# Getting a 12" dc brushed motor is tough



## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

Im in the uk and ive been phoning and visiting the local forklift specialists. They all have the same tune. The big 12" motors havent been seen for 10 yrs. They all went to recycling. Now fork trucks use 8" 

He had loads of those to sell me. 

Im converting a mazda rx8 it weighs 1350kg

Would an 8" be ok? Say i used a 120-140v battery? 

Or would anybody know how to source a bigger motor? 

Im looking on Alibaba and found this...

https://m.alibaba.com/product/52551...ml?spm=a2706.amp_sc_detail.recommend_products

I suppose it all rings correct because the tutorial vids are around 8yrs old so maybe the big dc motors are hard to find?

Thx for any tips or hints.


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## Duncan (Dec 8, 2008)

Here NZ - the most common size seems to be 11 inches 

That is 11 inches in diameter and about 100 Kg

I did manage to pick up a 9 inch - about 60 kg

Saying THAT you don't want a new forklift motor as it will be AC and no good without a matched controller

You want a motor from one of the forklifts that are being re-cycled - probably 20 years old

My own experience is that telephoning is useless - you need to VISIT the forklift repair people with a pocket of cash

The actual repair guy (not the office wallah) will have a couple of spare motors Just In Case - you are trying to wheadle one of them off him


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## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

Thanks for your reply. 

This is terrible news. Ive bought the car thinking the motors are super easy to buy. 

I cant afford an all singing ac setup just yet. 

These 8inch motors look like pump motors. I think they are from the old style fork trucks just not the traction motor. I wonder if i could put 2 together to make 1 motor? Hmmmm

Id need to look at them again. 

Mr Damian Maguires €1000 ev conversion is fantastic however now im realising he is using parts from under his work bench 😁

Ok tine to role up the sleeves and do more digging.


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

Squidlings said:


> Mr Damian Maguires €1000 ev conversion is fantastic however now im realising he is using parts from under his work bench


That's how all really cheap projects work: they don't count most of the actual cost.


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## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

ha...to true, to true... not to mention all the equipment welders, engine hoists haha.

Hey, what do you think about the alibaba series wound motor?


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## MattsAwesomeStuff (Aug 10, 2017)

brian_ said:


> That's how all really cheap projects work: they don't count most of the actual cost.


Actually I think Damien was picky that he actually bought this stuff, because the £1000 car was a challenge project and he wanted it to be fair.

The only think from under his desk were the power transistors, and he said if anyone really has trouble finding any, he'll ship them some for free.


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## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

Its a great set of videos however he said he already had 3 dc motors under his desk which he got years ago before they were rare by emails companies with fork in the names. These motors havent been seen for 10yrs is the constant responses im getting. They go straight to scrap for the cash.


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## MattsAwesomeStuff (Aug 10, 2017)

I somehow find that hard to believe.

Forklifts last decades. When I went to the scrappers last year, I was pulling apart forklifts from the late 60s and 70s.

People are probably skimming your emails and wondering about them having replacement DC motors in stock, and telling you no that they don't do that.

Listen to the advice. Emails probably aren't going to be helpful. Actually go down to the shop and talk to the guys in the back or make a phone call. Start off by saying it's for a project and wondering if you could strip some parts off something that's garbage to them, or if they have old motors you could use.

You might have to wait a month for something to come in that they're scraping, but, motor salvage isn't that highly valued, especially compared to 5-15 years ago.

This isn't some esoteric use-to-be, probably once a month someone comes here and asks for advice on pulling a forklift motor, and I can't think of anyone who tried and failed to succeed on their first attempt at their first yard. Maybe you're in a weird zone where what works for the rest of the world doesn't work for your area, but, I'm doubtful. I suspect it's your approach.


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## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

Thx. Ok my hopes are increasing slightly. Im starting to see old forks landing on ebay. Nothing local enough to me to jump on. 

All the breakers dont stock traction motors. One guy phoned me from my email send out. He said he has a supplier and will get me some quote...he wouldnt give me his suppliers name though.

I think im going down the buy an old fork truck, take out the fun bits and scrap the rest. Hell, i might even build my own foundary and use the steel to make some new sils for my car. 

But i started another thread with my experience procuring a dc motor in the uk. Your right, i beleive patience is the key here.


