EV Digest 4267
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) Re: adaptors: Felton, CA physical assistance required
by "STEVE CLUNN" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
2) Re: adaptors: Felton, CA physical assistance required
by Jude Anthony <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
3) Re: lunchtime fun (Gadget's conversion)
by "Lawrence Rhodes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
4) PFC-30 timer
by "Don Cameron" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
5) Re: "Wow"
by Jon Glauser <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
6) RE: EV transport
by "a.k. howard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
7) Re: adaptors: Felton, CA physical assistance required
by Bob Bath <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
8) It just keeps getting better!
by Ryan Bohm <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
9) RE: PFC-30 timer
by "Don Cameron" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
10) Re: PFC-30 timer
by "David Roden" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
11) Re: PFC-30 timer
by "Roland Wiench" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
12) Re: adaptors: Felton, CA physical assistance required
by Electro Automotive <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
13) RE: PFC-30 timer
by "Peter VanDerWal" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
14) Re: adaptors: Felton, CA physical assistance required
by Jude Anthony <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
15) Deka Intimidator?
by Ryan Stotts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
16) Re: Fan-style wheels. Was Re: Aero drag and VW fenders.
by Lock Hughes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
17) Recent Sparrow on Ebay
by "David" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
18) Re: Deka Intimidator?
by John Wayland <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
19) FYI: Premade battery pack cables
by Ryan Stotts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
20) Re: Deka Intimidator?
by Tom Coate <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
21) Testing please discard
by "M.G." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
22) Wicked Watts April 2005
by "Richard Furniss" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
23) Re: Wicked Watts April 2005
by Ryan Stotts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
24) Re: Deka Intimidator?
by Ryan Stotts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
25) Re: Deka Intimidator?
by Ryan Stotts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
26) Compressed air for regen
by Dave Narby <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
27) Re: Wicked Watts April 2005
by [EMAIL PROTECTED]
--- Begin Message ---
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jude Anthony" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, April 08, 2005 9:18 PM
Subject: Re: adaptors: Felton, CA physical assistance required
That's the problem I'm fighting. I've been waiting a while, and I finally
get to the top of the queue only to find that my tranny doesn't *really*
match their specs. Now I've either got to clean and ship the whole thing,
plus extras, or find some other way to make my adapter.
so do you have the hub or anything ?
Anybody near ElectroAutomotive? Could I convince you to pull an '88 Honda
Civic WAGON AWD tranny and schlep it over to them? Totally serious here.
Willing to pay a small fee. Help!
sounds like a lot of work , and money , I wonder if they would sell you just
the hub , as this being a speachel case ,
steve clunn .
Jude
STEVE CLUNN wrote:
The problem is if they don't make one for the car your doing , I was
ready to buy one for my last conversion but a pinto tranny was not on any
of the builders list.
>
Speaking of time - just make sure you give them 2 months to finish it.
I'm pretty sure they are usually backed up.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Bob Bath wrote:
For CivicWithACord, we got one from AllTrans in
Portland. THey pride themselves on being the Col.
Sanders of Honda TRannies.
I think I paid $25 + S&H.
That's definitely cheap enough for my wallet. I'm having trouble
finding them online; the only reference I can Google is their phone
number, 1-800-237-8601. (Published here in case anyone else is having
the same trouble.) How in the world did you find them?
And you paid only $25 for an entire transmission? Or are we talking
about just the case?
See, this is what I love about this group. Barely an hour and a half
later, and I've already got a possible solution.
Jude
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I can't wait to see it driving around Culver
City, and it sure makes me want to try my own conversion soon.
-Cristin
If you can get your self a rear engine VW there are dirt cheap conversion
kits out there. Between 2 and 2.5k. LR........
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Rather than continuing to bug Rich, I though I would ask the board my PFC-30
timer question.
I have the PFC-30 DIP switches set for the timer to start once it reaches
acceptance voltage. I know that the timer switch has a little arrow marked
in it. If the arrow points to 3 o'clock, the timer is at 0 minutes. Each
step of this switch is 15 minutes - but which direction? Clockwise or
counter clockwise? I have done a few experiments and I am getting totally
confused.
