Patriot Fuel- An electric vehicle testimonial about alternative fuel vehicles.

A Volatile Market

2008-10-27T17:47:00.000-07:00

"I think $100.00 a barrel is a fair price" - OPEC oil minister on where he thinks oil should be priced.

Do they just pull these numbers out of their collective asses or what? What ever happened to "market fundamentals" like supply and demand? Hey Jack, if there's no demand for oil because the global economy has tanked, then oil is worth whatever the market will bear, not whatever you think is "fair". These guys don't even realize that by artificially raising the price, that they'll just delay an economic recovery, and thus demand for oil.

This kind of volatility is what drives me to drive a car that doesn't play the Oil Game. I'm so mad at energy producers that I'm really, really trying to figure out how to get my hands on some solar panels. I consume 360-400 kWh per month of electricity for driving. If I generated that much with a solar, grid-tie system, I am essentially driving on sunshine. Of course, if I were really bitter, I'd fork out $40k for a system that generates 1400 kwh/month and eliminate my electric bill completely and be off the grid.

I see 2 silver linings in the current economic failures:

1. People have not yet reverted to their normal, wasteful driving habits. SUV sales are still down, small car, hybrid sales are still up...for those who can actually secure a car loan.

2. People are listening to these assholes at OPEC talk about raising the cost of energy in the middle of a recession when people are struggling and it's making them angry. That means that alternative energy development hasn't yet collapsed in the face of cheap gas prices.

People definitely need to understand that the market is volatile, the pundits are lousy at predicting the future, and you could get pump shock again in the near future, especially if it's a really cold winter. We need to keep pushing, keep developing, and not slack off just because gasoline prices have dropped 40%. If anything, this is a welcome breather while we come up with solutions to wean us from the petroleum tit.

A Talk Show of My Own...

2008-09-16T04:58:00.000-07:00

"Right, sir and then we'll need you to email us a picture of yourself" - CNN correspondent in a request for an interview.

Pfft...yeah right, get knotted.

For fun, I've sent in a few "opinions" to CNN's iReport regarding my EV and my views on the latest crop of foo- er, I mean candidates. Someone at CNN thought my views were worth airing (sincerely or for entertainment, I'll never know which) so I received a call on my cell phone. He had me right up to the point where he asked for a photo of myself. I declined, stating that I'm not the one running for President and that I love my anonymity too much. I'm not posting my picture for all the world to see, while the media twists my words into something humorous or that supports some journo's point of view. I'm pretty opinionated. My supervisor routinely suggests that I start my own "Imus in the morning" type of talk show. I'm as offensive as Imus so that's probably not too good of an idea.

My mileage has increased over the last month or so. I'm driving 15 miles per day, 5 days a week with 40 miles on 3 weekends, and 100 miles during a drill weekend. That's 520 miles per month. I'm up to 3100 miles on the new pack so far. I've been very careful to keep the batteries clean, connections tight, and keep them well watered. My fancy new hydrometer shows the electrolyte to be clear and clean and all cells in good health.

Checking individual cells is kind of a pain and I'm glad it's infrequent maintenance. You have to pop the caps off of all the batteries and stick this "turkey baster with a gauge" down into each cell. Your check how far the float rises and note the reading. An 8 volt battery has 4 cells. If one of them is dead, then the battery is out of balance with all the others. I have a total of 64 cells to check. It takes me about 20 minutes, but that's because I have to crawl around and remove the engine lid to get at the last four batteries comfortably.

You can't place a volt meter on an individual cell, so this is a way of checking the voltage chemically. It's something easy that anyone can learn in a few minutes.

The paint on my motor was flaking off so I cleaned and re-painted it with Hi-Temp black BBQ grill spray. The motor's heat cured the paint and made a durable finish. Once the weather cools, I'll place the belly pan back on the car to protect the motor and controller from the winter road salt.

Election Fatigue

2008-09-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

I'm too disgusted to start off with the usual entry quote.

We've got 60-odd days until Voting Day and I'm already tired. The issues are being defined by the criteria of whichever one makes the best weapon against a campaign opponent, not whether it's a national problem or not.

I think that neither of the current presidential candidates (or their running mates) are at all a good choice but I'll make a public statement...a bet if you will, that Barack Obama will end up being the next President. When I think of how I've spent 18 years of my life in the military supporting and defending this mess we call the "United States", I just wince.

Oh, and my favorite time of year is here- Hurricane season. It's fun to watch oil and gas prices rock 'n roll to the unpredictable pathways that these storms take. We've set our critical national infrastructure up in what is essentially a lane in a bowling alley and we've put what was one of our larger cities in basically a large soup bowl. Sweet.

For Every Action, there is an equal amount of Inaction to Ensure a Zero Rate of Progress

2008-08-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

"People should just stop driving" - quote from a CNN reader

Well, I now understand why "Rome is burning"..or at least one reason. Because we squabble ourselves into inaction. We The People have no right to be angry at Congress for not accomplishing anything meaningful in the last couple of years. I don't think we could do any better for ourselves.

Read this article: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/ptech/08/14/electric.cars/index.html , then scroll down to the comments.

For every person who said a DIY EV conversion was a "great idea", there were 2 who said "it'll never work", "it's not practical", "it's dangerous", "it pollutes as much as a gasoline car" etc, etc.

Let me school any of you who are reading my blog as to why these people are full of crap and I'll offer web links to back me up, unlike all the uneducated naysayers who commented on the article.

1. "It'll never work" Tell that to these 2,000 people: http://www.evalbum.com/ (These are just the folks who felt like sharing, not all of them do) I drive mine every single day, 20-40 miles.

2. "It's not practical" Hey asshole, don't presume to speak for me. I can't help it that you bought a McMansion that was a 90 mile round-trip from your job. Don't penalize me because I lived within my means. My EV hauls me, my groceries, my buddies and family to 90% of places that I need to go. You're right, it's not practical for everyone, just the 80% of us who typically drive 27 miles per day. Since it doesn't work for everyone, let's make it illegal so no one can do it.

3. "It's dangerous" No shit. So was sailing to America. So was landing on the moon. So is stepping outside and taking a deep breath. Gasoline is dangerous. So is your hydrogen fuel cell car. It might sound grandiose to compare an EV to the space shuttle, but the risk vs. gain is just as vital in our current situation. The reward totally justifies the risk, and the risk is minimal. The risk of sticking your head in the sand and wishing we could go back to the '50's is much more dangerous.

4. "It pollutes as much as a gasoline car" Another myth. Study after study shows that an EV powered by coal-fired electricity is still 2/3 cleaner than a gasoline powered car. Why? Because it's more efficient. EV's use less energy to do the same thing. They use less because they don't waste energy as heat, noise and friction. Because currently there is still enough spare capacity available that the power plant isn't burning any extra coal to charge my car. See:

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/ptech/07/23/electriccars.grid.ap/index.html#cnnSTCText
And if you're still feeling guilty about your carbon footprint, feel free to install enough solar panels on your home to offset the amount of kilowatt hours that your car is using. Typically, 300kwh/month. You don't HAVE to make electricity from coal and you don't HAVE to get it all from your local utility. Stop being such a bunch of pussies. Spend some money on something meaningful instead of Madden '09 for your Xbox 360.

5. "All those batteries will cause worse pollution than gasoline cars" Another bullshit myth. Has anyone been tracking scrap metal prices lately? Lead, nickel, copper, steel and iron (the main components in most batteries) are going at record prices. We'll do the same thing with EV batteries that we've been doing for years: Recycling them. Every time you turn in your old, dead car battery at the auto parts store for a new battery, the old one is recycled. You don't really think that the auto parts store is just tossing it in the dumpster do you? It's worth money to them! Hell, people STEAL batteries for money. 97% of a lead battery is reused. Read here:

http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/publications/chemicals/hazardous-waste/lead-acid-fs.html

In conclusion, don't be stupid all your life. Too many people have "let perfection become the enemy of good". What that means is, people refuse to adopt a new way of doing things because it's not absolutely positively perfect. Since no one can agree on a single, new way to do everything, everyone wants to sit around, bitch and do nothing.

The single best reason to go EV is just "because I want to, and you can't stop me". If you don't like it, feel free to pass me in the left lane.

Too Good To Last (Again)

2008-08-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

Still nothing clever to quote. My acquaintences have been quite bland lately.

I haven't had an EV failure, but the oil bubble has finally popped and fuel prices are deflating fast. This will drag out my return on investment on my battery pack considerably.

Based on the last two oil spikes, in '70 and again in the '80's, I'm sure that we as a nation haven't learned a thing and that America will soon return to it's "regularly scheduled program" of SUV's, excess and American Idol.

What a drag. I'm sorry for all the pain that recent energy prices have caused (especially low income folks) but there was real motion on energy development, and an increase in consciousness. I thought I was finally going to witness my country stepping into the 21st century.

Now, I'll be re-labeled as a non-conformist crackpot instead of a forward-thinking individual and resume my normal place in society.

Ah well.

No Ill Effects...

2008-08-03T10:49:00.000-07:00

No quotes today, I'm in a hurry.

I've installed a blower motor to send cooler air over the motor controller in the hot summer months. I'd like to make a "Y" splitter to send some cooler air over the motor brushes as well. The car continues to run without problems. I add water to the batteries every couple of months and scrub the green fuzz off of the battery terminals. I've driven some long commutes to my Navy reserve center.

I bought a quality battery hydrometer to check the condition of the individual cells. All batteries check out fine. The electrolyte is clear and clean indicating that the plates are not shedding any active material. So far I have 2300 miles on the new pack. I'm aiming for 10k-14k miles on this pack.

With gas around $4.00/gallon, I'm saving about $80.00/month, recuperating the cost of one new battery per month. Fuel prices are falling, so my advantage is slipping. I have no intention of abandoning the project if fuel prices fall however.

The real operating cost

2008-07-04T20:53:00.000-07:00

"Kill-a-What? What's that? No dude, Kill-a-Watt" -discussion at work.

A Kill-a-Watt is a meter that you can buy which will tell you how much power any particular appliance in your house is using. You can calculate how much money something costs you for a day, a week, or a year. It's cheap and simple. The only limitations are that it's 110 volts only, and 15 amps maximum.

Guess what? My car's onboard charger draws 16 amps. The meter was very cheap so I plugged it in and babysat the affair until the bulk phase was over and the amps dropped off for the finishing phase. I didn't care if it melted down, I just didn't want to start a fire. The car has a bigger impact than I thought but it's still better than $4.09/gallon.

If I drive every day, the car uses 300 kwh (kilowatt hours) per month. My May electric bill was 1001 kwh, so the car was 1/3 of that. I pay .10 cents/kwh. That's $30.00/month, driving 20-40 miles a day.

