My Terrific Padlet

https://padlet.com/johndouglastolli/cm3o8s19u61i74ap

New Project...Electric Trike!

It's a 1967 Beetle chassis, stripped down to nothing but the important bits.  Swapping out the bearings and brakes, de-scaling and throwing on a coat of Rustoleum.

The plan is to run my first 72V setup (6 traction batteries + 1 acc. batt.), and I need to find the front end.  I'm looking for a big street bike with intact forward half.

It's The 2 Ball.

The Eggplant Purple paint was pretty far gone.  Now that the machine is worked out, I figured I'd make it look decent.  Rustoleum acrylic enamel doesn't seem to be available in purple.

Recharging at work.  (Shhh...don't tell Admin!)

Yeah, I know...

Back Off!

There's really no need for it...the casual passerby is not exposed to any stray current, everything is isolated and insulated.  The only way to get any kind of a jolt is to be poking around at the rear compartment, which is locked and secured.  

So What!

Yeah, I'm bragging.  It's a 1970 VW that is now ALL ELECTRIC, Bitches!

And so it's either the CAUTION sign, or the mud-flap girl. And I'm not gettin' away with that.

New Shoes!

New tires all around, tomorrow.  It kills me, because the old ones have good tread...the problem: cracked sidewalls.   I'm hauling so much battery weight, I'm afraid the sidewalls will fail.  So, new GoodYears.   

Anyone want some used 15x7's, cheap?

Happy New Year 2013

My range test went really well.  Drive 18 miles on a single charge yesterday, with all the major hills and routes that I normally have to take.  That's perfect!  I've been constructing discharge/distance curves, and recharge/time curves, and I'm learning how this thing behaves.  



There are still some mysteries to solve, however.

I've been using a hydrometer to "truth" my voltmeter as I'm charging.  When I bought my batteries fresh, the hydrometer floated high into the green.  When I used them a couple of times, it won't float into the green, but rather stabilizes in the "fair" zone (1.225).  Yesterday, after my distance run, I added some distilled water to all the cells and recharged overnight.  Pack voltage while charging is 132.2 V (max), but the hydrometer is still in the red.

Also, there is 50 volts across my motor even while the contactor is open.  I learned that while I was repositioning my tranny-mounts and I touched those studs on the motor...(zzzap 'DAMMIT!")

I also discovered that the black rubber water pipe I've been using as an insulative terminal cover isn't really an insulator!  I get a tingle if I touch the wrong one, and one actually caught on fire as it threw a 50V arc from the armature coil to the outer metal of the motor.  

I'm glad I was standing right there to catch it.

Version 2 Upgrade Complete!

That's what I wanted!

Ok.  I have finished the upgrade to 120V.  I took it on a test ride around town, to school, to the hardware store, to Starbucks, and back home.  Had loads of climbing power, even on the last hill home.  I will have to start taking it on longer and longer sortees, but I THINK I have at least 20 miles range.  More data is needed.

200 pounds, 144 volts

Capacitive charger for pack

Curtis motor controller

vrooom

Sticking with the style points with the gas port.

It lives again!

It's a 120V monster! 

THIS Bad-Boy http://www.motenergy.com/me1002.html   

has the power to wreck my transmission-mounts!

I will be beefing stuff up tomorrow, and taking it easy on the test runs, but it climbs hills and has the speed and pickup that I had hoped for!  I even barked my tires on the way out for test 1.

pictures and videos of the finished product to come...gotta wait for daylight!

TEN of those Big Red Bastards!

I had to first BEEF UP the suspension with some hefty springs, 'cause I'm adding over a thousand pounds of batteries and motor to a Volkswagon.  But I did, and it's heavy, and it's still got spring!Four up front,

Five in the rear,

and two under the backseat.

Upgrade Time....The Electric Eggplant v2

Hello, my pair of readers!

It has been a year since I built my All Electric Lead-Acid Super-Duper Save-The-Planet Hydrocarbon-Free Type III Fastback 72-volt Electric Eggplant, and now it's time to make it better-stronger-faster.  We have the technology!

The 72-volt kit was, well, frankly, underwhelming.  I have this recurrent waking vision of climbing the Kilimanjaro-like hill that I live on at 20 miles an hour, and getting rear-ended by a giant Cadillac SUV driving on East H Street at 70 mph, and getting drenched with 6 batteries worth of sulfuric acid at the scene.

Not a pretty picture that I paint.

SO...as always....MORE POWER is the answer!  (grunt-grunt!)

I scrimped and saved and horse-traded and hustled all year, and I just pulled the trigger on a new kit.

http://wildernessev.net/

It's a 10-inch (YEAHbabyYEAH!!)  series wound 144vdc motor, and I'll be running it on 10 batteries in the pack.

Size matters, (or so I'm told.)

Stay tuned...my winter-project is underway.  The game is afoot, Watson!


AND...just made a deal for ten ACTUAL deep cycle batteries http://www.trojanbattery.com/...

