric hybrid land speed racer.

[@cibuliux]

It's amazing how not a single car manufacturer came up with such a great petroleum battery idea!

[@richardleemassey19]

I hooked my alternator welder to my golf cart after seeing this thank you. 2 simple changes and it welds and drivers and chargers. At idle not as you weld or drive the old cart around.

[@hackitgarage6503]

Honestly would love to learn more about electrical systems this channel is actually very good for this

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

Awwwwe yeah! Coffee and Cantina time! A GOLF CART?! Awesome find, Jimbo!

[@renyn21]

This is really cool, the simplicity has its appeal for sure. Anyone can bolt 2 pieces of L and stick an engine on the frame. Wouldn't even need a welder. If I was doing it I'd go for "too fast for its own good" with a 3 phase motor, controller and a tiny lipo buffer pack, from drone or rc batteries they only need to get you up and down the driveway until the gas "battery" :) takes over supplying. Then idle it around or full throttle the engine once the demand is big enough. The variable alternator idea makes me want to try something with the ones I took apart to run as motors. Which they did until my controller freaked out and wires got smoky.

[@andrewsnoozy]

I just subscribed. I am also an Electrical Engineer and I find your videos not only entertaining because of your humor, but educational on what you actually do. A small V-twin into a Renault 10, A small diesel into an old Honda Hybrid and now ... Yeah just love it. It a pity the small engine doesn't have an electric start. I also notice you have an old Fluke 87, I also have one of them. Look forward to seeing whatever you do next.

[@Christophant]

You gotta love the episodes with wires. Please consider equipping the golf cart with water tanks and an electric pump. That would sort of make it a fire cart.

[@Micahberger1]

Love your show, very interesting how you can modulate the output of the alternator. Looking forward to seeing more progress.

[@BrokeWrench]

I was so excited to see the axle layout on this thing. Thought you were going to use the idea i posted for you. Oh well its still an option later. Use a planetary gearset with the planetary carrier bolted to the axle pinion. Then a gas engine and electric motor attached to the ringgear and sungear (could even just attach an alternator to give resistance to one i guess). Have the electric motor set to hold an RPM based off a throttle pedal. The gas motor could be cable throttle to the same pedal. Wouldn't work perfectly in that setup, but a motor controller could improve its functionality later. I always pictured sourcing the planetary gearset out of a prius transmission for the planet carrier output coming through the center of the sungear, but its not absolutely required

[@d.jerrycook2994]

Thanks!

[@robotcantina8957]

Thank you so much!

[@weldeddaydreams]

It's amazing how on the same page we are sometimes. Will wait to see how this one turns out before I start mine! Stinky looks like he needs a hug.

[@markrenfrow9873]

Good morning Jimbo, I'm along for the ride. I had mentioned Quite Awhile back that I wondered what may be possible using say a Predator 3500 inverter generator, you know, as a plug in and play sort of motivator.

[@carlnelson3893]

Ever since Mother Earth News back in the late 70's came out with their project of the Hybrid Electric Opel GT and I bought their plans I have been wanting to make one, even tho there are now plenty of them on the road now... lol The controls now days will be alot easier then the electro-mechanical speed controls.... Im looking forward to your project and hope to actually do something like this to my 1972 Datsun Bluebird.... That is just a little bigger than a Golf Cart!!! Cheers from Alaska!

[@madmod]

Rolling my honda big red in the ditch memories have returned upon seeing a 3 wheeler

[@paulnagel8161]

So good! I know there are lots of people interested in this type of 'conversion', myself included.

[@TeamTristanRacing]

Just loving the content. Can't wait for the next installment 👍👍👍

[@robotcantina8957]

Coming soon!

[@maxhammick948]

Looks like a fun project! I'd be tempted to find a way to add some car starter batteries to give more peak power than the petroleum battery could provide, but then you'd also have to figure out a voltage controller that is separate to the alternator so it would be a much more complex project. It ought to help the 0-50 times though!

[@normandalgarno3242]

Thanks Jimbo for such ingenious and entertaining videos!

[@dillpickle7468]

This will be a fun project. Thanks RC

[@devivoman]

Love it, can’t wait to see the results! I’m a golfer and a tinkerer, I’ve got a cheap cart in the barn I’m going to rebuild!

[@minnesotatomcat]

I used to work for case IH doing test/rework. We had these electric “ tugger carts “ that were basically a heavy duty golf cart that we’d drive around on to get back and forth to grab machines to work on. Anyways the batteries would go to shit and case didn’t wanna replace them so we’d just throw our Honda generator in the back and keep it plugged into the cart, we called it our Hybrid 🤣

[@Wyowanderer]

Just when I think you've reached the end of a project...you start another. Great channel, I look forward to your upload every Sunday. I was surprised how clean the the transmission interiot on the Renault was - thanks for showing us the reverse repair was.

[@neutrodyne]

You always make great videos. If needed you could use the battery to give you the extra amps to get it started and then run it off the alternator while it is moving while also recharging the battery.

[@rustyaxelrod]

Back in the 1990’s Popular Mechanix magazine had an article about an electric Indy style race car. It had a motor inside each wheel hub and used a small turbine engine to spin a generator. I don’t remember the numbers but it made several hundred horsepower. Interesting to see the idea being revisited! I’m aware Leece-Neville (and others) offer alternators in the power range to match that motor. I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes 👍

[@pablofalcao1700]

My time has come! Suggested it a long time ago. Homemade hybrid! Delighted to see it on the making

[@lindsaydempsey5683]

For what it's worth I think that this is going to work pretty well. I really like the idea of having a series motor for this application, they always seem to do the very best they can with the energy that they are given. Got more energy, they go faster, got less energy, they just slow down until the power can meet the torque demand. I think that series traction motors are magical. If for any reason the cart struggles to get up hills, you could hybridize it with a traction battery for extra credits. I know that's something that you could do. To me that would be really interesting, albeit a lot of work for you.

