Kermit left his home of the past 15 months at TechShop, and made the 10 mile trip back to my house in Mountain View this evening. It was a little bit nervewracking setting out on the open road for the first time, but we made it without assistance from AAA. I set the maximum current to the motor at 30 amps, and limited the maximum RPM to about 3600, so I definitely didn't set any speed records. It was a trick accelerating from a stop through certain traffic lights before they turned yellow again, and I'm sure I irritated more than one other driver. Accelerating from 0-5 mph was very difficult, with torque not picking up until the car got going a bit. Once rolling, though, it felt peppy, at least compared with the stodgy original acceleration.
I need to fiddle with the voltage, current and frequency parameters a bit until I get acceptable performance. Mostly, I wanted to be assured of getting home without overheating my motor, which was no problem. I could hold my hand on the motor once I got home.
It feels really good to have come this far. Even though the car is by no means done, it is a usable means of transport at this point, and I will be driving it to work and dragging groceries home.
I'll keep updating this space with further news as Kermit rolls on.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Congratulations! that must have been a fantastic experience after all the work.
Congrats!
How come all your fans are Australian?
(Hi Mal!)
I love the MGB, I'm hoping to convert a similar car ('63 Cortina).
Thanks! I'm not sure why so many Aussies. It seems like I'm about the only one using industrial components in this country.
Will
Post a Comment