# Baker Pallet Jack Motor question



## major (Apr 4, 2008)

*Re: Forklift motor questions, help please*



unionthug said:


> I'm looking at Clarke Forklifts and Caterpillar, they both have a separate drive motor and one that powers the hydraulic pump. The pump motors look to be the right size, any ideas here ? the one i am loking at using is a 36/48 volt 2050 RPM 12.7 KW, max RPM 6500 amp 315. my donor car is a metro


Hi uni,

http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php/using-forklift-motor-and-choosing-good-7598.html 

I know it is a long thread. But we've addressed your question multiple times. And there is a search function for this forum. Use it and you will likely find a lot of info on pump motors, and a good chance even about the specific motors you have in mind.

WTH, here I go again. These are lift pump motors. They are rated for intermittent duty whereas traction motors are rated for continuous (or one hour) duty. Pump motors are likely unidirectional. Is it correct for your application? Pump motor will likely have an internal spline drive. Can you couple it to your drive? Most of these pump motors are series wound and intended for rated voltage (36/48) always seeing a sizeable load from the pump. If you use it at higher voltage you need to beware of overspeed at light load.

But pump motors are good DC motors and can work very well for EV drives if you get the details worked out.

Regards,

major


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## unionthug (Jan 21, 2011)

*Froklift Motor RPM aquestion, help please !*

im looking at a forklift motor below is the specs, can anyone offer me some incite as to the RPM and HP and if this motor will be usable ?
its a 36 or 48 volt motor

36 volt 10.4 HP 1050 RPM 330 AMP
48 volt 16.3 HP 1500 RPM 350 AMP


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## major (Apr 4, 2008)

*Re: Froklift Motor RPM aquestion, help please !*



unionthug said:


> im looking at a forklift motor below is the specs, can anyone offer me some incite as to the RPM and HP and if this motor will be usable ?
> its a 36 or 48 volt motor
> 
> 36 volt 10.4 HP 1050 RPM 330 AMP
> 48 volt 16.3 HP 1500 RPM 350 AMP


Did you read my reply to your other forklift motor thread? http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php?p=223218#post223218 It helps if you keep similar questions about the same subject in a single thread.

major


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## Woodsmith (Jun 5, 2008)

*Re: Forklift motor questions, help please*

I have merged the threads to keep responses to the OP together.


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## Nougatti (Oct 22, 2010)

*Re: Forklift motor questions, help please*

We're using a 48V Clark forklift motor from a Clark CTM 16 S forklift.
The forklift used two traction motors, but we're using one of them. It's only 5.2 kw, but it has the torque required to move a heavy forklift with a heavier load around on a shop floor.
We have for instance started the car from a standstill in 4th gear without any hassle at all.
You're not going to be able to use the truck's controllers though, but if you get a pot-box from the truck, be sure to keep it!


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## unionthug (Jan 21, 2011)

In the search for the right "deal" I have come across a complete Baker Pallet Jack, its rated at 5000 lbs, the motor Model# is 5BCXJ427 it is a class H rpm is 2600/2100 amps 145/107 thats all i can read on the motor tag its about 8" diameter and about 13" long. I am looking to build a "low budget" conversion using a GEO Metro, my guess is that this motor is a 12/24 volt but cant tell for sure from the tag, any insite or help hear would be great


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## Guest (Jan 29, 2011)

Does it have 4 terminals and does it have two brushes per brush holder?


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## Guest (Jan 29, 2011)

Get some photos and post them. Good ones, not the junky phone photos.


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## unionthug (Jan 21, 2011)

looks to be four brushes, and four post, and sorry i only got a blackberry to use as a camera


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## Guest (Jan 29, 2011)

Well I guess the phone will have to do. Get some good light in there. Phone cameras like light. 

Pete


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## unionthug (Jan 21, 2011)

Photos Attached.


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## Guest (Jan 29, 2011)

Not bad phone photos. Interesting drive end. Mounting may be a tough cookie but for a small car it may do just fine. What are your expectations and needs? Budget? 

