[ausev] question about Geo Metro conversion

Lisa Korf lkorf at yahoo.com
Thu Jan 4 02:09:38 GMT 2007 

Lots of helpful feedback... thanks!

My friend's conversion kit has a contactor method of
control, combined with the clutch, as far as I know. 
It's a 15 kilowatt DC shunt motor.  Literature says
"This motor is rated at 15 kw , 4000-8000 RPM ,and 400
amps continuous."

My Honda conversion will have an Alltrax pulse width
modulation controller rated at 72 volts, but the
literature from Wilderness EV says "This controller is
rated at 24-72 volts DC and 450 amps. The motor is
capable of running at up to 144 volts DC."  I'm not
sure what that last part's about.  Does that mean I
could go up to 144 volts and be okay?  Doubtful...  

What are the safety risks riding around with that much
battery potential?  I originally settled on the 72
volts for safety reasons. 

Further thoughts?

Erik, it sounds like you have less than an hour's
worth of work left to do!  What kind of car do you
have?

Lisa

--- Erik Bigelow <electricbasset at gmail.com> wrote:

> Will your conversion have a contoller? That would be
> a big part in
> deciding how easy it will be to upgrade. If you have
> a 72V controller,
> adding more batteries will mean replacing the
> controller. On the other
> hand if it's the contactor setup, I would be wary of
> using it at a
> higher voltage. Also if you plan the racks with
> extra space ahead of
> time, it would make upgrading a much smaller task!
> 
> In either case, I would strongly recommend a second
> form of
> disconnect, either a second contactor or a circuit
> breaker that you
> can manually disconnect.
> 
> Can you tell us a little more about the kit, your
> plans and dreams,
> and how far along you are? I always like hearing EV
> stories in
> progress, it helps motivate me to actually finish
> mine (as in reattach
> the convertible top so I don't have to throw a tarp
> on it when it
> rains and mounting the charger inside the car)
> 
> On 1/3/07, Lisa Korf <lkorf at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > Yes, he is using the shunt motor kit from
> Wilderness
> > EV.  I'm wondering about others' experience with
> this
> > type of motor.  It's basically the cheapest
> conversion
> > kit out there.
> >
> > I am using the series motor from Wilderness EV in
> > mine.  I'm hoping it won't be too hard to upgrade
> to
> > higher voltage in the future if my 72 volt Civic
> > doesn't meet my needs... which I keep hearing
> might be
> > the case.
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > Lisa
> >
> >
> > --- Aaron Choate <achoate at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Hi Lisa,
> > >
> > > Welcome to the list.
> > >
> > > Is this person using the same kit/manufacturer
> as
> > > you mentioned to me in
> > > your email the other day?  I think you had
> mentioned
> > > that your Civic was
> > > being done by Winderness Electric Vehicles.  I
> found
> > > this link that seems to
> > > revolve around a shunt motor.
> > >
> > > <http://www.e-volks.com/about1.html>
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > >
> > > Aaron Choate
> > >
> > > On 1/3/07, Chris Robison
> <eeyore at phototropia.org>
> > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Hi Lisa,
> > > >
> > > > First, we really don't have enough
> information.
> > > What is the size of the
> > > > motor? By "no controller", does that mean
> > > "contactor controller", or
> > > > literally no controller at all (just a simple
> > > switch), meaning there's
> > > > nothing between "coast" and "full throttle" ?
> What
> > > size are the batteries?
> > > >
> > > > Honestly, I doubt this car would be worth much
> at
> > > all. Probably far less
> > > > than the value of the parts. It sounds like
> your
> > > friend is making a lot of
> > > > mistakes in his design that are seriously
> limiting
> > > his car's usefulness.
> > > > 96 volts is barely enough for a satisfactory
> > > vehicle, and 120 is generally
> > > > the minimum I'd recommend. At the 72 volts
> your
> > > friend has planned, this
> > > > car will be confined to slower, smaller
> streets.
> > > It won't be very useful
> > > > as a car (not in the US, anyway).  The choice
> of
> > > batteries also sounds
> > > > suspect; Interstate makes all sorts of
> batteries
> > > including deep cycle
> > > > marine and RV batteries but if he's using
> their
> > > far more common regular
> > > > car batteries, they will be quickly ruined by
> the
> > > deep discharges they'll
> > > > experience while powering an EV.
> > > >
> > > > Finally (and this is not as big of a deal) the
> > > shunt-wound motor is going
> > > > to be less than ideal for use in an EV.
> > > Series-wound motors are more
> > > > advantageous, giving higher startup torque and
> a
> > > smoother torque curve vs.
> > > > RPM.  There are EVs out there that have been
> built
> > > with shunt motors, but
> > > > not many.
> > > >
> > > >   --chris
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On Tue, January 2, 2007 11:00 pm, Lisa Korf
> wrote:
> > > > > I have a friend who is working on a Geo
> Metro
> > > > > conversion using a shunt motor.  He wants to
> > > sell it once it's
> > > > completed...
> > > > > any idea how quickly it would sell, and how
> much
> > > he should ask for
> > > > it?  It
> > > > > will have 12 6-volt Interestate batteries,
> and
> > > no controller I
> > > > > believe.  Thanks for any input you can
> provide.
> > > I really would like to
> > > > get
> > > > > multiple opinions about this.
> > > > >
> > > > > Thanks,
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Lisa - new to the EV community, awaiting
> arrival
> > > of my
> > > > > electric Honda Civic hatchback for me and my
> > > dogs :)
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > >
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