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!

                                 

THE ELECTRIC EGGPLANT LIVES!

Maiden voyage to Starbucks!

The fuse came today.   I wired it in (correctly, this time), and checked for alignment of the motor while it was still on jackstands.  Took it down the hill for coffee, and back up the hill. (1.6 miles).  Hills are tough....I took the family for a joyride around the neighborhood, and down a big hill.  Coming back up the steep hill was slow, and sucked a lot of juice.

On the same charge (SOC read 76V), I decided to take it to SWC, 2.5 miles away.  Downhill is NO problem (gravity, y'know?).  Coming back up hill, I ran out of juice.  Odometer read approx 9 miles elapsed when it died.  I got a pull home (10.8 miles for the day).

Now, I probably didn't have a full charge in the pack when I started today.  I've read that conditioned batteries and worn-in motor brushes will improve efficiency and range.  I will also look for a place at school where I can park near a power outlet, and surreptitiously charge while I'm at work (shhh...don't tell!)

I think this will work as a commuter vehicle...these are growing pains. (I hope!)

It lives, though!  The wheels turn.  It rolls by electric.

Where's my fuggin' fuse!?!?!

I ordered it, paid for it to be shipped express/rush/overnight/want it NOW, on Monday morning.

This thing got toasted.  Coulda had a weinie-roast!

It's Friday, and I still don't have my damned part!  It's not like I can just wander into Walmart or Radio Shack and pick up a 400 amp fuse!  I NEED this thing before I can roll-out!

sigh.  Patience.

A Mulligan.

The lessons from yesterday were learned well; my wounded pride at switching polarity notwithstanding.

I beefed up the motormount bar so that it wouldn't buckle if things bounced around some.  That motor is dense!, and it's positioned in the middle of a 3-foot length of angle iron.  Leverage is powerful stuff.

I installed a battery isolator that I can access from the front seat, so I don't have to depend entirely on the 12V contactor if things go wrong at the high end.

Nice to have a kill-switch handy!

I put in a set of airhorns and mounted the chargers under the front bonnet.  Lots of cargo space up there for groceries and misbehaving children.

Plugs into house current.

I cleaned up the mess from the fire extinguisher and made sure things were in their proper polarities, and admired my nearly-empty engine compartment!


LOOK MA!  NO ENGINE!



When the replacement 400 amp fuse gets here, this buggy will be road-worthy.  It's there.  It's ready.  I've heard often, and I tend to believe it so, that "everything happens for a reason".  Perhaps yesterday's mishap was an important event, and prevented something worse later on.  Yeah...I'll look at it like that.

So much for the safety check!

Damn.  I should NOT make important electrical connections after work, when I'm tired and there's not enough light.

I had reversed polarity at the controller box.  A simple, stupid, crucial error.

I turned the key on the 12V circuit, the contactor closed the 72V circuit, and promptly welded itself closed.  The 400 amp fuse burst into flame.

Turning off the key didn't stop this horror-show, because of the stuck contactor.  I hit it with the fire extinguisher, and by then the fuse had finally vaporized. 

This tells me I ALSO need some kind of a manual disconnect, to break this circuit, in case of faeco-ventilatory intersection.


I felt for sure I had also toasted the $750. controller.  I felt like crying.  What a dumb thing to do!  "+" and "-" are IMPORTANT SYMBOLS!

After a few minutes of cussing and smoking, I calmed down long enough to call the tech guys to see how to test my controller.  It turns out I got lucky...the fuse protected it from my error.

Now I just am out another $40 for a new fuse and time waiting for it to ship out.

I did make a mount to keep the motor from jumping around, so the day isn't completely shot to hell.

Longer is not Better!

I knew the Devil would be in the details!

I ran into the same hitch as some previous attempts I read about, with the same kit from this outfit...

When I tried to slide on the coupler to the transaxle, it's 1/2" too long! (Or the adapter plate is 1/2" too short).
The other blogger solved this by having a spacer plate machined ($80, and he was surprised!), because he didn't want to "damage the transaxle in case he ever wanted to sell it".

Well SCREW that!  I'm hacking 1/2" off the darned transaxle spline tomorrow.  I'll MAKE it fit!

(brought to you by the Bigger-Hammer School of Engineering)

Motor has arrived!

All the parts are here.

All the cables are cut to length, and terminated.

Tomorrow after class, it all gets assembled.

To do:

1) mount motor to adapter plate, key shaft.

2) mount this to transaxle spline, bolt in place

3) connect control cables to motor.

4)  attach controller box somewhere

5)  see about stabilizing motor to existing motor mount brackets...may need to fabricate this out of angle iron

6) SAFETY CHECK...connections, potential shorts, grounding, etc.

Why, that would just suck!

Sheeeyit...if all goes well, this thing should be rolling under its own power by sundown tomorrow!