INFINITE RANGE ELECTRIC CAR - DIY Build
Summary
TLDRIn this innovative video, the creator explores the concept of an indefinitely sustainable solar-powered vehicle. After building a solar electric go-kart with a 100 km range on a sunny day, the project evolves with the addition of a trailer equipped with more solar panels to increase power generation. Through testing and modifications, including a new hitch and wiring for the panels, the vehicle achieves an impressive 250 km range, demonstrating the potential of harnessing solar energy for transportation.
Takeaways
- đ The creator built a solar-powered electric go-kart with the goal of achieving an infinite range by harnessing solar energy.
- đ The initial setup included 3 solar panels that provided additional range but were not sufficient for indefinite charging.
- âïž A decision was made to enhance the project by adding more solar panels through a trailer to increase energy generation.
- đ ïž The frame for the solar trailer was constructed using 1x2 inch steel tubing, measuring 14 feet long and 42 inches wide.
- đ© The trailer was fitted with bike wheels to support the structure and match the original car's tire dimensions.
- đ Flexible solar panels were chosen for their lightweight nature, saving significant weight compared to rigid panels.
- đïž Wooden frames were created to support the solar panels, reducing the overall weight and increasing energy efficiency.
- đ Wiring was carefully planned to connect the solar panels in series and parallel to maximize power output to the charge controller.
- đ The car's battery was monitored to assess the charging capacity and efficiency of the solar panels during the test drive.
- đŠ Upgrades to the braking system and the addition of a rearview mirror and battery voltage monitor improved safety and functionality.
- đĄïž The test drive demonstrated that under optimal conditions, the solar-powered vehicle could cover significant distances, reaching 250 km before stopping due to low sunlight.
Q & A
What is the main idea of the video?
-The main idea of the video is to explore the concept of a solar-powered vehicle with the aim of achieving an 'infinite' driving range by adding more solar panels to a car and testing its performance.
What was the initial range of the solar-powered go-kart built in the previous video?
-The initial range of the solar-powered go-kart on a good sunny day was around 100 km, and with just the batteries alone, the range was closer to 60 or 70 km.
What is the theoretical power generation capacity of the solar panels on a perfect sunny day?
-Theoretically, on a perfect sunny day, the solar panels have a power generation capacity of 3,000 watts.
What modifications were made to increase the solar power generation of the car?
-To increase the solar power generation, the creator built a trailer with a steel frame to host additional solar panels, aiming to produce more than 1200 watts of solar power.
Why was a trailer used instead of modifying the car structure?
-A trailer was used instead of modifying the car structure to avoid altering its design and to provide a platform for a larger grid of solar panels.
What materials were used for the main frame of the trailer?
-The main frame of the trailer was constructed using 1x2-inch steel tubing with a thickness of 0.065 inches.
How many solar panels were planned to be installed on the trailer?
-Six 175-watt solar panels were planned to be installed on the trailer.
What type of wheels were used for the trailer and why?
-Bike wheels with 20-inch fat tires were used for the trailer because they were identical to the ones on the car and provided a cost-effective solution.
What was the total range achieved by the solar-powered vehicle in the test?
-The total range achieved by the solar-powered vehicle in the test was 250 km.
What were some of the practical challenges faced during the test drive?
-Some practical challenges faced during the test drive included the need for optimal use of daylight hours, the impact of clouds and the setting sun on solar power generation, and the limitations of the vehicle's battery capacity.
What upgrades were made to the vehicle to improve safety and performance?
-Upgrades made to the vehicle included installing hydraulic brake lines for better stopping power, adding a rearview mirror for better visibility, and a battery voltage monitor to keep track of the battery capacity.
What was the final outcome of the experiment and what could have been done differently?
-The final outcome of the experiment was that the vehicle stopped after reaching 250 km due to insufficient solar power input as the sun was setting. The creator believes that with better use of daylight hours and optimal conditions, the range could have been extended to 300 km or more.