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## Duncan (Dec 8, 2008)

That was how I started
I bought an old forklift - cheap and took it to bits
The battery is always salable as is the main mast and hydraulics
a friend made a vandal proof post box out of one of the oil tanks 
but the motors were not suitable
When I tried to sell off some of the bits I ended up in touch with a repair yard that had a decent motor


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## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

Ahhh cool. Your not the fella who did the web post regarding a fork truck. You hot 2 pump motors ans a traction motor? If thats the case, you inspired me to look for the full trucks. 

Why wasnt the motor suitable? Didnt work or just to big? 

One concern i have... is spending lots of time and money on an old fork motor. Then like u...it not being suitable or the brushes arent good and u cant get hold of any. 

I think for $1750-2700 for a kostov might be another good option. But then then the whole point was to make something cheap to learn how the process works. 

Well...lets just see what turns up.


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## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

Managed to find a used one of these...

https://www.lectura-specs.com/en/mo...-forklift-trucks-jungheinrich/efg-df-18-11801

It says the hoist motor is 9kw which sounds good. But it uses 2 small drive motors.

The guys says its a dc motor but i cant see any info. 

Whats do u think?


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## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

Found that it does have dc motors. But not sure which kind. Are there many varients in fork truck? Ie swries wound, brushless?


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## GE11 (Oct 24, 2011)

Squidlings said:


> Found that it does have dc motors. But not sure which kind. Are there many varients in fork truck? Ie swries wound, brushless?


I wish you could come to the Atlanta Georgia area we have a HUGE forklift yard with all kind of DC motors!!


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## piotrsko (Dec 9, 2007)

They will usually be series wound or SEPEX in these sizes. 
I find it difficult to believe that in the UK there is nobody that has odd bits laying about. Check motor repair shops that rewind, surplus places, etc. It all requires you to actually go there however, instead of sitting at the computer


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## Duncan (Dec 8, 2008)

Hi
I bought a three wheeled forklift - bad idea
the drive motor would have been OK - but it was in a huge and heavy square casting - pump motors are a pain and rarely useful


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## MattsAwesomeStuff (Aug 10, 2017)

> It all requires you to actually go there however, instead of sitting at the computer


I think we're all sending the same message.

"Try the steak it's delicious"
"Okay good advice. So I ordered salad and I'm disappointed. Does anyone know how to order a meal here that will taste good?"
"Yes, the steak, just order that, it's delicious. Dozens of us have ordered it before. Trust us, it's good every time."
"Oh I see, that makes sense. So I ordered garlic bread and it's just not as good as you guys are describing the steak to be. This is really frustrating, I just want a good meal."


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## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

Me too GE That sounds like heaven. 

In uk, they they get good money for scrap so the big motors go straight there. Imagine have a load of motors on the floor taking up space or a big wad of cash in your hand? 

I sent the emails to 40 places. 6 people have called me all saying the same.

Its hard to drive to all these places. They are scattered here there and everywhere. 

Im starting to nail this though and a great opportunity has brought itself forward. I think im about to buy 4x 48v dc series wounds motors tomorrow for £400 they are from 1996 they look in decent nick fron the pictures. Might get the pump motors too. Maybe even the potentiometers if i can. 

Excited. Super local as well. 

Its not easy over here in the pond. Plus what im doing is super rare end. 

Bought a pack of 10x AA batteries which adds up to 12volts to test them! 


😁


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## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

Thx piot... motor rewinds is a great idea! That sounds far better than fork lift repairs. I wouldnt have thought so but u could be right. 

Any way im making more progress.

Salad is better than steak. Ill stick with the dressings 🥦&#55358;&#56684;


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## DrZzs (Sep 12, 2018)

I've found a scrap yard in the middle of nowhere Utah that has a bunch of Hyster e50x forklifts. I bought one motor already. Hearing how rare they are I just asked him and he still has some. I'll head down there in a couple weeks and grab as many as I can carry.


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## remy_martian (Feb 4, 2019)

DrZzs said:


> I've found a scrap yard in the middle of nowhere Utah that has a bunch of Hyster e50x forklifts. I bought one motor already. Hearing how rare they are I just asked him and he still has some. I'll head down there in a couple weeks and grab as many as I can can


Cool. PM me who and where they are. I promise I'm not after any of those heavy, underpowered, motors. I'm a Westinghouse, not Edison, kinda guy, lol. I need to go out to grab some stuff out that way, anyway, and you got me thinking about picking up a mast and forks.

That said, back to OP. Yes, you can gang them. Something like this, as an idea: https://www.evwest.com/catalog/prod...ucts_id=441&osCsid=knaot6qlp9lc6kv3hvbkf0vu24


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## MattsAwesomeStuff (Aug 10, 2017)

> Imagine have a load of motors on the floor taking up space or a big wad of cash in your hand?


