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Solar Harvester PDF Print E-mail
Written by brianG   
Thursday, 20 November 2008 13:35

travelall
1971 Travelall
It should be noted that this project started out as a solar suburban but because I am a diehard International Harvester fan it turned into a solar Travelall which is IH’s version of a suburban, only better.  The basic idea came about because of a few reasons: lead-acid batteries are cheap but heavy – very heavy; this makes a problem with most commuters’ suspensions.  Lead acid batteries take up space, also problematic with the limited cargo area in most commuter cars; solar panels are generally inefficient so one needs many of them to have any real power – this requires lots of surface area, also pretty slim on commuter cars.

So the thought came into my head: what car is cheap, has burly suspension, lots of cargo capacity and is large? With gas prices at $4+ per gallon the abundance of Suburbans caused their prices to drop and BAM!  Excellent candidate for a permanent ICE-ectomy (ICE = internal combustion engine). 

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Last Updated on Monday, 24 November 2008 11:28
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Proposed Conversion PDF Print E-mail
Written by jonR   
Wednesday, 19 November 2008 00:00
parts
Electric Conversion
For the next conversion, I would propose building a 144 volt system for a small, light-weight car.  I would propose using something like a 1988-1992 Honda Civic DX.  Stock, this car weighs about 2100 pounds (700 pounds less than the Prospector) and has about 100 hp.  Using a 144 volt system and a "600 amp" controller that will only pull about 350 amps, we would have a peak of about 68 hp.  If we had a controller that actually pulled 600 amps, it would be 116 peak hp (yes, that is more than stock).  According to my calculation, it would have a range of about 42 miles and a top speed of 85 mph.  This would be more than acceptable for 90% of America as a daily commuter.  I estimate that we would charge about $9800 for such a conversion.  At this price, we would barely be making anything for ourselves.  But the experience is worth it.

If you are interested in being our first customer conversion, please contact us.
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Last Updated on Monday, 24 November 2008 21:01
 
Energy Costs of an EV PDF Print E-mail
Written by jonR   
Tuesday, 18 November 2008 00:00
How do you feel about paying $1.44/gallon of gasoline?  Right now, with gasoline prices about $2.00, it does not seem like that huge savings, but when you consider gas going back up to $4/gal, paying $1.44 is an incredible deal.  Well, according to our calculations, that is the equivalent cost for an electric car paying $0.08/kWh for electricity.  Electricity costs do not go up and down very often.  They are not related to wars in other countries.  Electricity profits local companies.  Electricity can come from renewable energy sources (gasoline cannot).  Part of the reason there is so much difference in the cost of electricity and gasoline is because electric motors are about 3 times as efficient as gasoline engines.  The theoretical maximum efficiency limit of a gasoline engine is about 35% (depends on a lot of factors); most engines are less.  It is common for electric motors to be up to 95% efficient at converting electricity into motion.
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Last Updated on Monday, 24 November 2008 11:29
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I Believe in Electrons

Our First Electric Vehicle Conversion

If at first you don't succeed

...add more batteries.

$1.44/gal of Gasoline

Except with electricity.

Yes, this car is 100% Electric

Want one?

http://www.jabev.com/components/com_gk2_photoslide/images/thumbm/514093wiring_the_electric_motor.jpg http://www.jabev.com/components/com_gk2_photoslide/images/thumbm/407990pushing_prospector.jpg http://www.jabev.com/components/com_gk2_photoslide/images/thumbm/727065electric_conversion.jpg http://www.jabev.com/components/com_gk2_photoslide/images/thumbm/351328testing.jpg
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