# DC Motor Suppliers - UK



## jjmillsy (Jul 17, 2012)

Hi,

Anyone in the UK managed to source a motor suitable for an EV conversion? I'm just currently researching some options and trying to find a supplier within the UK. I've seen a Kostov K10" 144V motor from a supplier in the Netherlands for €1495 which is about £1176.

Considering all options at the minute! 

Thanks,

James


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## skooler (Mar 26, 2011)

Hi James,

Most of the stuff in the UK is stupidly expensive.

Kostov motors is probably the best bet. They are in the EU so no hassle with import tax, VAT, Duty etc.

http://kostov-motors.com/tractionmotors/kostovevmotors(ac-dc)/seriesdcmotorsforelectricvehicles/

Multiply the USD price by 0.64 to get the GBP price 

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Mike


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## Jordysport (Mar 22, 2009)

jjmillsy said:


> Hi,
> 
> Anyone in the UK managed to source a motor suitable for an EV conversion? I'm just currently researching some options and trying to find a supplier within the UK. I've seen a Kostov K10" 144V motor from a supplier in the Netherlands for €1495 which is about £1176.
> 
> ...


Simple answer is no, your best bet will be to drive to Kostov Factory & Back, thats what i will be doing. works out about £300 in diesel.


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## jjmillsy (Jul 17, 2012)

Thanks - I've emailed the 3 distributors within the UK for NetGain motors but haven't received a reply yet.

I guess driving to the factory would be an option, but does it work out cheaper than getting the motor from a distributor? I've also emailed a company in Ireland and Netherlands to find out some prices.

I wonder if there are any motor manufacturers in the UK that are capable of building a motor for use in an EV?


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## Jordysport (Mar 22, 2009)

jjmillsy said:


> Thanks - I've emailed the 3 distributors within the UK for NetGain motors but haven't received a reply yet.
> 
> I guess driving to the factory would be an option, but does it work out cheaper than getting the motor from a distributor? I've also emailed a company in Ireland and Netherlands to find out some prices.
> 
> I wonder if there are any motor manufacturers in the UK that are capable of building a motor for use in an EV?


shouldn't really be working on my bday lol, dedication to my project lol. It works out cheaper for me as i am getting two 9" motors soliton1 and other bits and bobs, and tbh Hungary is not far from the UK.

UK manufacturers i know of LMC which are located 5 miles from my house but they do small PM motors upto 32kw iirc, very good company been up once and had a go on one of their motorbikes very fast is all i can say!.


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## jjmillsy (Jul 17, 2012)

Thanks Jordysport - Happy Birthday! 

I'll check out LMC. Still just researching all the parts that I will need for the conversion - learning fast!


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## Jordysport (Mar 22, 2009)

jjmillsy said:


> Thanks Jordysport - Happy Birthday!
> 
> I'll check out LMC. Still just researching all the parts that I will need for the conversion - learning fast!


Its a long process i've only just touched the surface and i've been researching for 3 weeks solid + 3 months research 5 years ago. 

What car are you using? dependent on that i would use a soliton controller (advantages of built in contactors & no need for circuit breaker) so all you would need: 

Battery Pack - Fuse - Controller - Motor (+ DC-DC converter, on board charger etc but depends if you need all that) 

I remember i emailed a few companies to supply warp motors in the UK i'll try and dig them out for you


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## Jordysport (Mar 22, 2009)

Dated 07/07/2009 
"Thank you for your enquiry. At the moment I can supply any of the
products listed on the NetGain website. Motor pricing is as follows;
Due to the rapid changes recently in the dollar to sterling exchange
rates, I have broken the prices up into their relevant dollar and
sterling costs. Motor incl. crate and air freight to U.K. port of
entry, typically Heathrow. 
Impulse 9 - $2,110 
Warp 9 - $2,260
Warp 11 - $3,640

In addition there is customs clearance, handling fees and final U.K.
delivery (for most mainland U.K. destinations) as follows;
Impulse 9 - $260
Warp 9 - £270
Warp 11 - £290

For example, if an exchange rate of 1.5 is assumed, a Warp 9 would cost;
$2,260 = £1,507+270= £1,777
Add VAT £ 267
Total £2,044
You can calculate the actual costs by using the exchange rate that
PayPal is charging on the day the order is placed. Sorry about not being
able to quote a complete price in sterling.

If you want to arrange your own shipping I can sell you the motor at
these prices, F.O.B. Lockport Illinois; 
http://www.go-ev.com/End_User_Pricing.html
You would be responsible for all shipping, import, VAT and duty costs.

Shipping weights in a crate are;
Impulse 9 - 72kg
Warp 9 - 84kg
Warp 11 - 125kg
Please note that NetGain charge $100 for a shipping crate."


