Electric setup for AWD UTV.

[Skumancer]

Hello, just joined and looking for information on a setup I'm planning for an electric UTV.

My idea is to use the following equipment in stead of a 6-10 HP motor:

• 48V/5000W BLDC Motor with Fan Cooling - Item #: HPM5000B-48V
• Vector Controller for HPM5000B - VEC300/48V - Item #: VEC300-48
• LiFePO4 Battery Pack - 48V30AH - Item #: LFP4830M

Does this make sense? Is the motor enough to drive an UTV that would be powered by a 6-10 HP motor?

Also, if I wanted to run dual motors (for AWD), would I need dual controllers and batteries, or can one controller drive two motors (one front, one back)?

Thanks!
- Rick

[Bikemad]

Hi Rick andto the forum.

The LFP-4830M battery pack has a maximum continuous discharge current of 60A (2.88kW @ 48V) and a peak discharge current of 90A (4.32kW @ 48V).

With these current limits, the HPM5000B-48V motor would only be able to produce a constant output of around 3.5HP @ 90% efficiency, and a maximum of around 5.2HP for short bursts.
If you were to use a pair of LFP-4830M batteries connected in parallel (or in series with a 96V motor), this would almost double the torque and power output available from the motor.

A single HPM5000B-48V motor powered by a single LFP-4830 battery might not produce sufficient torque and power for your expectations and/or requirements. 

If two motors are physically joined and are perfectly synchronised rotationally with each other, then a single controller could be used to feed both sets of phase windings.  But if the motors are not 100% synchronised, then each motor will require its own controller (and batteries).

However, a single set of controls (throttle, brake switches, reverse switch and cruise control switch etc.) is all that is required to control both controllers simultaneously.

Alan
 

[Skumancer]

Thanks for the quick reply! I'm guessing using dual motors (one for the front, one for the back) would be ideal and providing each with it's own battery pack, or would you recommend two batteries in series connected to both controllers?

[Bikemad]

With dual 48V motors, I would connect the batteries in parallel with each other and then feed both controllers through a single contactor from the combined pack. This would ensure that the batteries will still be discharged evenly, even if different amounts of power was being drawn by each of the motors.

Using 2 batteries and two motors should give a constant combined power output of around 7HP and a combined peak power output of around 10.4HP.

Dual motors/controllers sharing the load equally should also be more efficient than a single motor/controller doing all the work on its own. 

Alan