That's not how it works.

Here's a better picture:

1 - Forklift repair shop has a warehouse customer saying their battery doesn't last a full shift anymore.

2 - Forklift repair shop looks around and finds a broken down forklift being sold cheap because they can't get it off the lot (it weighs 5x as much as a car). They buy it and transport it back to the shop.

3 - Forklift repair shop lifts out the battery which is near the end of its life, but still has another year or two on it. They swap it with the warehouse customer's battery.

4 - The dead battery might go in storage for someone even more desperate, or, if completely dead, the battery is still worth $0.30/lb, for 1000 lbs that's worth yanking.

5 - The Anderson connectors and some of the safety gear that's expensive to replace and often smashed gets yanked off. The mast and forks get removed, it can be put onto any other lift no problem.

6 - They dump the carcass in a field until there's a slow enough day to haul 3 or 4 of them to the scrapyard.

...

What they don't do is carefully disassemble every component from every junk forklift and then warehouse it all. It's not worth the labor. It's generally not even worth anyone's time to yank the motor out (poorer areas it will be). It's probably been a decade since anyone even asked for one, and if they do need one, they just wait a few weeks until the next scrap heap comes in.

...



> I sent the emails to 40 places. 6 people have called me all saying the same.


People keep telling you, no one is going to take the time to answer an email to help you out on a project. They deal with people interested in spending $20,000-$80,000 at a time.



> Its hard to drive to all these places. They are scattered here there and everywhere.


At the very least, pick up the telephone and call and ask if it's okay if you stop by and can have a look through their junkyard for a motor that you could use for a project.

Then drive out to just the one repair place that seemed friendliest. Literally the first one I called hooked me up, twice.

Again, you're ordering salad and struggling with why it doesn't taste like the steak we're suggesting.


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## Duncan (Dec 8, 2008)

Around here farmers buy the mast and forks - they bolt them to the back of a tractor - voila an instant forklift


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## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

Hey matt, not sure we are on the same page here. Yes ive sent 40 emails, ive driven to 3 of these places, ive directly called several and they are all saying the same thing. 

So ebay appears to be the best place looking for a full fork lift, advertised as spares and repairs. 

Your telling me thats not how it works and your probably right, but im telling you my experiences. Your making me sound like im sat at a computer all day, its pretty funny.

Since scrap metal prices are/were so good, whenever a fork breaks down, the dealers say...look at this shiny new forklift with a lithium battery. Youll not have any issues with this sir.

Anyway...uk isnt as big as US and most of the popular places dont have anything lying around.

Ive found this place which is selling 2 catapillar forks. Both for £850 for spares after their batteries failed. If i can get 4 motors, ill recondition 3 and sell them on 😏

Im loving this project, however, sourcing old items takes time. You need to keep an eye out for months not days. 

Batteries is the next big sticking point. Ive made a 15kw lipo pack, but want to double it. I build with old 18650's sourced from laptaps and thats a big long job. 

Maybe i should have just bought a model x? Wheres the fun in that though? My mates think im nuts building this rx8, but that shouts pride. A model x shouts...ahhh model x's are cool as well.

Just woke up, 8am here.


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## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

Just wanna say, i appreciate all your help and ideas. Im getting there, im working hard but im simply expressing my experiences. 

I cant help it if im being told 1 thing and the market works in another way. 

Like somebody said these people want $20-100k customers, not mr i want 4x motors for £400 🤪


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## remy_martian (Feb 4, 2019)

Duncan said:


> Around here farmers buy the mast and forks - they bolt them to the back of a tractor - voila an instant forklift


Bingo! The man gets the Quewpie Doll.

That is EXACTLY what I want to do to my farm tractor - I'm getting tired of being burned by freight people for "liftgate service"

OK, that plus it's another toy, not to mention a great way to pick stuff up.

Have welder, willing to hack.


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## remy_martian (Feb 4, 2019)

Squidlings said:


> Just wanna say, i appreciate all your help and ideas. Im getting there, im working hard but im simply expressing my experiences.
> 
> I cant help it if im being told 1 thing and the market works in another way.
> 
> Like somebody said these people want $20-100k customers, not mr i want 4x motors for £400 🤪


If you're not in a super hurry, wait a year or two and save your cash. Industrial companies will be liquidating all kinds of stuff for the cash they're running out of. Best time to pick up stuff is deep in a recession. It's also when your own stuff becomes fairly worthless, lol.

