Shocker! ForkenSwift's identical twin under construction...

[bennelson]

Hey Darin,

quick couple of forklift questions for you.

I read the ENTIRE Forkenswift thread about a month ago. Most of it was very late at night.

Please remind me what voltage the original forklift was. Also, as I recall, you bought the forklift for how much? and sold the scrap later for a certain amoun t?

[Chris D.]

Well if you live on an island, the demand for long travel distances aren't really a concern which is why it isn't more popular here.

The price of going EV vs the drivability range of the car kills the whole idea for me..
I'd think by now they'd have altanators that could charge faster than what draws off the batteries.. I'd love to see more diesel hybrid stuff out here..

Thats where I'd put my mulah.. All the city bus's in the area are diesel hybrids...

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by bennelson

Please remind me what voltage the original forklift was. Also, as I recall, you bought the forklift for how much? and sold the scrap later for a certain amoun t?

It was a 36v lift truck. Most of the components (with tags) are 36/48v rated.

Paid: $704 (including tax and delivery - purchase price was $500).

Sold for scrap: $364

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Chris D.

I'd think by now they'd have altanators that could charge faster than what draws off the batteries..

Ah, but that would make it a perpetual motion machine. No can do!

[Chris D.]

why?

the technology has to be there by now..
I'm sure the gov would put a cap on something like that in a heartbeat tho..

[Gone4]

Originally Posted by Chris D.

why?

the technology has to be there by now..
I'm sure the gov would put a cap on something like that in a heartbeat tho..

"We obey the laws of thermodynamics in this house."

[Chris D.]

Sounds like closed minded thinking there..

[MetroMPG]

The ForkenSwift's Hawaiian twin has taken its first drive! http://electricmetro.blogspot.com/20...em-voyage.html

FYI, it's a 72v setup, with six 12v marine batteries.

Oh, to have new batteries...

He's done 21 miles with 45% remaining in the batts. Planning a 30 mile (50 km!) trip. That's 2x what the FS can do in nice weather.

.26 KWH/mile is his energy use, via a kill-a-watt on one charge cycle. Interesting.

[TomEV]

I have a 48v setup - six 8v batteries. (US 8VGC) The longest I have gone was 25 miles, and it wasn't happy the last mile. According to the Kill-a-Watt meter, I use about the same amount per mile, about 247 wH/mile. It appeared to drive normally until about 23 miles, then slowed considerably.

I would recommend he try it in steps before planning a 30 mile drive... Seems to me that distance is likely to be out of range unless the 'marine batteries' are relatively large - If they weigh 90 pounds or so each, they might just make 30 miles. (the US 8VGC I have weigh about 67 pounds. Lead = range.)

[MetroMPG]

Correction: fresh lead = range

Tom, why did you opt for 6x8 rather than 8x6? (I'm thinking that 8x6 was the stock setup, but maybe I'm wrong.)