tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676835811534572362.post4738105705606625580..comments2024-02-06T10:02:20.731-06:00Comments on EVTV.ME: Electric Magic - It's All About EfficiencyJack Rickardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15936311474215791697noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676835811534572362.post-70164287337186609222009-07-19T10:36:57.350-05:002009-07-19T10:36:57.350-05:00We've looked seriously at a 911 or Boxster. I...We've looked seriously at a 911 or Boxster. I think both would be good examples of a more "modern" technology and get into the very interesting issues of simulating an air conditioning compressor, vacuum pump for power brakes, water heater for heat, etc.<br /><br />Instead, we're going to do a 2009 Mini Cooper Clubman next. But a modern Porsche is definitely on the table for a future project. <br /><br />The father/son thing would just be ideal. My own son has no interest in cars or airplanes (go figure) but I've seen a number of these projects really get to be a gig for father/son teams.<br /><br />Jack RickardJack Rickardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15936311474215791697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676835811534572362.post-74038804056055548202009-06-06T15:00:57.771-05:002009-06-06T15:00:57.771-05:00Hi Jack, Just finished watching your "Part On...Hi Jack, Just finished watching your "Part One" at Autoblog Green... Brilliant! <br /><br />Although I would have used a Cobra replica, instead of a Speedster... not because a Speedster isn't cool, but because mostly guys of MY generation love the 356 (I graduated from high school in 1972) whereas my kids (the ones who help me with all my car projects) love Shelby Cobras and Lamborhini Countach and the new 911's... so, I'd use a more contemporary design, to motivate my adult boys... all of whom love working on cars (Sam, my next-to-youngest, owned a Boxster, and Joe, my second-oldest, owned a turbo Supra).<br /><br />Well, best wishes... and, hey... what about a four-wheel-drive electric? We all drive Subarus, up here in the snowy mountains!<br /><br />Regards, Jeff Zekas, Susanville, CaliforniaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676835811534572362.post-51274035334186796612009-05-31T18:47:36.234-05:002009-05-31T18:47:36.234-05:00Thank you for sharing your vision.
Thank you for m...Thank you for sharing your vision.<br />Thank you for making a change in your life, we need more like you. Thank you, Wayne<br />www.waynesev.comWayne Ahttp://www.northrim.net/wyanders/ev/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676835811534572362.post-69384749182158479922009-05-24T22:40:47.407-05:002009-05-24T22:40:47.407-05:00I've been reading on Wikipedia about the Brazi...I've been reading on Wikipedia about the Brazilian aviation pioneer, Alberto Santos-Dumont. His family moved to Paris in the 1890s, where, first as a boy, he took up dirigibles, both free floating & steerable.<br /><br />He, then began building heavier than air aircraft. He preceded the Wright Bros. in the 1st public airplane flight, by a few years. Apparently, France was a hotbed of aviation innovation.Mark Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06581102593348262738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676835811534572362.post-82207194381711546402009-05-24T01:29:32.282-05:002009-05-24T01:29:32.282-05:00Tesla was a visionary genius. If he hadn't bee...Tesla was a visionary genius. If he hadn't been so eccentric, he would have achieved much more credibility. He should have hired a PR firm!<br /><br />He was postumously officially credited with the invention of the telephone. He despised his former boss, T.A. Edison for his insistance that DC was the way, not AC. Of course, we now know, like Tesla knew then that AC was the future.<br /><br />I am amazed by what I read about Tesla & before yesterday, I never knew of him. I truly hope that before I die at age 100 riding my bike at 50 mph downhill, that I, along with the rest of the world, will own an EV.<br /><br />I have a suggestion or 2 about how to improve the photos of the eSpeedster on this web site, if you ever want to reshoot them. Plus, I want to take some photos of the eSpeedster.<br /><br />I'll drop by soon to see how the Mini is coming along.<br /><br />Cheers,Mark Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06581102593348262738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676835811534572362.post-46763953843950291532009-05-24T00:44:17.847-05:002009-05-24T00:44:17.847-05:00I've been reading all about Nikola Tesla in Wi...I've been reading all about Nikola Tesla in Wikipedia.<br />Check out my friends @ www.48statedrive.blogspot.com. I took their picture for the article in the Mercedes-Benz Club of America magazine, The Star. They are a father & daughter who drove their '68 250Se through all 48 states last July from Cape. His parents, who've both died, before the daughter knew them, bought the Benz used in '69 & left it to him. He's driven it ever since.Mark Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06581102593348262738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676835811534572362.post-45367096559871417532009-05-12T09:07:00.000-05:002009-05-12T09:07:00.000-05:00They were shooting some segments for Cable Operato...They were shooting some segments for Cable Operators that Jim Riley is putting together.<br /><br />The YouTube on regenerating batteries is a bit of a dead end for me. It is about restoring lead acid batteries.