Re: [CivicEVKit] Wow, no posts in a long time: New developments

[Rob Connelly]

Hi Bob,

Good to hear from you. List me in the category as one who has finished my
EV. It is my daily commuter now, for the past 3,600 miles. Thanks to you
for all your help with it. I settled on a Curtis 1231C controller, and I
have 12 Soneil chargers in it -- one for each battery. The system seems to
work well, and takes good care of my Optima 31's. I have A/C, but no heat.
In North Carolina A/C is more important, in my opinion.

I read "Hot, Flat, and Crowded" too -- that is a real eye-opener, right?
Yes, I agree that when the world economy gets back in full swing we will be
in a world of hurt regarding environmental issues again.

Take care,

- Rob
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Bath" <civicwi...@gmail.com>
To: "Civic EV Kit" <civic-...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 02, 2009 10:03 AM
Subject: [CivicEVKit] Wow, no posts in a long time: New developments


>
> I'm gathering that now everyone on the list is either out of money in
> the sucky economy, or has finished building their Civic EV.
> Lots for all of us to mull over right now: First, the Nissan Leaf.
> If they're using two ceramic heaters, and using Yuasa batteries it
> looks like that's what I/we need to do. I wonder if my spark
> suppression system can handle two units in parallel?
> Next the Chinese-made BYD (Build Your Dreams) e6. They're going with
> Lithium Iron Phosphate, and are quoting close to 250 mi. range.
> Amazing, if true, albeit at $40K instead of Nissan's $30K. I'm
> visualizing how fun it would be to remove my lead-acid pack, and re-do
> the battery racks for these new batteries, re-installing the air
> conditioning at the same time!
> As to my concerns about the cold's effects on the Raptor 1200
> controller, there are a few solutions: replace the diode; swap out the
> logic board, and use an inductive throttle instead of a resistive
> throttle, or swap out the controller for a higher voltage model that
> accommodates both types of throttles.
> As to those who had designs on an EV business, be patient. I read
> Thomas Friedman's "Hot, Flat, and Crowded", and it's just a matter of
> time before the crunch on resources continues... for better, for worse!
> >

[Tim Kutscha]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for breaking the ice to see if things can get rolling again.

Has anyone out there tried to actually implement the open-source
Civic-EV kits plans yet? I know Ross Peterson used the battery
rack design successfully. Anyone else? I'd like to get feedback
on what parts of the instructions can be improved.

If I were to do this project over, I'd probably pick up a set of
Lithium-Ion batteries from EVComponents (nearby in Olympia).
Compared to the high-quality AGM batteries I'm using ($266 apiece),
I could get an equivalent lithium system for only twice as much.
That would come with a quarter of the weight and a battery life
(hopefully) 6-8 times as long.

Thunderstruck EV has high performance AC motors now that have
the Warp9 bolt pattern for a $1000 premium over the Warp9/Synkromotive
system, so I might jump in for that too (If I was to start over).

I'd also get a white car. This global warming thing in a dark blue car
is rather annoying...

Best wishes,
Tim

[Ian]

Hey Tim,

Me, you, a couple gallons of white enamel, a couple weekends and we can
change that color!

http://horsepowersports.com/paint-your-car-with-a-roller-for-under-100/

Or I can help you yank some trim and you can get Maaco to spray it for $500.


Glad to hear everyone's projects are doing well, I'm still working on
getting the new (100 year old) garage ready for a project.

Ian

[KazooPaul]

I'm sorta finished. I haven't implemented much of anything from Tim's
kit plan, because I was doing mine almost simultaneously with
different components. My lesson was that the old NiMH modules I got
hold of weren't ready for prime time, at least in the hands of an
amateur like me. They are the weak link in my current vehicle, and it
looks like I will be restricted to about a 20 mile range (full
recharge in 3.5 hours from 110 VAC!) and that only with a lot of
extraneous fiddling around. The day may come when I blow another
chunk of dough, re-work my racks, and replace the batteries with
lithium and a proper BMS. If the body hasn't rusted away or some
drivetrain component crumbled by then, it may become a more practical
vehicle for everyday use.

Thanks everyone,
Paul in the 'zoo

[Bob Bath]

I'm gathering that now everyone on the list is either out of money in
the sucky economy, or has finished building their Civic EV.
Lots for all of us to mull over right now: First, the Nissan Leaf.
If they're using two ceramic heaters, and using Yuasa batteries it

looks like that's what I/we need to do. Found out that I'll need to
install another spark suppressor unit if I wish to run another
element; I can't just parallel another one.

Next the Chinese-made BYD (Build Your Dreams) e6. They're going with
Lithium Iron Phosphate, and are quoting close to 250 mi. range.
Amazing, if true, albeit at $40K instead of Nissan's $30K. I'm
visualizing how fun it would be to remove my lead-acid pack, and re-
do
the battery racks for these new batteries, re-installing the air
conditioning at the same time!
As to my concerns about the cold's effects on the Raptor 1200
controller, there are a few solutions: replace the diode; swap out
the

logic board, and use an resistive throttle instead of an inductive