Electric car conversion: Project ForkenSwift

[RobertSmalls]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

FYI, this is a 100 watt unit. It just does the job. Though the 12v battery will discharge slowly if I have to use the headlights and the wipers

Well, as long as the 12V battery doesn't run out before the traction battery pack, that sounds ideal.

I'm hoping to run my DC/DC converter while I grid charge the traction battery, thus reducing the number of things I have to plug in at night and squeezing out more Ah.

[MetroMPG]

Good to hear from an Insight owner, because coincidentally, I'm hoping to "trade" test drives with the only local Insight owner here now that the car has been cleaned up for "show season".

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Today's breakfast talk went well. It was also the furthest the car has been from town (32 km one way) , and probably also the furthest it's gone in one day, including some local errands after (~74 km total, with several opportunity charges).

[MetroMPG]

Energy usage was better than expected too: 10.32 kWh for 73 km / 45 miles = 141 wH/hm / 228 wH/mi / 147 mpg-e.

And I didn't baby it for most of the highway trip out there and back. Cruised along at 50-65 km/h (30-40 mph).

[Oer Al]

Phew, I read the whole thread - rope or cable is a more applicable term. Think big, arm-sized battleship mooring cable. You seem to have reached all your goals and ended up with a cheap limited range vehicle. Power use at 'cruise speed' seems to be around 5-7 kW in favourable conditions?

Have you considered getting one of those diesel generators which can be had for less than $1000 - at least here in Sweden, cheaper still directly from China if you buy 5 or more.

You'd only need a smallish one, 5KVA should suffice to keep you on the road. The small 1 cylinder diesel engines used in these machines are relatively simple and can run on more than just liquified dinosaurs, SVO or filtered WVO usually works just as well.

You could make it removable so you'd only need to drop it in when you plan a trip which exceeds battery range - eg. a trip to one of those EV jamborees. You'd need to make an extension for the exhaust to keep yourself from suffocating and you might want to wear ear muffs to survive the racket those things make - but it could also be placed on a trailer of course, even though that would decrease the efficiency of the combination. If you really want to make it fancy you could make it autostart when the batteries get below a certain threshold. Fuel consumption for a 5KVA machine would be around 0.8-1 l/hour full load.

With one of these you'd be able to turn your limited range all-electric into an unlimited range diesel-electric series hybrid. A locomotive, sort of... But with the advantage that the oily bits can be taken out at will to return to the all-electric configuration.

[MetroMPG]

Oer Al - Congratulations on making it all the way through!

With one of these you'd be able to turn your limited range all-electric into an unlimited range diesel-electric series hybrid. A locomotive, sort of... But with the advantage that the oily bits can be taken out at will to return to the all-electric configuration.

I've only toyed with the idea of adding a generator. No plans to do it. The issue with this specific case is the car would still be a low/medium speed vehicle. Not an awful lot of need for an "unlimited" range vehicle with a 65 km/h top speed!

But others have done just what you're describing with more powerful EV's. See: Biodiesel series hybrid Mazda Miata EV

[MetroMPG]

Bad news: the dc-dc converter seems to have died.

Ironic, considering I just properly installed it about a month ago ( see http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post175724 )

Haven't really investigated, other than testing the output voltage (seems limited to around 3v).

[bennelson]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

I've only toyed with the idea of adding a generator. No plans to do it.

I've seriously considered adding a generator. I have a brushless DC Propane generator out of an RV. It's 3kilowatt and DOT approved.

My Electro-Metro goes a little faster than the Forkenswift, and I don't have another, dedicated, gasoline Metro/Swift/Firefly, the way Darin does.


If you are interested, start a new thread in the fossil-fuel-free forum (or maybe the Hybrid forum?) on adding a generator to an EV.

[will88]

man i am in love with this site so many projects and helpful folks

[RobertSmalls]

How long have you had the DC/DC converter? Is it homemade?

While building my battery charger, I was looking through MeanWell's catalog of power supplies, including DC/DC converters ranging from <1A to 60A.

Jameco Electronics - Electronic Components Distributor

You can get the same ones from ElectricMotorSport.com for twice the price.

[will88]

Originally Posted by RobertSmalls

How long have you had the DC/DC converter? Is it homemade?

While building my battery charger, I was looking through MeanWell's catalog of power supplies, including DC/DC converters ranging from <1A to 60A.

Jameco Electronics - Electronic Components Distributor

You can get the same ones from ElectricMotorSport.com for twice the price.

thanks for that link man it willl realy help me get my head around components i might need and genaral prices