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Hovercraft Project in Progress |
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First DC Test: 24 volt, 2500 RPM DC motor |
| I used the original blower and removed the 110 volt AC electric motor and replaced it with the 24 volt DC motor. |
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The 24 volt DC motor fit well after I removed some of the inside plastic
to make room for the DC motor. I also kept the 3 way variable speed power switch and adapted it to the motor. A little fuzzy I know. |
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The battery shown below is a 24 volt DC battery that is used for an electric tool. I bought the battery and its charger with out the tool and don't know what tool it belonged to. But, it held a charge and was modified for the wires to plug into |
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| My cat is assisting me in hope to catch a ride. |
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This test was done and all worked well, except it did not produce enough
wind speed to lift the craft high enough to be equal to the 110 Volt AC motor. And I determined that it is not big enough. I don't know the rpm rating for this because it wasn't indicated on the motor itself. |
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I don't know what the rpm rating is for the leaf blower AC motor that
produced 235 MPH wind. |
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This first DC motor test seem to work and the plastic bag filled
up about 55% but not enough to be useful or match the 110 Volt AC motor. |
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Second DC Test: 24 volt, 2500 RPM, DC motor |
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This second test motor is a 24 Volt DC motor and blower. This blower
came from a large truck and was used for the heater and air conditioning unit in the cab. |
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This motor was rated at 2500 rpm and was a lot small on
the craft. I used the same battery as |
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In the picture below you can see the plastic bag filling and lifting,
however it didn't fill or lift to the point that it would equal the 110 volt AC motor and blower. |
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In the picture below you can see the plastic bag filling and lifting,
however it didn't fill or lift to the point that it would equal the 110 volt AC motor and blower. |
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This second DC motor test seem to work better and the plastic bag filled
up about 70% but not enough to be useful or match the 110 Volt AC motor. |
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Third DC Test: 24 Volt, 750 Watt, 4000 RPM, DC motor |
| This third DC motor test was more involved and the configuration is different. |
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| The steering and braking wheels have been removed for the part of assembly. They will be put on later. |
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| NOTES: Below are my notes and they are not in a sequential order yet. |
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Phase III Objective: Eliminate the 110 volt power to a DC voltage power. 24 Volt DC Battery (from shop tool) installed Provided Lift up about 60 % but not enough to float the craft The leaf blower at 325 mph wind speed was more than adequate. with the leaf blower I used the 3 adjustment speed on/off control and on the second speed it would lift the craft and with a 200 lb person and performed well. However, with the 24 volt DC blower, the switch is used as on/off at 3rd speed The air speed produced with the 24 volt DC motor was too weak to perform. Next, I will test the 24 volt DC blower by using a different battery to see if it will turn the blower at a faster RPM. I will use a 12 volt car battery. I think there is something different about OHMS and Amps which I know little of their relationship and how to determine the voltage, amps and ohms etc. TEST: test with a 4,000 RPM 24 volt DC motor modified to fit the leaf blower housing and using the fan that was attached to the 110 Volt electric motor. ------------- Next, Next purchase 48 volt DC battery and hook it up to the 24 volt Cat DC blower then hook it up to the 4,000 RPM motor in the leaf blower housing, if not this (above) then purchase 96 volt DC motor, Battery. ------------- Testing the 24 volt DC blower hooked up 12 volt car battery - Ran only at half speed air blow was much lower. I checked to see if car battery of 12 volt is better than 24 volt DC shop tool battery even with a 24 volt battery I would expect the same performance as a 24 volt DC battery which in this not be adequate to lift and float the hovercraft as well as the 110 volt electric motor in the leaf blower which blew at 235 mph. I knew this but wanted to prove this and hoped to gain knowledge regarding what would actually perform to the leaf blower performance. Probably, the 96 volt DC would more than do the job. This 24 volt DC blower is from, I believe a big earth moving machine and was used to blow the hot and cold air for the cab environment. The blades were about 2.5 - 3" long and there where many of them. This provided a steady stream of air but seemed passive pressure not the strong force of the leaf blower blades. During the crafts readiness for the DC motor tests, the plastic bag requires some needed attention. After careful review I found about 12-15 pin holes. I sealed the holes with plastic patch from swimming pool plastic toys. The holes were very small but added up could have lowered the performance by letting more air out. How the holes happened seemed like the plastic making contact with the driveway surface their where tiny rock like dirt however the driveway was hosed down before testing took place. The tiny holes appeared to happen when the craft comes to a stop and the bag is still inflated a little so it contacts the surface and drags a very small rock and I could see the one to two inch scrape in the plastic before the hole was created. Phase III, Part 3. 750 watt, 24 volt, DC motor @ 4000 RPM, When assembled the hovercraft provided approximately 80 % of the air required to fill the plastic bag and achieved the air bearing flow |
| See Phase II - Steering and Braking. Go there |