Also, what would be a useful timeout? The manufacturer of my Gel cells says
acceptance charge should be at 2.3V/cell (358.8V for pack of 26) until the
current is less than 0.1 amps over an hour. With a maximum of 12 hours.
Don
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I love stories like this! someday.... I'll have my own "wow" story to
tell.. :)
-Jon
Mark Farver wrote:
Its a nice night in Austin, 70's with a light breeze: perfect night to
pull off the T-Tops and get some ice cream.
The syncros on the MR2 tranny are shot, and the clutch still won't
completely release. Normally I drive with the 5speed transmission
locked in 3rd and never shift.
A few hours after arriving home the 15 Optima group 31's were finishing
up a charge and were nice and warm. I got playing around, dropping into
second for a nice launch out of the neighborhood.
Pulled up to the traffic light on our 45mph main drag. The young driver
next to me was in a light gray BMW roadster with the top down. He looks
over and says, "Nice car, I love the old MR2's".
"This one's electric."
"Neat, how fast does it go?"
In a rather fortuitous bit of timing the light turned green as he
finished his question. The pedal hit the floor and the MR2 took off.
Probably one of my best launches ever, with a solid 850amps from the
pack. BMW takes a few seconds to recover. I hear his tires screech
just as I am clearing the intersection. I hit the speed limit and the
motor rev limit 2 seconds later and start cruising. A few seconds later
the BMW draws alongside and mouths just one word. .. "Wow"
One of these days I really have to fix the transmission.
Mark
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
From: "Charles Whalen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [email protected]
To: "Electric Vehicle Discussion List" <[email protected]>
Subject: EV transport
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2005 21:35:30 -0400
I bought a RAV4-EV today from an owner in northern California who was
selling it. Can anyone recommend a good, reliable vehicle transport
company
which would be able to transport my RAV4-EV from northern California to
South Florida?
Thanks,
Charles Whalen
Passport Transport, a division of FedEx.
http://passport.fedex.com/
Regards, A.K. Howard, Las Vegas, NV.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Ah, yes, I _do_ still have that e-mail. Talk to Glen
or Craig. Price is only for bell housing, which is
what I wanted. Also, it was a core; had not been
re-built yet, hence the low cost. I took the shaft to
back of bell housing w/ a micrometer, and it was
between .800 & .815; my model is gen. 5, not gen. 4
like yours, though.
Try this
http://www.alltransmission.com/Rebuilt_Units.html
--- Jude Anthony <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Bob Bath wrote:
>
> >For CivicWithACord, we got one from AllTrans in
> >Portland. THey pride themselves on being the Col.
> >Sanders of Honda TRannies.
> > I think I paid $25 + S&H.
> >
> >
> >
> That's definitely cheap enough for my wallet. I'm
> having trouble
> finding them online; the only reference I can Google
> is their phone
> number, 1-800-237-8601. (Published here in case
> anyone else is having
> the same trouble.) How in the world did you find
> them?
>
> And you paid only $25 for an entire transmission?
> Or are we talking
> about just the case?
>
> See, this is what I love about this group. Barely
> an hour and a half
> later, and I've already got a possible solution.
>
> Jude
>
>
'92 Honda Civic sedan, 144V
____
__/__|__\ __
=D-------/ - - \
'O'-----'O'-'
Would you still drive your car if the tailpipe came out of the steering wheel?
Are you saving any gas for your kids?
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - Find what you need with new enhanced search.
http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Hi Everyone,
I sent this once, but it doesn't look like it went through...?
Hi all,
I went out for another 0-60 run with a new shifting scheme in mind. I nailed
(by far) my best time ever at 11.6 seconds! My next best is 12.2. I think I
might be sending out another CafeElectric T-shirt!
I've mostly been using 2nd and 3rd gear driving around. I'm finding though
that I get the best performance keeping the RPMs under about 3k. Running up to
60mph in 3rd gets me up around 4-4.5k rpm. So this run, I tried launching in
2nd, 3rd at about 30mph, and 4th at about 45-50mph. Wow! I'm thinking with
some practice, and some better power shifting, I could get it down in the low
11s. That would probably take more attempts than I'm going to do though.
