| Owner | Martin Winlow | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Much Hadham, England United Kingdom map | ||||||
| Web/Email | WebPage | ||||||
| Vehicle | 2001 Daihatsu HiJet (aka Piaggio Porter) Japanese Micro-van, built in Italy | ||||||
| Motor | Netgain Impulse 9 Series Wound DC (www.go-ev.com - NetGain Motors Inc) Continuous 30HP, peak 100HP Max RPM 5500'ish. | ||||||
| Drivetrain | Stock 5-speed manual transmission to rear differential. Ratios (inc 4.44 diff) 1st=16.7, 2nd=9.1, 3rd=6.1, 4th=4.44, 5h=3.7. UPDATE - 17/7/09 - Despite my reservations, going clutch-less is ok. Just a few seconds delay whilst the gearbox cogs sort themselves out when shifting but I am planning to put the clutch back in soon, simply because it makes the system more flexible when negotiating junctions etc. It will aslo give the van much better acceleration as I'll be able to change gear much more quickly. UPDATE - 04Jul10. Clutch now re-instated with a home made flywheel. It is SO much easier to drive!!! 0-60 acceleration DOUBLED! | ||||||
| Controller | Belktronix 800A (www.belktronix.com) Complete system including battery monitors (over & under voltage only - no voltage display or logging - see later for that - one per cell - 38 in my case) and charge balancers, 2.4kW charger/DC-DC converter (50A @ 13.5V), 800A max controller, opto 'pot-box' (throttle control) and associated gubbins including main contactor. | ||||||
| Batteries | 38 Thunder Sky LFP160, 3.20 Volt, Lithium-Ion (www.thunder-sky.com) Nominal Capacity - 160AH Operating Voltage - 2.5V to 4.25V Weight - 5.6kg Dimensions - 182W x 279H x 71D (mm) Pack Weight - 215kg | ||||||
| System Voltage | 120 Volts | ||||||
| Charger | Belktronix (See above) Is in same box as DC/DC converter. 2.4kw output. (www.belktronix.com) Full range charge in 8 hours. | ||||||
| Heater | Diesel Webasto water heater through stock blower unit. (Not yet fited). | ||||||
| DC/DC Converter | Belktronix (See above) 50A @13.5V | ||||||
| Instrumentation | CarPuter running Windows Xp with CentraFuse-V2 incorporating SatNav, USB FM radio tuner, MP3 player, hands free mobile, home brew VisualBasic based BMS monitoring, warning and data logging program. System status texting and polling to/from mobile phone. Plus stock speedo etc. | ||||||
| Top Speed | 70 MPH (112 KPH) On the flat with no wind. | ||||||
| Acceleration | Quite peppy starting from 0 in 2nd gear and frankly rather scary in first! Drops off after about 30mph as the wind resistance builds up. Overall, better than stock at low speeds but similar at higher speeds. | ||||||
| Range | 70 Miles (112 Kilometers) Not tested for real yet but should be around 60 miles at 50mph, half that at 70mph - if it goes that fast and about 150 miles at 10mph. | ||||||
| Watt Hours/Mile | 300 Wh/Mile Definitely something best suited to the empirical method of divining but due to the vans poor Cd (little better than a house brick), not good. In winter, using the mains-powered battery warmer muddles things greatly but it is part of the function of the EV so I guess it should be included. Update - 280709 - It draws about 130 (battery) amps at 50MPH (120V pack). The Whr/mile figure (above) is based on the calulation of volts x amps at the relevant speed (in mph) divided by that speed (see tabled power consumption lower down). | ||||||
| EV Miles |
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| Seating Capacity | 2 adults | ||||||
| Curb Weight | 2,300 Pounds (1,045 Kilograms) ...before conversion. - ICE 1300cc alloy engine 107Kg - fuel tank 11kg - full tank of petrol 23kg - cooling system - 11kg - Bits and Bobs - 7kg - exhaust/cat 18kg Total = 177kg + motor 57kg + batteries and box 240kg + electronics 20kg Total = 317kg - 140kg increase Post conversion (calculated) = 2640lbs (1200kg). I'm going to try it on a weigh bridge soon. | ||||||
