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!)