One way or another, you need to find a way to reduce the distance your Sparrow travels between charges or give up commuting to work with it. Someday you might have better batteries or a better drive system, but in the meantime--------
How about towing it between your house and a point on the island close to the ferry terminal? I visualize a two-wheeled tow dolly that can carry the Sparrow's rear wheel only. Most any ICE vehicle except the smallest compact should be able to tow a Sparrow. A setup for towing is worth considering for any EV. Towing allows the EV to go beyond where it can go on its batteries alone and also allows it to be rescued when it breaks down or runs out of "juice". I had a tow bar for my Ranger. I only used it a few times but enjoyed the assurance that if the EV quit, I could walk or take a taxi home and return with another vehicle and the towbar if I needed to. Tom Shay ----- Original Message ----- From: "John G. Lussmyer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, October 06, 2002 7:59 AM Subject: Re: Sparrow YT lifespan > At 09:32 PM 10/5/2002 -0700, Lee Hart wrote: > >You do have a rough application. It would seem they barely have enough > >capacity for your daily commute, so as soon as they get cold, or age > >enough for their capacity to drop 20% or so, you're in trouble. > > Yup, I'll probably be selling some used Optimas that will have 70-80% of > their rated capacity sometime in the next couple of months. > They are getting a rest this week, as I have to replace the rear axle > bearings in the Sparrow. > > >However, the Optimas do seem to last significantly longer if you can > >find a way to avoid such deep discharges. > > i.e. Only drive really short distances, which I can't do. > I always wonder about all these people that talk about how they've put 1000 > miles on their car in 2 years. It sounds to me like they don't actually > USE the car, just take it around for a little fun and showoff every now and > then. My normal commute will put about 10,000 miles a year on a vehicle. > > -- > John G. Lussmyer mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Dragons soar and Tigers prowl while I dream.... http://www.CasaDelGato.com > >
