After charging from yesterdays ride, I calculated energy use as 322 watt-hours per mile, or roughly the equivelent of 115 mpg, my worst yet.
Also, figuring that it took just a hair under 3KWhr, that means that at 72Volts, the batteries actually hold 41.6 amp-hour capacity.
But that was running the batteries down too far. If I figure I only want to run the batteries down half way, that makes the number 20.8 amp-hours. That's on batteries that are rated for 95 amp-hours!
Of course those batteries are rated at something like a 20 amp drain rate, not the 100 amps I am typically using!
If I really only have about 20 amp hours to use, and the car averages 100 amps to cruise around, that means I get about 1/5 of an hour of run time. That's 12 minutes of driving! At 35 MPH at 1/5 of an hour is 7 miles!
I really shouldn't be driving more than 7 miles in the winter! Ug!
I will have to try this again on a day with similar weather, but with preheating the car, and see what difference I have in range and energy use!
PS - One of the reasons I got such a good deal on these batteries is that gel cells are known to drop range A LOT in the winter. These batteries were originally pulled from an NEV and were replaced with a different style with better cold weather characteristics. I knew I would have poor winter performance, but ACK! This isn't good!
PS: Thanks Terry. You are right, I did end up taking the motor in and out several times. That's what I get for learning as I go. One time I installed the motor, only to realize I would not be able to turn left because of the tailshaft!
If I ever have to pull the motor again, - OK - WHEN I have to pull the motor again, maybe I can take it apart and powder coat it. The motors rebuilt by Jim Husted and other EV modders look SO nice, and part of it is the paint job.