Let's compare that to my DeLorean that gets 23 mpg combined city/hwy. 30 hwy.

20 miles a day for 30 days: 20 X 30=600 miles.
600 miles / 23 mpg= 26 gallons of fuel at 4.09/gallon, is $106.00

Yikes.

And yes, I probably drive 20 miles on the weekends too. All that errand running, grocery shopping, etc. Hell, it's more if you factor in my 98 miles of driving to and from my reserve unit in Baltimore once a month. So is it cheaper to operate? Yeah, now that gas prices are crazy. If the oil bubble pops, it might not be.

Now I have to recoup the cost of those damn batteries I bought. $1245.00 total, $83 each and I bought 15 of them.

A savings of $76.00 a month...that'd be 16 months.

Should be cake right?

Not a drop to drink...

2008-05-17T18:08:00.000-07:00

"Gasoline everywhere, but not a drop to drink"

I'll be honest. When I embarked on this "mode" of transportation, I never in my wildest nightmares imagined that I would be so right, and that the cost of fuel would skyrocket to nearly $4/gallon and in such a short time. I'm not saying "nyah nyah" or "I told you so". I feel for people who can't afford to drive to work or to the doctor. I'm watching the American middle class disintegrate into people who drive their SUV's to the food bank. Truly bizarre.

That said, we have proven on world-wide news, that we are stupid people. Otherwise intelligent, educated people snared in crooked mortgages they can't afford, driving vehicles that they can no longer afford to operate, to jobs that are too far away. No savings, no Plan "B". Just indignation that someone didn't protect them from themselves. My friends and neighbors just shake their head at me in wonder now. One co-worker commented, "You really saw this coming didn't you?" I was honest and told him that I didn't. Worse, we have the nerve to send the President to Saudi Arabia to ask for a "fix" like a meth addict.

Ok, enough soap-box. I have mounted my ammeter shunt instead of letting it flop around in the motor compartment. All new batteries are installed, and I've been VERY gentle while I'm in the break-in period. No more than occasional 10 second bursts of 120 amps, normal acceleration of 100 amps, and cruising at 80 amps. I still make speed, but it takes longer to get there.

I still love the car. I enjoy driving it. It barely impacts my electric bill. I'll be taking it to the Virginia "Bug Out" to show in the "special interest" category.

Idiot Proofing

2008-04-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

"Insert clever comment here"

Sorry. No one's said anything memorable, or witty of late.

It's often said amongst us EV'ers that one of the biggest barriers to production electric vehicles is idiot-proofing these cars. Even though it's quite easy to kill yourself or others with a gasoline powered car, electric vehicles hold a special fear in the American public's eyes. Aside from hazard-proofing them, the cars need to be self-destruction proofed so that the owners don't slag their motors, controllers and battery packs.

I haven't done any of this to my car but I've been wanting to. I've learned that my charger has a built-in relay that I can use to power a dummy light to keep me from driving off with the cord plugged in. I also want to dial down my motor controller to keep me from accidentally hammering my batteries with too heavy an amperage load. It'll be beneficial for the motor too.

I also abhor the way the builder wired in the DC-DC converter and the controller pre-charge circuit. I'm going to buy a terminal board and properly screw all this stuff down......IF the warm weather ever finally gets here.

I've replaced 10 of 16 of my damaged batteries so far. I only drive very gently on low speed roads. Once they're all replaced, I'll be back on the major highways.

Joke's On Me

2008-04-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

"What's this solid crap?" -My comment after seeing metal chunks in my battery hydrometer.

That comment marked the very rapid failure of my battery pack. I managed to get 7,000 miles from them before I killed 'em. That's not very good for those of you who are wondering. Here's the how and the why:

1. In the early months of last year, I had no instruments and I was operating on the false premise that these golf cart batteries were good for loads up to 300-400 amps. Wrong-O. 8 volt golf cart batteries are good for steady currents of 120 amps and bursts of 180.

2. The winter here was very cold and dry. I ended up on a drive where I underestimated my range and really drew the pack voltage down past the minimum point. The result was dead battery cells scattered through out the battery pack. How could I tell? All the battery voltages were really weird so I used a battery hydrometer to check the electrolyte levels in the individual cells. A battery hydrometer has a weighted needle in it and a graph on the side. Where ever the needle floats to indicates how much charge that cell has. Lots of cells read "zero". I also sucked up a lot of metal bits. The metal is...was active material that was shed from the battery plates while I was pulling 350 amps from the batteries. Yummy...... so "don't do that".

An 8 volt battery has 4 cells. 2 X 4 = 8 volts. A single dead cell makes the battery 6 volts. Or, 8 volts with a lot less capacity if you prefer. I had dead cells in nearly every battery. My range shrank to 15 miles on the best of days.
I knew my ignorance of proper care would catch up to me. I was expecting to only get 10,000 miles from the batteries...but I didn't quite make it.

There is a correlation between how deep you discharge lead-acid batteries versus how many charge/discharge cycles you get from them. If you only discharge them 5%, then you get 1,000's of cycles from them. That can be years of life. If you drag them down to 80% discharged every time, you'll get about 800 cycles. If you hammer them down past the 80% safety threshold, then you lose even more cycles...600, 400, 200....until you might kill them in just a couple of months. Also, if you discharge lead batteries at rates they weren't designed for (which was my primary mistake), you'll have the same effect.

Ok, so I learned the expensive lesson. My cost/benefit analysis says that in the 13 months I drove the car, and the average cost of gasoline versus the cost of the batteries, I broke exactly even. Well...not exactly. I didn't recoup the cost of electricity which was probably only a couple hundred dollars. Half of my charging was done at the local mass transit parking garage for free.

So...I'm still not financially or technically ready to upgrade to Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries so I've settled on flooded golf cart batteries again. This time I've really cheaped out and bought Energizer 8 volt batteries from Sam's Club. How's this for global economy: The batteries are made by a Mexican company for Johnson Controls which then sells them to Energizer who slaps their label on them and sells them exclusively at Sam's Club. About the thing that makes me feel good about these batteries is the one year warranty. I've been in touch with technical support at Johnson Controls and they "assure" me that these batteries are durable and dependable.

I'm hoping that my increased knowledge will help me keep these batteries alive for 10,000 miles or better. Forewarned is forearmed they say...

Why did I buy a cheaper, maybe questionable replacement battery? Because the price of "commodities" has shot up in the last several months. The batteries I had were $83.00 each. Now they're $100.00 each. Trojan, the Cadillac of golf cart batteries are $140-180 EACH. The Energizer batteries were $74.00 each.

I'm hoping that the higher and faster that gas prices climb, the quicker I'll recoup the cost of my less expensive battery pack (and the cost of the car). Fuel prices are $1.00 per gallon higher than they were over the last year of driving with my old pack. It's all about cost/benefit analysis.

The Right Tool for the Job

2008-01-01T08:50:00.000-08:00

"The thing is so reliable, that it's almost boring." -Me to a curious onlooker.

I haven't made many entries of late because there's really not much to tell. I drive the car every chance I get. I travelled 5,200 miles in 2007, starting at the beginning of March on through to December. 2 full months of that, I did not drive the car because I was out of town on business otherwise I'd probably be up to 6,000 miles.

One improvement that I just made was to install the proper sized motor controller for my battery pack. I have been using a controller rated for 72-120 volts, but I've been feeding 128 volts to it, which is risky. I met a gentleman in the online EV community who has a car with a 96 volt pack but his controller is bigger, rated at 96-144v. So basically, he was at risk of his controller just shutting down if he ever dipped below the minimum voltage and I was at risk of blowing mine up by exceeding my maximum voltage. We arranged a swap plus a little cash on my part. So, as the title says- the right tool for the job, for both of us.

I've taken to driving the car for longer distances. I now drive 28 miles (one way) to my military reserve center and I plug it in when I arrive. It's ready to go by the time I'm done at the end of the day.

It's winter now and the cold weather really plays havoc with my lead acid batteries. My range has dropped to a very cautious 25-30 miles. I feel that my battery charger would really benefit from the optional temperature compensation probe. It lets the charger know the ambient temperature and compensate by altering the charging algorithim. Simply put: It charges the batteries a little more when it's cold out and a little less when it's hot out. It's better for the life of the batteries.

As the batteries age, they are beginning to require more water. I used to add distilled water every 3 months. Now it's every month and a half. It's not a big deal and water is cheap. It's merely an observation.

I enjoy driving the car immensely and I've loaded it up with Sirius satellite radio and a new GPS that I received for Christmas. I've shown the car at some vintage VW social meets and the car is always met with wide acceptance.

Contact!

2007-09-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

"MMmmph! Damn, that tingles!" -me catching some current from a battery terminal.

Yeah, I've started wearing rubber gloves now. I also disconnect the battery pack in more than one place when I work on the car.

I've suffered yet another component failure after the motor controller and it's the same old song: An old, and weathered part that probably outlived it's projected life-span. Luckily it was minor and relatively inexpensive.

The "main" contactor is a big, multi-hundred amp relay that connects the battery pack to the motor controller when you turn the key. It is both a safety and security device. The contactor that failed is the "Albright" brand. The terminals and large contacts are open to the air, and this allows corrosion, circuit resistance and commutation (sparking) to occur. A lot of EV'ers use these and they are durable but I don't like them. The moving, high-current parts are exposed to the elements and that just seems dumb.

I took a page from my Comuta Van days and bought a new Kilovac sealed contactor for the same price. It's a simple grey cylinder. The magnetic coil and the large contacts are permanently and totally sealed. The main contacts are also submerged in a sort of oil so every time you turn the key on and the contacts close, there is no arcing, sparking or commutation. They are rated for 1 million open/close cycles and something like 900 amps. It should last forever.

Installing it was a pain in the a$$. I had to remove the belly pan that protects the motor and everything else hiding in the engine bay. I had to use an angle grinder to cut away the old contactor bracket and drill mounting holes for the new contactor. Not difficult, just tedious.

And, once again I'm on the road. It's September now and the temperature has dropped as if someone threw a switch. Everything is cool and happy and I'm up to 3,200 miles so far.

I figure I'll get 7,000-10,000 more miles from these batteries.

Built for me, not for you

2007-07-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

"My EV, as it sits is not commercially viable"- me to co-worker

Why is that? I'll be blunt.

The average American consumer is greedy, lazy, demanding, and unwilling to make any sacrifice for the common good. A quick look at the cars on today's highways will make it painfully obvious. Even in a brand-new chassis, no one will settle for a spartan commuter car that eschews luxuries like A/C, power-everything and a DVD player for the baby in the back even if the return on investment means a 60 mile round-trip commute without gasoline.

Plus, my car lacks safeties that a commercial EV should have.

