EV Digest 6706
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) Re: Kind OT: homemade disk motors
by Lee Hart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
2) Re: corvette conversion
by Steve <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
3) Join the OEA !!! ?? ( OT)
by Steven Lough <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
4) Re: Astrodyne DC-DC
by Rich Long <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
5) Re: Minn Kota Chargers?
by john fisher <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
6) Auburn Kodiak repair or schematics
by Joe Buford <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
7) Re: DC-DC converter - Astrodyne
by "Adrian DeLeon" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
8) Re: DC-DC converter
by "Adrian DeLeon" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
9) car (and current) surges while driving
by "Deanne Mott" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
10) RE: Motor, controller & battery recommendations?
by "Roger Stockton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
11) Re: Kind OT: homemade disk motors
by "Timothy Balcer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
12) RE: car (and current) surges while driving
by "damon henry" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
13) Re: Catapillar Drive? WAS Re: Kind OT: homemade disk motors
by "Tom Shay" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
14) Zilla options
by "Marty Hewes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
15) Re: Catapillar Drive? WAS Re: Kind OT: homemade disk motors
by "Martin Klingensmith" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
16) Re: Zilla options
by "Roland Wiench" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
17) Re: Zilla options
by Christopher Robison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
18) Re: Motor, controller & battery recommendations?
by Paul <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
19) New Nanocomposite Creates Capacitors Storing Twice as Much Energy
by Geopilot <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
20) Re: Kind OT: homemade disk motors
by Paul <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
21) Re: Zilla options
by MIKE WILLMON <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
22) Re: Motor, controller & battery recommendations?
by "Marty Hewes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
23) Re: DC-DC converter
by Dave Cover <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
24) Re: OT Catapillar Drive?
by "Michael Perry" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
25) Dead start acceleration issues
by Michael Barkley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
--- Begin Message ---
Timothy Balcer wrote:
Just to toss on, it's too bad homopolar motors are so inefficient. :)
Homopolar motors aren't inefficient. It's just harder to build efficient
ones. They intrinsically have one turn coils, which means they are
necessarily low voltage, high current machines. They also need brushes
(actually slip rings). At low operating voltages, it is difficult to
prevent the brushes from consuming most of the power.
High efficiency homopolar motors use things like superconducting magnets
or extremely high rpm to get the voltage of their one-turn coils up to
reasonable levels, or use liquid metal brushes (like mercury) to get the
brush loss down.
--
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget the perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in -- Leonard Cohen
--
Lee A. Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, leeahart_at_earthlink.net
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Hi,
Agreed, on paper the C4 would be a better choice, its lighter, even
better brakes/handling. But I already have a C4/LT4, and the C3
looks more "futuristic". (this ain't about practical...)
I will be documenting the conversion with camera, but will probably not
get around to publishing on a website till its finished (the
documentation is always the last thing to be written...)
> > Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2007 17:25:09 -0700
> From: Jack Murray <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: ev@listproc.sjsu.edu
> Subject: Re: corvette conversion
>
> Hi Steve, as you know I think the vette is a good choice although my
> choice would be the C4. The AC55 looks like a good motor. It doesn't
>
> have the best power/weight, but not many other options for AC.
> The lack of feedback means you are likely a trail blazer here, which
> is
> a good thing, who needs another lead-sled pickup truck :)
>
> Not to discount the value added of electroauto but it's a pricey
> package.
> If you want to get it done quickly, that is probably the best option.
>
> I'm certainly interested in seeing the progress, but sure to get a
> wepage going for it.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
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--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
This is a MUST SEE
Eco- Humor ? or Eco -Activism ?
(wonder if there is a Seattle Chapter yet..)
http://oea.freedomfromoil.org/the_video/
Initially ran across this on the CalCars News Feed, on pictures and
commentary from the San Francisco "Step it UP" Rally..
(Wonder how much the T-Shirts are ?? )
--
Steven S. Lough, Pres.
Seattle EV Association
6021 32nd Ave. N.E.
Seattle, WA 98115-7230
Day: 206 850-8535
Eve: 206 524-1351
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
web: http://www.seattleeva.org
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Rob,
I'm using the Astrodyne SD350D-12 (350 watt). It doesn't seem to have
enough wattage. If I trim the output to high 13's to low 14's voltage
the unit will kick out if I try to turn on all accessories. (My problem
though might be my cheap battery that I'm using as the auxiliary.) If I
turn down the output to 12.8v it won't kick out but I feel like my
headlights aren't as bright as they could be.