<br /><br />Even at the turn of the LAST century, lead acid cells had been displaced by the Edison Nickel Oxide/Iron batteries, an option on the 1914 Detroit Electric.<br /><br />The ubiquitous and inexpensive lead acid battery has been part of the problem, never part of the solution. Because they are made in the brazillions, lead acid batteries have huge economies of scale. So anyone comparing the cost of small volume advanced chamistry batteries to lead acid are always struck by the difference in cost.<br /><br />It's a battery powered car. Better batteries, better power. $10K for batteries? Ouch. But that's what they cost right now.<br /><br />I think they'll comde down. But they will never reach the cost of lead acid batteries. <br /><br />I plan to use old lead acid batteries to build a quick charge power supply for my electric cars. Basically, I'll charge them slowly, and use the bank to charge the electric car quickly. Maybe put solar panels into the mix at some point.<br /><br />Jack RickardJack Rickardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15936311474215791697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676835811534572362.post-40592383567443526972009-05-11T10:39:00.000-05:002009-05-11T10:39:00.000-05:00Jack, This is all so facinating. The adjustable re...Jack, This is all so facinating. The adjustable regen feature on the Cooper sounds very advanced & innovative. <br /><br />It's clear to me now that driving an EV is quite a bit different than driving an ICE car, but the different driving style would become second nature with some seat time behind the wheel. Knowing when to coast,conserving energy & when to deploy the regen, is the challenge, but seems quite doable with practice.<br /><br />What are your thoughts on the YouTube video showing how dead batteries can be restored to full or greater power? This sounds promising regarding cost management & lower environmental impact.<br /><br />I saw on the web cam that Joe S. & the Mr. Greenthumb video crew were on site. Are they shooting video for you or just using your location?Mark Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06581102593348262738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676835811534572362.post-21019316282914511492009-05-10T11:55:00.000-05:002009-05-10T11:55:00.000-05:00Brian found me in 1994. He had drilled a local tr...Brian found me in 1994. He had drilled a local trader paper into the ground in Colorado. We printed at the same printer so he came by and went to work for Boardwatch Magazine. <br /><br />He actually wound up running it for two years after I sold it. He's worked for me four or five times over the years. Kind of like a bad penny.<br /><br />He did a total frame off restoration of a Karman Ghia. He is a lot of things I'm not, but most notably here very precise and organized. He likes to have things just so. I tend to work from the motto "If you are unable to achieve a precision fit with a 3 lb sledge hammer - DON'T FORCE IT."<br /><br />So I mostly research batteries, build circuits, little boxes with instrumentation or contactors or whatever inside NEMA enclosures, do wiring and hookups, program controllers, chargers, etc. find and locate electrical components, and build aluminum battery boxes.<br /><br />Brian is very good at "fitting" things. Door handles, accelerator pedals, stereos, the EVISION display in the VDO gage, mounting the charger, and mechanical items such as brakes, wheels, motor adapter and flywheel, etc.<br /><br />Together, we make a pretty good team I must say. I can do electrical design and programming, and he can mount it in the car in such a way that it takes up the least room and looks good. <br /><br />He primarily drove the concept of having the exterior look like an original 356 speedster with no compromises to the electric drive function.<br /><br />An EV can recharge its batteries, but not by generators etc. A motor is a generator. And it is entirely possible to use it as such using the KINETIC ENERGY in the rolling car - regaining some of the energy lost to heat during braking by using the motor as a generator.<br /><br />This sounds like a no-brainer. But it really isn't. To this specific build, I liked the flexibility of an off the shelf DC series wound motor. They don't do REGEN very easily, and when they do do it, they don't do it very well.<br /><br />You would normally favor an AC induction motor drive system for REGEN. We are using an AC drive in the 2009 Mini Cooper Clubman conversion, and indeed we will do a BIT of regen.<br /><br />Regen itself is not precisely the free gift it is presented as. To understand this, you almost have to drive an electric car for awhile. <br /><br />When you remove your foot from the accelerator of an electric car, it doesn't slow down at all in the way an ICE vehicle does. If you are going downhill, you may even continue to accelerate. This is disconcerting at first, but you quickly learn to like it. <br /><br />It means you can "coast" in a lot of situations for a half mile or more without using ANY energy. And often you can coast downhill and use that buildup to "slingshot" up the next. After awhile, you start playing this game with it, and can get pretty good at it. If I quite driving the Porsche like a Porsche, and start doing this, I can get well over 100 miles out of a charge in town.