[@glenns5627]

Holiday Inn Express ... LOLZ! It's those kind of hidden Gems that make a channel. Can't wait to follow this one.

[@th3R0b0t]

Idea for future reverse problem... Engineer a cage that holds the motor with a new drive gear reduction for the rear end. Build the motor on an axis that rotates, and a reverse gear that slips in and pushes motor away from rear axle gear so that reverse gear gets inbetween. A few repurposed trampoline springs keep the motor against the rear axle. In effect, you activate a lever (push or pull), and reverse gear activates, release lever, and springs pull motor back to "forward" drive.

[@somasmith]

This project will be fun! I've got an old golf cart and a pile of new parts out in the garage, I needed a little motivation to jump into my own project. :)

[@airborneSGT]

Coming to SEMA in 2025 and all his builds actually run 💯

[@robotcantina8957]

LOL, Thanks!

[@Aspire198]

Something for the audience to be aware of with series motors. Series motors are subject to back emf, thats voltage that gets made in the reverse direction due to the armature windings passing through a magnetic field. The higher the voltage, the faster the motor could turn before the back emf=front emf because voltage is a function of speed of a conductor through a field.

[@twentyrothmans7308]

You are criminally insane. That is why I love your channel.

[@SgtWojcik]

Jimbo has been watching Edison Motors & Deboss Garage videos....Love It! We need the innovation to the 'electric-only' condition.

[@spokehedz]

"I have a background in electronics and electricity." Those two get along real nice. I wonder if you could get a little hand cranked radio or something, to get the couple-of-volts to kickstart the alternator making an output. A hand cranked petroleum battery

[@walnuthead101]

Hey Jimbo. I had a lot of success powering the field winding of the drive motor with a pwm. In brushed and brushless motors it works like an infinite gearbox! Also doesn't draw much current so it's cheap to try. Thanks for the content.

[@georgehooper429]

This sounds like an interesting project. Grate job thinking of something that not many people even considered. I’m glad you didn’t go down that installing a hayabusa 4 cylinder engine in a three wheeled golf cart route, that’ been done so many times before. What would be the fun in that? I don’t have much experience with series wound DC motors. But back in the day, the engine test lab I worked at had a DC gen set that was used as a dyno for the engines. That genset had a 3 phase motor turning a 300hp DC motor. Then in the test cell we had a 300hp DC motor connected to the engine with a short drive shaft. By varying the field winding voltage on the motor connected to the engine we could spin the motor to start the engine and then flip the fields to turn the 300hp DC motor into an absorber to load the engine. We would vary the load on the engine by changing the voltage/current on the field winding. What I’m thinking about is an alternate approach to what you are designing (understand I was also wrong about removing the compression release on the predator, the juice was worth the squeeze the second time). Instead of messing with the alternator to change the output voltage. Have the engine and alternator setup as the genset I mentioned above. Have it dump the power into one or two lead acid batteries. Lets the lead acid batteries absorbed any instantaneous currents the motor might demand. Vary the field winding on the motor (if that’s possible) to control direction and speed. If you used 2 lead acid batteries you could get to 24 volts, which would require adjusting the voltage regulator on the alternator a bit. FWIW I did briefly look into 24v 100a DC soft start relays/controls and they are stupid expensive. So that route is a no go here. I’m looking forward to see what comes of this. I did have a question are you going for fuel economy or speed with is build? Maybe just surviving a sharp corner on a 3 wheel golf cart would be enough to call it a good day.

[@yodasbff3395]

That is some pretty basic electrical engineering, but I still loved it. Thanks for sharing the video. 👍

[@Fantaman900]

Man I love the little Kubota and predator engine powered cars but even more happy with a diesel electric type powertrain. Can easily understand it's not as energy efficient as a lithium and brushless swap but the advantage of filling liquids vs long charging time can cancel out the inefficiently. I had a full electric car with so little range it could really use a range extender engine, like a combustion engine pusher trailer or a 400V generator or a second bigger battery. Oh look garage54 build a engine pusher trailer and Robot Cantina is going the Diesel electric route😄

[@sweetpigfarm3645]

Yes I always wanted to see this done! Thanks jimbo

[@perrymattes4285]

I did the same thing with a 90 v dc motor. I was going to build a differential steer lawn mower that could be computer controlled. I did some experiments welding with the alternator so you could make it a welding golf cart too. I was working toward making the alternator a constant current source.

[@BillyBob-uc9zp]

Interesting project Jimbo!. Well done Mr 😎

[@robotcantina8957]

Thanks 👍

[@jimmyprater7546]

Great idea as there are many used golf carts that need batteries 🪫 I enjoyed this episode!

[@minnesotatomcat]

The petroleum battery! 🤣 love that

[@markt9028]

Awesome project, the alternator control will be interesting. Thanks again for the metric units 🇦🇺.

[@mentaldiversions]

I love your channel! Never change.

[@sparkyflys]

Day 1 listener, first time caller. I hope you check the batteries for a few desulfation candidates. This can take a few weeks at 2.6*18=46.8V or higher. Desulfation, some sulphuric acid, and a hydrometer and they may good to go moving forward.

[@benjineeringtoday8233]

That snap transition was phenomenal.

[@WarrenGarabrandt]

I for one an excited about the new project!