Rich
On Fri, 2007-04-27 at 08:44 -0400, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> All,
>
> Does anyone have experience with the Astrodyne SD-150D-12 DC/DC
> converter (spec http://datasheet.astrodyne.com/SD150.pdf)?
>
> I'm considering using it for my conversion. Any input is appreciated.
>
> Rob
> RAVolt.com / EVAlbum 995
>
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
if you google the marine and sailboat sites there are some other brands too. Apparently its common to have battery
strings and battery maintenance problems in the offshore boating world. At least judging by the products offered.
I too like the promise of ruggedness - whats worse than a salt-water sailboat?
JF
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Does anyone know where I can get an Auburn Scientific
Kodiak C600 repaired or get the schematic to repair it
myself?
Joe
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
The Astrodyne unit looks like another rebranded Meanwell:
http://www.meanwell.com/search/SD-150/default.htm
It's the "baby brother" to the SD-350 I mentioned earlier, but it doesn't
shut off the output on overload. Make sure to look at the output derating
curves over temperature. Even at full power, 150 watts isn't much -
typical headlights run 110-130 watts.
I'd also be careful with mounting. The "enclosure" isn't much better than
an open frame. It would be very easy for water, bugs, etc. to get inside
and start some damage.
-Adrian
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
On Thu, 26 Apr 2007 17:39:17 -0700, Victor Tikhonov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
Adrian DeLeon wrote:
With a higher voltage pack it's definitely in the inexpensive/cheap
category. Keep it dry... The 270,000 hour MTBF ain't bad, and you could
blow up quite a few before you hit $1,500 for an "EV DC/DC".
Got to love this attitude!
Little problem is it's kind of OK for yourself, but if you make
an EV for others, you can't offer that. That's what real DC-DCs
are for.
<snip>
So, happy blowing stuff! Let us know when you'll get tired of it.
Victor
Not exactly an attitude, it's reality. If you're on a shoestring budget
it's not always possible to fork over $$$ for an "EV grade" DC/DC
converter.
There are also cases like mine, where I can't find an "EV grade" DC/DC
that covers my pack voltage AND current requirements. I'll have to find a
"non EV" converter that handles my pack voltage and take extra care to
make sure I don't violate any electrical or environmental limits.
The end result CAN be a reliable, long lasting unit. It may require adding
circuitry, heatsinks, fans, and paying special attention to
weatherproofing, etc. You can't just toss any old DC/DC under the hood and
expect it to work flawlessly, but you CAN find generic DC/DC converters
that can be adapted to EV use. The lower up front cost translates into
additional labor and design work for the installer. It's a *lack* of this
additional work that causes stuff to "blow up".
Looking on the EV Album, there are lots of "non EV" DC/DC units being used
with varying success. Most are in personal conversions, but others are in
Sparrows and other built-for-sale EVs.
I see a bunch of Vicor units, IOTAs, and even a few of the Meanwell
converters we have been discussing in this thread. One pickup uses the
Meanwell SD-350 with great success, even though it latches the output off
in the event of a fault. Care would have to be taken to make sure the
output current limit is NEVER reached. Another uses the SD-200 and calls
it "broken", probably due to a combination of thermal derating and the
same output shutoff behavior.
I see similar results with controller choices. Lots of Curtis controllers
are being used because they are relatively inexpensive and available. Not
everyone can afford an AC system or a Zilla. But properly taken care of, a
Curtis can last a long, long time. But improper mounting, lack of
precharge, or poor heatsinking can greatly reduce thier lifespan and make
them "blow up".
-Adrian
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I have a new problem on my car that I cannot figure out, I'm getting
surges while hitting to Go pedal. I had just done a bit of
maintenance on the batteries, my first time to do this. Here's the
longer version:
I had just finished up cleaning the battery terminals etc in the front
half of my car (after having replaced the battery with the melted
post) and I took it out on a short errand even though I wasn't quite
finished with the job (7 more batteries in the back to do, but these
connections had just recently been tightened.) Not too far down the
block I experienced a surge in speed, and also the ammeter. It wasn't
a huge surge, but enough to make me worry about an intermittant
connection and decide to go back home. In the course of going around
the block, I experienced about 3-4 surges. Since then, I checked all
my connections and I can't find anything loose, or melted, or
otherwise ugly. What could this be? Should I not be driving it?
Here's the background on what all I've done to the car lately.