<br /><br />REGEN recaptures this kinetic energy of the cars forward motion. But of course it slows the car. In most regens, when you take your foot off the accelerator, regen kicks in. <br /><br />I think you use the energy more efficiently to continue forward. And the conversion back to electricity, and then the reconversion to chemically charge the batteries, is less efficient use of this energy than simply rolling.<br /><br />So we will have regen on the cooper, but it will be only activated by a BRAKE switch. And it will be fully adjustable. I'll have a little knob where I can dial in what I want, and when I first step on the brake, that amount of regen will kick in. Further pressure on the pedal will also of course deploy the conventional brakes.<br /><br />In this way, I can use the kinetic energy as I like, to coast in some instances, or to charge in others.<br /><br />JackJack Rickardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15936311474215791697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676835811534572362.post-26005458614929251522009-05-09T16:43:00.000-05:002009-05-09T16:43:00.000-05:00I wrote another blog entry earlier today, but don&...I wrote another blog entry earlier today, but don't see it here now. Maybe I failed to publish it. It basically asked if you were aware of the Wrightspeed X1 prior to my forwarding the YouTube videos sent to me by my web designer. I just viewed the videos on the video bar detailing the X1 & the other EVs as well as the hybrids. <br /><br />This poses the question of why an EV can't recharge its batteries while it's rolling. I remember you saying it can't be done, but if the motor is turning, it should be able to store energy. Then again, to store energy, the EV would need a generator separate from the drive motor. <br /><br />I remember you saying that the very 1st cars were electric. For as long as I can remember, growing up we referred to the ICE as a "motor". Could that be a hold over from those early days of electric cars? Just wondering.<br /><br />If I had the $, I'd commission you & Brian to convert my Nissan P/U truck. Of course, I'd need another vehicle to drive in the mean time. The more people you share the eSpeedster with, the more of a ground swell will be generated for EVs.<br /><br />By the way, where did you find Brian? He can do just about anything.<br /><br />MarkMark Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06581102593348262738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676835811534572362.post-31138609416540874632009-05-09T12:21:00.000-05:002009-05-09T12:21:00.000-05:00I'm not sure either Mark. They are supposed to di...I'm not sure either Mark. They are supposed to display videos containing the search terms EV, Electric Car, Electric Vehicle, and Porsche. But they keep slipping in odd ones for no apparent reason.<br /><br />Yes, there is a great variety of people doing vehicle conversions. One guy did an electric toilet vehicle. Far too many in my estimation, take rather old vehicles in poor shape to convert. But I guess for a lot of people, its a bit of an experiment and they don't want to tie too much up in it financially, without knowing for sure they can do it.<br /><br />It IS a lot of detail work. But generally, I think anyone can do it. It's more taking things OUT than putting them in. I have very limited mechanical skills. But we just worked on it a piece at a time until it was done.<br /><br />Trouble areas? Mating the motor to the flywheel and transmission should generally be done by a professional machinist shop unless a coupler and adapter are readily available for your model. Fitting the accelerator was a bit of a puzzle. <br /><br />And of course how to maximize space for the batteries while maintaining a sane weight distribution is a bit of a rubick's cube.<br /><br />Brian did a great job of integrating an EVISION instrument display with an existing Porsche VDO gage. That's probably a bit of an adventure.<br /><br />But it really isn't that difficult. It's more like a puzzle than "working on a car".<br /><br />JackJack Rickardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15936311474215791697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676835811534572362.post-77501208459696616292009-05-09T11:37:00.000-05:002009-05-09T11:37:00.000-05:00I just viewed the video bar! Is YouTube a sponsor ...I just viewed the video bar! Is YouTube a sponsor of this site? Why else would it include video clips of Susan Boyle, Brit's crazy fan & that Russian tart?<br />Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed them all, but I just don't understand why those videos would be on an EV site. Apparently, this is my 1st rodeo! :)Mark Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06581102593348262738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6676835811534572362.post-1529045827718580252009-05-09T11:20:00.000-05:002009-05-09T11:20:00.000-05:00I viewed the Specifications page, finally. I'd...I viewed the Specifications page, finally. I'd resisted, because I thought it would be too technical for me, but it was surprisingly simple. Although it is still somewhat over my head, I am slowly absorbing more each time I read it.<br /><br />I was particularly interested in how many & how varied the other converters were, from all over the world. I hope even more & more visionaries will work in their garages, until "big auto" realizes that EVs are a good investment, like Telcos & other big business discovered the internet.<br /><br />Thanks for sharing your visionMark Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06581102593348262738noreply@blogger.com