David's 1996 Civic LX EV

[bennelson]

Originally Posted by TheSGC

... I am going to install a 1500 Watt ceramic element ....

When you do that, please take some photos and let us all know what you are using for a relay to control it. Lots of people say that they "just installed a heater", but it is often hard to find some good documentation on it.

[MetroMPG]

Jerry posted a decent page on evconvert about using a ceramic heater:

EV Weblog: Bring on the Heat

[TheSGC]

Originally Posted by bennelson

When you do that, please take some photos and let us all know what you are using for a relay to control it. Lots of people say that they "just installed a heater", but it is often hard to find some good documentation on it.

I will take looks pictures because it is pretty involved. This is the basics of what I need to do:
1. Drain the AC Coolant
2. Remove the glove box, AC Evaporator and blower
3. Remove Center dash and radio
4. Remove Heating Unit
5. Remove Heater Core

I need to get measurements from the Heater Core to make a new Aluminum housing for the Ceramic element. I will be using a Curtis SW-80 contactor for the Heater power because I have a box of them, and I will be using a 12 volt relay to activate it. I will have a switch that will allow half or full heater element, so I can use 750 watts or 1500 Watts depending on my needs. I preheat my EV before any trips, but I need enough warm air to defrost but not do a huge number to my range.

I am estimating about a day, maybe two, worth of work, once the AC is drained. Most of that will be making the housing for the Ceramic element. I am on a nice long winter break, so by the end of it I hope to have my new suspension and full heat.

[TheSGC]

I just did some heater testing on my bench, and there is no way that the ceramic heater running at 96 volts will do much for my EV. Based upon that, I will not be using a ceramic heater, but instead a 1500 watt water heater and pump through the existing core.

What I did was compare my AC ceramic heater to my DC version. I found that the AC heater had a "warm heat" range of about 2-3 feet, and there is about 4 feet of ventilation. Figuring the resistance of the heater element and my battery pack voltage, I would get a max of about 650 watts, which would do about nothing and get "lost" through the ducts.

I am looking to use a Kat's 1500 watt block heater and I am still looking for a hot water pump.

[TheSGC]

I finally got my rear suspension system installed today and it looks much better! Tomorrow I will test it out with a few drives.

I also got a Kats 1500 water heater and a 12 volt RV water pump for my heating system. I did a test run in my basement of the pump, which I will make a video of it tomorrow, and then I will test the heater itself.

I have also been breaking in my batteries and gathering data through my Zillla via ZillaConfig app. After the past few runs I have found that my test driving route, my EV has been using 312 Watt Hours/Mile from the batteries. Now that I have my new suspension installed I am going to work on getting that number lowered, like around 300 or maybe even 275 WH/Mi. My old rear suspension sat so low that my wheels were bowed in and probably adding a good amount of drag to the EV. Now I am back up to stock height and tomorrow I should be able to get more data to see if that number has lowered.

[TheSGC]

So after checking my tires and checking the height on my suspension, I took it out yesterday a few times on my test route and it's now 270 Wh/Mi!!!!!!

I couldn't believe what a difference it made! Not only did the ride feel sturdier and safer, it didn't feel like the same car it was 3 months ago! Since upgrading to a Zilla, replacing my transmission and suspension, it appears I have netted a 19% increase in efficiency! That comes out to about 4 more mile of range!

I am about 75% done with my water heater setup, which is what I am working on today. I have to make a small plate to mount it together, then I will make a quick video of it's pumping capability and I will also test out the heater part in the house just to make sure it's all working before I modify it for EV use and install it.

I am really excited, and this being my last week of vacation, I have done almost everything I had hoped. I just have to finish this heater and get the inspection.

[MPaulHolmes]

That's amazing!!!!

[TheSGC]

This week didn't go as I had hoped because our driveway was filled with trucks from the local Oil company installing new heaters and plumbing in our house, but I did get a few things done. I went for my inspection, and passed easily with no confusion, did more work on my heater setup and found out how to properly equalize batteries.

I found out that many chargers WILL NOT equalize lead acid batteries. After oodles of research and playing around, I have discovered that my MAXX29 need 1 hour of Equalizing for every 25 cycles. I have found that after 50 cycles, the batteries TANK in performance, which is what happened to me last year and I just replaced the pack.

Now I have been experimenting with one left over MAXX29 that I kept as a practice battery and for camping use. I removed it from my EV back in September and have used it about 20 time since then for various things. I have a Home Depot Smart Charger that always detects "sulfation" on the and goes into FLOAT instead of fully charging the battery because of that.

I decided to investigate proper Equalization and found that it needs 15.5 volts +/- temperature compensation. So I took a spare IBM laptop charger and created an Equalizer and tried it last night. Well it worked! After equalizing I put on a 25 AMP load (Inverter on with a house fan), drained the battery and gave it another charge and the charger registered "FULL". Then, this afternoon I put on the same load and the battery had a lot less voltage sag, and is registering as almost new! It has about 60 cycles on it and should get another hours worth of equalization to be brought up to specs.

I have two batteries in my EV that were showing the same symptoms, so I put on my Equalizer for and hour each, drove the EV 4.8 miles and saw significant improvement, but I don't expect to see the real improvement until this charge finishes.

I think I am going to write a paper on working with these batteries....

[TheSGC]

Ok, so I have been working on two sets of heating, one for the cabin and one for the batteries. I have ordered Farnam Battery Pads from KTA-EV and I have been working on a circuit to control the temperature. I have also been working on a similar circuit for my water heater, and it looks like I will have the time tomorrow to finish them due to massive amounts of snow on the way!

I am really hoping to get both my battery heater pads and my water heater setup installed this weekend. It's a long weekend, and most of the hard stuff should be completed tomorrow, and I will just have to suck it to with the cold and have at it.

I have also been doing a lot of research on caring for my MAXX29 batteries, and testing out a few ideas that seem to be working out really well so far. I do need to get a Hydrometer, though, just to check all my cells. I have to remove all my batteries anyways to install my heating pads, so I am going to get a hydrometer and more distilled water so this weekend I can make sure each battery is up to spec.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by TheSGC

Ok, so I have been working on two sets of heating, one for the cabin and one for the batteries. I have ordered Farnam Battery Pads from KTA-EV and I have been working on a circuit to control the temperature. I have also been working on a similar circuit for my water heater, and it looks like I will have the time tomorrow to finish them due to massive amounts of snow on the way!

I am really hoping to get both my battery heater pads and my water heater setup installed this weekend. It's a long weekend, and most of the hard stuff should be completed tomorrow, and I will just have to suck it to with the cold and have at it.

I have also been doing a lot of research on caring for my MAXX29 batteries, and testing out a few ideas that seem to be working out really well so far. I do need to get a Hydrometer, though, just to check all my cells. I have to remove all my batteries anyways to install my heating pads, so I am going to get a hydrometer and more distilled water so this weekend I can make sure each battery is up to spec.

I wish I still lived closer to Boston or Woostah (Worcester, for those not familiar with the area). I'd love to come out and see your conversion. It sounds like a very well executed job, and you've been spending a lot of quality time on it!