At that time, there also will be all sorts of EVs in the junkyard, so you can get a drive unit for cheap - the Tesla units were ten grand not too long ago...they're about $3k now. As they add range, the older models are quickly depreciating. Bolt, Leaf...many have buyer's remorse for the extra range they'll almost never use, lol.

YOU can also buy a forklift at an industrial auction and part it out yourself to where you might walk away with a free motor.


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## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

Thx Remy, Your feeling this global ecomomic crash too? Im a bitcoin boy. I carefully watch the markets. I hadnt added the thought of an economic crash to getting cheap ev parts though. Thanks for that. I suppose another key is holfing some assets which people will be willing to exchange because its sounding bad for the USD. Maybe some gold, silver or crypto.

Right, hold tight, im off to salvage me some speed.


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## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

The catapillar forks had 7" dc series wound. Each had 3. 2 drive and 1 pump. Super gutted, but he was a good guy, and said he would keep an eye out. 

















The search continues... and the theme that the old big motors are hard to come by rings true. Ill find one of these babies... ill find one. But tonight, its extra lettuce on that salad.


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## Cor (Sep 17, 2013)

Squidlings said:


> Thx. Ok my hopes are increasing slightly. Im starting to see old forks landing on ebay. Nothing local enough to me to jump on.
> 
> All the breakers dont stock traction motors. One guy phoned me from my email send out. He said he has a supplier and will get me some quote...he wouldnt give me his suppliers name though.
> 
> ...


Are you interested in something like a Netgain Warp? I need to measure it, it is at least 11" but eyeballing it, it seems to be a 13".
Cor.


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## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

sure man, whats the deal? Sounds good.


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## mike.gamble (Aug 16, 2019)

I seem to be struggling as well to fine a motor in the UK.
I’ve tried all the obvious places online with no luck.
On Monday I’m going to try a couple of the local scrapyards but, I’m very limited as I’m right down the very bottom in the South West (the nearest city on my west is New York!).
I’ve no idea why this is but, it does seem to be a genuine struggle to find one!!


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## Tremelune (Dec 8, 2009)

In the US, you can get a Leaf motor on eBay for $500 all day. There will be less in the UK, but I'm sure people are still crashing EVs out there...If you have the time and the scratch, you might be able to pick up a wrecked car and part it out profitably.

Is the allure of a DC forklift motor that it's cheaper to control? On paper, it seems like used factory EV motors are better in every way for the same money.


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## DrGee (Aug 22, 2018)

Here's a link to a 12" motor on the US ebay. Shipping to the UK may be a couple of hundred quid. There are quite a few motors like this on the US site. 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/362702124721


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

Tremelune said:


> Is the allure of a DC forklift motor that it's cheaper to control?


I think that's a huge part of it. The function of a DC controller is trivial compared to an AC controller/inverter, with no tuning or matching of the controller to the motor required.

Random industrial motors (including many from forklifts) are also likely to have plain (or keyed) output shafts, which are not good for power transmission but are sort of generically manageable (whatever someone else did with a forklift motor will probably work for another builder of a similar configuration), in contrast to the splined output shafts of salvaged production EV motors.


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## bigpie (Dec 14, 2017)

There's a few forklift breakers in the UK that I know of. I contacted a couple and they both wanted £350ish for a DC motor, I didn't want to pay that much for one.

http://www.forktruckbreakers.com/about.html there was another near Skegness.


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## Duncan (Dec 8, 2008)

350 pounds - if its in decent condition that is a good price 

The two ends would be Scrap at about 100 and NEW at about 1500 - so 350 is not extortion - try and get some extra (not new) brushes thrown in with it


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

Duncan said:


> 350 pounds - if its in decent condition that is a good price
> 
> The two ends would be Scrap at about 100 and NEW at about 1500 - so 350 is not extortion - try and get some extra (not new) brushes thrown in with it


I understand how this can reasonably be considered a good deal, but I find it hard to reconcile the "get a forklift motor, because they're just surplus metal so they're cheap" message with a scrap motor costing $570 CAD. That's a lot better than a few thousand dollars, but not small change.


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## Duncan (Dec 8, 2008)

brian_ said:


> I understand how this can reasonably be considered a good deal, but I find it hard to reconcile the "get a forklift motor, because they're just surplus metal so they're cheap" message with a scrap motor costing $570 CAD. That's a lot better than a few thousand dollars, but not small change.


Brian
I thought even you would have understood that $500 is LESS than a LOT less than $3000

And as far as buying ANY major car part $570 is cheap!!!