Outlines
đ Exploring Solar-Powered Vehicle Range Enhancement
The script introduces the concept of enhancing the range of a solar-powered car by adding more solar panels. The creator reflects on a previous project where a solar-powered go-kart was built with a range of 100 km on a sunny day. The goal is to achieve an 'infinite range' by generating more energy than the vehicle consumes. The creator tests the current energy consumption, which averages between 200 to 800 watts per motor, and plans to add solar panels to the car to produce over 1200 watts to sustain indefinite driving on sunny days.
đ ïž Constructing a Solar Panel Trailer for Enhanced Power
The script details the process of building a trailer to host additional solar panels. Using steel tubing, the creator constructs a frame 14 feet long and 42 inches wide to accommodate six 175-watt solar panels. The trailer's wheels are repurposed from a bike, and the assembly includes making plates for axle attachment and ensuring the wheels are square to the frame. The trailer frame is sanded, painted, and prepared for the solar components, emphasizing the importance of weight reduction in vehicle efficiency.
đ Assembling and Mounting Flexible Solar Panels
The creator opts for flexible solar panels due to their lightweight nature, comparing them to heavier rigid panels. Wooden frames are constructed to support the panels, painted, and then assembled with the solar panels using adhesive and screws. The trailer is prepared for the solar panel installation, which includes bolting the frames onto the trailer and securing the panels within. The process highlights the importance of weight savings and the practicality of flexible panels for the project.
đ Wiring the Solar Panels for Maximum Power Output
The script explains the electrical setup for the solar panels, with nine panels connected in three series groups of three panels each. These groups are then connected in parallel to the charge controller, allowing for a maximum input of 1575 watts. The wiring process involves using MC4 connections for a clean setup and installing inline fuses for safety. The charge controller setup ensures the solar panels contribute effectively to charging the vehicle's battery.
đ Testing the Solar-Powered Vehicle's Range and Performance
The creator tests the solar-powered vehicle's range on a clear day, aiming to reach 300 km to demonstrate 'infinite range.' The vehicle produces up to 1350 watts of solar power, but due to filming interruptions and cloud cover, the battery capacity decreases. Despite this, the vehicle drives 240 km before stopping as the sun sets. The creator reflects on the learnings from the project and its potential applications, emphasizing the theoretical infinite range and the value of the experiment.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄSolar Power
đĄElectric Cars
đĄInfinite Range
đĄSolar Panels
đĄWattage
đĄGo-Kart
đĄTrailer
đĄWelding
đĄHydraulic Brakes
đĄBattery Capacity
đĄPrototype
Highlights
The concept of a solar-powered car that charges indefinitely is explored.
A solar-powered electric go-kart was built with a range of around 100 km on a sunny day.
The theoretical possibility of a vehicle producing more energy than it uses is discussed.
The car's average power consumption was tested to be between 200 to 800 watts per motor.
A trailer with a solar grid is constructed to increase the car's energy generation capacity.
The frame of the trailer is made from 1x2 steel tubing for structural support.
Six 175 W solar panels are planned to be installed on the trailer to increase power generation.
The use of flexible solar panels over rigid ones is justified by their significantly lower weight.
Wooden frames are created to support the flexible solar panels and reduce overall weight.
The solar panels are mounted on the trailer using a combination of adhesive and mechanical fasteners.
A hitch is installed on the car to tow the solar panel trailer effectively.
The wiring of the solar panels is detailed, including series and parallel connections.
The car's braking system is upgraded from cable brakes to hydraulic brake lines for better stopping power.
A battery voltage monitor is added to keep track of the car's energy capacity.
The car's performance is tested, aiming to achieve a range of 300 km in one day.
During peak sunlight hours, the solar panels produced up to 1350 watts of power.
The car managed to drive 250 km before stopping, showcasing the potential for solar-powered vehicles.
The video concludes with insights on the practical applications and future potential of solar-powered vehicles.
