# Salvaged AC electric motors, from vaccums and such for bikes/small craft



## pre_tilted (Apr 26, 2008)

Im considering making a small novelty electric vehicle by taking the motors out of various plug in electronics I have around the house and sticking them on something like a bike frame.

the first obstacle ive come across is the fact that all of these motors are AC, as the outlets that they plug into are AC, but most all DIY instructions and such discuss DC systems.

Now, i know absolutely very little about voltage, ohms, amps, etc. So the possibility of me being able to set up a inverter/converter system seems like it would take alot of time learning and experimenting...

short of that, what im wondering is, can i simply buy some kind of whole sale backup portable ac generator and plug these appliance motors into it?

Has anyone done this before and had it work?

And if so, how long will these last? Is it that much more worth it to buy a battery and inverter myself, and figure out how to make it work?


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## pre_tilted (Apr 26, 2008)

Let me clarify what im asking...

if i took something like the motor and componants from a couple of these

http://www.rewci.com/shvac2hpquse.html

attached it to 

http://www.wizwheelz.com/

and then plugged the motors into, via the normal outlet socket, two of 

http://www.campingworld.com/browse/.../Duracell-Powerpack-600/skunum=36921:src=OSLN


what sort of problems am i looking at?

This seems like a really simple solution that requires almost no knowledge whatsoever, and should be relatively cheap, as the motors are extremely common, the power packs arnt that expensive, and the wheel frame could probably be picked up at a dump somewhere.

Thoughts?


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## O'Zeeke (Mar 9, 2008)

Hi Pre, i think you need to put a controller in between that shopvac motor and the battery or the variable speed controller in a jigsaw and motor might work. i never tried any of this, just thoughts


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## pre_tilted (Apr 26, 2008)

I figure for speed control, as the craft would be really crude anyway, i could just flick the on/off switch however often i would need to, to reach my desired speed (which probably wouldnt be that fast anyhow).


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## Dennis (Feb 25, 2008)

> the first obstacle ive come across is the fact that all of these motors are AC, as the outlets that they plug into are AC, but most all DIY instructions and such discuss DC systems.


The motors inside a vacuum cleaner or blender or even a corded drill is a series-wound motor called by the name "universal motor" meaning it will operate on AC or DC. It should be obvious because a series-wound motor will turn the same direction regardless of how you hook it up to the battery unless you can switch the field or armature separately from each other. It just so happens that since this is true for a series-wound motor then it will turn in the same direction for AC, even though AC switches polarity.

The problem is you will need lots of voltage for that motor to be any use to you and the torque will be poor since the field windings are small and the armature windings are small. Not to mention the size of the motor will not allow no where near enough magnetic field lines to fit to provide the torque, so it will saturate.


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## MrCrabs (Mar 7, 2008)

pre_tilted said:


> Im considering making a small novelty electric vehicle by taking the motors out of various plug in electronics I have around the house and sticking them on something like a bike frame.


If you want to make an electric bike there are tons of kits out there...
http://www.wildernessenergy.com/

The motor is in the wheel, the only bulky part are the batteries on a tray behind the seat.


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## pre_tilted (Apr 26, 2008)

Saturate? 

im confused... what does that mean?

I mean, i know what saturate means, but in the context of magnetic field lines, i dont follow what you're saying.


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## pre_tilted (Apr 26, 2008)

MrCrabs said:


> If you want to make an electric bike there are tons of kits out there...
> http://www.wildernessenergy.com/
> 
> The motor is in the wheel, the only bulky part are the batteries on a tray behind the seat.



To the best of my understanding, those kits are extremely expensive for very poor performance. Im confident that one way or another i can do better for cheaper.


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## 3dplane (Feb 27, 2008)

Pre tilted!
Saturate in this context means the current in the motor can not provide any stronger magnetic field so it just turns into heat and if held under this condition it will basicly go up in smoke. Barna.


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## pre_tilted (Apr 26, 2008)

So how serious of an issue is this magnetic saturation thing?

If i plug all this stuff together... will it work?


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## 3dplane (Feb 27, 2008)

Catching on fire serious!
What Dennis was trying to tell you is these are high rpm low torque motors.
Not ideal for your application.If they are bogged down such as while 
accelerating they will probably burn up.Unless great enough gearing is done but then it will have extremely slow speed. My opinion. If I were you I would go for something already dc(motor),like something from a car.I've made several bycicles with modified car starters(reduction) powering them.They were free and fun to race around the shop.(at work). Barna.


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## xrotaryguy (Jul 26, 2007)

In response to the low quality bike commnent, I ride a home made bike that uses old Chinese bike parts that i salvaged off of a smashed EV Warrior bike. My bike has 1300 miles on it now and is still going strong. I also had a chance to ride a couple of cheap Chinese bicycles today, and I was actually very impressed. They may not be super high quality, but as far as I can tell, they get the job done.


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## ww321q (Mar 28, 2008)

pre_tilted go search on YouTube I have seen bikes with all kinds of motors even a couple had skillsaws and drill motors . A vacuum motor would be a poor choice though cause they need all that air to keep from burning up under normal operating conditions and I think they turn way high RPM .J.W.


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