Roderick suggested I take off in 3rd and keep it there the whole run. With my
latest findings, I don't think that would do it, but maybe if I started in 3rd
and popped it into 4th at about 45mph...?
I know 11.6 isn't exactly high-performance, but I feel pretty happy that I can
get that without any major weight-reduction efforts, with a 7" Prestolite MTC-
4001, and only 144V! Imagine what I could do with a 8-9"er, a Z2K, and 192+V!
Okay, enough fun, now I have a serious question. How many of you using
Orbitals and running 1000+ amps have your batteries in the drivers compartment
(i.e. within smelling range while driving)? I've been told that I shouldn't
smell *anything* from my Orbs while driving or charging. Well, the truth of
the matter is, when I make hard runs, or even moderate acceleration, I smell
something from the batteries. Just sort of a chemically smell, almost like
being in an over-chlorinated swimming pool. I just want to know honestly, how
many have actually been close enough, or in the same compartment, to smell your
batteries while pulling the big amps? Maybe they actually do smell. And maybe
I'm edging on blowing my batteries through the sunroof :) I'm afraid if I get
advice to quit pulling so many darn electrons from the batteries, I'll have a
hard time convincing my foot to obey.
Thanks,
Ryan
--
- EV Source -
Zillas, PFC Chargers, and other EV stuff at great prices
E-mail: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Toll-free: 1-877-215-6781
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I guess I have not been getting much sleep lately. Counter clockwise, the
timer increases.
Still wondering about how long I leave it on for though. 26 60AHr Gel
cells.
Victoria, BC, Canada
See the New Beetle EV Conversion Web Site at
www.cameronsoftware.com/ev/
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Don Cameron
Sent: April 9, 2005 2:39 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: PFC-30 timer
Rather than continuing to bug Rich, I though I would ask the board my PFC-30
timer question.
I have the PFC-30 DIP switches set for the timer to start once it reaches
acceptance voltage. I know that the timer switch has a little arrow marked
in it. If the arrow points to 3 o'clock, the timer is at 0 minutes. Each
step of this switch is 15 minutes - but which direction? Clockwise or
counter clockwise? I have done a few experiments and I am getting totally
confused.
Also, what would be a useful timeout? The manufacturer of my Gel cells says
acceptance charge should be at 2.3V/cell (358.8V for pack of 26) until the
current is less than 0.1 amps over an hour. With a maximum of 12 hours.
Don
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
On 9 Apr 2005 at 2:38, Don Cameron wrote:
> The manufacturer of my Gel cells says
> acceptance charge should be at 2.3V/cell (358.8V for pack of 26) until the
> current is less than 0.1 amps over an hour. With a maximum of 12 hours.
That sounds more like a float charge.
My gel batteries are East Penn. They recommend 14.1 volts per module, IIRC,
or 2.35 vpc. I've found that 14.3 vpm (2.38 vpc) works fine (should be
adjusted for temperature though). The usual algorithm is to hold them there
until the current falls to under 2 - 3 percent of AH capacity expressed in
amps, then shut off. I don't know how you'd set the timer to achieve that
current. Experiment - maybe you can get close.
If it helps, I have an old "Cybortronics" charger that sort of works in a
similar way. As set up from the factory, it charged full tilt until it hit
2.37 vpc, then it set a timer and began cycling on and off to (more or less)
hold that voltage, rather like a cycle dropping charger. After 12 hours it
shut off. It was intended for flooded batteries, which are more forgiving.
I get the impression that the PFC chargers rely on Rudman Regulators at the
module level to do a proper finish charge, but I might be wrong about that.
David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
EV List Assistant Administrator
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--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Its clockwise, every step clockwise increase the time. For my 260 amp hour
batteries, I have it at the 3 oclock position, which is just about right after
a 50 amp charge for 40 minutes and than its times down for another 30 minutes
until the AH remaining is about 0.
For a 30 amp charge at 70 minutes the time down would be about 50 minutes. Do
final adjustments by checking your specific gravity or maximum voltage.