Transcripts
[Music]
with all the hype around solar power and
electric cars lately you've likely at
some point had the thought why don't we
just put solar panels on a car and
charge them
indefinitely well last year I explored
this idea and made this car that charges
using only the three solar panels on it
and while this added a bit of range it
was far from
infinite so in this video I'm exploring
this concept a little further and making
some modific ations to my solar powered
car to finally hunt down that infinite
range
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[Applause]
so last September I did an entire video
on building this solar powered electric
go-kart
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thing it actually turned out really cool
and on a good sunny day it has a range
of around 100 km and on just the
batteries alone that ranges closer to 60
or 70 and while that's cool right from
the start of this project my whole idea
was to explore the possibility of
something producing more energy than it
uses and essentially having an infinite
range theoretically on a perfect sunny
summer
day it has 3,000 watts of power 4,000 W
hourss of battery capacity and generates
about 450 WS of solar power when driving
in the clear Sun so to dramatically
upgrade my range I'm going to have to
add quite a few more solar panels to
generate enough energy to sustain what
it
uses so first I just took it out on the
road and just did a little test with it
just to get an idea of how many watts
it's burning on average and from this
test it looks like it's burning anywhere
from about 200 to 800 watts per motor
assuming it's not climbing a steep hill
so I think I could realistically give
this a burn rate of say 600 WTS per
motor or 1200 watts if I can get a solar
grid to produce more than 1200 watts I
should be able to sustain this
indefinitely well it's sunny
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so rather than modify the structure of
the car I'm going to be building a
trailer that the car will tow that'll
host a solar grid so for the main frame
of this trailer I'm using some 1X 2 in
steel tubing with a thickness of 0065 in
and first I'm just measuring out my four
main pieces and then cutting them each
with a 45° angle
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and once I had a piece cut I'd use a
sanding disc in my angle grinder and
just clean up that edge to get them
ready for
welding so basically I'm just making up
the main rectangle of the frame right
now and it's 14 ft long and 42 in wide
and this should give me enough room for
six 175 W solar panels and to W these
pieces together I'm using this cheap
flux core welder that I've had for a
decade and fusing this tube in together
around all four
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sides and I'm definitely not the world's
greatest welder but I can weld somewhat
structurally so I'll just clean this up
with an angle grinder that's what
they're for anyway
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and now that is a perfect
weld so next I added in one crossmember
with some extra steel I had around and
now I'm going to add on the tongue using
this 2in x 2 in steel tubing with that
same 065 thickness once I had that
welded in place I'm using some more of
the one by two uh brace the tongue onto
a couple other points on the
frame
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sh with the main portion of the frame
rig together it's now time to add some
Wheels now the cheapest and definitely
most wasteful way for me to get these
wheels is just order another bike like I
built the original car out of that gets
me two 20-in fat tire wheels identical
to the ones that are on the car for
about 300 bucks and if I wanted to buy
an individual wheel it costs about 300
per wheel so how does that make any
sense anyway I'll just throw out the
rest I
guess so with these wheels I roughly
measured out about how wide of a drop
out I would need and then I did some
quick maths before I cut up some more
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steel so what I've basically done here
is is weld together a rectangle with a
pocket at each end to hose my
wheels and then I'll weld on some of the
steel plating that's going to accept the
axles of the bike
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wheels so first to make these plates I'm
using some 1/4 in thick plate
steel this piece is 3 in wide and I'm
just cutting some 3 and 1/2 in Long
sections of this using my chopsaw
then I'm marking out a axle sized hole
for the bike wheel and drilling that
through with a pilot
bit and then my 3/8 in final hole
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size with all four of my pieces cut and
drilled I'm using a cut off wheel in my
angle grinder to cut out the width of
this hole so that the bike axle can drop
out the bottom
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so now back to assembly with my first
plate I just measure out the center and
then weld this square right
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here and then I'd Mark out the center on
the opposite side and use a clamp to
hold this snug while I put the wheel in
