Subaru EV Van & range extending gensets (incl. Prius engine+generator trailer) - pics
 

A small Subaru van with an Advanced DC 9" motor, using Thundersky 90ah @ 120v which gives 60km range on EV mode.

The van is just entering commuter usage, and when the bugs are ironed out, the 10kw trailer will be able to sustain 80km/hr on the flat.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1339091623


http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1339091623
Pictures are with Lead acid batteries, range here was only 18-20km, the leads were 4years old and had done 4000km, not a good return on the $2000+, relates to 50c/km battery replacement, before the 5-7c/km electricity charge. Result is about 5X the running cost of a prius nhw20. I hope the Thunderskys can make this lower cost than the Prius, which will happen when the 2000 charge cycles are reached.


http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...0&d=1339091623
The van has an onboard 5Kva Honda get you home device that is shoehorned behind the bumper. This was essential when the range was limited, but will probably be removed as a weight saving, if the Thundersky range is enough for my general use.

Next: Prius based generator on a trailer

A power trailer set up using a Prius NHW10 ic motor and its electric motor reconfigured to a generator is now ready to try on the road. . Early trials indicate 2X the watthours out when compared to a 5kw Honda genset unit. Weight penalty, but at double the output for fuel (petrol at this stage) I figure worth the handicap.

Modification to the ignition, oil switching for valve timing, SU carburetor and Yaris starter and flywheel was required to enable manual control . The throttle is now ardiuno servo controlled to maintain 52V for charging the 48v intermediate battery, at up to 200A. ( 10kw)

A calibrated fuel reservoir( not pictured) was used for static load tests.


The Prius Nhw10 1999 (car only, no trailer) on a test course (10km) used 60ml of fuel per km. Next, With the power coming only from the trailer generator, (car in EV mode) 68ml /kmwas used. This was better than expected as the trailer has drag, and the energy losses from mechanical to electrical, and DC-DC conversion to the HV system.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1339091623

With a wood gassifier feeding the Prius engine, Wood Consumption is hoped to be 5kg of small blocks for around 20-30km. (figure that 25km to the deck chair is good!)

Note from Darin: I posted the above photos and descriptions from email that George (EZP 545) sent me.

See also:

• DIY EV pusher trailer test on 1st generation 1999 Prius (NHW10) - with photos

This photo, which I assume is a wood gassification project. Something similar may power the Prius generator trailer one day, by the sounds of it:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1339092929

project info upload.
 

Thanks Metro for your Welcome ,effort, and sorting out my upload failings. It was a relief to have your offer and assistance. I had tried a few times last year to post, but gave up after using an excessive time to not achieve a result.
I joined up some time back, suggested by a Prius friend, to see if any one had any experience with driving the Prius MG units with other controllers than the toyota inverter and associated brain.
It seemed that no one new off this then. Still be Pleased to hear if anyone has knows of any developments.

Any ideas guys?

Again, thanks for arranging and posting the pics, I hope this can help seed ideas , always have read interesting stuff from your site.
Regards George

Very interesting projects!

Unfortunately I have no info to help you further them.

Subaru Van EV info
 

I have edited and added some information on the Post that was uploded with Metros assistance, Re. battery expectations, and to make clearer reading I hope.

:thumbup:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1350669485

The trailer power plant project, has had many challenges, in brief,

1) The test and start up use of a simplistic SU carburetor, without a exhaust
heated hotspot resulted in gasoline pooling in the intake manifold. Water
heating with tubes soldered to the Aluminum Manifold only made a hot 65deg
gasoline pool. I am amazed that the engine can run with up to an eighth of
an inch of fuel or more in the intake manifold. This undesirable situation
turns ugly when the radiator fan starts up , and the enhanced evaporation of
this pool, then causes uncontrolled richening of the mixture, and an
impersonation of the black smoke of an overfuelled Mac Truck.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1350669485

2) The trialing Fuel was changed to LPG, with a vaporizer unit, and custom
made fuel mixer. This overcame the pooling , and ran ok for a week or so of
trialing the control voltage regulation, but then the Vaporizer failed(an
old unit,) and was uneconomic to have repaired.
This running had enabled the set up of the ardiuno control of the voltage
output, and revealed that this was not a suitable way to control the
throttle opening, as the "bounce" in voltage when 5kw and then 10kw load was
applied, was too much for the DC-DC converters to stay operating.

3) Returned to petrol use, with the construction of a high rise intake
manifold, so that the lowest point was draining into the intake valves. This
seemed a sure fire way to combat the pooling of fuel, which it has, BUT has
made starting more difficult, and now have turbulence issues which result in
uneven mixture to different cylinders. At this stage is easy to foul #3 plug
with carbon deposit. The use of LPG or Wood Gas, should not be affected by
this.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1350669485

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1350669485


4) Voltage regulation has now been augmented, by using a rev dependent v
sense,to operate the throttle, and selecting at this stage 2 settings,
1800rpm or 2100rpm determined by the ardiuno program if the voltage is above
or below the target Volts of 54V. This has given relatively hunting free
speed control. The trailer is now operating autonomously, maintaining
54-55Volts, with output switching from 0-200Amps. This is now a 0-10Kw power
supply . This low voltage is carried to the drive vehicle, and at present
converted to 340-360V DC at up to 26Amps, this is capable of propelling the
Prius NHW 10 at an average speed of 60km/h on the flat, the prius pack can
then level out acceleration and short hill demands above this.

The trial run this week saw a 5km run around the block, with no operation of
the Prius IC engine in the car. Which was the design milestone I wanted to
achieve.

The Gassifier/Filter/Cooler System is now 85% complete, hopefully welding is
being completed as I write this by a helpful TIG welding friend. An
unscheduled Equipment Trouble shooting Trip is now taking me off the case
for the next weeks, so I have to suppress my burning desire(so to speak) for
a short time.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1350669485


Test run heater bank 360V 5.0Kw cost per unit Nz 90cents gasoline cf to
30cents per unit I pay on the grid, plus a daily charge.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...7&d=1350669618

Try this thread:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ler-10839.html

And this one:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...mgr-29878.html

Mgr
 

Hi freebeard,
Thanks for the direction to MGR and useful controller for Prius MG2 that has been exactly what I hoped some experimenters had been doing, but had not found it before.
Regards George ( couldnt find how to work the thanks button, but Thanks )

Happy to help. The Thanks button is in blue at the bottom right of each post when you're logged in. But you can only click it once, then it disappears. I try to do that once in a while.