Roland
----- Original Message -----
From: Don Cameron<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, April 09, 2005 9:10 AM
Subject: RE: PFC-30 timer
I guess I have not been getting much sleep lately. Counter clockwise, the
timer increases.
Still wondering about how long I leave it on for though. 26 60AHr Gel
cells.
Victoria, BC, Canada
See the New Beetle EV Conversion Web Site at
www.cameronsoftware.com/ev/<http://www.cameronsoftware.com/ev/>
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Don Cameron
Sent: April 9, 2005 2:39 AM
To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Subject: PFC-30 timer
Rather than continuing to bug Rich, I though I would ask the board my PFC-30
timer question.
I have the PFC-30 DIP switches set for the timer to start once it reaches
acceptance voltage. I know that the timer switch has a little arrow marked
in it. If the arrow points to 3 o'clock, the timer is at 0 minutes. Each
step of this switch is 15 minutes - but which direction? Clockwise or
counter clockwise? I have done a few experiments and I am getting totally
confused.
Also, what would be a useful timeout? The manufacturer of my Gel cells says
acceptance charge should be at 2.3V/cell (358.8V for pack of 26) until the
current is less than 0.1 amps over an hour. With a maximum of 12 hours.
Don
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
> Anybody near ElectroAutomotive? Could I convince you to pull an '88
> Honda Civic WAGON AWD tranny and schlep it over to them? Totally
> serious here. Willing to pay a small fee. Help!
Jude, you're going to have to pull the transmission out of the car anyway
to install the adaptor on it.
Maybe Electro Automotive could just pick one up from a local salvage yard?
No. This takes a bunch of our time (this is not a common transmission),
AND the salvage yards aren't willing to "loan" you a transmission. They
want to sell you one for a few hundred dollars.
Price is only for bell housing,
This won't do any good. This will give us the outline only, but no shaft
to center on.
Jude, if it will help, we'll pay the return freight on the transmission and
flywheel, since this was kind of a screw up. I try to check the crossovers
carefully, but sometimes they fool me. BTW, if anyone out there has a good
online source for info on transmission crossovers, I'd like to see it.
Mike Brown
Electro Automotive POB 1113 Felton CA 95018-1113 Telephone 831-429-1989
http://www.electroauto.com [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Electric Car Conversion Kits * Components * Books * Videos * Since 1979
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Your best bet is to manually monitor the pack during a charge and see how
long it takes to drops below 0.1 amps, then add a bit (1/2 hour?) just to
be sure.
> I guess I have not been getting much sleep lately. Counter clockwise, the
> timer increases.
>
> Still wondering about how long I leave it on for though. 26 60AHr Gel
> cells.
>
>
> Victoria, BC, Canada
>
> See the New Beetle EV Conversion Web Site at
> www.cameronsoftware.com/ev/
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
> Behalf Of Don Cameron
> Sent: April 9, 2005 2:39 AM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: PFC-30 timer
>
> Rather than continuing to bug Rich, I though I would ask the board my
> PFC-30
> timer question.
>
> I have the PFC-30 DIP switches set for the timer to start once it reaches
> acceptance voltage. I know that the timer switch has a little arrow
> marked
> in it. If the arrow points to 3 o'clock, the timer is at 0 minutes. Each
> step of this switch is 15 minutes - but which direction? Clockwise or
> counter clockwise? I have done a few experiments and I am getting totally
> confused.
>
> Also, what would be a useful timeout? The manufacturer of my Gel cells
> says
> acceptance charge should be at 2.3V/cell (358.8V for pack of 26) until the
> current is less than 0.1 amps over an hour. With a maximum of 12 hours.
>
> Don
>
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Mike Brown wrote:
Jude, if it will help, we'll pay the return freight on the
transmission and flywheel, since this was kind of a screw up. I try
to check the crossovers carefully, but sometimes they fool me. BTW,
if anyone out there has a good online source for info on transmission
crossovers, I'd like to see it.
Hey, Mike. I appreciate (and gladly accept!) the offer for return
shipping. It was a minor thing anyway, and considering the flu
epidemic, pretty much understandable.