(Yes, a 10-pack of Trojans for ME costs $2200. and weighs 820 pounds!)

wish list

In general, I'm very pleased with it, though it has some limitations.

pluses:

1) If I plan my trip, I can get to wherever I usually go in Eastlake, and back home again.
2) It's cheap to drive...about a tenth of what it costs to drive that old POS Jeep.
3) It's quiet.
4) It looks cool.
5) It carries the family, too, with groceries.

minuses:

1) limited range (11 miles).  No way I'm making it to old Chula Vista on a single charge.
2) Recharge time...about an hour for every mile driven.
3) slow.  45 mph on a flat.  25 mph climbing a steep hill.
4) batteries need lots of minding and maintenance.  Acid will dribble and destroy shit.
5) I'm having to replace the old parts, i.e. wheel-bearings, shocks, etc.  Not a problem, really.


What's left to do with the Eggplant:

new front shocks
new rear bearings



Projects in mind for the future:

120 volt setup with a fiberglass kit car i.e. Bradley.

Electric motorcycle!

Some data

Range: 11 miles

Beefing it up

On inspection, I see where battery acid has dribbled down onto my battery frame.  This can happen for a couple of reasons:
1) sloshing around while driving (bumps, corners, drag racing, etc)
2) overcharging.

So, today, Christmas Eve, a bright, sunny day, I yanked out all my batteries, cleaned the corrosion off my steel battery rack, painted it with rustoleum and rubberizer, and reinstalled everything.

I fixed some of the always-present shock-hazards by placing split plastic tubing over all the battery terminals.  Maybe I won't get the shit shocked out of me so often....

One thing I noticed....I still have 4 amps running through the motor even when the 72V circuit is open and the key is off, but only when the charger is on.  I can't figure that one out.  When the charger is unplugged and the circuit is open, no current.

Hmmm...I'll have to meditate on that one for awhile.  I'm not sure if its a problem or not.

Merry Christmas, all my dedicated fans.

Every watt counts, when you live on a hill!

From driving this thing around on short hops every day, I am learning a completely new way to drive.  I guess it's "mindful driving".

I let gravity do the work, whenever I can.  When I'm climbing the hill, I try to keep the amps down under 200.  I COULD floor the throttle, which makes the motor draw over 300 amps, but it only goes marginally faster, and it drains my batteries FAST.  Also, I can power-climb most of the way up the hill, and let my momentum carry me up the rest of the way, and coast down the other side!

I am intensely aware of the knap of the earth, knowing that when my power is gone, I'll have to be dragged home on a rope.  Not gonna let that happen often!

Traffic lights....every time I have to hit the brakes, I'm converting some of my hard-won forward momentum into wasted heat.  I try to time it so that I don't have to stop before the light turns green.  Start-up from a dead stop is a big drain on the batteries, too!  Newton was a pretty insightful guy!

I imagine these methods would save a lot of gas in a traditional vehicle, too.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2406284644712&set=a.1884858089374.2096212.1479043756&type=1&theater

back of the envelope

6 A x 75 V = 450 W

6 hr recharge = 2.7 kWh , went 8 miles

I pay $0.10 / kWh,

$0.27 for the trip, or 3.4 cents per mile.


(NOW...compare to my V8 engine....)

13 miles per gallon petrol

$3.75 per gallon petrol

29 cents per mile.


It looks like I'm getting 8.5 times the bang for my buck!

This is working GREAT!

Yesterday, I did a full brake job (new pads/shoes, flushed the old fluid out and put new in).  I re-packed the rear bearings with grease, since I was at it.   I figures, since I made it go, I'd better be able to make it stop!  Nicolas helped me bleed the lines this morning.

This morning, we went down for haircuts, and to blockbuster to drop off the movies, and back home.  8 miles even, and down to 90% SOC! 

AWESOME!  I'm trusting this thing more and more.  I will gradually go further distances, to see exactly how much local range I get.  If I can make it to Walmart and back without going lower than 60% SOC, I'll dance a little jig, film it, and post it here!!!!

Day 2

Overnight charge, pack voltage read 80 volts (Full!)

It's a bit murky inside....my dashboard leaks and lots of rainwater came in yesterday while playing.  I think I probably toasted my radio...we'll see if it dries out.

I took it to school today, pack voltage reads over 76 V.  I'm halfway home!  I think it will make it back up the hill OK.  I'll call Dave for a drag if I need it, but, FINGERS CROSSED!

I made a scouting pass around SWC yesterday...seems there is NOWHERE I can park close enough to an electrical outlet!  Bummer!  So today will be telling...Can I make it to school and back home on a single charge?

We shall discover!

(later)

I MADE IT!   Whoohooooo!  

Big possum-eatin' grin!

Full charge, Day 1

I charged the battery pack overnight, and the pack voltage read just under 80V.  I gotta watch out for overcharging...that will shorten my batteries (batteries are PICKY, it seems!)

I dropped the kids off at school, went for coffee, went BACK to school, and then BACK for coffee, and came home. (says something about my habits....).  Up and down hills.

I checked the pack voltage again before plugging her back in....4.9 miles and 75.5 volts, which is still over 90% SOC.  Things are looking better!

Brother Bump is coming over later to play...I'll grab some video to post.

Big Dave and I went down the hill and back, another 4.5 miles, after 1.5 hours of charging.  SOC is down to 80%.  Dave took it around the cul-de-sac and around the block, and we plugged her back in.

Hear the ROAR!