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## skooler (Mar 26, 2011)

Jordysport said:


> Dated 07/07/2009
> "Thank you for your enquiry. At the moment I can supply any of the
> products listed on the NetGain website. Motor pricing is as follows;
> Due to the rapid changes recently in the dollar to sterling exchange
> ...


Import duty etc. looks far to cheap to me.

make sure there aren't any hidden extras such as handling, documentation and storage fees.

Cheers,

Mike


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## jjmillsy (Jul 17, 2012)

Jordysport said:


> What car are you using? dependent on that i would use a soliton controller (advantages of built in contactors & no need for circuit breaker) so all you would need:
> 
> Battery Pack - Fuse - Controller - Motor (+ DC-DC converter, on board charger etc but depends if you need all that)


Thanks - car not confirmed yet but will be Vectra sized. I'm intending to use it (eventually!) for commuting to and from work.



Jordysport said:


> I remember i emailed a few companies to supply warp motors in the UK i'll try and dig them out for you


Hmm... £2k! I'm starting to see why the Kostov motors are a popular choice here in Europe. I'm assuming if you did purchase a motor from the factory it would be up to you to pay VAT/Import charges!


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## Jordysport (Mar 22, 2009)

jjmillsy said:


> Thanks - car not confirmed yet but will be Vectra sized. I'm intending to use it (eventually!) for commuting to and from work.
> 
> 
> 
> Hmm... £2k! I'm starting to see why the Kostov motors are a popular choice here in Europe. I'm assuming if you did purchase a motor from the factory it would be up to you to pay VAT/Import charges!


You won't pay any VAT/Import charges if you buy a Kostov motor (in the EU) if you buy a Netgain motor from the US you will have to pay customs, vat etc etc.


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## skooler (Mar 26, 2011)

Jordysport said:


> You won't pay any VAT/Import charges if you buy a Kostov motor (in the EU) if you buy a Netgain motor from the US you will have to pay customs, vat etc etc.


Not Quite,

You still need to pay VAT for the country its purchased from.


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## Woodsmith (Jun 5, 2008)

Have you considered used motors from a forklift truck as another option?
Here's one on Ebay. No connection to me, just been watching it for a while.

I have a 12" milk float motor, an 11" fork truck motor, a 9" fork truck motor and a 7" golf buggy motor in my workshop to play with.


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## jjmillsy (Jul 17, 2012)

Woodsmith said:


> Have you considered used motors from a forklift truck as another option?
> Here's one on Ebay. No connection to me, just been watching it for a while.
> 
> I have a 12" milk float motor, an 11" fork truck motor, a 9" fork truck motor and a 7" golf buggy motor in my workshop to play with.


I've had a look at some forklift motors, but didn't exactly know what I was looking for when I started researching them last week. I saw that same one on eBay and interestingly googled up an old eBay sale where the same motor sold for £75!


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## Woodsmith (Jun 5, 2008)

It is possible to find a usable motor and the sticky thread about forklift motors can help, if you can trawl through it.

That motor is a bit costly and I do seem to remember it the first time round now that you mention it.
My 12" cost £100, the 11" cost £150 with the whole forklift axle and wheels still attached, scrapping the axle and wheels got most of the money back. (However, with the second broken axle on my tractor I am thinking maybe I should have kept that 4 ton fork truck axle for it!)

There is a forklift spares place in Chesterfield that has motors for around £300. Even with an overhaul at a motor shop it would still be cheaper then a new one though perhaps less of a known quantity. However, if cost is part of the issue then it might be worth a look.

Major is one of the motor gurus here who can help you identify a good motor from a bad one but there are some general rules that can keep you on the right track. Many of us here can help with the basics if you need it.

Alternatively, if you have a very light vehicle there is always the Agni motors available through JozzTec AKA Jozzer on this forum.


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## TTmartin (Feb 7, 2012)

[QUOTEHmm... £2k! I'm starting to see why the Kostov motors are a popular choice here in Europe. I'm assuming if you did purchase a motor from the factory it would be up to you to pay VAT/Import charges![/QUOTE]

Hi if it's of any help,

I was where you are now about 6 months ago, looked high and low for the right motor. Came to the conclusion Kostov was the best option for us in the UK, I wanted a K10" but they were out of stock with a 1 month lead time so I purchased a K11" 192v, direct from Kostov in Bulgaria, first class service, may use them again soon for my batteries. 
At the moment they don't supply the soliton controllers, (Rebbi) in the Netherlands are the sole suppliers in Europe. My soliton 1 came from them.

By the way you do pay VAT.
Shipping was arranged by Kostov, cost me £185, DHL.
I don't think you could do it cheaper if you picked up yourself.
If you go the second hand route you need to know your motors or know some one that does.
If you check out the UK battery vehicle society forum there was a netgain impulse 9 for sale, second hand from a shelved project, it may still be a available? I nearly bought it, but I was told it was a warp 9. Then found it was the smaller impulse 9 so decided against buying it for my tt conversion.

Hope this helps


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