As to crossovers... yeah, me too. Especially with Civic Wagons. I
wanted something cheap, reliable, and with widely available parts. I
think I may get something reliable. Note to others: if you want widely
available aftermarket parts, don't go with a special configuration of a
popular car. And check for aftermarket suspension parts before you buy
the donor.
Maybe Electro Automotive could just pick one up from a local salvage
yard?
Note: not my quote! I figure you guys are backed up anyway, and don't
need the effort of going to salvage yards to buy & pull old parts. I
was hoping to find a lister near you who would be willing to do the job
on a cost-plus basis.
My brother's a little miffed over removing the transmission, but he'll
get over it. It's especially ironic that he'll have to drain it, since
he just rigged an entire filling-tube-and-dipstick system... because the
drain plug stripped and wouldn't turn.
Jude
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
So what's the story on this battery?
http://www.eastpenn-deka.com/products/pdfs/1143.pdf
At $89 each, why is no one using this battery?
http://www.remybattery.com/350/shopexd.asp?id=5448&catid=342&cat=Deka+INTIMIDATOR&subcat=474&L2=&L3=
I searched the EV archive at Yahoo and found no mentions.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
No air filters? I'd a just thought they'd be blowing around any/all
road dust and water/whatever?
Just 2 cents
lOck
e-Legal in Toronto and loving it.
--- Patrick Maston <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Pontiac won a design award a few years back for their fan-style cast
> alloy wheel. I believe it draws air from inside the wheelwell to the
> outside.
>
> You can see an example at this link:
>
>
http://www.wheels-and-rims.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/car-wheel.html?p_prodid=29563&sid=8LpJDk1EmHTuCYH-13105477662.b8
>
>
> I would think these would be readily available in wrecking yards.
>
> Patrick
>
> >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 4/7/05 1:01:46 PM >>>
> Lee Hart wrote:
>
> > There's an interesting aspect that I don't think has been studied.
> A
> > spinning tire intrinsically works as a fan. Perhaps there is a way
> to
> > use it for cooling purposes. It already incidentaly helps cool the
> brake
> > drum/disk, shock absorber, and tire. Perhaps the rear tires could
> also
> > pump air in behind the car to "fill in" the partial vacuum behind
> it.
>
> Actually, it has been studied and used on some BMW's since at
> least 80's - a wheel spokes were made as a blades resembling aircraft
> propellers (of course, at least 5 blades), so when wheel spins
> they blow air from outside toward the disk brakes cooling them.
>
> I don't see this done these days, perhaps brake pads liners
> have gotten so good (and aestetics of wheel disks changed too),
> that there is no need for forced cooling like that anymore.
>
> But IMHO the "fan" is there for free, designers might as well
> take advantage of it.
>
> One minor "inconvenience" - the wheels for the right side
> of the car were not interchangeable with those for the left
> side (that is withoug disturbing cooling effect).
>
> --
> Victor
> '91 ACRX - something different
>
>
______________________________________________________________________
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I recently bid on a Sparrow on Ebay ( 4538983565 ) but was out bid.
I've just gotten a second chance offer to buy this Sparrow,
but the offer doesn't seem to come from the origional
seller. I know that people use multiple email addresses
to avoid spamers etc.etc. and I've contacted the origional
seller through Ebay. But then ,I thought, maybe someone on
the list knows if the origional transaction went through or
not , The high bidder was evsurplus. So does anyone know
if evsurplus completed the purchase and therefore I should
report this second chance offer to Ebay as a scam or do I have a
real second chance which I will take if I can verify that it is
on the up and up.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Hello to All,
Ryan Stotts wrote:
> So what's the story on this battery?
>
> http://www.eastpenn-deka.com/products/pdfs/1143.pdf
>
> At $89 each, why is no one using this battery?
>
> http://www.remybattery.com/350/shopexd.asp?id=5448&catid=342&cat=Deka+INTIMIDATOR&subcat=474&L2=&L3=
>
> I searched the EV archive at Yahoo and found no mentions.
Then you must have missed both of my posts:
Subject:
New EV Battery Hits the Scene...Deka Intimidator!
