Paul & Sabrina's Cheap EV Conversion

[MPaulHolmes]

They are still working great for me, and it's almost been 1 year now. They do switch to trickle mode once each battery is charged. I don't think they ever shut off completely. It doesn't hurt the batteries though to leave it charging for several days. Each charger has a little indicator thing on it that shows when it changes from full blown 6 amp charging to trickle charge mode. Then in trickle charge mode, every now and then, it sends a bigger voltage pulse (maybe 14v or something?) for about 1 second. I'm not sure what that's for, but whatever, they work great! ya!

[jimbo12d]

Where do you get the lovejoy connectors for $5? Sounds like a great deal.

[MPaulHolmes]

Well, their availability for that price varies on Ebay. There is a larger L100 available on there right now for $8.79:

Lovejoy L100 .875 coupling *new* - eBay (item 400047039600 end time Jun-29-09 13:11:43 PDT)

[watt-a-mezz]

Originally Posted by ev59rag

Paul,

Hows your Harbor Freight 6 amp chargers? How are they holding up? Do they really switch to trickle mode when it is completely charged? Then how long will it stay trickle before it goes to shut-off?

Sorry for so many questions, I think Im going your direction with my 72 volt system.

Cesar

Hello MPaul. I have the same type of chargers. There is an outlet store about 20 mi from my house. I will have mine charging 2 12v in parallel. so 4 chargers do 8 batteries. I did a little experiment and for a 6amp charger, I charged 2 12v car batteries overnight(they were pretty whipped)Macpherson strut: dance Oprah does when no one is looking! Take care, Watt

[MPaulHolmes]

Hey Watt! I miss making fun of Oprah. That's a good idea with charging 2 in parallel. Man, I hate this weather! It's like 75 degrees out! I need it around 50 and raining, or I start to get heat stroke. yuck!

[gc-steve]

Originally Posted by jimbo12d

Where do you get the lovejoy connectors for $5? Sounds like a great deal.

Here's a Lot of 7 LoveJoy Couplers on ebay ...

--

[MPaulHolmes]

7 sets! including spiders!

[ev59rag]

Paul,

did you ever change anything on your car registration? I mean do we have to? Do we need to re-register it as electric? What are your experiences with this?

C

[MPaulHolmes]

Many people just register and insure their car as a regular car. Lee Hart told me that if an accident happens in your electric car, that the insurance company has to PROVE that the conversion was the cause of the accident in order for them to get out of paying. Otherwise, it's just considered a modified regular old car. So, I just insured it as a normal 71 superbeetle.

[Christ]

I think you'll find that those rules vary from state to state. AFAIK, if you "mis-lead" your insurance company by not reporting modifications/customization, they can refuse to pay a claim based solely on that.

Check your policy information, it will know better than anyone else.