place and measure from the edge of the
frame to the edge of the rim to see if
my wheel is running Square to the frame
I'd make some little adjustments with
the clamp until I had the same
measurement at the front and back of the
wheel which meant my rim is more or less
Square to my frame and these plates can
be fully welded
on this really isn't a Precision build
it's more of a proof of concept and
prototype so this doesn't have to be
absolutely 100% perfect but I am trying
to do the best I can with the tools I
have available which really isn't many
for this type of job I must say my
welding is getting better though that
looks like it might not fall
apart so with my axle framing completed
I can take this over to my main frame
and weld this
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on and then take this completed trailer
frame outside for some sanding and
paint I used a bunch of sanding discs in
my angle grinder to get rid of this rust
on the steel because it's been sitting
in my shop since last year and it's done
a bit of oxidizing oxidization
rusting then I'm just using some regular
trim clad rust paint and painting this
aluminum silver
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now I can bolt on my bike wheels and
move this trailer frame inside and start
working on the solar
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components for my solar panels I'm going
to be using those same flexible solar
panels that I used in the first video
and the reason for that is weight these
flexible panels only weigh about 7 lb
and a rigid manufactur panel weighs
about 60 lbs and I'm not really sure
why so in order to save a bunch weight
I'm going to keep using these flexible
panels and make up some more wooden
frames to be the rigid portion of the
panel
assembly for that I'm just using some of
these cedar fence boards and ripping
them down to width and then cutting some
45° angles go to make a rectangle that's
about a/2 in wider and longer than the
panel
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itself so now the wood portion of this
panel will weigh about 4 lb along with
the 7 lb of the panel giving the
assembly a weight of 11 lb versus 60 of
the pre-manufactured aluminum frame
panels and for a vehicle every single
pound you can save makes it more energy
efficient and this is literally going to
save me hundreds of
pounds to match the car I took these
wood frames outside and gave them a code
of some vibrant red spray
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paint and now we're ready to start
assembling my solar trailer
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so I'm going to be bolting each one of
these frames directly onto the trailer
so to do that I first clamp the frame
into it final position and then I
drilled through the frame and the steel
with a bolt size drill
bit then I took one of these gripping
nut things and Hammer that into place
into the wood and then I can bolt this
in from the bottom side and that way
when the solar panel gets glued down on
top of this this assembly can still be
removed from the frame just by simply
undoing that bolt at the
[Music]
bottom now I can start fastening the
flexible panels to these wooden frames
to create the rigid panel unit so first
I just laid out a liberal bead of some
cocking I had just laying around the
shop and then I stuck the solar panel on
top of this and used some stainless
steel wash washer and screws as a second
method to fasten this to the
[Music]
frame now I'm going to install a hitch
and for that I'm just using a normal
trailer ball hitch this coupler slides
perfectly over my 2-in channel and I can
bolt that into place
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and now I have to install a ball on the
back of my car so I have some of that
left over/ Quin steel plating that I'm
going to rig up to hang a few inches off
the end of the car with a ball on it
[Music]
now instead of welding this on where I'd
have to remove all the electronics and
the floorboards I'm going to bolt this
into place so that I don't really have
to remove anything
[Music]
now that I have that dry fit and I know
it's going to work out I can remove that
and take it outside for some
paint and then do the final installation
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so now I need to wire these new panels
into my car battery I have nine panels
all of the same spec and three of them
are already connected in series on the
car so I'm going to do that same series
Connection in groups of three with the
remaining six panels on the trailer so
that I'll have three groups of three
panels each that'll then Connect into
the charge controller in parallel
so to do a series connection I can just
take the positive and negative wire of
two panels and connect them together but
in order to get rid of some excess wire
I'm just going to cut these off and
install some new mc4 connections it's
the exact same thing just shorter
[Music]
wires so now I have my two series
connections between the panels and my
remaining positive and negative lead
ready to go out to the charge controller
now I can do the same on the remaining
three panels at the
back so a quick explanation of what's