Date:
Wed, 08 Sep 2004 07:43:18 -0700
From:
John Wayland <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To:
[email protected]
References:
1 , 2
Hello to All,
In my line of work as an electric fork lift - electric pallet jack wrench, I'm
often at
battery distributors picking up stuff. Such was the case yesterday. I was at
the new Deka
Portland distribution warehouse, located coincidentally in my company's
previous building
(NW Handling Systems built their own brand new building) and saw a very nice,
deep cycle
Optima - Orbital competitor lead acid AGM battery, the Intimidator. This is a
brand new
model just released.
The first thing that caught my eye, was its Optimaesque looks and color....same
light grey
body, same bright yellow top, only this battery is not a spiral wound type, but
rather,
rectangular. In fact, in the product brochure for this new battery, Deka makes
a point of
boasting about how their 'cube design' shape is a more efficient use of
material space
than their competitor's 'Spiral 6-pack' design.
Others may not care, but as one who builds show quality EVs, the looks and
quality
construction of the outside of a battery are equally important as what's inside.
Compared to ordinary black case, nondescript batteries, an Optima Yellow Top or
Blue Top
battery has the looks that say 'cool' under the hood of an EV! Exide took note,
and made
their Orbitals also look great, especially the marine Blue Top with the cast-on
black and
red colored terminal surrounds over the blue. This new Deka comes off the same
way. It has
a very show quality look and feel, with clean material castings, a built-in and
removal
Optimaesque handle, and like the Orbitals, cast-on black and red colored
terminal
surrounds.
The Deka model 9A78DT Intimidator is listed as a dual purpose deep cycle and
starting type,
just as is Optima's D750 Yellow Top. It's very close in size and weight to both
the Optima
and the Orbital at 10 3/4 L, 6 7/8 W, and 8 H, and it weighs 42.5 lbs. It's
rated at 740
cca 120 RC, and 55 ahr @ the 20 hr rate. The downer so far, is that they seem
to only come
with universal terminals that unfortunately, hang over and out from the body by
about a
half inch, that make side-by-side stacking in an EV awkward and space
consuming. The good
news part, is that they can be sawed off without harming the terminal-to-top
seal, as
after the emerging round lead part, the entire rest of the terminal is slightly
above the
case and not part of the seal at all. I plan on calling Deka today to learn
more, and to
ask if they could do a mod to groups of batteries destined for EVers, where
they could
cast in regular posts minus the side terminals...it looks as if that could be
done,
whether East Penn Manufacturing would do it, is another matter.
The other 'really' cool part, is the price! I don't know what the suggested
retail is yet,
and I can't divulge what our company's wholesale cost is, but suffice it to say
that I
picked one up at a price that would make EVer's drool! The head
salesman for this warehouse, is the same guy who got me in with Exide, so I
plan on
talking with him in detail about this exciting new battery that just 'may' be a
nice AGM
option for EVs. I'll also try to get one for Rudman to torture test.
See Ya.....John Wayland
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject:
Re: Deka Intimidator - Any Updates?
Date:
Sat, 06 Nov 2004 10:27:50 -0700
From:
John Wayland <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To:
[email protected]
References:
1
Hello to All,
Tom Coate wrote:
> Back in September I saw some conversation around the new Deka Intimidator. I
> was wondering if
> anybody had actually > given them a try yet?
That was my post. Yes, in a small way, I've been using one since August, as the
starting
and deep draw usage battery in my electric fork lift V8 diesel service truck.
There are
actually twin 12V batteries in this truck, and both are used in starting and
deep draw
applications. The batteries are not the same size or capacity...you'll have to
ask Ford
what they had in mind on this design :-) I replaced both of the batteries with
Deka products,
but it was the Intimidator that really got me excited. Yeah, I know this isn't
exactly the
'given them a try yet' response you were looking for, but I 'can' tell you that
in this
demanding application that has eaten several lesser batteries quickly,
batteries that were
larger, heavier, and more expensive, the Dekas are far better. As a test, I
disconnected
the second battery and only used the Intimidator as the high current starter.
With more
than 700 amps of cranking current sucked, this yellow top battery had less
voltage sag
than the other brands did when new and connected in parallel!