1. Melted a battery post, so replaced the battery. Car sat for a month.
2. Charged up pack per instructions on list
3. Car would not "start" so I had to charge up the 12V battery (twice.)
4. Cleaned the battery terminals on 8 batteries in the front of the car.
Here is my procedure for each battery (I'd like any
pointers/improvements on this as well)
1. Remove one cable and corresponding nuts and bolts from battery.
2. Clean nuts/bolts in baking soda/water, rinsed in water and dried
3. Clean cable terminals in baking soda/water (some wire brushing on
bad spots), rinsed in water and dried
4. Use round battery terminal brush on battery terminals to clean
corrosion. The brush is pretty stiff and roughs up the posts a bit
5. Spray windex on battery top, wiped off with rag
6. Put cable back on, put vasoline all over battery post/cable
terminal/nuts/bolts
7. Tighten up until I can't move the cable at all (husband went back
and tightened a bit more, given that my volleyball team calls me
Noodle Arm)
Any ideas or advice? Seems like it's always something with these cars...
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Marty Hewes wrote:
> Also, do you know what the cable from the throttle
> linkage to the trans does?
I believe that should be the kick-down linkage for passing gear.
> Also, the governer is driven from the driveshaft end, not the
> input shaft, right?
Yes.
> Maybe that's why I hear they have 2 sets of weights.
It's been a while since I looked at one, but I recall only one set of
weights (there are 2 weights to a set).
It is very easy to pull the governer, and you might want to have a peek
yourself just for kicks. The flyweights 'expand' outwards as the
governer rotates, and in doing so operate a valve.
It would not be particularly challenging to convert this valve to manual
(cable, etc) operation if the road-speed based operation is
inappropriate for EVs, or to alter the weights or spring that they
operate against to change the speed characterisitic of its operation.
Likewise, the vacuum modulator is going to affect the operation of the
tranny by operating some valve controlling the flow of the tranny fluid,
so just ditch the vacuum motor and use a cable or other mechanical
linkage to operate the valve if you can't get by simply tying it in one
position or the other.
> I don't think getting shift points or firmness at
> full acceleration will be too tough, the hot rodders
> have all kinds of ways of tweaking that.
> What might take ingenuity is softening the shifts
> during normal driving without messing up the full
> throttle shifts. I suspect having no converter
> mass and way less rotating mass in the motor than
> the ICE would have, will reduce the shift shock
> somewhat, but I don't know what the effect will be
> of having no fluid coupling.
I think it may depend on how you go about providing the line pressure.
In a normal application, the pump is spun at engine speed, so pressure
will rise with engine speed until hitting the regulator setpoint. If
you use an external pump, then you can spin it at whatever speed you
like (more or less) and vary the line pressure independantly of drive
motor speed.
I think your challenges will be with the fundamental shift points
themselves more than the shift quality. With an ICE you want the tranny
to hold off shifting until a higher RPM under hard acceleration because
the engine makes more torque and power at higher RPM, but the motor in
an EV makes its most torque at low RPMs and peak power at fairly modest
RPM (unless you have pack much higher in voltage than the motor is rate
for). That said, you're using a tranny that would normally have been
behind a 350ci V8 (for instance), and so even under hard acceleration it
probably still shifted somewhere in the 3000RPM ballpark, which probably
isn't too far above where you would want to shift to keep your electric
motor at peak power.
The other challenge is that for passing gear, the auto tranny downshifts
to second, while passing gear on an EV needs to shift *up*. Unless you
have high pack voltage relative to the motor rating, the motor won't
draw much current at higher RPM (say 3k+), and so won't have much
torque/power up there. For normal cruising you might want to spin the
motor in the 4K ballpark for better efficiency (make your HP through RPM
rather than high torque, which means higher current and lower
efficiency) and cooler operation, but you won't have gobs of torque on
tap to overtake with. If the tranny downshifts when you mat the
accelerator, it'll worsen things since you can only spin up to about
5.5-6K and raising the RPM will reduce the motor torque further. What
you probably want is to program the tranny to give you a 1-2 shift
somewhere in the 2-3k RPM ballpark and then hold 2nd forever. If you
mat the accelerator, the "kick down" linkage should force a 2-3 upshift
to reduce motor RPM and allow more current/torque/HP.
Easiest might be to mod the valve body for full manual operation and
shift manually until you figure out exactly what shift points are best
for your motor/battery/controller/gearing/etc., then set it back up for
auto operation.
