Ben Nelson's Electro-Metro Build thread - Page 122 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

bennelson · 09-07-2009, 09:39 PM

My wife FINALLY drove the Electro-Metro!

I took her down a side street, just to get used to it, then we drove to the grocery store.

No mishaps, nothing weird happened - just the fact that we drove a car to get groceries without using a drop of gasoline!

One more EV driver on the road!

MPaulHolmes · 09-07-2009, 11:35 PM

My wife would never drive our EV. hahaha

vpoppv · 09-07-2009, 11:55 PM

I think my wife will drive mine BEFORE me. (Her life insurance pays out more)....

Christ · 09-07-2009, 11:59 PM

I want an EV... but I've still got too many other things to do.

If I want my wife to drive an EV, all I have to do is tell her that I'm not paying for fuel for her to drive 10 mins to the nearest store, and she'll either take the EV, or she doesn't need to go to the store that bad.

Most people think this is rude... I find that doing it this way, it saves me from telling her that we're "conserving fuel" and "not going to the store until we actually have to."

vince · 09-18-2009, 01:02 AM

Hi Ben,If i'm not mistaken your still waiting for Pauls controller so i thought it would be good to know how many k's your getting now and then with the same batts with the new controller?I have been reading a lot about Li-on batts for the rich but little about Leads(agm's) that i need a booster shot from sla users,that is from the poor and famous.Is there a spot you can direct me to regarding good feenback from agm users?Thanks and don't stop the vids,vince

MPaulHolmes · 09-18-2009, 02:46 AM

It's in the mail, well, tomorrow it will be in the mail. Things got a little busy today. Technical difficulties. The stupid optocoupler, resistor sizing, etc. The optocoupler has a "behavior range" of 25 to 60. hehe. and I got a batch of the 25-30 ones.

bennelson · 09-18-2009, 10:58 AM

It seems like the range I get with my current set of 6 lead batteries is about 18 miles.

If I can charge even a little while out and about, it really helps the batteries. Keep in mind that these were all used batteries, that I paid $12 each for.

I don't expect my range to change much with a different controller. I would imagine that they are roughly the same efficiency.

For more information on various battery types, you might want to visit the EV Album page, where you can sort through car listings by component type, including batteries.

Battery Type: Lead-Acid, Gel

bennelson · 09-26-2009, 08:31 PM

I just installed the "Cougar 2" Open Source controller.

It was a little more complicated than the just swapping out the Curtis controller. That controller could take power from pack voltage. The open source controller requires wires to +12V & -12V, and a switch.

I installed a sub-fuse panel salvaged from an RV so I would have a new, dedicated 12V circuit, and than ran that to an illuminated switch inside the car.

That then turns the power on and off to the controller.

The car drives pretty well on the new controller. Acceleration is really smooth. It is GREATLY improved over the very first version of the controller. I had the throttle response on the Curtis controller cranked up. I had to be light on it to pull away from stops, but I could actually burn rubber with it too!

The Cougar isn't set to "burn rubber" mode, but you could stomp on the gas and get smooth, swift acceleration.

I think I would like to cram in two more batteries, for a 96V system. All of my other components can handle up to 108V nominal, and any more batteries would start to take up my cargo space!

vpoppv · 09-26-2009, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bennelson

I just installed the "Cougar 2" Open Source controller.

It was a little more complicated than the just swapping out the Curtis controller. That controller could take power from pack voltage. The open source controller requires wires to +12V & -12V, and a switch.

I installed a sub-fuse panel salvaged from an RV so I would have a new, dedicated 12V circuit, and than ran that to an illuminated switch inside the car.

That then turns the power on and off to the controller.

The car drives pretty well on the new controller. Acceleration is really smooth. It is GREATLY improved over the very first version of the controller. I had the throttle response on the Curtis controller cranked up. I had to be light on it to pull away from stops, but I could actually burn rubber with it too!

The Cougar isn't set to "burn rubber" mode, but you could stomp on the gas and get smooth, swift acceleration.

I think I would like to cram in two more batteries, for a 96V system. All of my other components can handle up to 108V nominal, and any more batteries would start to take up my cargo space!

What are you doing for precharge? Is it/has it been the same with all the different controllers? And also, way back when you said you paid $12/battery, is that just because you didn't have battery cores to give them, and the $12 was the core charge? Also, are the Ranger springs working well?

bennelson · 09-26-2009, 11:36 PM

For Pre-charge, I have a resistor across the a main contactor, with a battery disconnect just before it.

I leave the disconnect disconnected while not using the car.
Then I plug in that connector and the pre-charge starts. I turn the key and the main contactor closes, then I drive the car.

I paid $12 for the batteries because I knew the guy who had them, and that's how much money HE would have got for core. IE - they only would have gone in for recycling and take $12 off the price of whatever new batteries HE would have bought.

The truck springs are fine, but they were really set up for the weight of 12 batteries total, and I have pretty much ended up going with 6, so they are more than needed, but still far better than the stock springs.

The springs do squeek a little. I think it is because of how they go up into the body/frame of the car, and aren't quite as smooth/flush on the ends as the original springs.

PS: I also FINALLY found my ELECTRIC CAR CHARGING ONLY sign today. It's only been mixing about 6 or 7 months. Turns out it was at the church where we held our Earth Day Alt. Auto Show. I had been past it several times, but only saw the back of it. It blends right in with all of the other "real" signs there.

One guy said that nobody has parked in that space for months because of it!