Here I have bought several for less than 100 pounds each - but if I had to pay 350 pounds I would have - and still thought it was a good deal

Keep looking for the "Bargain" - but if you can't find the super good deal 350 is still a good deal


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

Duncan said:


> ... $500 is LESS than a LOT less than $3000
> 
> And as far as buying ANY major car part $570 is cheap!


I certainly do understand that (and explicitly said so), but the impression in the thousands of "forklift" posts in this forum is that buying such a motor is like picking up scrap, not buying typical major car parts.



Duncan said:


> Here I have bought several for less than 100 pounds each - but if I had to pay 350 pounds I would have - and still thought it was a good deal


This illustrates the issue well - the expectation usually given is of £100, but the reality in this case is £350. I understand the shopper's disappointment.


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## Duncan (Dec 8, 2008)

brian_ said:


> I certainly do understand that (and explicitly said so), but the impression in the thousands of "forklift" posts in this forum is that buying such a motor is like picking up scrap, not buying typical major car parts.
> 
> 
> This illustrates the issue well - the expectation usually given is of £100, but the reality in this case is £350. I understand the shopper's disappointment.


The difference is between buying a motor that was going to be scrapped - and buying one that the seller knows there is a market for


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## MattsAwesomeStuff (Aug 10, 2017)

> This illustrates the issue well - the expectation usually given is of £100, but the reality in this case is £350. I understand the shopper's disappointment.


*nod*.

Fair enough.

I guess there's also a sampling bias in the people giving advice. By virtue of having done that, they're at least moderately experienced and connected. You're seeing the success stories. I somehow doubt Ireland is so different from England, and while Damien suggests you can do this all day (along with his battery deals, and controller deals), how much of that is something "anyone" can do and how much of it is something he can do because he's been heavily into the EV scene for 10 years and knows everyone and knows what types of things to say and what types of conversations to have even with strangers.


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## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

Ohhh man, i budgeted £500 for my dc motor. Id be all over one like a trap on chips if i could find one. 

Ive found another forktruck which "looks" ideal but its 4hr drive and the advertiser isnt responding to my requests for a pic of the motor. I mean...he is selling the full forklift for £600. He just wants it gone. 

Oh man, that 12" on american ebay looks stunning. Thx for the thought. 

What do u think about these traction motors from china? Alibaba has a 12kw 72v. Looks big but again. They arent getting back to me regarding a price. 

I know something will come up.... ive even toyed with buying a tilt trailer to buy and sell fork trucks. The batteries are worth £450 per ton at the recycling center. Plys the ferris metals of the main unit. I just gut the motor and controllers etc.

Yes there are leaf motors on ebay. But i imagine they are much harder to install and control right?


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## GeorgeChapman (Aug 10, 2019)

Squidlings said:


> So ebay appears to be the best place looking for a full fork lift, advertised as spares and repairs.


Another place to try is https://shpock.com/ I saw a full forklift on there for £200 the other day but the thought of dragging it from East Anglia to Surrey was not appealing!


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## kevinjclancy (Sep 25, 2017)

I am using a 12 kg outrunner - it uses a 140 volt / 600 amp kelly controller that weighs 10kg 

100kg motor OMG yea no


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## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

Kevin, you have my attention. Tell me more please. What vehicle and what performance do u achieve?


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## Peterboat#1 (Mar 1, 2018)

bigpie said:


> There's a few forklift breakers in the UK that I know of. I contacted a couple and they both wanted £350ish for a DC motor, I didn't want to pay that much for one.
> 
> http://www.forktruckbreakers.com/about.html there was another near Skegness.


I bought mine from a fork lift truck repairer in Chesterfield for £300 stripped it and it was like new, it now powers my boat


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## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

Was it a 7" motor? I went there the other week. I think 8" was the biggest he had.


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## Squidlings (Aug 1, 2019)

He said £250 to me 😜 with the pump


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## DrZzs (Sep 12, 2018)

I've got two extra 11" DC Forklift motors from Hyster e50's. I found a place where I can get more. I'd be willing to sell these two I have. Is there a marketplace here for posting things like this for sale?


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## MattsAwesomeStuff (Aug 10, 2017)

DrZzs said:


> Is there a marketplace here for posting things like this for sale?


Generally no, because shipping is more than buying the motors locally.

But for someone already shipping a used motor across the continent because it's all they can find... I dunno, maybe?

There's only been a couple times someone said they couldn't find a motor, you'd be waiting months in between, and DC conversions are on their way out.


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