1. Emergency Stop. Hey gas cars don't have one, why should mine? Because people today enjoy litigation. A big, red Panic button to kill all power is a must.

2. Motor temperature gauge or dummy light. I found the temp sensor wires. I just need to attach a light. This'll keep Joe Lunchpail from roasting his motor.

3. Charging Cord Idiot Safety: This is a relay that will prevent the car from turning "on" when you turn the key if the charging cord is still plugged in. This'll keep you or Wifey from driving away with the cord still attached. I've never done this even once but I'd like to install one anyway.

I have an EV for me. Now I want to build one for "you". And to that end, I've purchased another 1974 VW Beetle with a straight body and a siezed engine. I'm going to pull out all the stops on this one. All the safeties, quality components, larger motor and controller, lights and gauges. Disc brakes all the way 'round. Beefed up suspension.

It's time to get out of this tiny townhouse and buy a house with a garage and maybe a workshop area. I'm up for sale and my bid on a house was accepted. I just need to sell my townhouse now....

Anyone looking for a townhouse that's centrally located to DC, Baltimore and Annapolis??

Easy Cruising

2007-07-04T10:26:00.000-07:00

"So, did you drive the electric car today?"- my boss

Sigh...he asks me this nearly every day. For lack of anything more interesting to say I guess.

The fact is, I've had to make some costly repairs over a short period of time to this car. When it runs, it runs perfectly. It's not like a gas powered car that might run poorly but still run. With this thing, it's all or nothing. If these kinds of repairs become recurring events, then it means one of a few things:

1. The drivetrain and power systems are poorly designed.
2. The technology just isn't "there" yet.
3. The user (me) isn't operating the car properly.

Hey, if an electric car seems to be a bad concept, I'll admit it but I'm not ready to call it quits yet.

The batteries, charger and motor controller are all new. The only big-ticket item left to fail is the motor. I've re-examined it and I don't think that's likely. Why did 3 of 4 expensive items fail?

1. The batteries were 5 years old. That's old for lead batteries. I consider that to be "routine".
2. The charger was exposed to water. Duh. Let's see how the new one lasts now that it's sealed up.
3. Controller failure...this is the only one I don't have an obvious, concrete reason for. I can safely say that it was old. Maybe 10 years old. It didn't have a heat-sink installed on it so it was probably good and hot sometimes which isn't good for it. I installed a heatsink a week before it died which is too little, too late. There's also no forced air cooling. Most worrying...it's rated for 120 volts and I'm running 128 volts. The "pre-charge" system should protect it from premature failure but only time will tell. I have no idea of the quality of the rebuild. It's just a magic "black box" that's all sealed up against weather so I couldn't examine it. I'm betting that Flight Systems did a good job though.

I've driven for over a month since my last repair with no hassles. It's July 4th and I'm celebrating my independence from oil cartels, terrorists and Eco-Nazis. I've only fueled up my DeLorean once or twice since March. Just operating the car has not been "inconvenient" or required many changes in my day-to-day life. The act of plugging in doesn't really take any time or energy. Planning my trips to ensure enough energy or access to a plug has become second nature, much like a gas car owner plans trips to maximize fuel efficiency.

I guess if I have one real complaint about the car, it's that it is slow to accelerate. A more powerful controller and a slightly larger motor would fix that easily but it's more $$$ so I'm sticking with what I have. The top speed of 70+ mph suits me fine.

Idle Times

2007-07-04T09:49:00.000-07:00

"The Navy is all about coitus interruptus"- me to a shipmate

My controller failure happened the day before I shipped out for a few weeks of sleep-deprivation, er, I mean duty with my unit. I spent the time wondering how I'd come up with enough scratch to pay for a new controller. It's very frustrating to put my life on hold to go play sailor/soldier. 4 more years until retirement.

When I got back, I found a half-dozen "wanna-be" controller contraptions on the internet. Most of these people didn't even respond to my email. Someone recommended a couple of companies to rebuild my Curtis 1221B- Flight Systems Industrial Products and Logitech systems down in Tejas.

I opted for Flight Systems because they were physically closer. The cheerful woman on the phone quoted me $500.00 for a rebuild. I took a gamble and mailed it off. A week later, it was returned to me in brand, spanking new condition. I installed it in 15 minutes and was back in action.

EV repairs are simple compared to conventional car repairs but they can be more costly. The question is, how frequent are these repairs? How will the equipment hold up?

Go/No Go

2007-07-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

"Maybe Flight Systems can help you"- email

On into April and early May I drove without a problem. Every chance I got. I believe for an alternative to be mainstream, it has to stand up to consumer abuse and it has to fill a void without a whole lot of upheaval in a person's routine and it has to be safe. "Safe" is a relative term. Idiots are clever people and I've seen time and time again that you can't "Idiot Proof" a product. Someone will always find a way to use something "in a manner other than directed" and hurt themselves.

Nevertheless, my EV could use a few minor safety upgrades that the average consumer should have. I'll get to that later though. I've got a whole new problem to wrestle with.

In early May, I was 3 miles from home at a traffic light waiting to go. The light turned green, I depressed the go-pedal and the car moved- all of 3 inches and stopped. NOW what the hell is wrong?

I hit the hazard lights and pushed the car to the side of the road. 1100 lbs. of lead is freakin' heavy.
I was right next to a gas station (oh the irony) so I just kept pushing until I was in the parking lot. I pulled out the only real tool you need for an EV- my trusty multi-meter. With a little book-learning, any numbskull can isolate an EV failure. You might not be able to fix it right there, but you can figure out what's wrong.

Symptom: Motor fails to run.

1. Is the pedal sensor sending the control signal to the motor controller?
a) Set meter to Ohms and check for 0-5k Ohms on the pedal wires. Yep. Next:
2. Are all battery cables still connected? This is a simple visual check. Yep. Next:
3. Is the main contactor (which connects the battery to the motor controller when you turn the key) working? Click, click. Yup. Plus, I measure 128 volts going into the motor controller.

Ok, so you have power. Power is going into the magic controller. The pedal sensor IS telling the controller what to do. Is the magic controller awake and sending any power to the motor??

4. I put my meter on the magic controller outputs and there was nothing, nada. So the controller is dead. This took me 10 minutes. It's just like figuring out plumbing. Where does the "water" stop flowing? Goes-inta's and Goes-outa's.

Yay. Simple. Except Magic Motor Controllers cost anywhere from $1200 to $2500 dollars.

Frick.

The big toaster

2007-07-04T09:06:00.000-07:00

"I still don't think you understand how it works"- vendor email

After my onboard charger's spectacular death, I began researching alternatives. The vendor of my original charger is a private individual who builds them in his own shop, no assembly line, no "customer service" department. I emailed back and forth with him for a while and gave up on him.

First of all, he's convinced that everyone who buys his product is an idiot and that if his charger fails, it's automatically the fault of the user. I can understand how he came to be this way. After all, he constantly gets email and phone calls from people who don't know what a voltmeter is. I -understand- how he got to be this way, but I don't -condone- that attitude. Basically what I got from him is that he's too busy building new units to repair mine anytime soon. At $1550.00 for a new one, I started looking for a cheaper, simpler alternative.

The Zivan NG3 charger is "EV's for Dummies". It's built in Italy. You send the vendor your battery specs and they program it for you. You install it in your car and that's it. No adjustments, no hassle. I picked the 110 volt 15 amp version. It'll charge the car more slowly but I can plug in to any 110 VAC outlet and not worry about tripping someone's circuit breaker. This means flexibility. After all, when you look around, just how many 220 volt laundry dryer outlets do you see around? Not many.

My new charger arrived in a week. It cost me $950. Yes, the price of EV components sucks but they're supposed to last a long time. IF you design the car correctly that is. I made damn sure that the cowl vent was sealed up tight before I put the new charger in. No more rain water intrusion. The new charger doesn't have some of the features of the old one like multi-voltage inputs, adjustable amperage output, blah blah blah. I never used those features anyway. Still, this charger is very "smart". It's computerized and automatically turns off based on the battery's condition, not just a timer, it can tell if the battery pack is disconnected, it will shut off on an over voltage or under voltage condition from the wall AC voltage or the battery DC voltage. It has a single LED and gives a variety of beep codes to help you understand what's going on.

In the EV photo album, it seems to be one of the more popular choices. You can check all the other cars that use the Zivan charger here: http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/index.html

I've been running it since the beginning of April without a hitch. Just plug it and forget it, like a big toaster.

Great Balls 'o Fire

2007-03-31T20:10:00.000-07:00

"Do I still have eyebrows?" -me

As I dissected the E-bug it became very obvious to me that the car was only driven and not "maintained". At least not the electric-drive portion. Dry batteries, non-functional instruments, and some questionable segments of wiring and that wasn't all.

The charger needed adjustments to properly charge the new batteries I had finally installed. I still wasn't sure that I had set it right or even if the charger was working properly. I opened the trunk and noticed a wetness on top of the charger. I looked up and noticed that the trunk vent wasn't properly plugged and that the charger lives right beneath it. Shhhhhhh!!!t. But it's all puddled on top and none has gone into the charger which is not weather proof. So I mopped it up and vowed to fix the vent.

A couple of days later I'm convinced that the charger isn't shutting off after finishing the charge like it should. No wonder. Water probably got into it at some point in the last 2 years before I owned it. After changing some settings, I plugged the car in to see if things work right. Nothing. I didn't hear the sound of the cooling fans spooling up. I pop the trunk and see the power breaker is off. Well I must have left it that way while making adjustments. I flipped it on.

For a brief second I heard a zzzzzZZZZZZZZTTT and saw a white light inside. I didn't dare touch it for fear of shock and then a ka-POW! and a hot, white ball flew out at me. Sniff....wow. So that's what plasma smells like.

The freaky thing? The charger still worked. It still won't turn off automatically though. It's an unknown quantity so I'm done with it. The next day I started researching replacement battery chargers.

Not a Drop to Drink...

2007-03-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

"Why don't you just start a used car lot?" - Friend

When I first bought this EV, I was told outright that the batteries were dead and needed replaced. The current range on these batteries: 2 miles.

As I was storing cash to replace the pack, I figured I'd at least check them out. Just for fun, I popped a cap off of a battery. Bone dry. Dry? Wait a sec... I popped all 4 caps on all 16 batteries and every single cell was bone-dry. No wonder it only goes 2 miles.

Well hell, distilled water is only .75 cents per gallon so I bought 4 gallons and added it to the batteries. In the end it took a total of 11 GALLONS of water to properly electrolyze the batteries. Talk about neglect.

Now for the scary part...charging. I had no idea what would happen if I tried to charge these severely abused batteries. Nothing? Explosion? Thermal runaway? A fire? I plugged the car in for 10 minutes and unplugged it. I touched every battery and interconnecting cable and nothing was hot. I resumed charging in 30 minute intervals for a few hours. Eventually I was confident and just let the charger finish.

