Bruce, Thanks for the comments. Commi$$ion? Hmm, I could probably afford to buy you a hot dog at the rally ;) I thought about trailering it to the rally but it's a bit of a pain getting it on and off the trailer. The trailer we borrowed has ramps that are too steep for the little ground clearance the Tropica has.
I know of the connection with Jim for batteries and will be calling him in the not too distant future. I was in the process of building a Bradley GT before we made this decision so I've done some of the research. I'd love to be able to check the water in each cell but the Tropica doesn't have access to the batteries unless the pack is pulled. Until I either find someone here with the wheeled rack that you need to remove them or get one made myself, I'm sort of stuck. I'm taking a risk not knowing the batties are fully watered but I'm takeing the risk on a pack that's shot or was that murdered? So far, the 3 Tropica owners I've talked to have all had charger failures so somethings got to change. I certainly know of Rich's charger. Right now it's Fair Radio. Later... thanks again, Steve In a message dated Fri, 20 Sep 2002 3:43:05 AM Eastern Standard Time, Bruce EVangel Parmenter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: >[Too bad I don't make commi$$ion on all the EV deeds I do, >I would pour the $ into the SJEAA public EV charging fund >(am still worried we need to get enough public charging > in place before the media tells the public to give up on > rechargeable EVs and battery EVs are dead/gone/oldhat).] > >Wouldn't your Topica be a nice display at the Stanford Rally >this Saturday!?! I don't suppose you can trailer it there? >That would be a great place to get lots of answers to your >EV restoring questions! > >Be careful of a pump that has been sitting too long. It may >need priming or locked up, and some of the automatic watering >valve caps may be funky and not working. > >If you haven't already, I would remove all the battery caps >and add distilled water to at least the top of the plates >before charging, but do not fill the cells completely (if you >fill it full, then charge, the cell will overflow). Once the >batteries are charged to its max, then add more distilled >water and lightly charge again. > >At this point I do not recommend spending too much effort >trying to revive the old batteries, only use them to turn >the wheels as you stated. > >At the right point, plan on ordering new batteries. US125s >would work nicely. Jim Ramos is in Hayward and EAA members >get a discount (see http://geocities.com/sjeaa to be a >member). > >Once the pack is on order, plan on: >-labeling all the cables, >-'road mapping' which way each battery is oriented, and > �where all the cables go (make a map of everything before > �hand) >-remove the cables >-pulling the old batteries >-cleaning all racks and cages >-if needed: repainting all of them with an acid resistive > epoxy paint >-clean the cables with regular rubbing alcohol >-put a light film of anti corrosive grease on the nuts > and bolts (not the cable ends. Automotive stores have it, > and one tube is plenty). > >When the new batteries arrive, place them according to the >map you made, and cable it up. I recommend using silver >paste (conducto-lube $70 one jar will last you 3 battery >changes) be put on all battery terminal and cable surfaces >making metal-to-metal contact with each other. It reduces >melted posts, and wastes less power (more power to the >wheels). I use a q-tip to stir and swab it on. > >Charge and water your batteries as needed. After ten >gentle cycles of use (10, 15, 20 miles, etc), >go back through all your connections and re-tighten them >up. Last, coat the outside surfaces of all batteries and >cable ends (including the 12V aux battery) with the >anti corrosive �grease (I do this and do not have acid >build up on my connections). > >I would think that with it's original design, you can >expect 40 mile non-stop 55 mph highway range, and 30 >mile city range. Recharge time on the on board 1kw >charger is likely over night (at least 12 hours for a >complete charge). > >... >I bet you want to get this EV on the road and enjoy it >some before you spent too much money on it. But do plan >to upgrade the charger. The on board charger was made in >the pre-PFC days. A nice PFC charger would give you the >best of both AC voltages: 208VAC public charging and >120VAC everywhere else. > >Let us know how it goes. > > > > > > > >===== >' ____ >~/__|o\__ >'@----- @'---(= >. http://geocities.com/brucedp >. EV List Editor & RE newswires >. http://egroups.com/group/evangel >===== > >__________________________________________________ >Do you Yahoo!? >New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo! >http://sbc.yahoo.com > >
