BuildinganElectricCar

ALittleHistory

Theearly1900s EVsheldthelandspeedrecord,andhad greaterrangethanGasolinecars Gasolinewascheap(1/centlitre),electricity wasexpensive(20cents/kWh) TheModelTwaspoweredbyGasoline 100yearsofdevelopment Gasolinecarsareanaccidentofhistory

MyEV

1991DaihatsuCharade 1050kWelectricmotor 12leadaciddeepcyclebatteries(144V,75AH) 50kmrange,outacceleratesoriginalcar conversioncost$14,000($6,000$25,000) 300400hourswork(mechanicaldummy) Itreallyworks!

EVscompared

1movingpart lowmaintenance 90%efficient heavy 50150kmrange clean renewablefuel

1000movingparts regularmaintenance 15%efficient light 400kmrange dirty nonrenewable

PeakOil

ThetermNonrenewablehasbecomeaclich Itmeansthis:onedayitisgoingtostop Beforethenitwillgetscarceandvery expensive Ifwereallydependonthatresource,itisgoing toreallyreallyhurt. Australia1Mb/day,world85Mb/day,31Bb/yr growthGrowthGROWTH

PeakOil

PeakOil

BestThingAboutEVs

TheFuelismaderighthereinSouthAustralia(in factonmyroof)

PartsforaConversion

ElectricMotor($1,900) Batteries($5,400) SpeedController($2,100) Charger($1,000) AdapterPlate&Coupling($1,500) Vacuumpump,metalstock,weldingcable Notcounted(Donorcar,tyres,brakes,tools)

Challenges

Lowskilllevelwithcars Welding Electricalengineering EVs Greatcommunity,justlikeopensource Webresources Everyoneisfascinated(mechanics,friends) andhelpful

AdaptorPlate

BuildBatteryRacks

UndertheBonnet

UnderTheBonnet

Charging

DeMisting

DeMisting

Batteries

MostEVstodatehaveusedleadacidbatteries Reliable,wellunderstood,lowmoderatecost, robusttochargingerrors. Butheavyandpoorcyclelife ManyEVconversionsinprogressarenow usingLithiumbatteries Lightandhighcyclelife highercapitalcost(butbetterlifecyclecost), specialcarewhencharging

DebugginganEV

Testingbatteries,12V@250A(3.6kW)kettle! Lotsoftorque,neededanewclutch Height,newrearsprings Shorttochassisbrokenbrushclipspring

TestingBatteries

BrokenBrushClip

Technical

Acceleration:144Vat330A=47kW Cruisesat58km/hrusing37A(5.3kW) Iaverage15km/day,uses3kWhatthewallto charge(60cents) Economyis200Wh/km Curbweight1060kgupfrom820kg(GVM 1240).Payloadis2adultsor1adultplus2kids 12VsystemchargedfromDCDCconverter

DrivinganEV

PowerandTorquereverseofpetrolengine Maximumtorqueatstall,soquickofftheline Thenpowerdropsoffasspeedincreases Quietbutnotsilent.Weirdattrafficlights Chargingmoreconvenientthanpetrolstation Startin2nd,changeto3rdat40km/hr Reallynoticestink,wasteandexpenseofpetrol cars

Registration

Around5registeredEVsinS.A. InformationBulletin74 Fullroadworthinessinspection(painful) Demisting,brakingsystem,weight,weight distribution,12Vsystem,wiringstandards Ventilationandsealingofbatteries DependsonInspectorontheday

RunningCosts

Verycheapperkm(4cents),10%ofpetrolcar Verylittlemaintenance Dominatedbycostofbatteries,leadacidneed replacingeveryfewyears. Roughlythesameasapetrolvehiclein2004 Improvingasweunderstandmoreaboutbattery care Improvingwithbetterbatteries Batteries95%recyclable(trythatwithpetrol)

BusinessOpportunities

IcanbuildanEVforonethirdthecostofa PriusandmyEVusesnopetrol. Whatcouldarealbusiness(likeHolden)do? BasedonthesimplicityEVsshouldcost50%of apetrolcar EVconversionbusinesslikeLPG:$6,000 conversions Batteries,electronics,massproduction,export $10Bcouldconvert2Mcars

EVResources

AustralianElectricVehicleAssociation(AEVA) ElectricVehicleDiscussionlist(EVDL) Lotsofgreatconversionblogs electricecho.com kiwiev.com