As far as shift quality, I'd be concerned about ensuring that there
isn't excessive slipping when shifting at low RPM, since the electric
motor could be subjecting the tranny to far more torque than the tranny
expected from the ICE under these conditions.
Cheers,
Roger.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Homopolar motors aren't inefficient. It's just harder to build efficient
ones. They intrinsically have one turn coils, which means they are
necessarily low voltage, high current machines. They also need brushes
(actually slip rings). At low operating voltages, it is difficult to
prevent the brushes from consuming most of the power.
High efficiency homopolar motors use things like superconducting magnets
or extremely high rpm to get the voltage of their one-turn coils up to
reasonable levels, or use liquid metal brushes (like mercury) to get the
brush loss down.
I should have been more specific...
Homopolar motors that mere mortals can afford and can be used in a
moving application, such as an EV, are inefficient... or would be,
since using liquid metal contacts doesn't seem like a good strategy
for a car ;)
Also, they are high current, low voltage motors. Just the opposite you
would like to use for motive applications. I know they are used for
pulsed discharge applications quite a bit (rail guns and et al), and
used to be used for electrical welding machines.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
When I have experienced surges it has been in relation to connections made
at the controller. Perhaps something is coming loose or getting corroded.
I would check all the wiring at the controller and the potbox and test your
potentiometer.
damon
From: "Deanne Mott" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: ev@listproc.sjsu.edu
To: ev@listproc.sjsu.edu
Subject: car (and current) surges while driving
Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 15:04:16 -0400
I have a new problem on my car that I cannot figure out, I'm getting
surges while hitting to Go pedal. I had just done a bit of
maintenance on the batteries, my first time to do this. Here's the
longer version:
I had just finished up cleaning the battery terminals etc in the front
half of my car (after having replaced the battery with the melted
post) and I took it out on a short errand even though I wasn't quite
finished with the job (7 more batteries in the back to do, but these
connections had just recently been tightened.) Not too far down the
block I experienced a surge in speed, and also the ammeter. It wasn't
a huge surge, but enough to make me worry about an intermittant
connection and decide to go back home. In the course of going around
the block, I experienced about 3-4 surges. Since then, I checked all
my connections and I can't find anything loose, or melted, or
otherwise ugly. What could this be? Should I not be driving it?
Here's the background on what all I've done to the car lately.
1. Melted a battery post, so replaced the battery. Car sat for a month.
2. Charged up pack per instructions on list
3. Car would not "start" so I had to charge up the 12V battery (twice.)
4. Cleaned the battery terminals on 8 batteries in the front of the car.
Here is my procedure for each battery (I'd like any
pointers/improvements on this as well)
1. Remove one cable and corresponding nuts and bolts from battery.
2. Clean nuts/bolts in baking soda/water, rinsed in water and dried
3. Clean cable terminals in baking soda/water (some wire brushing on
bad spots), rinsed in water and dried
4. Use round battery terminal brush on battery terminals to clean
corrosion. The brush is pretty stiff and roughs up the posts a bit
5. Spray windex on battery top, wiped off with rag
6. Put cable back on, put vasoline all over battery post/cable
terminal/nuts/bolts
7. Tighten up until I can't move the cable at all (husband went back
and tightened a bit more, given that my volleyball team calls me
Noodle Arm)
Any ideas or advice? Seems like it's always something with these cars...
_________________________________________________________________
The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian.
http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600&bcd=EMAILFOOTERAVERAGE
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lee Hart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <ev@listproc.sjsu.edu>
Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2007 5:18 PM
Subject: Re: Catapillar Drive? WAS Re: Kind OT: homemade disk motors
Bob Rice wrote:
Then we COULD have a "caterpiller Drive" as depicted in "Hunt For Red
October, movie? I think THAT was the sub movie where the Russian sub
stole away silently on caterpiller power, a way to blast water out
the pipe in the stern of the sub. No prop or noisy reduction gear!
Or is this still in the Flux Capaciter realm?
No, it's a real concept. The problem (as I mentioned) is that you are
building a fairly inefficient motor, due to the high resistance of its
rotor "windings" (i.e. the seawater). But that's no problem on a ship
with a nuclear power plant for power.
Nonsense!
Efficiency is not less important for a ship with a nuclear power plant.
