Hi folks, Not much has been said about this new motor but I thought I would tell about my findings. I am able to directly compare on the same vehicle, with an original Etek. As you know the "R" in Etek-R is for "replacement". So how does it do?
First off it bolts right up as the face and shaft are the same. The R is a bit longer so beware if you don't have space. Fortunately the motor can run in either direction with no issues. There is an internal fan that sucks through the end-bell in counter-clockwise mode and blows in the clockwise mode. I found I wanted to add an electric fan because the motor can get pretty hot (I am running it at 60 volts when the pack is fresh). That being said I have put about 45 miles on the motor and can say I really like it! The bigger more standard armature design is a better heatsink and there is no sill epoxy interface to trash like on the old axial motor. In my tests it did seem a bit less efficient and ate a few more amps over-all. Power feels the same but the "powerband" feels smoother and pulls well at all RPM's. I obtained the exact same top speed from "Deep Cycle" as before. I am very happy with the motor and with the fan I added (48v @.25 amps) it ran cool even with a hilly run on a 93 degree day. Having owned 4 of the original Etek, and the troubles I saw (though I was going over-spec), I can see why they discontinued them. I am glad they made this new model--a morph between what is good about the Etek clasic and the standard PM motors. Another good thing is it is still fairly light at around 30 lbs.
Jeff K. "Deep Cycle" http://www.evalbum.com/1617
Sorry, I'm not following :?
How is the commutator design? Is it setup like before? Is the motor an axial gap or radial gap design?
It's great to finally get some feedback on that motor!
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Pic from http://www.electri
That it is. I'm glad to hear it's generally better than the original. Very impressive. Cheaper, too.
It's a radial gap. Hence: Etek-R
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It is radial. The commutation is fairly standard. I have not had the motor apart but was told by John Fiorenza., the designer of bothe Etek and Etek-R, that there still are copper bars inside for the coil loops, not wire like a standard armature. Another observation I forgot to mention,,,the brushes look smaller and the motor is less noisy. Etek-R is not the official name, rather it has a model number ME0708 and the Etek-RT (more torque, higher voltage rating and lower speed), model ME0709. The Etek-RT is a bit longer. The motor manufacturer is Mars Electric: http://marselectricllc.com They are also sold by the major EV and Robot parts dealers. John also told me he regretted that the original Etek had less width to the bars (less heat dissapation?) and so the new Eteks have wider bars. Folks using any Etek with a mosfet controller should be aware that these motors present an almost dead short to the controller. Alltrax has a bullitn about what to do to combat this. The Etek-R amp rating seems to be in flux--I have seen continuous ratings for 100, 125 and 150 amps. I was set at 150 amps for my tests but remember I had an added fan... Brian from Thunderstruck Motors reported to me that at 200 amps the motor felt very hot and "smelled bad". Again, we are pushing the specs. I have had no smells and today will test at 72 volts... Oh, and another observation--the motor has very nice Japanese bearings.
Jeff K. "Deep Cycle"