I have contacted East Penn about a set of these for Blue Meanie's upgrade to
204V, and it
looks good that 17 of them will soon be powering up this fun EV. Sooooo....I'm
not yet in
a position to give an EV application report, but I expect this to change within
the month.
> I need to replace a pack of Optimas and my local distributor is able to work
> with me on a price for
> the Deka that is far better > than the Optima or Orbital.
Since the materials handling company I work for sells industrial versions of
Deka products
for forklift application, I get dealer wholesale pricing on any Deka batteries.
I am not
at liberty to share the pricing, but I can tell everyone, that based on the very
reasonable wholesale price of the Intimidator, one should be able to buy this
battery at
the retail level, for less than $90 per battery. In EV quantities, I'd expect
less than
$80 per battery.
The physical size, the weight, the ratings in both CCA and ahr capacity, the
same hot
rod good looks of an Optima or Orbital, the reputaion of Deka as a solid high
quality
battery, and especially the low price, make the Deka Intimidator an enticing
option for
use in a spirited and fun street screamer type EV. Only time will tell if it's
indeed, as
rugged and dependable as the Optimas have historically been, or, if it can dish
out super
high currents as effortlessly as the Orbitals can.
See Ya.....John Wayland
-------------------------------------------------------
There was also another from Tom Coat, after I had talked about this battery,
who went
ahead and set his EV up with
a complete set of Indimidators:
Subject:
Intimidators on the Road
Date:
Sat, 18 Dec 2004 17:40:32 -0500
From:
Tom Coate <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To:
[email protected]
To:
ev <[email protected]>
Well, the Escort wagon conversion I bought back in October is on the road
again. And no,
it's not very intimidating (an Escort with a 400 amp Curtis controller?)
but it's the basic run-to-town car I wanted it to be. And being the only EV I
know of in
Loudoun County, its a lot of fun seeing people check it out. Open the
hood to show it to one person, and a small crowd shows up in no time :)
I bought it knowing that the 7 year old Optimas needed to be replaced. I
decided to go
with the new Deka Intimidator. The only downside to them is that they have the
posts way
in the corners, instead of more centered like the YTs. That meant replacing
most of the
battery cables to fit. Something of a pain, but let me fix a few peculiarities
in the
originals. And while I was at it, I put in an e-meter, a bigger heater and did
a few
other changes.
But now it's up and running. Still need to add a bit more insulation around the
batteries, but that's about it for now. It's been fun to get out there -
couple of test
runs first, and now using it for "real" trips.
It did give me a scare coming home on one trip. I was about 1/2 mile from home
and lost
all power. Luckily, I was on a bit of a downhill and able to just roll a few
yards onto
my driveway and pull off to the side. Had my wife tow me up to the house with
the F350.
Turns out the problem was a 12v wire behind the dash that someone previously
had capped
off with a wire nut The wire nut fell off, and the bare end hit the chassis
metal, taking
out the 15 amp fuse that feeds the contractor coil circuit.
But overall, so far so good, happy with the car and happy with the
Intimidators. I won't
have any useful way to directly compare the Intimidators to the YTs (Since they
were well
used by the time I got them), but I am keeping track of e-meter readings and
charging data
for a while at least.
�- Tom Coate
Leesburg, VA, USA
1970s Elec-Trak E20 36VDC
1993 Ford Escort Wagon 120 VDC
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See Ya.....John Wayland
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Are your posts 8" or 12" apart? 1 and 2/0 gauge cables available with
the terminals... soldered on?
http://www.eastpenn-deka.com/products/pdfs/7epm304.pdf
Might be an option for someone who doesn't feel like making all their
interconnects or is in a hurry.
Is having the terminals soldered preferable to having them crimped on?
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Just to follow up further...
John copied my note from last fall when I first got the Escort back on the road
with the Deka Intimidators, and so far still so good. For a variety of
reasons, the car wound up not getting too much of a workout over the winter,
but it's been getting out more now. I don't really have any way to offer any
qualitative data to compare the Intimidators to Orbitals or others, and mine is
really not the vehicle to push them to their limits. But, they're doing what I
want from them. I've got a few pictures at
http://www.coate.org/tom/escort/escort.html if you're interested. One of these
days I'll get around to submitting it to the EV list album.