Motor inefficiency would require making the motor larger or using
mutiple motors to get the needed power. Providing the additional
power required to supply the inefficient motor(s) would require a
larger nuclear reactor or multiple reactors. There isn't space available
on a submarine for bigger or more propulsion plant equipment.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I'm looking at ordering a Zilla 1K. I'm tempted to order the -A and -P
options in case I want to use them in the future, but it is not clear to me
if you can disable the options and run one non-reversing motor and a pot
box, just like without the options, until the options are needed. Anybody
know? I'd hate to have to reorder another unit and wait in line again
because I didn't order the option in the first place.
Thanks in advance,
Marty
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
On 4/27/07, Tom Shay <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lee Hart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <ev@listproc.sjsu.edu>
Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2007 5:18 PM
Subject: Re: Catapillar Drive? WAS Re: Kind OT: homemade disk motors
> Bob Rice wrote:
>> Then we COULD have a "caterpiller Drive" as depicted in "Hunt For Red
>> October, movie? I think THAT was the sub movie where the Russian sub
>> stole away silently on caterpiller power, a way to blast water out
>> the pipe in the stern of the sub. No prop or noisy reduction gear!
>> Or is this still in the Flux Capaciter realm?
>
> No, it's a real concept. The problem (as I mentioned) is that you are
> building a fairly inefficient motor, due to the high resistance of its
> rotor "windings" (i.e. the seawater). But that's no problem on a ship
> with a nuclear power plant for power.
Nonsense!
Efficiency is not less important for a ship with a nuclear power plant.
Motor inefficiency would require making the motor larger or using
mutiple motors to get the needed power. Providing the additional
power required to supply the inefficient motor(s) would require a
larger nuclear reactor or multiple reactors. There isn't space available
on a submarine for bigger or more propulsion plant equipment.
They weren't talking about a typical motor, but an AC motor with salt
water as the rotor. Generally speaking, such type of motor wouldn't be
for high speed use anyway, thus assuming that it wouldn't take up more
power than a higher efficiency traditional motor driving a propeller.
Perhaps it would be more correct to say that on a nuclear powered
vehicle, energy is less scarce than it would be on a diesel powered
vehicle.
This is really off topic as well.
--
Martin Klingensmith
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Hello Marty,
You have to enable any of the options you want. You can turn them off or on
in the option menu. The bottom roll terminals in my Zilla is option A which
I am not using at the time.
When you order the Zilla, order the Palm Pilot that Otmar is preprogram for
this unit. You can also use a computer with a built-in control terminal
using the right program that Otmar of Café Electric recommends.
You can down load the Zilla manual from http://www.CafeElectric.com , which
you will need anyway for installation.
Other units that you can order from Café Electric is a accelerator
controller and a motor speed sensor that controls and can limit the rpm of
the motor and can display the motor rpm on a standard tachometer.
You can also program this tachometer circuit in the option menu to display
the motor amps on the tachometer. This is what I am using at the time,
because I think the motor amps and tachometer are the two most important
data I want.
Roland
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marty Hewes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <ev@listproc.sjsu.edu>
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 3:30 PM
Subject: Zilla options
> I'm looking at ordering a Zilla 1K. I'm tempted to order the -A and -P
> options in case I want to use them in the future, but it is not clear to
> me
> if you can disable the options and run one non-reversing motor and a pot
> box, just like without the options, until the options are needed. Anybody
> know? I'd hate to have to reorder another unit and wait in line again
> because I didn't order the option in the first place.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Marty
>
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
On Fri, 2007-04-27 at 16:24 -0600, Roland Wiench wrote:
> Hello Marty,
>
> You have to enable any of the options you want. You can turn them off or on
> in the option menu. The bottom roll terminals in my Zilla is option A which
> I am not using at the time.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Marty Hewes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <ev@listproc.sjsu.edu>
> Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 3:30 PM
> Subject: Zilla options
>
>
> > I'm looking at ordering a Zilla 1K. I'm tempted to order the -A and -P
> > options in case I want to use them in the future, but it is not clear to
> > me
> > if you can disable the options and run one non-reversing motor and a pot
> > box, just like without the options, until the options are needed. Anybody
> > know? I'd hate to have to reorder another unit and wait in line again
> > because I didn't order the option in the first place.
> >
> > Thanks in advance,
> > Marty
> >
> >
>
The Hall-effect pedal ("-P") option requires a physically distinct
variant of the hairball. There is only one software version however, so
the option you may notice to turn this on or off in the software may
seem misleading. I ordered my Zilla controller with the Hall-effect
pedal, and according to Otmar its hairball is therefore not compatible
with a standard 5k pot.