Pete


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## unionthug (Jan 21, 2011)

Modest expectations, 35 to 45 mph, range would be nice if i could get towards 40 miles, as for mounting i got a great machine shop i can machine a new motor end to facilitate mounting, just want it to be super low buck for a first EV endeavor, im getting the complete pallet jack, any ideas or thoughts ?


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## Guest (Jan 30, 2011)

Well if you can make an end plate that would be good. I have no experience building an adaptor plate. I just purchased mine. Distance at low speeds are possible if you can carry the weight as I am assuming your going with lead acid batteries. 6 volt floodies are good but be sure they are for the golf cart and not the marine batteries. Marine batteries suck. What voltage do you plan on using? Id say no less than 72 volts. 96 would be better. I think your motor would be ok with 96 volts. Don't need to go fast but having higher voltages helps. More volts available less amps needed. Use your transmission. I use a clutch. There is plenty of debating on this issue. Some cars shift fine without the clutch some don't. Did my first EV for $3200 including the batteries and car. Been working in the MG today. Getting it wired up for the new controller and lithium batteries. 

Pete 

There is lots to see and learn. Some just plain garbage too. Have a look over at EVDL for ideas and more information. I started there. Ended here and still going.


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## unionthug (Jan 21, 2011)

*forklift motor guru needed*

OK, i am looking at a forklift drive motor, it is 36/48 volt it has 57 commutator bars,it has two ratings open and closed
open- at 48 volts, 1173 rpm,449 amps
closed- at 48 volts, 1673 rpm, 242 amps
is is a class H, has four brushes holders with 2 brushes per, bi-directional,
is about 11" dia. and 19" long
stall torque is 373 ft lbs, full load volts is 449,
this is going in to a Metro i got lots of other data
can some one give me a thought or two as to their thoughts on the use of this motor ?, please ?


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## piotrsko (Dec 9, 2007)

*Re: forklift motor guru needed*

Take and post pictures of the comm, brush assembly. Weigh it. post pictures and wait for some of the experts to comment. If you have time, read the sticky at the top of this forum, especially the lower numbered posts.

my $.02: sounds like a good candidate.


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## major (Apr 4, 2008)

*Re: forklift motor guru needed*



unionthug said:


> OK, i am looking at a forklift drive motor, it is 36/48 volt it has 57 commutator bars,it has two ratings open and closed
> open- at 48 volts, 1173 rpm,449 amps
> closed- at 48 volts, 1673 rpm, 242 amps
> is is a class H, has four brushes holders with 2 brushes per, bi-directional,
> ...


Hi uni,

This is the 3rd or 4th thread you've started concerning a forklift motor. Please use the sticky thread or at least keep yours confined to a single thread.

The data you list is inconsistent. No forklift I know about has "full load volts is 449".

A brand name and picture would be nice, including a picture of the nameplate.

From what I see, this would likely be a very nice motor. Right for a Metro? Depends on the performance desired and rest of the system.

Regards,

major


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## unionthug (Jan 21, 2011)

*Re: forklift motor guru needed*

Major-
Sorry, being a newbie here and all each post is a little different question, but in the future i will try to adhere to the norm.


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## bumblebee (Jan 29, 2011)

*Re: forklift motor guru needed*

An 11-inch forklift motor has to be close to 300 pounds... that may be a little too much nose weight for the Metro. It's not much heavier than the stock engine, but that means you will not be able to put ANY batteries up front... even with stiffer springs, the body may not hold up. Mine cracked the unibody in two places when I started loading it up with batteries....




unionthug said:


> OK, i am looking at a forklift drive motor, it is 36/48 volt it has 57 commutator bars,it has two ratings open and closed
> open- at 48 volts, 1173 rpm,449 amps
> closed- at 48 volts, 1673 rpm, 242 amps
> is is a class H, has four brushes holders with 2 brushes per, bi-directional,
> ...


