I have a 1/2hp, 8.6amp,115v AC Jet pump motor. I want to take an electric go-kart somebody doesn't use anymore and replace it's dinky motor with this one. I have the mechanical skills to do this. The thing is I am not sure if it is a good idea to use a power inverter to run it. I have basic electronic knowledge, but not sufficient enough to know if this is smart. I don't want to fry anything. If using a power inverter will do the job with no harm my question is what could I do to make a throttle. It would be kind of ridiculous if it only had an on off switch. Nothing like going balls to the wall right off the start. Not to mention the safety risk. I was thinking that I could use a variable resistor of some sort, but I'm not positive it would work. What would be the simplest low cost manner of making a throttle? I'm open to as many ideas as I can get. Thanks for any help you can offer.
I'm not sure about the other stuff but I have an idea for a throttle. Hook a potentiometer up in series with the motor, power source. Controlling it on the ground side may be better so you can have a big thick cable from the power to the motor.
Unless you're making a go cart for a hamster, that 1/2 hp motor isn't going to move it very fast. If you want to try, you should have an inverter at least twice the current draw of the motor, or at least 800 watts. And even then, motors don't always work very well off of inverters. Your numbers don't add up. 8.6A at 115V would be over 1hp. But, even that isn't going to push a go-kart. You'd need more like a 4 or 5hp motor minimum. It would take more like a 10hp motor to be any fun.
