On 28 Feb 2018 at 11:20, Gail Lucas via EV wrote: > Expect Bruce to be posting for a long time yet... I found a printed > post from him, dated August 1995.
Bruce was already riding when I hopped on the EVDL bus, way back in 1994. (For those who don't know, the EVDL was launched in 1991, the pre-web era of Gopher.) Bruce used to post long, detailed stories about his adventures in EVing with his Blazer conversion, and about his frequent promotion of EVs to the public (I doubt that anyone attended more "ride and drive" events in CA). Here's one of his posts from July 1994. Bruce was trying out a product that had been discussed on the list. Bruce did this sort of thing often. He liked being the "guinea pig" evaluating items that EVers might want to know about. IIRC, the snake oil he's talking about here was sold by "Battery Automated Transportation," AKA BAT International. I don't know for sure, but my guess is that it was sulfuric acid spiked with cobalt sulfate, the same stuff used in VX-6 battery additive. (You can still buy VX-6, if you're the gullible type.) Something like that would have altered the electrolyte concentration, slightly raising nominal voltage and capacity at the expense of cycle life. BAT sold imported electric bikes and cars, and built conversions. They had several EV-related "business strategies." For example, they'd buy up licenses to various EV technologies, and then try to re-license them at a profit. BAT were also (in)famous among EVers for such PR stunts as stuffing a converted Geo Metro with hopelessly expensive, short-lived, high-energy silver-zinc batteries (used about 3 decades before in the GM Electrovair), and holding press events and demos to tout its unusual range as some kind of EV revolution. OK, enough of that; here's Bruce: Date: Mon, 4 Jul 1994 19:30:00 -0400 From: Bruce Parmenter <PARMENTER_BRUCE/[email protected]> Subject: I be BATT'd,(Bruce's Saga) What a way to spend the 4th(!?) My car was fully charged, and I prepped for the addition of the BATT juice ("Ultra Force" additive) to my batteries. Rereading the label on the plastic gallon jugs, it says: 6oz for golf cart batteries, and 3oz for deep cycle batteries. Since there are 12 cells in my Aux deep cycle battery, that equates to one 3 celled 6 volt golf or EV battery. So, if I have 20 + 1 EV batteries at 6oz each cell, which there are 3 cells per battery (21 batteries * 6oz * 3cells = 378oz). I have 3 gallon containers which should be (128oz * 3 =) 384 oz of BATT juice. I should be OK, with some left over. The papers that came with the BATT juice said to store the acid electrolyte in a glass or plastic container. I had an extra empty plastic distilled water jug. I bought a glass measuring cup (anyone want to make some cookies?) and I had my specific gravity meter to use to draw out the electrolyte. As I progressed, I needed to keep track of the cells [from which] I had removed the electrolyte. I started in a batch mode. I removed enough electrolyte to fill the 1 gallon jug. Then I started adding 6 oz of BATT juice to those cells, keeping track of which was what. I did the front batteries first. I thought it would be better to wait on the AUX 12Volt battery until last. But, I figured my calculations showed I had some extra BATT juice, so I went ahead and did the AUX battery while I was setup in the front. I did the same procedure to the rear batteries. I can tell you it is a good idea to buy a good battery squeegee bulb for this process. My meter was too small for this job and made for much more effort. I added as far as I could see 6oz to each cell (3 oz to the Aux battery's cells). But, I had just enough to finish the job (to the drop). It would have been better to do the AUX battery last. That battery is less critical. But all is well. I have just the prescribed amount for the layman in my EV batteries. I have it trickle charging now. I will have the driving results a little later, as the papers say it takes 3 cycles to fully mix the BATT juice into solution. All the benefits claimed by the company are supported by letters for people who buy BATT juice regularly (no jive!), copies of which came with my supply. So, if anything, at this 6oz level, it could be like the way we add anti-freeze/rust/coolant to our radiators of an ICE car. Sort of a preventive. There is a procedure that came with the instruction papers, that shows how to mix the BATT juice (adding enough water for the amount of electrolyte needed) directly with acid (Super "Ultra Force Battery Catalyst" Instructions). The 10% additive is for the average consumer. If you add more than 10% the specific gravity won't be correct. The SUPER Instructions are to use a 25% catalyst solution by mixing 6 parts BATT juice to 1 part undiluted 96% sulfuric acid. You are to fully discharge the battery. Remove all the electrolyte and put it into a container. Use a non corrosive heat resistant container capable of withstanding 180 degrees or higher. Then add 6 parts catalyst and 1 part acid. This will cause a violent reaction and immediately heat to ~180 degrees. When this solution cools, add the electrolyte, mix well, and return it to the battery. Then recharge the battery. This is problably the thing to do for an EV race. But, I think if this catalyst is good, then the battery companies should be offering to already have this in the batteries, when we buy them!! I wonder how hard it would be to get the battery companies to agree to sell their batteries with the SUPER electrolyte mixture in them? Anyway, we will see what I find with this 10% additive solution. I had 3 gallons of BATT juice. I now have 3 gallons of Electrolyte. I will be adding this electrolyte back instead of water as the cells need it. --- Will Beckett and his wife were quite pleased with the test drive I gave them in my S-10 Blaser (before BATT juice). Will is anxious to go up to USElectricar next week. | [email protected] (Sunnyvale,CA) | - Electric car cruis'n' the Santa Clara,CA Valley - | {Above statements may not be my Employer's} David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA EVDL Administrator = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = EVDL Information: http://www.evdl.org/help/ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Note: mail sent to "evpost" and "etpost" addresses will not reach me. To send a private message, please obtain my email address from the webpage http://www.evdl.org/help/ . = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
