I had a similar yet different experience to Damon's.
Years before I had my Blazer EV, even before I worked at hp. I had a choice to make when I was just starting out after my Vietnam war era service (I was lucky action didn't see me , but think of how big and easy a shoot-able target I was). I needed to buy transportation for my 13 mile commute from College to my work at Memorex's 'new' 5" double-sided floppy disk production line. My skinny 1970's budget let me choose between a Honda 50cc ice cub https://www.google.com/search?q=Honda+50cc+cub&tbm=isch or an Auranthetic Electric mini bike https://www.google.com/search?q=auranthetic I chose the Auranthetic but I paid extra to have two motors and higher gearing. So, instead of a top speed of 15 mph with a range of 30 miles, I had a top speed of 30 mph and a range of 15 miles. It still had the wimpy 7A on-board rectified-transformer-type charger (extremely slow). I took the transformer out of a 12VDC 20Amp Sears Automotive charger http://www.electric-cars-are-for-girls.com/images/transformer-rectifier.jpg and added a bridge-rectifier in a configuration that allowed for a center-tapped 24VDC that would charge each of the two 12V deep-cycle lead-acid batteries. This configuration pushed twice the output current the transformer was designed for, thus over heated it. I put a 120VAC boxer fan on it to cool it, and then mounted it to the rear rack so I could charge fast where ever I found a (L1) 120VAC outlet. I was able to secure charging at the College, so I was able to regain what I used during my classes. From a far I saw the students passing by would notice the Auranthetic, but not really spend much interest. Their main thoughts were why I was allowed to plug into the College's outlet. I put a paper notice on it explaining, but the students never spent time reading it. So, though they were not angry or upset that I was allowed to plug in at school, they did not think it was 'great', 'good', or cool. After class, and an enjoyable Electric ride to work, I too pulled my Electric mini bike inside the warehouse and was allowed to plug in. Co-workers were not happy that such a Big Guy would ride such a smallish bike (my knees were up banging against the handlebar on turns). They also did not like that I was allowed to plug it in at work. While no one unplugged or vandalized my ebike, I got plenty of daily dirty looks and snarky ending comments when dealing with coworkers. The Auranthetic served me well even after I was hired by hp. My wife drove the ice, and rode the Auranthetic. Much later when I got my Blazer EV from the converter, it was a different story. An Electric Blazer (!?!), they thought 'That's cool!'. For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ {brucedp.150m.com} - From: damon henry There are many different scenarios. I rode my electric motorcycle to work all summer long. I drove right into the warehouse past all the warehouse workers and plugged into a normal 120v outlet that my boss said would be fine for me to use. Everyone in the company thinks the bike is cool and no one complains about the free electricity my boss is willing to give me. - -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/Re-Employer-EVSE-installations-vs-Free-Lunch-tp4678082p4678085.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