--
Christopher Robison
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://ohmbre.org <-- 1999 Isuzu Hombre + Z2K + Warp13!
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
On Apr 26, 2007, at 9:57 PM, Marty Hewes wrote:
The trans I chose for the first incarnation of my "EJ-7" Jeep is a
1971 Chevy Turbo 350. For controls, it's got 3 inputs. It's got a
governer, driven off of the output shaft. As I understand it, it
is primarily used for judging when to allow a downshift based on
road speed to keep from throwing a rod if you throw the lever into
1st at 90 MPH. I don't think the function of that will change too
much, although there are tuning kits for it out there. There is a
cable from the throttle to the valve body that apparently makes
some decisions based on throttle position only. I haven't gotten
to that chapter in the book yet, but I wonder if pinning it to the
full throttle position might go a long way toward keeping the RPM
up where we want to see it. And it's got a vacuum modulator. As I
understand it so far, the trans uses different line pressures in
different gears, but does not vary the main line pressure (the
actual pump pressure) based on load.
Perhaps an older auto tranny that only has a mechanical kick down
would be a better choice. The old Mopar 904 comes to mind because I
used to have an old Dart. You may want something stronger but the
ones behind a 225 slant six had some pretty low rpm shift points to
start with (close to series motor rpms.)
You may still need to adjust the shift points but it seems like the
mechanical kick down could be connected for reversed operation (low
throttle settings are seen as high throttle settings by the
transmission.) Then it would naturally run in a lower gear when when
holding speed and shift to a taller gear when you get on it.
Is there any particular reason for choosing the TH350?
Paul "neon" G.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
New Nanocomposite Creates Capacitors Storing Twice as Much Energy
Category: SOFTPEDIA NEWS :: Science :: Nano-Biotechnology
They could be used in cellphones and defense applications
By: Lucian Dorneanu, Science Editor
Capacitor seen in normal light and X-ray
Enlarge picture
Barium titanate is an oxide of barium and titanium with the chemical
formula BaTiO3. It is a ferroelectric ceramic material, with a
photorefractive effect and
piezoelectric properties. It is used as a dielectric material for
ceramic capacitors and as a piezoelectric material for microphones and
other transducers. As a piezoelectric material, it was largely replaced
by lead zirconate titanate, also known as PZT.
But, until recently, scientists had been unable to produce good
dispersion of the material within a polymer matrix. By using tailored
organic phosphonic acids to encapsulate and modify the surface of the
nanoparticles, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology's
Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics were able to overcome the
particle dispersion problem to create uniform nanocomposites.
"Our team has developed nanocomposites that have a remarkable
combination of high dielectric constant and high dielectric breakdown
strength," said Joseph W. Perry, a professor in the Georgia Tech School
of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Center for Organic Photonics and
Electronics. "For capacitors and related applications, the amount of
energy you can store in a material is related to those two factors."
A capacitor (formerly known as condenser)is an electrical device that
can store energy in the electric field between a pair of closely-spaced
conductors (called plates). When voltage is applied to the capacitor,
electric charges of equal magnitude, but opposite polarity, build up on
each plate.
Capacitors are used in electrical circuits as energy-storage devices.
They can store electric energy when disconnected from its charging
circuit, so it can be used like a temporary battery, so they are
commonly used in electronic devices to maintain power supply while
batteries are being changed. (This prevents loss of information in
volatile memory). They can also be used to differentiate between
high-frequency and low-frequency signals and this makes them useful in
electronic filters.
The new nanocomposite materials have been tested at frequencies of up to
one megahertz and Perry says operation at even higher frequencies may be
possible. Though the new materials could have commercial applications
without further improvement, their most important contribution may be in
demonstrating the new encapsulation technique, which could have broad
applications in other nanocomposite materials.
Due to their ability to store almost twice as much energy and to rapidly
discharge it, the new capacitors could most probably be used in a
variety of consumer products such as displays, computers and cellular
telephones. And because of the increasing demands for electrical energy
to power vehicles and new equipment, they would also have important
military applications.
"This work opens a door to effectively exploit this type of particle in
nanocomposites using the coating technology we have demonstrated,"
explained Perry. "There are many ways we can envision making advances
beyond what we've done already."
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On Apr 27, 2007, at 12:32 PM, Timothy Balcer wrote:
Also, they are high current, low voltage motors. Just the opposite you
would like to use for motive applications.
