Battery Vehicle Society

why are eletric motors so expensive?

Compared to what?

Personally I'm not at all sure that electric motors are expensive. They are probably cheaper than other forms of motive power. For example, I've just bought a couple of 7kW BLDC motors for around £100 each; I doubt that I could buy a 7kW internal combustion engine for anything like that price.

Even fairly expensive electric motors, like the Perm or Lynch motors, look like pretty cheap when compared with an equivalent petrol or diesel engine of the same sort of performance.

I guess when you get into the really powerful stuff, like the big Netgain motors, then prices do rise a fair bit, but they're still not that expensive for what they are.

Jeremy

Expensive depends on what you need and what is available.

I would struggle to justify affording a few hundred on a motor at the moment but I know people who think nothing of spending a grand or two. Expense is relative.

My 12" motor cost £100 (then a machinist doing me a favour wrecked it so I am worrying about the cost of repair!)
My 9" and 7" motors were given to me free by very nice people.
I know a fork lift breaker that has a warehouse full of assorted motors all at £300.

I did warn you that one-stop-shop's were expensive. As has been said you can pick up a reconditioned forklift motor quite cheaply.

Here is a link to give you a couple of ideas.
http://www.forkenswift.com/electric-car ... n-cost.htm

I found a couple of motors on Ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220675933976&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
This is a pump motor with a female splined shaft. You would need to check suitability, spin direction and the means to spline a shaft to suit it or get it reshafted.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150497505657&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
This one seems better in that it has a male shaft. Can't quite see the detail on the graph to work out how good it is though so again you will need to check suitability.

Hey - that second link is the same as my motor - though mine was longer, I think...and there is a link to my car there too, I'm famous!

I ran this motor at 96v, with no problems at all. Its massive, though.