Continuing the go-kart project, the system is one step closer to being in compliance with the power racing series at maker fair! Recently we have made the first of out two battery boxes out of a .50cal ammo can. This was chosen as an alternative to a custom battery box because they are cheap, readily available, water resistant, and of solid steel construction, so it ticked all the boxes for significantly cheaper than making a custom battery box. 

If you’re not familiar with why a battery box is necessary for lithium batteries here is a short video explaining what happens when a lithium battery gets punctured, and for those who want a short answer they catch on fire when punctured. https://youtu.be/jGUkKi7cfK4?si=KNJ1HcQd7PD7HkCN By adding a battery box this both protects the battery from external items hitting it and if the battery does catch fire, it allows the driver a few extra seconds to escape and keeps the fire mostly contained.

One side effect of adding the battery box was that the horn had to be moved as with it positioned under the seat there was no easy way to quickly swap the battery boxes. After looking over several options for the new horn location it was decided that mouthing it on the aft of the cart was the best solution. This was chosen because if it was placed on the front there was real concern that someone would kick it and break it on accident. While this does mean that the horn will be facing anyone behind us instead of a forward-facing cart, though given how loud it is we don’t feel this will be a major issue.

There are still a couple things left to insure compliance, but the system is now at a stage where it van be safely ridden without major concerns!