Just the application for very large single Lithium cell! Now where do
I find a 500 lb. Lithium cell? No more battery monitoring/balancing
system needed. Cabling this up will be an issue, what gauge is
required for 15,000 amps? (for roughly 60 HP :-) Oh, the controller
is going to be an interesting item too...
Paul
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This is true abou the the hall effect option -P
But if you order the series parallel switching option -A you can still run 1
motor and disable S/P switching and reversing.
This is what I have in the Electrabishi, but I only have 1 WarP9 motor.
Mike,
Anchorage, Ak.
> Christopher Robison wrote:
>
> The Hall-effect pedal ("-P") option requires a physically distinct
> variant of the hairball. There is only one software version
> however, so
> the option you may notice to turn this on or off in the software may
> seem misleading. I ordered my Zilla controller with the Hall-effect
> pedal, and according to Otmar its hairball is therefore not compatible
> with a standard 5k pot.
>
> --
> Christopher Robison
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> http://ohmbre.org <-- 1999 Isuzu Hombre + Z2K + Warp13!
>
>
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Hi Paul,
There were a few reasons I went with the Turbo 350, maybe none of them the
right reasons, we'll see.
First, I wanted to do without a torque converter, because according to my
guesstimates, not having to spin the extra rotational mass up repeatedly in
around town driving might just gain me 5% in range. That doesn't sound like
much, until you have to push the car home 5% of the range. It should also
accelerate a little better, not having to spin up the converter, and it'll
save some pounds also. Besides, the main purpose for the torque converter
is to let the engine turn while the input shaft doesn't. Who needs it! I
poked around some racer catalogs and found exactly 2 off the shelf couplers
designed to eliminate torque converters, Turbo Hydro 350 and Powerglide.
I'm really trying to make this whole project repeatable with minimal custom
parts. The Turbo 350 is cheap, easy to find, and has more torque
multiplication in low gear than the Powerglide (maybe allowing a smaller
motor), so I went with that.
The Turbo 350 will take a lot of torque, and I'm having silly thoughts of
dumping fairly large amps into the motor, or running twin motors. There are
plenty of aftermarket parts around to make it even stronger and to alter
shift characteristics, including manual shift conversion if worse comes to
worse. There are also whole books on how to rebuild and modify the Turbo
350, and a lot of knowledge out there.
There are no electronic controls on the older Turbo 350's, I'd personally
rather mess with the shift hardware than build a controller and try to
figure out how to defeat converter lockup mechanisms. Besides, I've already
got two cars that have electronic issues when it gets cold out. Building
electronics to be reliable in subzero temperatures can add significant cost.
Last I looked, doing it right requires mil spec components.
I've rebuilt a few Turbo 400's in my day, and the 350 is similar, so it's a
bit less intimidating.
Did I say it was cheap? So far, $80 for the trans, $129 for a B&M master
rebuild kit, and $163.99 for the converter eliminator that bolts the input
shaft to anything that looks like a Chevy crank (not much more expensive
than a rebuilt converter). Assuming no converter, the cost of having
something made to couple the motor to any other trans might cost a lot more.
All I need now is a plate and hub that makes the motor look like a 90 degree
Chevy V6 or V8. That shouldn't be treading new ground.
If I can't make it work, a Chevy manual trans will be easy enough to get and
swap in. Couplers to eliminate the clutch and flywheel with the same Chevy
crank interface are off the shelf parts, so I wouldn't have to change
adapters.
I'm not sure yet if having three separate shift controls (aside from the
shifter) is good or bad. That's three different things I can mess with to
get it to do what I want. That should give me more freedom.
Later,
Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <ev@listproc.sjsu.edu>
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 6:23 PM
Subject: Re: Motor, controller & battery recommendations?
On Apr 26, 2007, at 9:57 PM, Marty Hewes wrote:
The trans I chose for the first incarnation of my "EJ-7" Jeep is a 1971
Chevy Turbo 350. For controls, it's got 3 inputs. It's got a governer,
driven off of the output shaft. As I understand it, it is primarily
used for judging when to allow a downshift based on road speed to keep
from throwing a rod if you throw the lever into 1st at 90 MPH. I don't
think the function of that will change too much, although there are
tuning kits for it out there. There is a cable from the throttle to the
valve body that apparently makes some decisions based on throttle
position only. I haven't gotten to that chapter in the book yet, but I
wonder if pinning it to the full throttle position might go a long way
toward keeping the RPM up where we want to see it. And it's got a
vacuum modulator. As I understand it so far, the trans uses different
line pressures in different gears, but does not vary the main line
pressure (the actual pump pressure) based on load.