As an aside, I was just contacted the other day by the editor of the East Penn
employee newsletter who is going to do a story about my use of the
Intimidators. It'll be interesting to see what they have to say about this
application of their product.
�- Tom Coate
Leesburg, VA, USA
1970s Elec-Trak E20 36VDC
1993 Ford Escort Wagon 120 VDC
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Testing please disregard
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Hi Everyone,
For those of you that didn't make this years NEDRA season opener Wicked
Watts it was a great social event. The race was called off do to high winds
(the drivers were saying it was breezy, not windy). Race teams that were
there are listed below and photos are at the link below.
Tracie and Eric Miller, Bakersfield CA
Tom Erekson, BYU and a pit crew of 15
Bill Kuehl, Las Vegas
Bob Anderson, Las Vegas
Brent and Kent Singleton, Ogden UT
Bob Anderson from Purpose Driven Engineering invited everyone over to his
shop for a open house to see his projects and had a drawing to give away a
"still new in box" 4 wheel quad glider, these gliders already have battery
racks, motor mounts and controller mount. EV owners put there name in a hat
and the winner was our very own Las Vegas LVEVA member John Hallquist.
Photos from the track
http://lveva.org/Wicked_Watts/Wicked_Watts_April_2005/wicked_watts_april_2005.html
Is it supposed to smoke like that ?
Richard Furniss
http://lasvegasev.com
Las Vegas, NV
President, www.lveva.org
Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association
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Richard Furniss wrote:
> a "still new in box" 4 wheel quad glider, these gliders already have battery
> racks, motor mounts and controller mount.
Where'd he find those electric gliders at?
What were the estimated 1/4 miles for the vehicles in the pictures?
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John Wayland wrote:
> Then you must have missed both of my posts:
Yes I did. Thank you for finding these posts. I read every word of them.
I wonder why I don't get any results when searching for the word
"Intimidator" here?
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ev/
>The downer so far, is that they seem to only come with universal terminals
You probably already know it by now, but I noticed in the pdf, they
have a model that only has top terminals and some how weighs a pound
and a quarter less if my math is right. How can not having the side
terminals reduce the weight by that much?
http://www.eastpenn-deka.com/products/pdfs/1143.pdf
Are you still not able to divulge what the dealer wholesale price is?
I'd just like to know for personal future reference and it would be
interesting to know just how much markup there is on these.
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Tom Coate wrote:
> As an aside, I was just contacted the other day by the editor of the East
> Penn
> employee newsletter who is going to do a story about my use of the
> Intimidators. It'll be interesting to see what they have to say about this
> application of their product.
Did he know of your vehicle from your battery purchase, or did he find
it on the net?
Maybe East Penn is actively interested in EV's? Post a link to that
newsletter when it comes out if you can. I'd like to read it.
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Hey all,
I've been batting around various regenerative braking ideas, and finally
came to the conclusion that a compressed air braking/motor system is
probably the most efficient.
I did a search and found someone patented this in 1998 - even went so
far as to include chemistry in the holding tanks to increase efficiency
(salts that go into solution to absorb heat energy from compression,
then release it when pressure drops, thus extending the range of the air
charge). Doesn't mean you couldn't make and use one for yourself, though.
The nice thing about a compressed air tank is that you can "recharge" it
practically infinitely, and it holds considerable energy. It also
allows simpler electric drive motors. The real question is energy
density - do compressed air tanks offer better total energy storage than
batteries? Anybody puzzled this one out?
I realize this is a bit OT, but compressed air regen could at least
supplement an EV (if it doesn't turn out to actually be superior - I
know there is an inventor in India(?) who is trying to get a compressed
air car to market.
Best,
Dave
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The gliders were for sale.Call Ray Gibson in Las Vegas at 702743-1904.
the company is called nNu Power. I drove from Calabasas Calif and if it wasn't
for bob Anderson from Nu Power I would call the weekend a bust. Not because it
was called off but I was hoping to see more than 4 electric cars. What
happened?
Larrycronk 72 Datsun ELEC TK
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