Horsepower for your EV conversion

by Jose Guzman
(Houston)

Horsepower or Kilowatts?

Horsepower or Kilowatts?

How can I calculate how many horses or kw for a particular vehicle conversion?

I would like to put an AC motor right in front of the differential of my Ford 350.


Hi, Jose!
With electric motors, horsepower varies with the voltage and amps you give it. So with your big daddy truck, you'd better be thinking large voltage, maybe twice as much as the usual 144v system you see with a lighter conversion - and a whole lotta batteries. As far as kilowatts go, there's peak kw and there's continuous kw rating. The motor you're looking for is the AC55 from Solectria, sold by Electro Automotive. It's rated at 78(peak) /34(continuous) at 312v.

Good luck with your project, Jose!

Regards,
Lynne

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starstarstarstarstar 		Big Truck CAN be done.
by: Dan Bentler

I think there are two perfectly justifiable reasons to convert a 350.
1. Cause you want to.
2. You need a 350 to do business.

This will not be a cheap project. It will take a fair amount of battery. More than likely will require an AC motor. If you are totally stuck on DC you are going to have to make jump to industrial grade motors with line voltage of 250VDC.
Availability of either AC or DC controller will be a challenge. IF DC you could go with switching batteries ie 12 24 58 etc etc to line voltage desired. Pain in neck which is why forklifts went to relay resistor bank starters which is a very common method on 250 VDC cranes also.

It is only in planning stage and may occur in Spring Qtr but i may be teaching a class EV from concept to final blueprint. Am also teaching AC drive and VFD in February. Both classes are in Seattle.

I am interested in doing trucks and am interested in weight range up to 15K GVW

If you want to discuss further contact me at
Dan.bentler48@yahoo.com.

Dan Bentler
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Stick with small trucks and DC motors
by: Dano

I am really wondering why you would want to make an F-350 an EV. I converted my 1990 Ranger three years ago and it is a great way to go. I chose the DC route as it is far cheaper than going with an AC system and gets the job done. Your F-350 is too big to bother with and will cost a fortune to build and be short on range and performance. If you do decide to convert you're truck, keep the transmission, with all the batteries and everything else you will be needing low gear just to get rolling.

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