OK, I did a search on this forum and found no topics on safety, so here we go.
1. Can building my own EV motorcycle conversion kill me via electric shock?
In my dense mind I am thinking hey I am working with 12v "car" batteries how bad can this be. Then I am thinking hey dummy you will eventually be connecting 6 of these in "series" so the voltage adds up, so now we are talking about 72 volts. Then I remembered reading somewhere that volts zap you and amps kill you so at what point does it get dangerous? What volt / amp combination can hurt a human being?
Please provide some basic safety tips / guidelines you guys fallow as you work in your garages, I am not looking for links to OSHA, LOL
Well from what I understand a humans heart can be stopped with any voltage with an amperage of 300 milliamps or higher. Of course your skin has electrical resistance, so I would think anything over 3-5 amps or higher can be dangerous if not fatal.
Thanks,
Ken Finch
It's one of the reasons golf carts, and electric bikes, wheelchairs etc run at voltages below 48v.
Have you ever been working on a car and touched a wrench to the battery and the frame? Well picture it 4-6 times worse. So a whole connector end or even the end of a wrench iteslf can disappear in a burst of plasma. Burns are a definite possiblility.
The main things are..
Go slow and be very very, verrrrry sure of the polarity of what you are connecting. And if you are working on higher voltages, above 60v, lots of folks break out the linesman gloves.
All the usual precations for working with house current also apply, no standing in a puddle, etc. And working with one hand is a good way to avoid sending a shock in one arm, through your heart, and out the other hand that is touching a ground.
Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global
Thanks Ken, you can say that again... oh wait you just did, LOL
Fine bits of advice .. and it is absolutely amazing how a tool can get welded across a couple terminals or vaporize in an instant.
The other bit of advice I have to offer is: Don't lick the battery terminals... it'll do more than tingle.
And.. when welding remember to lower the hood before pulling the trigger. There's a reason welding glass is nearly black....
And.. lead acid batteries are heavy, so try hard to keep your bike from tipping over. Getting it upright again is more effort than with a gas bike.
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
Can you build one safely? Yes
Can that much voltage kill you? Yes.
Understanding ALL aspects of the circuitry is key to the safety part. The rest is common sense.
If you are not sure, ask, if then you are not sure, wait until you are.
There are plenty of ppl here that can help.
Ed