| Tires | 155R12/88 | ||||||
| Conversion Time | To plan, research and acquire all the bits... about 18 months. To instal everything bar heater, about 10 x 8 hour days. However, I don't know how long it's going to take to iron out the bugs or 'finish' it. Will it ever be 'finished'? | ||||||
| Conversion Cost | Don't ask... Motor - £1200 (imported direct from US) Combined and matched control electronics, charger- cum-DC/DC converter, system integrator and battery balancing system - £1440 Carputer & battery monitoring hardware - £400 ... but the good news is that the electronics should last for 1000k (yes, 1 with 6 zeros after it) miles so they can be moved from one donor to another... that's the theory at least! At 50MPH it costs around 10p per mile in electric which means each time I use the van to do my usual commute, I save arounnd £4 - no servicing costs and no tax and no MOT (something to do with milk floats). | ||||||
| Additional Features | Brakes:- No ICE = no vacuum source for the brake booster. Ergo the vacuum must be obtained elsewhere. I started with a cobbled together used vacuum pump from a Volvo S40 but it never worked well and the switch kept failing so I bought a Cibi (MES DEA) 70/6E purpose-designed pump which works beautifully, practically silent and is simplicity itself to fit. The downside is the price. I was quoted £320 from CIBI (UK) and £450 from another UK source but in the end bought it from the US, delivered and VAT/duty paid for £240. From Switzerland to the US and back again and at half the price I can buy it for here in the EU - Bonkers! | ||||||
| Road Tax - Getting the converted van taxed (for non-UK readers this is the vehicle excise licence - levied by the G'ment and helps pay to maintain roads etc - well, actually helps pay for benefits!). This is free in the UK for electric vehicles but first you have to battle G'ment bureaucracy to get it signed off as 'tax class = electric'. I had to take the van to my 'Local Office' of the DVLA at Borehamwood for an inspection. Took 10 mins (30 mins waiting - of course, despite pre-booked appointment. There is very little helpful info on the DVLA's web site about this. An electric blanket installed with the batteries keeps the battery pack at a warm and toasty 22 deg C whatever the temperature outside. In a bid to minimize pack imbalance I have wired the controller power to come from the whole pack via a mains PSU which appears to work happily at 120V DC. Ditto the heater. Electric 'Fuel' Economy(Wh/mile includes all standby electric costs (warming batteries, carputer), charger inefficiancies and excludes savings from charging at work) Date ........ kWh ...... miles .... wH/ ........ Fuel .... £ ................................ done ..... mile ......... p/l ... saved 22Aug09 .. 44620 ... 52352 31Aug09 .. 44808 ... 52520 ..... 303 ....... 106 ...... 68 18Oct09 .. 45030 ... 53008 ..... 455 ....... 106 ...... 58 15Nov09 .. 45174 ... 53512 ..... 486 ....... 109 ...... 36 29Nov09 .. 45296 ... 53532 ..... 535 ....... 109 ...... 27 16Dec09 .. 45421 ... 53885 ..... 353 ....... 108 ...... 43 29Dec09 .. 45518 ... 54129 ..... 398 ....... 108 ...... 38 24Jan10 .. 45506 ... 54704 ..... 490 ....... 112 ...... 40 06Feb10 .. 45671 ... 55039 ..... 493 ....... 112 ...... 43 08Mar10 .. 45867 ... 55649 ..... 555 ....... 114 ...... 31 27Mar10 .. 46097 ... 55868 ..... 600 ....... 116 ...... 24 06Apr10 .. 46206 ... 56105 ..... 460 ....... 120 ...... 29 19May10 .. 46465 ... 56669 ..... 459 ....... 122 ...... 70 24Jun10 .. 46657 ... 57169 ..... 384 ....... 120 ...... 62 05Jul10 .. 46766 ... 57414 ..... 444 ....... 118 ...... 29 04Aug10 .. 47025 ... 58012 ..... 433 ....... 118 ...... 72 15Aug10 .. 47143 .. 58282 ..... 437 ....... 117 ...... 32 ............................................................. Total = 720 | |||||||