Perhaps an older auto tranny that only has a mechanical kick down would
be a better choice. The old Mopar 904 comes to mind because I used to
have an old Dart. You may want something stronger but the ones behind a
225 slant six had some pretty low rpm shift points to start with (close
to series motor rpms.)
You may still need to adjust the shift points but it seems like the
mechanical kick down could be connected for reversed operation (low
throttle settings are seen as high throttle settings by the
transmission.) Then it would naturally run in a lower gear when when
holding speed and shift to a taller gear when you get on it.
Is there any particular reason for choosing the TH350?
Paul "neon" G.
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--- Begin Message ---
Lee
Thanks for the reply. I really appreciate the input. I plan on getting the pack
voltage higher,
this is just my starting point. I'm shooting for 300 BB600s. Maybe I should do
it sooner rather
than later.
Dave Cover
--- Lee Hart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> That's an unfortunate combination. The 240vac line is bridge rectified,
> or the 120vac line voltage doubled to produce 320vdc. 212vdc is
> considerably below this 320vdc that the power supply is designed for.
> Watch out for overheating, or reduced output due to undervoltage protection.
>
> > Do I just hook up my pack to L1 and L2?
>
> Yes. It doesn't matter which is positive.
>
> > Do I want to ground the unit to the chassis?
>
> Yes. You ground it for safety and noise considerations.
>
> > Also, is there a problem with using a relay to power the DC-DC only
> > when running?
>
> No; though you will see considerable arcing on that relay's contacts
> when it closes, due to the huge inrush current to charge the power
> supply's input capacitors. It's a hard application for a relay or switch.
>
> It's the same problem as controller precharge, with the same solution;
> add a precharge circuit. Only here, the precharge parts are much
> smaller, due to the smaller size of the problem.
>
> --
> Ring the bells that still can ring
> Forget the perfect offering
> There is a crack in everything
> That's how the light gets in -- Leonard Cohen
> --
> Lee A. Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, leeahart_at_earthlink.net
>
>
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> They weren't talking about a typical motor, but an AC motor with salt
> water as the rotor. Generally speaking, such type of motor wouldn't be
> for high speed use anyway, thus assuming that it wouldn't take up more
> power than a higher efficiency traditional motor driving a propeller.
> Perhaps it would be more correct to say that on a nuclear powered
> vehicle, energy is less scarce than it would be on a diesel powered
> vehicle.
One thing to remember in this sort of technology... right now it's listed as
being impractical/impossible. That's the sort of technology that the
military often improves and, eventually, we find they've been using it for
years. This sort of tech can also be used for high altitude aircraft engines
(space craft)... and sightings of contrails indicate this might be in
testing for the last decade. These contrails were sighted a while before our
SR71 was retired. (There are 2 other technologies that could also give a
similar contrail... each engine capable of operating at the upper reaches of
air and/or beyond.)
I recall the flying wings of the 50's... completely impractical per our
military... until we found they were flying bombers based on the technology.
Radar avoiding aircraft were sci-fi... until we found they'd been flying
them for a decade (since the 80's), per our President. Oddly enough, a
friend told me he'd seen planes that met the same description, in "secret"
hangers in Europe, when he was installing equipment for the military. This
was in 1976... and I totally wrote it off as bragging, until nearly 20 years
later. Most military equipment uses technology of earlier decades, but
occasionally a person wonders what they may have developed, in secret, and
are keeping from the public.
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--- Begin Message ---
Hello All: I've performed an EV conversion on a 94'
Mitsubishi Eclipse, using an Aircraft Generator, and
an AXE 7245 controller @ 72vdc, I am having an issue
with dead start acceleration at very inconvenient
times.
Initially, I can go into reverse, and forward from a
dead start with lots of power and can overcome good
inclines. Then all of a sudden, I'll be at a stop
sign (Usually when there are about 5 cars behind me),
and it won't overcome a pebble in the road. It just
sort of inches out and once it gets a little momentum
it'll overcome whatever the issue is, and go like
normal. After this, it'll do good starts for a little
while, and then once again, just inch out slowwwwwly,
and then finally take off. The battery pack, has
plenty of charge. As a matter of fact, I took it out
today, and it did this with a pack voltage of 75vdc.
When this occurs, at an incline, I have to roll
backwards to get out of the incline, and make a
running start at the intersection.
Any ideas on what could cause this?
Thanks in advance for any help someone could give me.
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