Summary of THRIFT STORE RAZOR SCOOTER GETS MORE KICK
This article details [The_Didlyest]'s project to upgrade a thrift store hot pink scooter for adult use. The build involved replacing the weak original motor with a powerful electric wheelchair motor, requiring frame modifications. A custom battery pack of eighteen 18650 cells was constructed to provide 25V power, paired with a new homebrew speed controller utilizing an Arduino and MOSFETs to replace the unreliable relay-based system. The result is a capable ride reaching 10 MPH.
Parts used in the Thrift Store Scooter Upgrade:
- Hot pink thrift store scooter
- Electric wheelchair motor
- Original sprocket and chain
- Eighteen 18650 cells
- 60A battery management system (BMS)
- Homebrew speed controller components (three parallel MOSFETs and an Arduino)
- Duct tape
Beyond pride, the biggest issue keeping adults off small motorized scooters is the fact that their tiny motors usually don’t have the power to move anything heavier than your average eighth grader. That didn’t stop [The_Didlyest] from snapping up this $7 thrift store find, but it did mean the hot pink scooter would need to be beefed up if it had any hope of moving 170 lbs of hacker.
Logically, the first step was fitting a more capable motor. [The_Didlyest] used an electric wheelchair motor which had a similar enough diameter that mounting it was fairly straightforward. The original sprocket and chain are still used, as are the mounting holes in the frame (though they had to be tapped to a larger size). That said, the new motor is considerably longer than its predecessor so some frame metal had to be cut away. This left the scooter without a kickstand and with a few inches of motor hanging out of its left side, but it’s all in the name of progress.
Naturally the upgraded motor needed similarly upgraded batteries to power it, so [The_Didlyest] put together a custom pack using eighteen 18650 cells spot welded together for a total output of 25V. Coupled with a 60A battery management system (BMS), the final 6S 3P configured pack is a very professional little unit, though the liberal application of duct tape keeps it from getting too full of itself.
Unfortunately the original motor controller consisted of nothing but relays, and didn’t allow adjusting speed. So that needed to go as well. In its place is a homebrew speed controller made with three parallel MOSFETs and an Arduino to read the analog value from the throttle and convert that into a PWM signal.
[The_Didlyest] says the rear tire is now in need of an upgrade to transmit all this new power to the road, and some gearing might be in order, but otherwise the scooter rebuild was a complete success. Capable of mastering hills and with a top speed of about 10 MPH, the performance is certainly better than the stock hardware.Of course this is far from the first time we’ve seen somebody put a little extra pepper on a scooter. Some of them even end up being street-legal rides.
- Why did the author need to upgrade the scooter?
The original tiny motors lacked the power to move adults weighing over an average eighth grader. - What type of motor was installed on the scooter?
An electric wheelchair motor was used because its diameter matched the original mounting points. - How many 18650 cells were used in the new battery pack?
Eighteen 18650 cells were spot welded together to create the custom battery pack. - What voltage output does the new battery configuration provide?
The final 6S 3P configured pack provides a total output of 25V. - Why was the original motor controller replaced?
The original controller consisted only of relays and did not allow for speed adjustment. - What components make up the new speed controller?
The homebrew controller uses three parallel MOSFETs and an Arduino to convert throttle input into a PWM signal. - What is the top speed achieved after the rebuild?
The upgraded scooter reaches a top speed of about 10 MPH. - Did the author keep the original sprocket and chain?
Yes, the original sprocket and chain were retained despite the motor being longer than the predecessor.
