I bought a tug to tow a helicopter. The tug has a 12-volt electric motor which runs off an automobile battery. The motor goes in forward and reverse, but only at one speed -- slow! So, I am putting a bigger sprocket on the motor shaft to get more speed, but I'd like to be able to slow the motor down for tight-space applications. The motor is rated at 22 amps at 12 volts D.C. Ideally, I would like to put a variable resistor in line with the motor. As an alternative, I would like to be able to switch in a fixed-value resistor to drop the voltage to the motor by half or so. I figure that the motor's resistance is 6/11 ohm, so the variable or fixed resistor would need to be in this ballpark.
My questions are: (1) Is this a viable solution? (2) If so, do you know a source for a variable or fixed resistor at these values and power capability? Thanks!
My questions are: (1) Is this a viable solution? (2) If so, do you know a source for a variable or fixed resistor at these values and power capability? Thanks!