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darkstar11
I drive a 500 watt TaoTao ATE 501 and it only has a top speed of 20 to 21 miles per hour and only drives 10 miles per charge(I think) Is there any upgrade parts I can get for this scooter so that it can drive 30 maybe 35 miles per hour and get better battery life? I'm tired of being on a street legal scooter/moped and not being able to keep up with average city traffic flow. I hate being tailgated because I'm driving slower. I think it runs on 48 volt batteries and uses three of them. Not sure about the control box because its kinda hard to get to.
Answer
First you have to realize that those 500 watt electric scooters are really just heavy cheap electric assisted bikes. The TaoTao ATE 501 weighs about 200 lbs and that's why it's so slow. If you want any reasonable performance, you use the fold out pedals at least for acceleration, it also recharges the batteries slightly.
I suspect you have a 36 volt system with three 12 v lead acid batteries wired in series. It would be a good idea to have each of those batteries checked out separately. Lead acid batteries can be tricky and it only takes one to be in poor shape for the whole bike to suffer.
The most obvious upgrade you could do is wire in another three lead acid batteries in parallel. Nothing else would need changing but you would have to find a location to put the batteries.
The next possible upgrade is to replace the batteries with expensive lithium ion or lithium polymer batteries which are convenient because they are available in similar voltage levels. Their charging procedures are similar but not identical so you may be able to get away with not changing any of the charging mechanisms. The biggest problem with this is the cost.
A larger motor probably won't do you much good and may require custom fabrication of the motor mounts but you may be able to find a more powerful motor in the same form factor. In general, most electric motors can be operated at higher voltages with the only consequence being overheating of the motor and wires, the wires can be increased to thicker wires and you could try to get more cooling to the motor but this would really only allow you to have short bursts with the possibility of burning something out. Of course doing so means changing the battery layout and adding more batteries.
The best solution would be to upgrade to a proper light weight electric assisted bike but they run about $2,000 or more, roughly double what the scooters cost. Maybe find a used bike and put in a 500 watt conversion kit... At least with the bikes, everyone expects you to be slow.
The 500 watt scooters are not what I would call street legal, just exempt from regulations. It takes a 150 cc scooter to be freeway legal and a 250 cc scooter to actually be safe at freeway speeds and any scooter with more than 50 cc's must be licensed and registered as a motor vehicle. Those I would call street legal once licensed. You might be better off with a 50 cc gasoline scooter, those are usually exempt from regulation too. The old smoky two cylinder ones had a lot of power, about double what the new four cylinder ones have but even the new 4 cylinder ones would be four times the power of the 500 watt electric scooter. If you want to be environmentally friendly, make ethanol from rotten fruits that you get from the grocers for free.
First you have to realize that those 500 watt electric scooters are really just heavy cheap electric assisted bikes. The TaoTao ATE 501 weighs about 200 lbs and that's why it's so slow. If you want any reasonable performance, you use the fold out pedals at least for acceleration, it also recharges the batteries slightly.
I suspect you have a 36 volt system with three 12 v lead acid batteries wired in series. It would be a good idea to have each of those batteries checked out separately. Lead acid batteries can be tricky and it only takes one to be in poor shape for the whole bike to suffer.
The most obvious upgrade you could do is wire in another three lead acid batteries in parallel. Nothing else would need changing but you would have to find a location to put the batteries.
The next possible upgrade is to replace the batteries with expensive lithium ion or lithium polymer batteries which are convenient because they are available in similar voltage levels. Their charging procedures are similar but not identical so you may be able to get away with not changing any of the charging mechanisms. The biggest problem with this is the cost.
A larger motor probably won't do you much good and may require custom fabrication of the motor mounts but you may be able to find a more powerful motor in the same form factor. In general, most electric motors can be operated at higher voltages with the only consequence being overheating of the motor and wires, the wires can be increased to thicker wires and you could try to get more cooling to the motor but this would really only allow you to have short bursts with the possibility of burning something out. Of course doing so means changing the battery layout and adding more batteries.
The best solution would be to upgrade to a proper light weight electric assisted bike but they run about $2,000 or more, roughly double what the scooters cost. Maybe find a used bike and put in a 500 watt conversion kit... At least with the bikes, everyone expects you to be slow.
The 500 watt scooters are not what I would call street legal, just exempt from regulations. It takes a 150 cc scooter to be freeway legal and a 250 cc scooter to actually be safe at freeway speeds and any scooter with more than 50 cc's must be licensed and registered as a motor vehicle. Those I would call street legal once licensed. You might be better off with a 50 cc gasoline scooter, those are usually exempt from regulation too. The old smoky two cylinder ones had a lot of power, about double what the new four cylinder ones have but even the new 4 cylinder ones would be four times the power of the 500 watt electric scooter. If you want to be environmentally friendly, make ethanol from rotten fruits that you get from the grocers for free.
What are some effective but easy ways people can save energy?
ksenia
Answer
Monitor your electricity use by buying a Kill-A-Watt or other such monitor.
http://the-gadgeteer.com/review/kill_a_watt_electric_usage_monitor_review
'An average household uses about 4300kWh of electricity each year. This results in emissions of over 2 tonnes of CO2 per household, or ¾ tonne per person - just for domestic electricity supply. In comparison, total CO2 emissions per person in the UK are around 10 tonnes, and emissions per person in India are about 1 tonne. Luckily, it is possible to cut domestic electricity use in half with simple energy efficiency measures.