The moral? Be kind to your batteries. Keep them clean and keep them hydrated.

Now here's a story for you...

I was browsing the ev photo album website: http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/ when I found a shiny red Bug named "Reba". Closer inspection showed that this HAD to be my car. Every little wiring and construction detail matched my car. I emailed the guy and he confirmed it. The batteries in the photo were the same ones still in the car. They were about 5 years old. At least a year past the normal lifespan. I took the chance to ask the builder some questions about the car:

1. Why 8 volt batteries instead of 6v? Doesn't this shorten the range a lot? Or does it?

2. I found a lot of other converted Beetles in the website. All of the 8 volt conversions claim to get a longer range and higher speed than yours. Why is that?

3. Why do I have to hit the toggle on the dash before I turn on the car? What are the household lightbulbs under the hood for?

He responded with some interesting answers:

1a. 6 volt batteries made the car a total slug. 8 volt batts gave it enough "umph" to keep up with traffic.

2a. The other people are overly optimistic about their cars. He was being brutally honest under his driving conditions and habits for range and speed.

3a. The Curtis 1221B controller is only rated for 120 volts total. The car has 128 volts total. This is overdriving the controller. When you first turn on the key, the inrush of current to the controller capacitors is beyond it's rated limit. The toggle charges the capacitors through the lightbulbs which are acting as resistors. This is much more gentle and within the controller's rated limit. The lightbulbs glow briefly and die out indicating that you're ready to drive. It takes about 3-5 seconds. If I had a 1231 model, I could get rid of all this pre-charging nonsense.

I was still skeptical about the choice of 8 volt batteries but I figured he knew better so I decided to stick with them. I found a distributor in Delaware who would deliver for free. Since Delaware has no sales tax, this was an added bonus. I researched 8 volt batteries and this is what I came up with in terms of cost and quality:

1. Sam's Club: 8v (110 min) Energizer- $63.00/ea Quality: Worst.
2. Trojan T-875- (117 min) from $134-114/ea depending on distributor. Quality: Best.
3. Trojan T-890- (132 min) from $144-159/ea depending on distributor. Quality: Best.
4. US Battery 8VGC- (121 min) $89.00/ea from Tri-State Battery Quality: Excellent.
5. Astro-lite Power Master (121 min) $83.00/ea from Tri-State Quality: Unknown.

Now the Astro-Lite is actually a Dekka battery from East-Penn manufacturing. Dekka batteries are often used by EV'ers and claim to be excellent quality at an affordable price so I bought these. The salesman could have just pushed Trojan's on me and made more money but he stated that these are excellent batteries that would give me performance and save me money.

Here's hoping.

The "new" older EV

2007-03-25T05:16:00.000-07:00

"Wow...this is so much better" - me

After examining possible donor vehicles, I concluded that for my budget and engineering skills, going backwards would move me forward. Old Volkswagens make excellent conversions due to their simplicity, and access to open spaces for battery layout. I really wanted something sporty like the Bradley GT II sports car kit or a Karman Ghia but I needed something that seats 4 and Karman donors are rare and usually in very rough shape.

When I found this Beetle already converted for only $2500.00 I saw it as a chance to get my 4-seater and have my work done for me. It also gives me a chance to examine the engineering in case I decide to repeat the creation in a Karman Ghia later.

As you can tell from the picture, it's kind of anti-climactic. Unless you're a classic Beetle fan of course. These cars have survived for decades because of their sturdy engineering, their simplicity and practicality. Parts are plentiful and CHEAP. Aftermarket parts are available everywhere.

Here are the stats as it was when I bought it:

1. 128 volt system. 16, 8 volt golf-cart batteries (up from the paltry 72 volts of the old Comuta Van)

2. PFC 20 onboard charger from Manzanita Micro technologies. The charger alone is worth $1550.00. It can utilize any input power from 60 volts to 240 volts AC. It can output 12 to 360 volts DC at up to 20 amps. It's small and mounts onboard.

3. A heater! Thank God... It has a 1500w ceramic heater. It only runs when the car is plugged in but it makes for a cozy car in the morning and the heat usually lasts until I arrive at my destination.

4. DC to DC converter. This is an upgrade over using a heavy marine battery to power the 12v stuff like headlights, horn, etc. The converter taps the total battery pack and steps it down to 14 volts. This keeps the headlights bright, the wipers snappy and the horn good and loud. The SEVCON converters were built for underground mining cars so they're easily tough enough to withstand automotive use. It's also small and light and mounts under the back seat. It draws very little amperage and doesn't really affect your total range. It also prevents uneven discharge from tapping the traction pack at mid-point to get your 12 volts because you're tapping the total pack.

5. Advance DC 6.7" motor. This is actually a bit on the small side but I find that the car is fast enough. An 8" motor would have been better.

6. Curtis 1221B motor controller. Same as the Comuta Van. I'm actually 8 volts over it's limit but there's a fix for that. I'll explain later.

7. Instrumentation. 3 analog meters. 1 for 12 v systems, a 400 amp ammeter to show consumption, and a traction voltage gauge that reads up to 300v DC. The ammeter has failed and needs replaced.

The pans are solid and not rusted. I intend to paint everything with POR15 rust preventative just in case.

EV Mk II Mod I

2007-03-25T05:01:00.000-07:00

"So you just gave up on the electric vehicle huh? You're just going back to gas powered cars and you're gonna screw all our kids by not leaving any gasoline for them?" -co-worker on a joking rant

It's hard to believe that my last post was only 7 months ago. It seems so much longer. Here's what happened in that time:

1. After my record of 2 months without purchasing gasoline, I concluded that my experiment was a success- That is, the ability to successfully use an electric vehicle for most of my daily driving.

2. I decided that the next logical step would be to construct or buy an EV that was more like a conventional car instead of a plastic cheese-box. It would be more comfortable, have greater range, more power and more advanced features.

3. I sold the Comuta Van for a tidy profit on eBay and bought a Bradley GT II kit car for conversion purposes. I then determined that this was a mistake as it only seats two and I decided I wanted more seating. The DeLorean is already a 2-seat sports car so at least I still have that.

4. I found a dead-in-the-water 1974 standard VW Beetle that had already been converted so I bought that as it seats 4 people and had the other features I was looking for.

Better Digs

2006-09-04T12:32:00.000-07:00

"Hey, does that car float??" Slacker in front of Hardee's

I almost choked when the guy asked me this. For some reason he thought it was an old "Amphi-Car", a tiny boat/car built in the '60's.

I told him "I doubt it since it has 1200 lbs. of lead in it". I left him there with a confused look on his face and went in to get the holiest of holies....the Mushroom and Swiss Thickburger, hold the fries. The Hardee's isn't really close to my house. I eliminate my guilt of wasting gas on a stupid cheeseburger because hey- I ain't burning any gas.

Anyway...after not parking at the county garage for 5 or 6 months, I figure they've forgotten all about me and my specially reserved parking spot and I don't feel like dealing with these petty little garage queens. The new Metro parking structure is cleaner, and totally unmanned. You swipe a "speedpass" card to pay and exit. I called the parking manager and left a detailed message requesting permission to plug in and that he call me.

He never did but I'm plugging in and no one seems to care. The garage is nice and the EV is protected and ready to go when I get back from work.

2,223 miles logged so far.

The learning curve

2006-09-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

"Aren't you going to sell it?"- Co-worker

As the months went by, and the EV sat idle I did think about it. The problem is, people would expect me to give it away since it didn't work and I wasn't exactly sure how serious the damage was. Well I'm not a quitter and I wasn't going to just give it away.

Now it's early August. After spending some quality time and money on the Delorean, I turned my attention back to the EV. My parts guy told me that brush springs were not listed as a part but the entire brush holder assembly, complete with springs is. The cost was only $113.00. I figure it's a safe gamble so he ordered it and a set of brushes.

His suppliers operate on a "whenever" business schedule so it took some time for the parts to arrive in the mail. I opened the package and the brush holder was....different. Totally different springs. It looked too small. This can't be right I groaned.

On Friday, a buddy came over and helped me remove the motor. We made special note of what cables went to which lugs on the motor. Wow...it took 20 minutes and we barely got dirty. Try that with a gasoline engine. In my basement, we examined the motor and took some pictures.

Next, we figured out how to take the end-cap off where the motor brushes are. This took about 10 minutes. The brush holder is attached to the inside of the motor cap. 2 of 4 springs had snapped. The brushes were ruined. The metal frame that holds the brushes was melted in places. It could be salvaged if necessary but the springs...where would I get the perfect tension and length of spring?

We took some more pictures and then I unscrewed the 4 screws that hold the brush holder assembly to the end cap and removed it. I positioned the new, wierd brush holder and lo and behold- it fit perfectly. It just uses a different style of spring to hold the brush in.

Sigh...are you kidding? The new brushes I just got are the OLD style. The pigtail is in the wrong place and the little metal spring-hook itsn't necessary anymore and it's just in the way..or it will be when the brushes wear to a certain length. I called my parts guy again and emailed him pictures with a detailed explanation of the problem. New style brushes are on the way. I cut the hook off of the old-style brushes and moved the pigtail out of the way of the spring and used them anyway. I'd keep the new-style brushes on hand as spares for when these wore out....hopefully in about 10 years.

I drove down to Rexel bought another circuit breaker for the charger to replace the one I cannabilized for the house A/C and installed it. The next Thursday my buddy came back over and we reinstalled the motor. Again, it only took 20 minutes or so. Done right? Not quite-

I attached the armatures 180 degrees out...backwards. The motor ran backwards. I had 3 reverse gears and one forward gear. Shit. We crawled back underneath and I removed the end-cap and swapped the armature wires on the brush holder assembly and we put it all back together. This took about 15 minutes. Now it all works fine.

I paid:

$113.00 for the holder assembly
$56.00 for the replacement old-style brushes
$56.00 for the new-style brushes
$117.00 for a new, higher amperage contactor (not related to my original problem)
_________
Total: $342.00.

$225.00 if you don't include the contactor. I bought it because the original contatctor is only rated for 100 amps. When I drive the vehicle, I draw up to 400 amps through it. It gets HOT so I bought a tougher one.

Considering I would have lost a LOT of money if I sold it broken, this is a bargain. I've been driving it for a month now with no problems. Since then, gasoline has ranged from $3.17/gallon and fell to $2.79/gallon.

I don't really care. The price of gasoline is so volatile these days that I'm still way ahead of the game.

Forced Hiatus

2006-09-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

"It's a nothing part 'till you ain't got one" - Firefly

The county parking garage manager allocated me a permenant parking spot in front of an electrical outlet so I could charge up while I'm at work. He assured me that the maintenance staff would be directed not to unplug me. No extra money was necessary. I commuted by EV to the Metro rail station every day for about a month.

