| Owner | Paul-Pascal Van de Poel | ||||||||
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| Location | Cushing, Oklahoma United States map | ||||||||
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| Vehicle | 1994 Geo Metro | ||||||||
| Motor | Baldor Series Wound DC 2HP 36v golf cart motor | ||||||||
| Drivetrain | 5-speed, clutchless. Shifts much better now than with ICE! | ||||||||
| Controller | Curtis 1209B-6402 | ||||||||
| Batteries | 6 all different batteries, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded Used marine deep-cycle batteries. They were cores that a local boat store had. They sold them for $7 each. | ||||||||
| System Voltage | 72 Volts | ||||||||
| Charger | Duracell 12amp 6 different chargers, one for each battery. These are smart chargers that are very small and work excellently. | ||||||||
| Heater | none | ||||||||
| Instrumentation | Harbor Freight $2.99 Multimeter for voltage. | ||||||||
| Top Speed | 35 MPH (56 KPH) Will update as I become familiar with car. | ||||||||
| Acceleration | Faster than with stock internal combustion engine. Motor is rated at 53 amps max at 36v- so I have to take it easy. | ||||||||
| Range | 6 Miles ( 9 Kilometers) Still testing, don't want to destroy a battery. I estimate a 15 mile range. | ||||||||
| EV Miles |
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| Seating Capacity | 4 adults- I have no use for a 2 seater | ||||||||
| Curb Weight | 0 Seems close to stock weight. | ||||||||
| Tires | Stock 12" | ||||||||
| Conversion Time | 49 days | ||||||||
| Conversion Cost | motor $75.00 controller $300.00 coupler $5.95 chargers $117.20 welding cable $17.58 batteries $42.00 aluminum plate $23.00 contactor $40.00 _________ $620.73 Sold: Fuel Pump -$40.00 Alternator -$34.95 Starter -$10.00 total spent $535.78 about $35 over budget :) | ||||||||
| 11/30/09 I have driven the car over a month now, and it's still just as satisfying as the first day. I took it on an extra errand to the post office today, above and beyond the usual commute, and the batteries took approximately the same amount of time to charge: about 1 1/2 hours. Surprisingly, the batteries all seem to finish charging within about 15 minutes from each other (except for one that never finishes, but it's not the weakest battery so I'm not worried). Once I get 2 more group 24 batteries I will make a rear battery rack for them. I still need to mount the blower I have to cool the motor. It never gets hot, but some day I will have a potentiometer that will allow me to go past 1970 Ohms and I will certainly need it then. Still need to install the shunt and ammeter, as well as reattach the voltmeter. Still debating whether I should have individual meters for each battery. 12/1/09 Coldest day of the season. Lowest battery at 12.02v, best one at 12.58v after commute. 12/4/09 Even colder today at 25 degrees. Batteries show from 12.04v to 12.50v. Have battery desulfator on its way... 12/05/09 Received desulfator made by Wizbang. Installed it on my weakest battery. 12/07/09 I bought a Curtis 1209B just like the one I have on eBay for $75, installed it, and it works. Batteries were doing very poorly today, lowest dropped to 11.60v... 12/13/09 insulated the batteries today 12/15/09 put battery desulfator on the "new" lowest battery. Can't tell if it was working on the other battery since it has gone down to 11.65v after commute, down from 12.02v before. Lowest battery is at 11.35v. 12/21/09 I may have killed a battery. It's on trickle charge and desulfator-we'll see. It's Christmas break so the wonderfully reliable e-car gets 2 week's rest. I got 2 LED bulbs to replace some parking lights and put those in. 1/4/10 First commute after Christmas break, and car was slooooww on the way home, about 5 mph for the last 1/4 of the trip. 3 batteries showed under 12v after the commute! Luckily, the lowest one was easy to replace. The one that was on the desulfator for 2 weeks was at 12.00v, so it has definitely improved. I have moved the desulfator back to the original battery it was on, which is now the second lowest. I wish I had another one to put on the third lowest as it does seem to work. 1/6/10 Lowest battery replaced. New lowest was at 11.26v. Next after that was 12.00v. The battery that was on the desulfator for 2 weeks was at 12.15v. I am very happy with the efficacity of the desulfator. 1/14/10 Lowest battery at 10.26v. It's days are numbered... 1/19/10 Converted lowest battery to alum. Showed 10.17v after first commute. 2/23/10 Alum battery won't get above 10.80v after commute; I will replace it as soon as I find another group 24. Had to replace another battery today: one in the trunk was at 12.07v after commute. The desulfator battery has gotten up to 12.29v after commute. 3/27/10 Replaced the alum battery with a new one. 3/29/10 One of the batteries exploded 4/14/10 Finally replaced exploded battery and back to daily commute 4/19/10 Lowest battery at 12.47v, highest at 12.89v after commute. 5/17/10 Car is doing great, still enjoying every gas free day 5/21/10 Looks like another battery needs replacing. 8/5/10 Replaced battery today. 8/25/10 3rd day of being back to daily commute. Lowest battery is at 12.68v after commute. 10/30/10 Had an interesting problem. Curtis/Albright SW200 main contactor had a moth crawl into it that caused the car not to operate. Rebuilt it, and no problems since. 3/19/11 Added a bilge blower to cool the motor and moved one of the four batteries in the front of the car to the back. 3 batteries in front and 3 in back. Car handles noticeably better. 3/20/11 Changed stock TPS to a standard Curtis PB-6. Car is impressively faster now. 12/3/11 Replaced one of the used batteries with another used one. No problems. | |||||||||
1994 Geo Metro
“E-Sandra”
Last Updated 12-03-2011
Copyright © 1997-2024 by Mike Chancey