Battery Lugs – heavy-duty, tinned, 2/0 cable lugs
Got these battery cable lugs early this year but forgot to post some info on them. Made a couple short cables for doubling the trolling motor range. So, for they are great. Should hold up real nice. 1, since they are tinned they should resist corrosion better and 2, they are very heavy-duty.
Battery Terminal Covers 2/0
Battery terminal covers are a good idea for battery connection. I'm thinking all it would take is a loose tool or chunk of metal scrap to ruin my day. Locally, I could only find battery terminal covers packaged in pairs and to actually fit my 2/0 cable I would need to special order them. I bought these terminal covers ebay since I could purchase them in bulk.
Nissan Leaf Electric Car
The Nissan Leaf is coming. You can now put your name on a reservation list for the new Nissan 100% electric, no gas required vehicle. The specs show the Nissan Leaf is capable of 100 miles per charge. With seating for five passengers. MSRP is $32,780. This vehicle will qualify for a $7500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles and depending on which state you reside in, you may qualify for more incentives (an additional $5000 for residents of California and Georgia).
Handy Manny converts his truck to electic on Earth Day
My daughter was watching Handy Manny on Disney Channel this morning (Earth Day 2010). Of course the show talked about Earth Day, recycling and conserving energy.
The Winter Chill
It has been so cold lately that all work on the EV in the garage has stopped. Since the garage is unheated and it has been as cold as -20 (yes, minus twenty below zero), it has been way too cold to even think about going outside.
All is not lost. While holed up inside, I have been looking for deals on EV parts and tools online. I did manage to purchase a nice crimper (hammer style) for securing the cable ends to the battery cable. I also have been thinking about batteries. My plans are 48 volts, which I still will do just to keep costs down and it will be enough for my goal of driving around town. But, I think I may design an additional enclosed battery case in the back (between the rear bumper and tranny) to fit an extra three 12-volt batteries. This will give me a couple options if I want to upgrade later and the extra weight in the rear will help with winter traction. Plus, I figure if I plan now I won't have to deconstruct the whole car later. Since all my EV parts will handle 48-84 volts there is some wiggle room for upgrading. If it warms up I might make it outside to take some measurements.
Stay warm!
Think City Electric Car
A fun video on the Think City electric car.
Hunting for new tires
Where to find used tires
I will be hitting the Grab and Go Auto Salvage this weekend looking for some rear wheels for the Beetle. This summer I passed up some near new Goodyear Wrangler tires that were on a Chevy Blazer (at the time I had a Chevy Blazer and was thinking of buying them) the cost for the 4 tires would have been $48 dollars! Having once purchased Wrangler tires for a Jeep (and actually worked designed Goodyear advertising for awhile) I know those tires would have been $125 a piece. Yes, I am still kicking myself for not buying them this summer... maybe they are still there? How sweet would that be. They probably aren't the best choice for an EV, but they sure would look cool on the Beetle.
EV Battery Charger
So here is my battery charger for my battery pack. I am going to be using a Minn Kota MK440 battery charger for my main pack. This charger is a 4 bank charger and will supply 10 amps to each battery. The 440 is a multi-stage charger (3 stage) so it does bulk charging until the battery reaches 75% then goes to absorption mode and finally goes to maintenance mode (float). This charger also has temperature compensation which I guess adjusts the voltage so the battery reaches the gassing threshold depending on whether it is cold or warm outside. Higher in cold and lower in hot temperatures. The charger weighs 22.5 lbs.