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## unionthug (Jan 21, 2011)

it is a 3 speed motor, 12 volt, 2400 RPM, 7 1/2" dia 9 1/2 " long


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## bumblebee (Jan 29, 2011)

unionthug said:


> it is a 3 speed motor, 12 volt, 2400 RPM, 7 1/2" dia 9 1/2 " long


Is the battery pack on the unit a 12V or 24V? If it's only a 12V, the windings may be too low resistance to run anything over 48 volts or so. I made that mistake before...

A 36V or 48V motor can be pushed to over 100 volts, but I would not go anywhere near that high with a 12 volt motor


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## unionthug (Jan 21, 2011)

the battery pack is gone, could i run 24 or 36 volt ? and do you think it is big enough for a motorcycle conversion, the 3 speeds in the motor seems like it might work cool


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## Woodsmith (Jun 5, 2008)

I have merged all your motor threads so that you can refer to all your information more easily in one place.

For lack of the battery pack is there a plate on the side of the truck that shows any information at all? Some plates on some trucks will show how many batteries are needed and the weight of the batteries as that would be important for capacity and stability.

Alternatively have a look, and photograph, the battery box to see if there are any clues as to how many cells or batteries would have fitted in there.


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## unionthug (Jan 21, 2011)

i do not have access to the truck they the motor came out of, they took the assemble out and trashed the rest, bottom line i would like some opinion as to is this motor would work in a Metro conversion ?


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## PZigouras (Jun 5, 2010)

I think it would work fine in a Metro, but you would probably have to severely limit your voltage. I don't know if you can even go over 48 volts on that motor, if it is indeed a 12 volt motor. DC motors can only take about 3 times the rated voltage before they go crazy and crap out.

the problem you're gonna have is that, at low voltage, you will be running very, very inefficiently... everything will get hot, the wires, the controller, and of course the motor. This will cause you to lose a lot of range. You will probably have plenty of power, but I'm sure that at least 30% or 40% of the energy in your battery will be lost as heat.

Paul


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## unionthug (Jan 21, 2011)

Thanks Paul
I think I will save the pallet jack motor for a motorcycle conversion, any thought at to what the range may be with 24 volts ? 12 volts ?
4 floodies of either 6 or 12 volts ?


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## PZigouras (Jun 5, 2010)

I would use (4) 12-volt cells, or (8) 6-volt in series. Either way, I would limit the voltage to around 48 volts.

I would NOT go any lower than 48 volts. Remember, everytime the voltage gets cut in half, the amperage nearly doubles. So if you're pulling 400 amps @ 48V, you will be pulling 800 @ 24V and 1600 @ 12V. I oversimplified the amperage equation (there's a lot more to it than that), but that's the general idea.

So you can see how easy it will be to blow a controller with that much current... plus it will run very hot -- especially on a heavy vehicle. But it should work fine on a bike, because you have much less weight to move.

If you were to go to 96 volts for example, now you would drop your amps from 400 to 200... you gain efficiency, but that won't be possible with this particular motor. 

- Paul


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## Duncan (Dec 8, 2008)

Hi PZ

_DC motors can only take about 3 times the rated voltage before they go crazy and crap out._

Sorry I disagree - and its irrelevant anyway as a controller drops the voltage it supplies to the motor
Go as high a voltage as your controller can take!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Duncan 
_Hi Guys

Voltages in series DC motors 
- the way I understand it 10 - 20 volts will drive 1000amps through one of these

But you need your 10 - 20 v + the back EMF caused by the motor spinning

So for a given speed and current the motor voltage is going to be Back EMF + 10-20

If you don't increase the speed you can't increase the motor voltage

Therefore your battery voltage is irrelevant - except that a higher voltage will result in a lower battery current

Therefore you should use the highest voltage your controller can handle

Brush advance is also related to speed so the same thing

Have I got this right Major?_
*Hi Dunc,

Not the way I would have said it, but I don't see anything blatantly incorrect with it Thanks for your help 

major*


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