Originally Posted by
DrkAngel
96V will run 2 - 48V brush motors in series - 48V through each motor but requires 1 - 96V controller
I'm not sure this "motors in series" thing is a good plan.
The resistance of an electric motor varies a lot -- the more the load put on the motor, the lower the resistance it provides. And if you have two motors in series, the lower the resistance one motor provides, the *less* voltage it will get and therefore the less power, when what normally happens to a motor that's got its own battery is that the more of a load it gets, the *more* power it absorbs.
And if one motor is getting less voltage, that means the other motor is getting more voltage. (The current between the two motors will have to be the same, but the voltages will differ based on the load put on each motor, with the motor with less load getting more power. This might actually work on a tricycle where each motor drives a rear wheel, as it'll act like a differential, complete with the flaws of a non-limited slip differential.)
Also, you'll only be able to get away with one ESC if the motors are brushed (yes, you did mention this, but it's worth repeating) -- if they're brushless, they'll each need their own controller (unless they drive the same shaft and you can guarantee that each motor will always be in phase with the other -- then you could get away with one 96V ESC and both motors connected to it -- but basically in parallel), and if the controllers can't handle 96V each, if you load down one motor, the ESC for the other motor will get most of the voltage, and could fry.
Now, if the two motors both power the exact same thing -- they both drive the same shaft -- it might work, as their RPMs and loads will always be the same. But if they drive different things (especially through different gearings), strange things will happen.
Personally, I'd suggest just going with the charger suggestion (though it probably can't use anywhere near all the power the generator can put out), but if not, just go for a standard 48V setup and make a high power switching power supply that takes 110VAC and outputs 50VDC (or whatever the battery delivers with no load when full) and put it into parallel with the batteries when activated. Though really, rather than that, I'd just put more batteries in the trailer and ditch the generator entirely.