FrontOriginal ConfigurationSolarMax EVX-1Passenger SidebackBattery Box (top removed) with filling sInteriorCurtis fuel gaugeAmmeter
OwnerJason and Phyllis Bloomberg
LocationCheyenne, Wyoming United States map
Email email image
Vehicle1993 Eagle Summit Wagon
Model EVX-1 Converted when car was brand new for the OUC (Orlando Utilities Commission) by SolarMax of Sarasota, FL.
MotorAdvanced DC FB1-10001A Series Wound DC
9" Drive Motor 27.5 HP, 1200 ft-lbs torque @ 2350 RPM
Drivetrain5 speed manual Stick-shift. Still has clutch but never really use it. Front Wheel Drive.
ControllerCafe Electric Zilla EV controller Z1K-HV 1000 72-300volt zzPC2
Water cooled CPU, w/ Hairball assembly replaced the Curtis in 2007 for $2700 and got a $400 credit for the Curtis since it still was working.
Batteries20 Deka Pro Master Deep Cycle GC-15, 6.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded
Installed fall 2007, replaced spring 2009 after charger failure causing batteries to over-heat. Charger has been fixed, new batteries were about $1,500.00 for Deka Pro Master of the same type previously installed.
System Voltage120 Volts
ChargerK and W BC-20 with LB-20 Line Booster
Triac & Motherboard replaced by original manufacturer July 2008 for less than $200 and we love it! The owner is no longer making new chargers but still will repair existing ones in some cases.

K&W Engineering, Inc.
3298 County Home Road
Marion, Iowa 52302
Telephone: 319-378-0866

Steve Clunn also made a temporary charger for us to use while this one was being repair and it works great too! He generally doesn't make them anymore but goes out of his way to help.

HeaterCeramic Resistance - added in 2008
DC/DC Converter Exide Nautalus
InstrumentationWestberg 2C6-30X 0-500 AMP Ammeter
Curtis 900R-120BN Battery Fuel Gauge
Xantrex "EV Meter" Battery Monitor added 2008
WebPage
Top Speed70 MPH (112 KPH)
This is as fast as I've tried to take it so far.
Accelerationsmoke's em in second!
Range50 Miles (80 Kilometers)
total discharge, I try not to go less than 50% before recharging, so with normal driving, depending on terrain and weather (wind and temp)I get 17 - 26 miles per charge before dipping down to 50% of charge. It looses a lot of efficiency at speeds over 45. Most people would consider Cheyenne "pretty flat" but to an EV, the terrain here is mostly small hills with some flat sections. The most efficient run I've made allowed me to get 32 miles on a single charge before dipping to 50%. So much of EV efficiency is driver dependent. This is true of I.C.E. vehicles too, but most of us are not attune to it.
EV Miles
Start:1,800 Miles (2,896 Kilometers)
Current:8,423 Miles (13,552 Kilometers)
Total:6,623 Miles (10,656 Kilometers)
 
    As of 5/6/2011
Seating Capacity2 adults + cargo
Curb Weight4,060 Pounds (1,845 Kilograms)
True total weight done at local truck scale with full tank of electrons (just kidding).
TiresOriginal 225/60-SR13 on Precision "dished out" rims.
Conversion CostConversion by SolarMax in 1993 was $9,653.05 We purchased it on eBay from the OUC. Initial restoration of EV electronics and battery systems was done for us by Steve Clunn of Grass Roots Electric Vehicles in Ft. Pierce, FL from 2007 - 2008 (see WebPage and WebPage ). He has done good work and is very fair with his pricing. Steve Clunn is a real EV enthusiast.
Additional FeaturesOriginally had (10) 12v 8G30H East Penn Mfg Batteries and a Curtis 1221B-74D1 controller. Ten Unisolar MBC-131 17volt flexible photovoltaic cells linked in series producing 5 watts @ 170 VDC mounted on roof (trickle charge and still working).

We've changed the controller, batteries, instrumentation (as noted above) and added a Rover & Rover AquaPro hydrodynamic battery watering system (see picture of
20 Pro Master Deep Cycle GC-15 batteries with the AquaPro filling system in place).

There would be 60 fill caps we would have to pull, check, fill and replace if we didn't have the battery filling system. It was installed when the car was being resurrected by Steve Clunn in 2007 - 2008.

Steve had to fabricate a new battery box and hold down rack because the dimensions were different to accommodate 20 6v batteries instead of the previous 10 of the commercial 12v batteries that were originally there. He also added a vent tube behind the driver's seat so that when the charger comes on a small electric fan draws fumes and gases out of the battery box to outside of the car.

There was a Plexiglas lid which had cracked. This has been replaced with a thicker Lexan lid. The lid is secured several inches above the top of the battery box sides so that there is ample opening for air to be drawn in to the box during the charge cycle. The battery box has a thick cloth cover which help filter the air being drawn in to the battery box during the charge cycle. When driving, a venturi effect occurs drawing air out the vent reducing fumes and gas in the car that may otherwise occur during vehicle operation.

More information about the single point battery filling system used on this vehicle can be found at:

WebPage
Turns a lot of heads here in Cheyenne, WY. Fun to drive. No its not for sale. My wife and I have too much fun driving it almost every day. It is proof that we don't have "wait another 10 years" for the technology to be available. It's been here for more than the past 17 years this car has been around as a fully functional EV. We made the commitment to get this car and put it on the road because we believe we should do what we are able to reduce the amount of garbage being spewed into the air every day. We were not trying to save money with this project. We simply wanted to do our part to make things a little better in this world in terms of the air we all breath. We're working on adding wind chargers and/or solar panels to our home to further improve the clean air benefit of driving this vehicle.

code by jerry