Unfortunately a catastrophic failure of the motor brush holder assembly put a total halt to my electric commuting. One morning, just a few hundred yards from home, one of the 25 year old brush tension springs broke. The sparks broke yet another spring. I limped it home and the light show of sparks from underneath the EV was impressive to say the least.

The commutator was scored from the arcing and the heat. The new brushes that should last ten years wore down in a matter of minutes. The motor brush holder was nearly turned to slag. I was very disheartened because the motor is 25 years old and parts are not widely available. I called my parts guy and told him I need springs or a brush holder or perhaps a compatible replacement motor and he began making the rounds of his suppliers.

In the meantime, I topped off the charge and rolled the EV to an always unused parking spot in my townhouse complex.

To add insult to injury, in late May, my home air-conditioning self-destructed and it also ate the circuit breaker in the house breaker panel. Rather than repair the old, inefficient A/C again and again, I had the whole thing replaced with a top-of-the line system. We had to cannablize the EV charger circuit breaker and install it in place of the A/C breaker.

In the intermediate months, I let the EV guru hunt for parts and I drove the DeLorean. I overhauled the front suspension, replaced the radiator and installed a transmission seal. As a Sirius satellite radio stock holder I outfitted the DeLorean with a radio and now I get all the '80's music I can handle.

I'll post pics of the slagged parts when I get a chance.

Too good to last...

2006-03-29T11:13:00.000-08:00

"The maintenance guy unplugged you. He say you be stealin' energy"- parking garage attendant.

Guilty. I didn't ask first because it was largely experimental and I wasn't sure I was going to continue driving this way. I plugged in without asking permission. I'm a baaaaaaad EV'er.

So after 2 days, the maintenance guy unplugged me. He had no idea what the vehicle was or what it was doing. He just did it because the parking garage is the only area in his tiny little life that he has any control over and by God he's going to exert control in his little sphere of influence every chance he gets. According to the parking attendant, he thought I was plugging in to heat the van. Oh man... Ok so my big, inefficient charger uses $1.52 to charge me up from "E" at home. I suspect my little charger uses .25 to .50 cents to charger me up from 2/3's. I explained that my charger uses less electricity than one of the garage light bulbs and I was advised to contact the regional county garage manager.

I called this gentleman and he seemed genuinely interested in helping me. He stated that I couldn't use those outlets (for reasons he declined to explain) and promised to "set something up" for me.

We'll see what happens. I can make it home ok without charging but it's a lot harder on the batteries.

Full power communting

2006-03-29T11:02:00.000-08:00

"You're so clever!"- Friend

Yeah right. I'm such an amatuer.

With my new onboard 72 volt charger, I've bravely set off on my morning commute to the Metro station. The first time, I rolled into the station having used less than half of a full charge. I easily found a parking spot in front of a column that had a 110 volt outlet and plugged in. I set the charger for only 5 amps because I didn't want to overcharge the batteries while I was away for 10 hours. This charger is dumb and doesn't shut off automatically. At the end of the day when I returned, I found my charge up to about 80%. I learned I can safely increase the rate of charge to the max 10 amp output that this charger will give.

The drive to the station was great. At 4:30 a.m. there's no traffic so I'm not holding anyone up even though I can easily attain the speed limit. The lights are all green so I'm not wasting juice stopping and starting. The ramp that connects the secondary road to the Metro touches a major highway and has a steep hill but the Comuta handles it well. I just put on the flashers when I hit it. It's 45 seconds of delay for whoever is behind me. They can live with it.

The drive home is no problem either because in the afternoon the traffic pattern is horrible and I hit every single red light. I waste some juice by stopping and starting so many times but because traffic never gets above 35 miles an hour, I'm never the one holding things up.

I've learned that the key to maximizing your range really is to maintain maximum RPM's in the motor's main torque band so I keep the van in 2nd gear and wound up tight. I typically make it to the station with 2/3's charge left and that's at 33 degrees F which reduces my capacity.

I've also learned that "topping off" with the charger while I'm in the shower seems to help as well.

Respiration and Circulation

2006-03-20T13:30:00.000-08:00

"What's it for?"- Drone at auto-parts counter

Every time I need an auto part I have the same conversation. It goes something like this:

Me: "I need a distributor cap, Bosch part #: xxyyzz."

Counter Drone: "What's it for?"

Me: "Does it matter? I just gave you the part number."

Counter Drone: "Yeah but what vehicle are you putting it in?"

Me: "What does it matter? Is there a law against putting German parts in an American vehicle?"

Counter Drone: "No, I just want to make sure you get the right part."

Me: "I know what part I need. I need a Bosch #xxyyzz. Don't look it up by vehicle, just plug the part number into the computer because my car is definitely NOT in your computer."

Counter Drone: "Yeah but what's it for??"

Me: (sigh) "A 1981 DeLorean DMC-12."

Counter Drone: (taps on keyboard) "That's not in here."

Me: "No shit. I told you that. Go get your boss. I know damn well what kind of parts my car takes and it's none of your business what the application is. All you need to know is that I need a Bosch xxyyzz."

Drone Supervisor: "Hi, can I help you?"

Me: "I need a Bosch part number, xxyyzz"

Drone Supervisor: "Sure, what's it for?"

Me: (Heavy sigh) "Forget it. Just forget it."

And so it was when I visited the local auto bone-yard for a blower that I could use to circulate heat and keep the windshield clear. I told him I just wanted any old working 12 volt "squirrel cage" blower. We went 'round and 'round until I snapped and said that if he wanted to know what kind of vehicle it was for, to just come out and take a look.

He stepped around the corner and stopped in his tracks. He called one of his destruct-o-drones over from dismantling a Mercury Cougar and told him to "go to bin 22 and give this guy whatever kind of fan he wants". $15.00 and a small, Bosch recirc fan later, I headed back home. That was less painful than a normal parts-house thank God.

There are vents remaining in the dash left from the original heating system. It used a gasoline (of all things) heater. Sounds scary and dangerous to me. I'm glad it was all ripped out before I bought the thing. I've already gone to the local parts place and bought generic ventilation duct tubing that will connet to the vents. The next step is to get to Home Despot or Not-Lowe's and buy a general-purpose enclsoure box. I intend to cut a hole, mount the fan and connect the ductwork to the box. I'll also dissect an old heater or hairdryer and mount the heating coil in the box.

I haven't really had a big problem keeping the windshield clear, but it's been cold and I'm sure sick of it. It's March but it's supposed to snow tomorrow. Blech.

The struggle with brakes

2006-03-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

"You have to be able to stop before you can go" - Dad

Lately I can't seem to get the brakes pedal to be as hard as I think it should be. I've tried everything. New master cylinder, one-man bleeder kits, Myti-Vac pump, you name it.

I'm not losing any fluid but it's just not as good as it could be. I bench-bled the master cylinder. Not long after I replaced the master cylinder, the snap ring popped free and I think the piston was travelling "out" of the bore more than it should have. I might need to remove it and bench bleed the thing again. What a hassle.

...And for Christ's Sake, someone send me some warmer weather PLEASE!!!!

EV life so far...

2006-03-17T17:31:00.000-08:00

"Is that a Jeep?" - Suburban troglodyte standing on the curb.

Ok, if you're an American in your 30's and you think my triangle van looks like a Jeep then you drink way too much cough medicine.

It's St. Patrick's day and it's still cold enough to reduce my range. We had a couple of freak warm days that hit 80 degrees and the improvement was instantly noticeable. I drive the EV exclusively except for when I need extra speed or range. At my current rate of consumption I won't put gas in the DeLorean for over a month.

The DeLorean steering and handling has slowly degraded over the last year. Dry-rotted suspension bushings and worn out ball-joints are the cause and not only is the EV saving me fuel but it's also saving me from damaging my stainless pride any further while I set aside the cash for suspension parts.

The winter range limitation is bugging the crap out of me though. I promised myself I wouldn't drop $800.00 on a fancy compact onboard battery charger but there has to be a compromise between "nothing" and "too much". I was actually considering building a battery charger but I stumbled on a brand-new, simple battery charger on the internet for only $150.00. It's heavy, but compact, plugs into an ordinary 110v wall outlet and can assist in equalizing charges because it has a variable voltage output from 12 to 72 volts. I can charge 2, or all batteries or any combination in between. I can choose between 5 & 10 amps. Not fast, but adequate.

Now as liberal as Maryland is, it's still not California. We don't have "public charging stations" at every Park 'n Ride or Costco like Cali does. Even so, I did scope out lots of 110v power outlets at the Metro parking garage. I have a good, heavy gauge extension cord. If I can even park on the same row as one of these outlets, the van can charge up nice and slow for the 10 hours I'm away and I'll have a full charge to drive home on every day! I'm going to mount the charger under the passenger seat I'm fabricating.

I'm trying to decide between just plugging in and feigning ignorance if the garage employees catch me or actually asking permission and trying to explain my EV to a bunch of minimum wage workers who barely speak English and might turn me down just for spite and not because of any regulations.

At least now, I'm not always bound to stop when I hit the "point of no return". If there's an outlet where I'm going, and I have the time to let it charge, I can exceed 15 or 20 miles in one direction.

System Refinements

2006-03-12T05:23:00.000-08:00

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran will no longer consider a proposal to move its uranium enrichment program to Russian territory and is instead considering large scale uranium enrichment at home, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters Sunday.

It's now March 12th, 2006 and while I tinker and learn how EV's work, I read the news and watch situations like this with interest. I refuse to propagate any conspiracy theories or post any sort of doomsday rant. I'm just saying that it's nice to know that there's an alternative available to me, at least for local travel.

So far, I've logged almost 2,000 miles on the Comuta Van. Once the motor brushes were replaced, I haven't had a single blip of trouble. The weather has been in the 20's and low 40's for about a month now. This has reduced my range from around 40 miles to 26-28 miles. This isn't enough to get me to the Metrorail station but it is more than enough to get me to the heavy rail MARC train station. The MARC system leases track time from Amtrak and CSX. These are full-sized trains with big, comfy cars that are far cleaner and populated with far nicer people than the DC subway system. I really enjoy riding it but the downside is, it runs far few trains, costs a little more and requires much tighter timing of my daily schedule. Even so, it's a good deal because my company pays my rail costs 100%. Fortunately for me and Northrop Grumman, I've proven myself to be worth it.

I believe that in an EV, conserving every amp can help so I've replaced a lot of the exterior lighting with LED's. They last forever, draw almost no power and are almost as bright as lightbulbs if you get the clustered type. The Comuta Van, being an ex-Postal van had a lot of "marker lights". Take a look at a modern Postal truck and you'll see what I mean. Replacing all of these little guys will ease the load on the accessory battery.

