| Owner | Andrew Kirk | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Chorley, England United Kingdom map | ||
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| Vehicle | 2010 Kirk EV Self designed and built. A minimalist vehicle to give maximum performance and range. | ||
| Motor | Mars Etek RT Permanent Magnet DC 72V 19hp made by Mars LLC but sold as Etek RT by Electric Motorsport | ||
| Drivetrain | Supplied by Electric Motorsport. | ||
| Controller | Alltrax 7234 | ||
| Batteries | 6 Elecsol 110Ah, 72.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded Custom built by Elecsol to give C rate of 62Ah, up from standard 47Ah | ||
| System Voltage | 72 Volts | ||
| Charger | PFC from Elcon | ||
| Heater | The sun, moon or a thick jacket. | ||
| DC/DC Converter | Don't know who made it! | ||
| Instrumentation | Panel volt meter, digital speedo | ||
| Top Speed | 60 MPH (96 KPH) Just starting to test drive. Feels torquey. Does same speed up 10% gradient as it does on the level! | ||
| Acceleration | Strong from a standstill | ||
| Range | 40 Miles (64 Kilometers) It should do 40 miles I hope! | ||
| Watt Hours/Mile | 100 Wh/Mile This is the hoped for figure | ||
| EV Miles |
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| Seating Capacity | 1 adult | ||
| Curb Weight | 725 Pounds (329 Kilograms) Light weight but large battery pack of 340 lbs | ||
| Tires | 2 scooter front tyres 12 inch, 16 inch motorcycle rear | ||
| Conversion Time | 300 hours to build from scratch | ||
| Conversion Cost | 4000 GBP | ||
| Failed MSVA test which is needed for registration but it's all fixable! 25/5/10 Passed MSVA and just waiting for registration number! I am very excited! 23/6/10 On the road!!!!!!!!!!!! Today I got my registration number (license plate) and went for two drives. The first was 4.5miles, the second was 3.6 miles and included a 10% gradient. I recharged between the two runs. All went well. Initial acceleration is slow but it picks up and is quite strong by 25mph. I reached 41 mph. Climbing was acceptable even though I have reduced the output current to 180 amps from a max. of 300. I am trying to keep the stress on the motor as low as I can since my vehicle is rather heavy for an ME 0709 motor. I will try 10 miles tommorow. 28/6/10 160 miles on the clock! Drove to work today which is the reason I built an EV. 24.67 miles to work and recharged in 3h 14min. 25.53 miles home to avoid a steep climb. Reached 47 mph in celebration in the last mile! Averaged 25 and 26 mph on each trip, cruising in the low 30s. 7/12/10 I drove to work 7 times in two weeks but unfortunately I was using close to 100% of my battery capacity which, as everyone knows, kills batteries quickly. One battery has died after this treatment, it's capacity reduced to only about 4 Ah before serious voltage sag. This will be replaced, hopefully under warranty, but it means that the effective useable range for repeated use is only about 12 miles. I need to cover 25 miles to get to work so the EV is an expensive white elephant. I will hope to sell it to someone who covers only 10 miles or so to work. They could use it daily and it will be virtually free to drive! It is still enjoyable to drive for short trips. | |||
KirkEV
“Sparky”
Last Updated 12-07-2010
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