'This table shows how electricity use is divided up in an average house (excluding electric heating):
Lighting 19%
Cold Appliances 18%
Wet Appliancs 15%
Cooking 15%
Consumer Electronics 19%
ICT (computers, etc) 9%
Other 5%'
(source Centre for Alternative Technology)
http://www.cat.org.uk/information/catinfo.tmpl?command=search&db=catinfo.db&eqSKUdatarq=InfoSheet_SavingElectricity
EASY WAYS to save energy
â Don't use standby on tv or computer.
â Switch off when not in use.
â Use energy efficient lightbulbs.
â Lower you thermostat.
â Install timers.
â Heat only what is needed.
â Turn down the water heater.
â Insulate your property.
â Turn air conditioning and heating down
â Sign up to a green energy supplier.
â Dress appropriately. When itâs cold put on a jumper rather than turn up the heating, when itâs warm take it off again rather than use the air con.
â Wash full loads.
â Wash at lower temperatures.
â Dry washing outside.
â Avoid dishwashers.
â Reduce draughts.
Use rechargeable batteries..
â Donât leave (re)chargers on for longer than is needed
â Only boil the water you need.
â Buy local produce.
â Reduce reuse and recycle - in that order
â Work from home. If possible work from home, it saves time and fuel travelling.
â Eat less meat and dairy products. Modern farming methods produce large quantities of greenhouse gases.
â Shower instead of bath.
â Conserve Water The less water you use the less energy is needed to pump it to your home or office and to deal with the waste at a sewerage treatment works.
â Drive a fuel efficient vehicle, if you have more than one vehicle use the most economical one more often.
â Walk or cycle to work or when taking the kids to schools, if you have to drive consider car sharing.
â Use public transport where possible
â Take a coach or train instead of using domestic flights.
â When replacing your vehicle look at diesel and liquid petroleum gas models.
â Combine multiple journeys into one and do your weekly shopping in a single trip.
â Stagger journeys where possible to avoid rush hour traffic and hold ups.
â Avoid harsh braking, accelerate gently, drive at a steady speed.
â Keep tyres properly inflated.
â Remove bike and ski and roof racks when not in use.
â Carrying unnecessary weight wastes fuel, declutter your vehicle.
â Use the correct gear, use cruise control if your vehicle has it.
â Keep your vehicle regularly serviced.
â Turn the engine off when stopped or waiting.
Source Trevor a climatologist , who used to be Top Answerer in Global Warming.
Monitor your electricity use by buying a Kill-A-Watt or other such monitor.
http://the-gadgeteer.com/review/kill_a_watt_electric_usage_monitor_review
'An average household uses about 4300kWh of electricity each year. This results in emissions of over 2 tonnes of CO2 per household, or ¾ tonne per person - just for domestic electricity supply. In comparison, total CO2 emissions per person in the UK are around 10 tonnes, and emissions per person in India are about 1 tonne. Luckily, it is possible to cut domestic electricity use in half with simple energy efficiency measures.
'This table shows how electricity use is divided up in an average house (excluding electric heating):
Lighting 19%
Cold Appliances 18%
Wet Appliancs 15%
Cooking 15%
Consumer Electronics 19%
ICT (computers, etc) 9%
Other 5%'
(source Centre for Alternative Technology)
http://www.cat.org.uk/information/catinfo.tmpl?command=search&db=catinfo.db&eqSKUdatarq=InfoSheet_SavingElectricity
EASY WAYS to save energy
â Don't use standby on tv or computer.
â Switch off when not in use.
â Use energy efficient lightbulbs.
â Lower you thermostat.
â Install timers.
â Heat only what is needed.
â Turn down the water heater.
â Insulate your property.
â Turn air conditioning and heating down
â Sign up to a green energy supplier.
â Dress appropriately. When itâs cold put on a jumper rather than turn up the heating, when itâs warm take it off again rather than use the air con.
â Wash full loads.
â Wash at lower temperatures.
â Dry washing outside.
â Avoid dishwashers.
â Reduce draughts.
Use rechargeable batteries..
â Donât leave (re)chargers on for longer than is needed
â Only boil the water you need.
â Buy local produce.
â Reduce reuse and recycle - in that order
â Work from home. If possible work from home, it saves time and fuel travelling.
â Eat less meat and dairy products. Modern farming methods produce large quantities of greenhouse gases.
â Shower instead of bath.
â Conserve Water The less water you use the less energy is needed to pump it to your home or office and to deal with the waste at a sewerage treatment works.
â Drive a fuel efficient vehicle, if you have more than one vehicle use the most economical one more often.
â Walk or cycle to work or when taking the kids to schools, if you have to drive consider car sharing.
â Use public transport where possible
â Take a coach or train instead of using domestic flights.
â When replacing your vehicle look at diesel and liquid petroleum gas models.
â Combine multiple journeys into one and do your weekly shopping in a single trip.
â Stagger journeys where possible to avoid rush hour traffic and hold ups.
â Avoid harsh braking, accelerate gently, drive at a steady speed.
â Keep tyres properly inflated.
â Remove bike and ski and roof racks when not in use.
â Carrying unnecessary weight wastes fuel, declutter your vehicle.
â Use the correct gear, use cruise control if your vehicle has it.
â Keep your vehicle regularly serviced.
â Turn the engine off when stopped or waiting.
Source Trevor a climatologist , who used to be Top Answerer in Global Warming.
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Title Post: upgrading an electric scooter any advice?
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Rating: 83% based on 9498 ratings. 4 user reviews.
Author: Unknown
Thanks For Coming T0 My Blog
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