I was only able to drive the van in warm (70 degrees F) weather a few times before winter set in. The motor controller it turns out, is not mounted in the best way. The thing gets very hot channeling all of those amps through to the motor and it should be mounted to a large, metal surface to draw off the heat. Whoever installed the controller here, mounted it to a ABS plastic surface. A few times while driving up long hills, I drove the controller into overheat protection mode. At first, it emits a tone by shifting the switching speed to warn you, but after that it automatically begins cutting back on the amperage to the motor. The effect is similar to running out of juice. You have to stop for a few minutes to let it cool down before it'll give you full power again. To combat this, I mounted a large heatsink to the controller and installed a muffin fan above it to keep the controller cool. I plan on re-mounting it to the firewall, which is a large aluminum surface.

The 25 year old brake master cylinder started leaking but a replacement was readily available at Advance Auto for $19.95. The Comuta Van was built with a lot of "of-the-shelf" parts from other common vehicles so I'm hoping to minimize the amount of hunting I have to do.

The Curtis battery gauge arrived and installed well. It took me a couple of tries to connect it to the traction pack correctly. I had a brain cramp and couldn't figure out which was the first or last in the daisy-chain.

I installed a shifter boot to keep the dust and road noise out. One day, a darling family member was sick of the split seat vinyl and bought me a "flaming dice" seat cover. As a joke, I completed the theme complete with dice tire valve stem caps, dice license plate screws, fuzzy dice, a giant dice gear-shift knob and a chrome, lo-rider steering wheel.

My other big improvement will be to replace the old glass type Buss-fuse-and-spaghetti fuse panel with a modern, blade fuse enclosed fuse block. I'll wire up some extra slots for more accessories like a 12v outlet to charge the cell phone and cheapy stereo system.

I'm also curious to see if it's possible to add 2 or 3 batteries in parallel to some of the batteries in the traction pack. Theoretically, this will deepen my "pool" of available amps, giving me greater range. It won't increase the voltage, or give me more speed but I want range. I need the system voltage to stay the same or my charger won't be able to charge the pack anyway. I'm not sure it'll work though because I'm not certain if the pack will discharge evenly when I drive. I could end up over discharging the parallel cells, killing them quickly, wasting money.

The Fix is in.

2006-03-04T11:45:00.000-08:00

"The electric motor itself needs no lubrication. However, the brushes should be checked every 6 months or 3,000 miles for tightness and proper length..."
- Comuta Car service manual

The weather is cold now. We've had a few snows. It's cold enough to reduce battery capacity to a level that prevents me from reaching the Metro station and coming back without charging up. It's not a great time to lie on the ground doing mechanical work.

Still, curiosity will drive me outside every time. I want to know what's wrong with the Comuta Van and how expensive it'll be. I suspect the potbox that attaches to the accelerator pedal. I'm betting the resistor windings are shot and the "drive" signal isn't being sent to the motor controller. I broke out the multi-meter and started tracing power:

12 volts available from keyswitch to motor controller solenoid: Check.
Solenoid engages when key is turned: Check.
Resistance changes when key is on and accelerator pedal is depressed: Check. (This surprised me)
72 volts being supplied to controller input when key is on: Check.
Controller outputs voltage to motor when pedal is depressed: Check.
Double-check that voltage from the controller is present at the cables attached to the motor: Check.

So juice is flowing through all parts of the system and is fed into the motor but the motor doesn't turn. Something is "open" in the motor. Eww....that's not good. By now I've posted a plea for help on the newsgroup and more than one person has told me to check the motor "brushes".

The Postal Van manual just tells you how to drive the thing. It contains no repair information at all. I hope that the info in the Comuta Car/Citi Car service manual is compatible. The van has almost 10,000 miles on it by now so I'm starting to believe that brushes are my problem. The brushes complete the circuit by maintaining contact with the spinning commutator. The commutator is a mass of copper that spins in the center of the motor. The 4 brushes are in holders touching the commutator every 90 degrees around the commutator. As they wear, a spring keeps drawing them tight against the commutator to maintain contact. Eventually they wear down until they are too short to touch and the motor stops.

I crawled under and removed a dust collar and the cooling fan hose. I can see something...with a spring and a wire attached. That must be it. I disconnected the spring and pulled out a stubby block of carbon. It's barely 1/4" long. I've isolated the problem. Now all I have to do is find replacements for a 25 year old GE motor.

Glen, the fellow who sold me the van is very courteous and knowledgeable. He was actually concerned about my "EV experience" and wanted it to be positive. He actually found the brushes from a couple of sources and sold them to me at the lowest price: $50.00.

Consider this: An oil change today costs anywhere from $17.00 to $60.00 depending on if you do the job yourself or have a Jiffy-Change do it for you. You do this every 3-5,000 miles. I paid $50.00 for a 10,000 mile "oil change".

All I had to do was unclip each brush and unscrew the little pigtail from each brush. I slipped each new one into it's holder, clipped the springs on and attached the pigtail. It took 20 minutes. No oil, no filter. No hazmat. I washed my hands with ordinary bar soap when I was done.

DIW...

2006-03-04T11:28:00.000-08:00

"You broke it already? See, this is not how to convince people that an EV is better"
- co worker

I've been putting a lot of short trips on the EV now and haven't had any problems. I'm about to retire my toolbox back inside the house because it's been so reliable. Of course it wouldn't have mattered given the problem that crept up...

Coming home one night from the grocery store, I stopped to make a right turn at a traffic light. I tapped the pedal to creep forward a bit...but nothing happens. A few more taps...nothing. I cycled the key switch and heard the solenoid click on and off which says that the motor controller is connected to the batteries. I shifted from reverse to 1st gear and tapped the pedal. This time there was motion. The light turned green and I drove home with no further issues.

Over the next 2 weeks, this happened 3 more times. Intermittant problems are the absolute worst to track down. I like things to be completely broken before I fix them. It takes some of the mystery out. Well I got my wish. Again, coming home from the store I cut through a library parking lot this time. I stopped at the stop sign, poised to make a right turn. Step on the pedal and nothing. No amount of fussing or picking would fix it this time. I was only a few hundred feet from home and the ground was level so I just pushed it home. The only real damage was done to my dignity. Now I'm dead in the water and the EV is an 1800 lb. lead weight.

How far can I go?

2006-02-26T17:17:00.000-08:00

"What do you mean, you "don't know how far it goes""? - co-worker

Well I don't... At least not yet.

Something fairly essential was missing when I bought the Comuta Van: A fuel gauge.
I knew this of course but a voltmeter shouldn't be a hard thing to come by. Being a 25 year old prototype, the odds of finding an exact replacement are slim. Not to fear, I've read that Curtis instruments sells this sort of thing. They are the same company that made the super-wham-o-dyne motor controller that I'm using.

They make a nice, simple, color-coded LED bar graph gauge that is green when full, and drops into blinking red when empty. Kind of pricey though. Some people on the newsgroups are trying to sell me on these "E-meters" that track amp-by-amp discharge to give you the exact moment that you're going to cease moving. Even more pricey. Where does anyone get anything these days? E-bay of course. Wow...none to be had. The EV trading post at http://www.austinev.org/evtradinpost/has one for half price so I buy it and hope for the best. We're doing the snail-mail dance with money orders and shipping so it'll be a while.

In the meantime, I'm bravely driving around with a 2" hole in my dash and no idea how far I'm going to go. The weather is between 45-70 degrees so the cold weather shouldn't affect the batteries too much yet. Over the days I start running errands to the grocery store, putting around on the backroads and hitting my favorite coffee shop. I'm logging the odometer with longer and longer drives to see how far I can go. I'm taking my time learning how it drives and trying to adapt my driving habits to a new style of vehicle.

Here's a neat thing I discovered that almost led me to wreck the thing on my 2nd trip out:

When you "coast" in a gasoline car, engine compression and friction slow you down pretty quick. You don't pay any attention to it. It just is, and you know how far you're going to coast before you roll to a stop at the traffic light. In an EV, there is no friction, and certainly no compression. The only friction is the tires on the pavement. Even with the motor in gear, it's like coasting in neutral. You roll a lot further. I learned the hard way by not allotting enough braking room and nearly rear-ending the car in front of me. In reality this is good though, because you learn to conserve energy by coasting down every little hill you find because it's much easier to maintain speed. By the "burp 'n coast" method, you learn to extend your range. You learn to plot your routes so that you depart by coasting down steep hills, and travel the flats and shallow grades coming home (or vice/versa).

One day, I'd run a string of errands around town that led me to put 32 miles on in stop 'n go traffic, up and down an assortment of hills. I figured I didn't have much battery left, but I wanted to know just how far I could push it. I found a scenic circular drive in a residential area nearby and drove a few long laps. Finally around 38 miles I sensed a lack of performance, so I headed home. By the time I was 1/16th of a mile from home, things really started slowing down. By the time I hit my parking spot, I hit 40.7 miles on the clock and I was out of juice. That's roughly 40 miles of hills and stop 'n go traffic. In a perfect world, I could probably eke out 45-50 miles.

It took about 6 hours to charge up and for 3.5 hours of that, the charger buzzed and hummed so loud I thought it would vibrate itself right off of the workbench. Thank God it's in the basement where I can isolate the sound.

The bison and the river

2006-02-20T18:37:00.000-08:00

"Man, I hope it's supposed to smell like that"- Author

The charger is untested. The only way to make it activate is for it to sense a "load" or pack of batteries. I've decided that I don't want to punch a hole in my basement wall unless I know it works. Now this is a hell of an impasse... I didn't build the damn extender cable long enough to wrap around the stairs and out the front door.

As I stare into the ceiling it hits me. I yank the clothes dryer vent duct out and snake the cable out through the dryer vent. It's only 6" from where I intend to make the hole anyway. Like a kid at Christmas I ran the cable out to the thirsty little pig and made the connections. It took a few trips up and down the stairs, but once I got the contacts seated in the new connectors right the charger powered up.

Boy howdy did it ever... A 25 year old Lester-matic charger is primitive to say the least. It's a giant silver box with giant transformers and rectifiers in it with a lawn-sprinkler timer and a couple of crude circuit boards. It makes a God-awful hum when the batteries are low as they put the biggest load on the charger. The first time it made a stink as it burned off the dust that had settled inside. It's also very "brute force". It will turn off automatically when the amps draw down from 40 to 5, but it can't sense individual battery states and it just does a best guess and turns off. At least it gets a lot quieter when the batteries get halfway full.

And it works. The whole operation is neat and tidy. The cabling all stays nice and cool from the breaker to the vehicle even under the heaviest loads since I didn't skimp and used heavy gauge wiring throughout.

