Electric Bug Conversion

[snj]

[UncaJim]

Harsh, but essentially true.

If you use an AC induction motor, you can switch the motor to a generator quickly under load, but with DC it adds needless complexity for a 10% power savings.

Remember, the drag of that alternator is being overcome with more power from the battery pack, so you'd end up with a net loss of power.

[vwdragguy]

what about solar panels to help charge up the batteries

[onesojourner]

you can do that but you would need a lot of panels to keep it all the way charged. Most people either have a solar station at there house to totally have green power for their car or they might have som small panels to get them a little extra range.

This guy puts his panels out at work and just gets a little extra juice when its parked.

[bill may]

[kokomo808]

just out of curiosity how much does it cost to convert a car to electric motor?
_________________
What's more then chicken shit then f**king with another man's automobile? Don't f**k with another man's vehicle it's just against the rules.
- Vincent Vega(Pulp Fiction)

[Wayne S. Johnson]

[kokomo808]

Thanks for info


too rich for me $7500-$14000 for a kit and since I live in Hawaii shipping should be about another $1000, guess I will just continue to Mass transit
_________________
What's more then chicken shit then f**king with another man's automobile? Don't f**k with another man's vehicle it's just against the rules.
- Vincent Vega(Pulp Fiction)

[snj]

[UncaJim]

I've done two cars and never spent that kind of money.

Not to knock either kit -they seem very complete and well-thought-out- but you can certainly do a good car and spend much less.

One word: Surplus! You can get very cheap batteries from a decommissioned organization-level UPS. Check in your local phone book under "industrial recycling". They will also probably sell used cabling and possibly chargers. On Hawaii, with the huge naval presence, you'd probably have good luck with military surplus as well.

You can buy a used motor, controller, and adaptor plate. That will save you a lot of money. I recommend the EV Tradin' Post and Ebay, but with the high shipping you might want to look for local industrial machinery repair facilities and forklift repair shops that can sell you a motor and controller used and in good shape. Again, check the phone book and the Internet. Ask people at the businesses where they'd go. If you have a drill press and can cut steel, you can even make your own adaptor plate, it's not that hard. Oh, *drop the money for class 8 bolts to hold it all together*...some things can't be skimped on.

Those are your most expensive components. Metal battery boxes can be bolted together if you can't weld, and fiberglass isn't expensive or that hard to work with if you don't need a perfect finish.

I bought almost everything for my current car used or surplus and I spent about $2500 total for the electric drive system end of the car.

Of course, I spent about that much again on restoring the car itself and getting it beautiful...before the hailstorm!

Hawaii seems like a great place for an electric because the temperature is moderate so you can use cheap lead batteries, it's not huge, and you don't need to go 80 mph on the freeway just to get to work.

Don't give up. Use the kit as a template of what you need to get. Take a while to assemble the components and spread their cost over a few paychecks. It's doable.

[vwracer719]

i was toying with the idea with doing an electric early beetle or with my 63 ford econoline. is there any instructional books or websites that have step by step how i can install all these parts. also i thought of the idea of hooking a generator up to a moving part on the car. like a custom gear like part that's hooked to an axel or tire. i know it wouldnt charge much but everything counts. also i heard that this site would help www.valence.com with some of the battery issues. i was told they makes lithium-ion technology in standard BCI lead-acid battery sizes for a wide variety of applications. weights half the size and twice the charge.

[snj]

[Wayne S. Johnson]

Life is sweet with Solar panels at full power!

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[ladylafee]

My husband and I have a 70 beetle that we are thinking of converting to electric, but I was just curious if there was a way to do it where the back seat would be usable and not full of batteries.

[Wayne S. Johnson]

[UncaJim]

If you don't need more than 20-30 miles of range or are willing to pony up for NiMH or LiPo batteries, you can use the whole interior of the bug. You could put the batteries in the trunk and around the motor in the engine bay; I know others have done that successfully. I got away with just the trunk.

Hell, you could probably get some batteries behind the back seat if you needed to.

[jmsmilin]

[Wayne S. Johnson]

[KTPhil]

[snj]