going on each of these panels is 18
volts 175 wats and 9 amps so when I
connect a series group of three panels
it's basically giv me one big panel with
an operating voltage of 54 volts 525 WTS
and 9
amps then when I bring these three panel
assemblies into the charge controller in
parallel the charge controller is
receiving 54 volts 1575 W and 27 amp
[Music]
maximum now I can start running the
remaining wires along the frame of the
trailer up to the charge
controller so to connect my three panel
assemblies into the charge controller
I'm just going to use one of these
Branch connectors that basically
connects three positive or three
negative wires into one wire that goes
directly into the charge controller to
make it easy to attach and detach all
the wires will hook into these with some
mc4
[Music]
connections so it's easy as this to hook
up my
trailer one more thing on all the
positive leads I just put some of these
inline 20 amp fuses just to protect each
run front of individual panels and
that's the wiring complete this should
now charge the batteries with a maximum
input of 1575
W so now I want to do just a couple
quick touch-ups to my car design before
I take this out on the road first of all
right now I'm just using the normal
cable brakes that came on the bicycles
that are pretty squeaky and don't have
much stopping power so I'm going to
upgrade these to some hydraulic brake
lines
[Music]
and now my brakes have quite a bit more
stopping power and makes me a little
more comfortable in this rickety
machine I also added on a rear view
mirror
[Music]
and a battery voltage monitor so I can
get a rough idea of how much capacity I
have
left and now it's time to see how far
this thing will drive
you are all
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[Applause]
so I started this trip at shortly after
10 with 117 km on the odometer thinking
that if I can put on 300 km in 1 day
that's got to be considered infinite
range for a thing that goes 35 km in an
hour and has a 60 km unassisted range on
these very same
roads I had a perfect Clear Blue Sky day
for filming this and by noon we were
producing about 1350 WS of consistent
solar
power I've filmed almost all of this
just clicking off laps around some side
roads near my house and by 2:00 the
battery was still almost complet
completely full however I have only gone
just over 80 km because of all the
stopping and starting involved with
[Music]
filming so I called in a stunt double so
that I could still get these shots but
we could keep the car on the road
driving with almost no unnecessary
stopping
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oh
by 4:00 we were up to 130 km with still
a nearly full battery at 53 1/2
volts and an hour later we had added on
another 30 km but thanks to some clouds
rolling in and the lowering Sun we're
just now starting to monumentally eat
into the battery capacity showing 52 1/2
volts which is more like 75% or
so since our solar input dropped from
about 1,000 wats an hour ago to about
350 watts in the clouds right now for
the first time during the day we're no
longer producing an equal or even a
greater amount of energy than we're
using luckily by about 6:00 the sun did
come back out and we were able to
generate about 5 or 600 watts again but
that's going to be shortlived because
that Sun is setting
[Music]
fast by 8:00 we are all the way up to
240 km but our solar input was down to
just 55 wats and our battery was getting
critically low at 48
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Vol and sure enough about 10 km later
just as we were running out of sunlight
as if this was written in a poem our
solar powered vehicle rolled to a stop
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I just want to show you quick what
happens when this runs out of energy
it'll go for a little bit and then run
out of power then as the solar panels
collect more energy you'll get little
bursts of throttle
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as the battery regenerates and obviously
that' happen a lot quicker if there is
more
sun so the total range of this was 250
km but had I used the perfect time of
day better around 10:00 a.m. to 2:00
p.m. when I was doing a lot of filming
I'm 100% certain we could have got this
to 300 km and I'm like 50% certain you
could do like 400 km on this if you
perfectly used your
time which is absolutely insane for a
thing that has a range of 60 or 70 km
that just the batteries and definitely
theoretically infinite
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range obviously this has no real world
practical purpose at least not yet but
that doesn't mean there wasn't a lot of
value in what was learned here and that
knowledge can be applied to Future
projects and I hope some people watching
this video can use this as inspiration
to try something that nobody thinks will
work as always thanks for watching my
video and if you can hit the like button
as that greatly helps the algorithm
boost these videos and fun future
projects I'd also love to know what you
think of this rig in the comments below
or any ideas to make it better and until
next time thanks for watching
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