With a little trepidation, I used my air chisel and chipped out a hole in my brick-front townhouse. It was a lot harder than I expected but I made it tidy by mounting a utility box on the wall from Home Despot. Not only did I run the charger output cable through this hole but I also ran an air hose from my air compressor and a normal extension cord for 110 household power. Now I can more easily use my air and electrical tools without snaking hoses and cords out of my windows or front door. When I sell the house, I'll install and ordinary 110 outlet there for whoever buys the place. When I'm not charging up, I coil the cable up next to the garden hose and the box is closed up all neat and tidy.

My neighbor and the condo-nazis haven't said a thing.

Fill 'er up!

2006-02-20T18:08:00.000-08:00

"What do you mean, you "can't charge it up"? You don't have all that figured out yet?"- my friend Paul

So all this time, I've had various theories about how to bring the river to the bison since the bison can't come to the river to drink. I could:

A) Build a weather-proof box and mount the charger outside.
B) Buy an $800.00 Zivan onboard charger and wire it up somehow.
C) Mount the charger in the basement and somehow run a cable long enough to reach the van's parking spot.

A) is out. The condo-nazis would never allow it. They already sent me nasty letters about the DeLorean thanks to my withered crone of a neighbor.

B) is out, (for now) because the cash is already flowing freely enough thanks.

C) it is then. My basement is already set up as a shop of sorts, complete with brushed stainless steel workbenches and cabinetry to match the DeLorean.

I cleared of a shelf physically closest to the van, against the wall. This is a good spot...now I need to install an outlet here, and get power to the outlet. Cripes. More books, more reading. Enter the "Black & Decker Complete Guide to Home Wiring". It didn't show -exactly- what I wanted to do, but I figured it out. My breaker box is 20 years out of date to boot. I found ONE shop in town that sold safer replacement breakers that would mount in my box, but how much amperage do I need to be safe? Well the charger draws 22.5 amps AC so...a double-pole 30 amp breaker should do. 3-strand 10 gauge wiring from the breaker, through the basement ceiling to the outlet to handle the load. My charger is 220 volts AC input, like your dryer or oven except that the plug is shaped differently. I found the required outlet at Home Despot. I bought conduit and wall clamps and an outlet box and mounted it all up. Wiring a 220 outlet is cake. There is no "neutral". There's 110 volts on one contact, 110 on the other and black is ground.

Ok, so the charger has power. The "river" is flowing. The DC output cable from the charger is only about 7' long. It's about 50' from the wall to my available parking spots. Ever wonder why the utility company pumps AC down our power lines when nearly everything in our house requires DC power? Because DC (Direct Current) doesn't travel down long lines worth a damn. After a mile, all you have is hot wire and low voltage and current. AC travels much greater distances before you need a "substation" with transformers to boost the power.

Man...50' at 40 amps DC...That's not going to travel well unless I use some heavy cable to minimize resistance. Like nuclear submarine shore power cable. Ok...as near as I can read, the charger output cable is 8-gauge. I'll buy 50' of 6-gauge and connect them.

In the meantime, all this planning is taking a couple of weeks. Out of fear for the batteries' health, I took to charging them in pairs (6v + 6v=12) with an ordinary car charger. What a hassle. The van and the charger have these weird, industrial, gender-less connectors called "Anderson" connectors so like everything else, I was guided to a website that sold them and order a bunch (in case I screw up).

Again...just ONE store in the area had what I needed...and man was it costly. $96.00 for 50'. Why? Because the damn oil shortage has driven up the price. What has the price of oil to do with the price of copper cable? Nothing. But the insulation is PLASTIC which is a by-product of oil. Had I bought this cable 4 months ago, it would have been 1/2 the price!!

Now I have to put these funky connectors on 50' of raw cable. I used a GIANT super-hot soldering iron from Ebay to melt some heavy solder into the connector contacts and prayed that I didn't burn the house down. The trick was shoving the cable tip into the solder while it was still molten. I did this 8 times. There are 4 conductors in the cable. Red, green, black and white.

Red and green I designated for the 72 vDC output which charges the traction pack. The black and white I designated for the 12 vDC output which charges the accessory battery. The new, heavy-duty "extender" cable mated perfectly to the original charger DC output cable.

Underway on batter power II

2006-02-20T17:57:00.000-08:00

"Ok...I have to ask. What is it?"- Neighbor

Ok...so by now I have kind of a "hip bone connected to the thighbone" understanding of my EV. It has batteries. When I turn the "ignition" key on, power is applied to the solenoid, which connects the traction bank to the motor controller. I step on the pedal and the 12 volt signal at the pedal commands the controller to feed the motor.

An interesting thing about my particular EV is that even though it has a 3 speed manual transmission, it has no clutch. No clutch pedal. You just slam-shift it. When you reach the designated shift point, you just let off the accelerator pedal and -gently- shove it into next gear. The synchronizers allow for smooth shifting. The reason you can do it in an EV is because the motor can spin down to any speed required to synchronize. A gasoline motor always idles and resists synchronization, hence a clutch is required. So....one less expensive maintenance item to worry about.

I put the van into 1st gear and gently stepped on the pedal. Smoothly and without a sound, I rolled out of my parking spot. Neat. Just like a golfcart. I looped around my parking lot a few times, cautious of my spongy brakes. The shifting took getting used to but no big deal.

Whew. That was fun. Too bad I have to stop now.

You see, buying 12 batteries from Sam's Club means they are all manufactured at different dates and are all in various states of discharge from sitting on the shelf. A check with a battery hydrometer shows that some are nearly discharged and some are about halfway. None are greater than 2/3 charged.

I guess now would be a good time to see about wiring up the battery charger...

Underway on battery power

2006-02-19T12:38:00.000-08:00

"On downhill operations, do not allow the vehicle to reach speeds in excess of 49 mph. To do so will cause the motor armatures to rotate so fast that they will fly apart..." ----Commuter Vehicles Postal Van Operator's manual.

...Not exactly a ringing endorsement of durability. Still, it's 25 years old, and it was basically a prototype vehicle. Being as it was designed for the government, that's probably a conservative warning. I've had the van up to 57 mph with no problems and I've coasted downhill up to 65 mph. I just put it in neutral so I don't overspeed the motor.

Installing and cabling the batteries was interesting. I knew they were "in series" or a large string but I wasn't sure where the beginning and ending of the string was. Fortunately I was given a diagram that showed how. The batteries are in two banks of 6. One front, one rear.

Ok, so the batteries are installed. How do I apply power to the motor? Another advantage the Postal van had over the early Citi cars is the addition of an "accessory" or "house" battery. This single 12 volt battery powers the lights, fans, etc so you're not draining the traction pack. It also applies power to the solenoid that connects the traction pack to the motor controller. The motor controller then feeds the motor via the signal from the accelerator pedal. Simple enough except that nothing's labeled and wiring data on the van is scarce because there were so few made.

The first few tentative taps on the pedal yielded nothing until I figured out that I needed the accessory battery. I thought it was strictly for lights and comfort items. Dang....I don't have a spare 12 volt battery handy. Or do I? Well it's October now and boating season is over so I raided my boat for it's marine battery and installed it. Heck, at least it'll be charged regularly.

Once the accessory battery was installed, I put the transmission in neutral and barely tapped the pedal. I was rewarded with a smooth, quiet spin-up of the motor. It's dangerous to spin and unloaded electric motor because it can overspeed and damage itself.

Next, I noted that the motor cooling fan and all the lights worked. It appears that I'm safe for a test turn around my townhouse complex...

What makes the EV go?

2006-02-19T06:24:00.000-08:00

"It's a triangle. Rich, your EV is a triangle. Promise me you'll never let yourself be seen in a triangle"- co worker

To answer the above question, batteries make the EV go but what kind? The type and quality of batteries increases in price, performance and life span but at what moment do you reach the "point of diminishing returns"? This means, at what moment have you spent too much money for what the batteries will give you?

I Googled and newsgroup'd the various types of batteries and I came up with a bewildering list of choices:

1. Flooded Lead-acid: Reliable, least expensive, most recycleable. Life-span: 4 years. Range: 40-50 miles on average with a temperature variable: 30 miles at 30 F, up to 50 at 80 F.

2. AGM & gell: (Absorbed glass mat) Less of a temperature variable. Approximately 40% more expensive. Slightly less range. No acid spillage and no hydrogen gas buildup during charging.

3. NiCad: nickel Cadmium. Poor availability. Yet more expensive. Evironmentally toxic. Poor recycleability. Very costly. Longer lifespan. Shorter range.

4. NiMh: nickel metal Hydride. Up to 10x more in cost. Almost 2x the range (100 miles per charge). Approx. 10 year life. Poor/non-existent availability outside of Hybrid production cars. Almost no recycling infrastructure yet. Requires computerized charging equipment.

5. LiIon: Lithium Ion. 10x as expensive or more, but usually double the range. Some models overheat or explode if overloaded. No availability beyond electronics and hybrid auto industries. Lifespan is debatable but generally expected to be greater than lead acid batteries. Requires computerized charging equipment.

On the surface, the choice seems easy but I read much deeper into the subject than what's shown here. You'll have to do your own in depth research. I just couldn't justify the expense of exotic batteries in a 25 year old vehicle. It's kind of like putting day-old tap water into 25 year old Scotch whiskey. It's just not done. I also wouldn't want to burn up special batteries while I'm tinkering and learning.

Needless to say, I went with the least expensive, most reliable option. 12, 6 volt lead acid golf cart batteries. This is how it's normally done, especially by do-it-yourself EV'rs. I caught a Sam's Club member ship and spent $46.00 each. They're kind of low-end to middle grade batteries so we'll see how long they last.

Dissecting your specimen

2006-02-13T14:33:00.000-08:00

"I heard it rained in Washington state today. It's all Bush's fault" -The Left

I'm not dumb. I know gasoline prices aren't going to stay this high but the point is, I'm sick of people telling me that there is no other way and that gasoline is a staple that you "have to have" like flour, sugar or milk. As a sailor with 15 years in the service 7 months of which I spent in the Persian Gulf protecting shipping from suicidal Islamists, I'm tired of wondering where my fuel comes from and who it's supporting. I make it a point to pay attention to world events when it could mean my ass gets sent to a foreign country "protecting" people who don't want my protection.

A lot of the EV newsgroups I've subscribed to are nothing but pulpits for Eco-Nazis to scream from. They have little or no technical content. I was publicly berated for suggesting we concentrate our topics on the technology and ignore the politics. Some of these people are simply nuts. Bush's conspiracy, Big Oil, Big Industry, The Big 3, The Man...I don't care what the cause of high fuel prices are. All I need to know is that petro-based fuels cost more than I feel like paying for them and I'm not going to let anyone tell me that I have to buy them.

So, back to the Comuta Van...

You can tell there were barely any vehicle safety requirements 25 years ago. This is a totally street legal vehicle made of PLASTIC and an aircraft aluminum tubing frame. Oh, and drum brakes all the way around. She'll stop on a dime....NOT.

For once though, I seemed to have done my homework. The wiring is all intact, nothing really broken. It's just dusty from 10 years of indoor storage. The brakes are spongy and the master cylinder needs rebuilt but that's to be expected. The ancient steering box is ok but the tie rod links have slop. Parts availability -may- be an issue but the seller and I keep in contact and he's a great help.

These old Citi/Comuta vehicles were controlled by a Frankensteinian mechanical contactor array that switched the battery pack from series to parallel depending on how far you pushed the pedal. That's how power was applied to the motor. It also made for an "on/off" mentality and a real jerky ride. I'm thrilled to say that my little "Dilbert-mobile" has been upgraded with something I'd never heard of before: A PCM (Pulse controlled modulation) type controller.

This is one reason why EV's are feasible now. It's a sealed black box with no moving parts and it feeds power to the motor by switching power on and off at an incredibly rapid rate. It's silent and it knows how much juice to apply by the potentiometer or "potbox" attached to the pedal. When you step on the pedal, it's smooth as silk. It'll probably outlast the van by many years.

As I pick at the wiring, I notice that all the warning lights and motor power switches have been disconnected because of the upgrade. I'll have to patch some of this stuff back together. A few accessory wires are disconnected but once I have batteries, I'll be able to figure out what goes where with my trusty multi-meter.

I are an engineer, after all.

The Long Haul

2006-02-13T14:17:00.000-08:00

"I've got to quit stuffing 20 lbs. of shit into a 10 lb. sack" -Author

Now it's October 2nd and I've finally managed to coordinate my financial, professional and social obligations so that I can pick the damned thing up. Hurricane Katrina has come and gone and gas prices are like nothing no one has ever seen. I'm too disgusted to gloat and I've limited my comments to my friends and family to "Still think I'm crazy?".

The seller was very patient with me and was a great sport to meet me for the hand-off. I took my first good look at the thing. No surprises here. It's a mix of freaky/ugly/nerdy that only a 25 year-old view of "modern" could conjure up. Still, it grows on you. I instantly decide I like it. It barely weighs anything without batteries in it and we secure it to my U-Haul trailer with no trouble.

Folks, I'm here to tell you that the drive from Annapolis, Maryland to Roanoke and back is a long and dreary experience in a 30 year old 1 ton pickup with dual exhaust and no radio. I never use it for anything except hauling my boat so I saw no need to stuff it full of comforts. I'll damn sure put a CB radio in it to talk to the truckers if nothing else.

I made it home safely and crawled into bed the minute I was parked. At 6 a.m. the next morning I rolled it off the trailer and into my parking spot so I could return the U Haul. "Why is this damn thing so hard to push now?" I thought in frustration. Gravity should have run away with it. Oh sweet....let's shove against the parking brake. D'oh!

I screamed down to the U Haul joint and then off to work. 20 lbs. in a 10 lb. sack....

EV Irony

2006-02-12T18:32:00.000-08:00

"EV's are too expensive and too limited in capability" - Various

I've admitted to myself that I'm not about to plunk down $28-40 THOUSAND dollars on a used Toyota RAV4 EV with nickle-metal hydride batteries and that this nerdy little van is going to be my ride into the world of alternative fuel. I've secured a small loan and an agreement with the seller: $3,500 dollars and he'll deliver it halfway in Virginia. The irony of this, is that I'll be using my 1975 Chevy 1-ton pickup truck that gets like 9 gallons per mile to go get it. My buddy Paul calls it the "Kriegswagon", or War Wagon. Not very efficient.

While I'm working all this into my schedule of family, work and military reserve duty I'm crunching yet more numbers based on parts, batteries, charging costs etc. against the operating costs of an ICE (internal combustion engine). I've had 15 years in the Navy. I use a lot of alphabet soup when I write. The theoretical numbers were verrrrrrry interesting:

My DeLorean gets 22-25 mpg. Pretty good for a 24 year-old car. Assuming I -never- drive it anywhere except to the Metro station and home, that's 28 miles per day, or a little more than a gallon per day. It carries 13 gallons. At my town's current price of $2.50/gallon, that's $32.50 per tank every 1.5 weeks or so. Let's take all the words out of this equation and just crunch numbers:

DMC-12 Annual operating expenses
_________________________
$32.50 X 35 weeks (7,000 miles)= $1138.00
Annual tune up: Sparkplugs $47.76
Cap and rotor $19.95, $8.95
Sparkplug wires $59.95
Air filter $7.45
Emissions test $14.95
Oil change @ 3 months $143.64
______________________
Total: $1392.89

EV Annual operating expenses

______________________

BGE charges .07 cents per kWh (kilowatthour) The van's charger draws 3.5 kWh max and takes 6 hours to charge from dead.

.07 cents X 3.5 kWh= .245 cents.

.25 cents X 6 hours= $1.47

$1.47= 35 miles, or one "fill up" (conservatively) so 300 miles (the average ICE range per tank)

300 miles/35= 8.5 "fill ups" at $1.47, which is $12.60 for 300 miles of travel. And

7,000 miles of travel for the year at $1.47 per charge is: $257.25

*component prices from www.delorean.com

These components are not special or overpriced despite the unique nature of the DeLorean automobile. It came factory equipped with a Volvo V6 engine.

Other than a VW TDI Beetle or a Honda Insight, there is no vehicle that you'll travel 300 miles in for only $12.60 cents, or 7,000 miles for only $257.25.

Wait, what about all that other stuff? What about maintenance costs for an EV?

There are none. No oil, no coolant, hoses, belts, headgaskets, smog pump, catalytic converter or other crap. Brake pad? Wheel bearings? Transmission oil? Yes but you'll notice I didn't include that in the costs of EITHER vehicle to keep a level playing field. Also, those systems are infrequently serviced in any vehicle so I don't count them as "annual" operating costs.

The only maintenance a DC series-wound motor requires is new brushes every 10 THOUSAND miles. The new Advance (it's a brand name) DC motors only require brushes every 80 thousand miles. The electronic control systems for an EV have no moving parts and are sealed. They usually live longer than the vehicle itself.

Batteries are another issue and I'll talk about them in a battery dedicated post. Just to soothe your curiosity now, I'll tell you that an ordinary lead acid battery pack will last about 4 years if cared for properly and cost you from $700-$1200 dollars depending on your car's system voltage.

Where'd all the EV's go?

2006-02-12T18:15:00.000-08:00

"I don't know how you can spend your time off working this hard" -co worker

As I watch the gas prices climb, I'm looking at all the options...bio-diesel, hybrid etc. I live in a townhouse. I don't have to room to brew used cooking oil into fuel and I don't have the time to run down every Chan's Hunan take-out to look for cooking grease. I still haven't found a project or "starter" EV that I can afford. The technology seems to have improved since I last looked into it but the prices have skyrocketed. Everyone thinks I'm crazy but I smell something bad in the wind... it's now about July '05 and the hurricanes are ramping up.

One day I'm cruising the Yahoo! newsgroups looking for EV forums when I stumble on the C-Car group. What the hell's a C-Car? Then I get into the pictures...ohhhhh yeah. I remember seeing this tiny little wedge-shaped vehicle in Florida as a kid. Not very often though. They're called "Citi Cars" or "Comuta Cars". As I dig into the archives I find that they are affordable in the low thousands or even hundreds of dollars. Ok, fine. I can fix one up but what are their capabilities? I start asking around and the answers are kind of daunting:

35-42 mph (depending on the year and system voltage)
35-40 mile range.
3.5 or 6 hp motor (eesh.. still electric motor hp is calculated differently)

That's just not enough to get to the Metro.

A day or so later I receive an email from a fellow who is a parts and knowledge source for these vehicles. (Name withheld to protect the innocent) He tells me about the vehicles and asks me about my needs. He then tells me that he has a vehicle that'll probably do what I want. It's called a "Comuta Van". Van? Originally designed for the U.S. Postal service, it has a 3 speed transmission and here are the raw numbers:

50-55 mph
40 or 50 miles per charge.

Hmm...maybe maybe. Very affordable too. The catch? It's in Alabama and I'm in Maryland.

The Plan

2006-02-12T13:25:00.000-08:00

"No plan survives contact with the enemy"

Yeah right.... No matter how hard I try, I never plan anything as well as I should.

The DeLorean I bought that "needed a little TLC"? It was crap. It took 10 months of work and $3,000 dollars just to turn the ignition key.

The boat, trailer and motor I bought for $300.00? Also crap. The transom was rotted (cleverly hidden though) and it took $2,000 dollars to make it sea-worthy.

Still, I've always managed to pull my chestnuts out of the fire by learning the necessary skills and doing the repairs myself thereby saving thousands of labor dollars. The DeLorean is a head-turner at every filling station and carshow. The boat is rock-solid and provides endless hours of relaxation and $2500.00 dollars is a steal considering a comparable new boat and trailer are $15,000 grand. But just ONCE, I'd like to start a project off on the right foot.

Ok, so the first thing I did was look up "electric vehicle" on Google and Yahoo! (Where else?)
Whew... the modern ones are expensive! Ok, so I've learned so far that many electric vehicles in my price range travel between 30 and 50 miles per charge. Is my life adaptable to that limitation?

Next, I spent an afternoon using MapQuest to plot the mileage and possible routes to all my usual destinations...the DMV, the mall, the grocery store, the gas station...oh wait I'm not supposed to need that one...let's see...school, the veterernarian for my aging mutt... and most importantly, the Metrorail. That's the Washington DC subway system for those of you who don't know. All of these destinations are within 20 miles except the Metro. It's a 28 mile round-trip. The trip to work will be tight unless I can think of another way.

The kernel of an idea.

2006-02-12T12:59:00.000-08:00

"There is a field marshal's baton in every soldier's knapsack"- Napolean Bonaparte

This is kind of a late start for documentation on this project. I actually purchased my first EV on 02 October '05. This entry will be mostly about inception of the idea so here goes...

I'm a firm believer that part of being an American is having your cake and eating it too. That means I believe that the average American is smart enough and driven enough earn, design or build whatever he or she wants without waiting for Big Industry or the Federal government to provide it. Sort of an engineering view of Napolean's axiom.

I've been a car nut for ages and I've also always held an interest in science and technology. I own a 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 stainless steel beauty that I have lovingly restored. As much as I love cars, it's easy to see that our love and need for them is literally putting us over a barrel. Before the 2005 hurricane season, and before Iran started rattling their saber, I was angry over gasoline prices when they hit $1.80/gallon.

What to do? Hey...this is America people. We find another way.