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Any fellow EV hobbyists here?  I've been building electric vehicles for years now. I've got john deere riding mowers, go karts, (1) vintage sports car, numerous electric bikes and trikes under my belt.  I'm passionate about the technology, the concept, and continuing to create more of the vehicles we should all have access to. 

The reaction I get out in the world when I'm driving/riding one of my creations is always hugely positive and encouraging.  I've never made new connections so easily as to show somebody something I've built and offer to explain it or let them drive.  I love see the look on peoples faces as they realise the possibilities, see that you can build amazing things with simple tools and some patience.  I try to be an embodiment of the concept that when you need something, you build it.  When it breaks, you fix it.  It neednt be any more complicated then that.

I, personally, need to be able to move from point A to point B in a vintage auto, but without smelling gasoline, being poisoned by fumes, breaking down halfway there.  I know electric is better because I've driven the same car with two different motors.  First gas, until it de-constructed itself during an otherwise pleasant cruise, and then electric.  That first drive sealed the fate of every gasoline engine I'm ever to come across.

Lawnmowers become a pleasure to use....I'm the envy of the neighborhood.  I can inch it onto a trailer at 1/10th of a MPH if I want...and the power is amazing.  Eight inches of wet grass just as long as you can keep it from clogging.  Bicycles become a whole different animal when you add a hub motor and a small battery pack.  Hills dont ruin your day.  Cars are less of a threat when you can keep up with traffic.  Four-wheelers, snowmobiles can be used 24/7 without disturbing neighbors, drawing unwanted attention.

I'm offering my services to the bitcoin community.  I can provide consultation, system design, battery testing services (cyclic data), and plain ol' PARTS!  I've got a bunch of motors, contactors, speed controllers, connectors, batteries, etc, etc available for bitcoin or USD.  From large truck down to RC car size, and everything in between.  I can assemble "kits" for simple vehicles like boats, mowers, go karts. 

Let's build something.

Where are you located? If in the EU, I might be interested. If not, I suspect customs and tax costs would be too much to justify the expense.

I've thought about this multiple times now, but never quite bit the bullet... Do you think a first generation Hyundai Starex (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai_Satellite (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai_Satellite)) would be a valid candidate for a conversion? I mean, the chassis is great, plenty of space and all, but the engine is very underpowered (at ~80HP) and it is not exactly cheap to drive.

I've toyed with the idea of just scrapping the diesel engine and putting some large emotor, but there are a few oddities I don't know how to solve, like the assisted brakes and steering, as well as the A/C (which I really need).

Would you consider this doable? What would it cost me to get your help in coming up with a viable plan and budget?

I need an electric bike. Something under $300. Can it be done?

Im in the USA, in NY.

Does the hyundai have a manual or automatic gearbox? Manual is generally much easier to convert.  It is doable, but the cost increases with vehicle size.  Can you afford to spend 5 years fuel costs upfront?  EVs are only cheaper in the long term, or if you salvage parts. I have been leaning more towards motorcycles and lighter vehicles recently because the lithium batteries are so expensive per kwh. 

$300 bike - can be done sure, but would be a hack job, or used parts, and heavy lead acid batteries.  My ebike is about $1500 in EV parts, but goes 50mph for 50 miles with a lithium polymer pack that can charge in 20 minutes and lasts 5+ years.  Plus disc brakes, crazy headlight, ev gauge. I'd say $700 minumum for a nice system based on pre-existing bike.

How long do the heavy lead acid batteries last as in duration and lifespan?

Manual gearbox. I know the costs are directly proportional to vehicle weight (does size really matter? :) ) and I would surely shop around for all the used parts I could find. Because I have the space, and since the net weight of the vehicle will force me into using a large motor to start with, I think it would be more cost effective to go for lead-acids instead of lithium and the like. I know the energy density is far from perfect but they are very easy to find and much cheaper.

5 years fuel cost? If you knew how many kms I drive per month you would probably come up with a different number... sure, I can do 5 years fuel cost, it's really not that much ;)

But back to reality, is this at all doable? What kind of price would you see me paying for all the parts? How much labor to achieve the all electric goal? With that on my hand I can make an educated decision as to pursue this or not.

Do you have a blog or webpage? I'm wondering the same thing as Atlas + about the higher end one.
What are we talking about in regards to charge time and cost for a full charge?

And where in NY are you - I'm a little south of Buffalo, would be nice to have a bitcoiner near me :)

I bought an e-bike conversion kit off eBay about 18 months ago for $400 new. It certainly won no awards for construction quality, and the seller stiffed one of my customers on her purchase when he disappeared; but it is still working today...

The issues I've had

1 - On delivery, three spokes were loose and had to be tightened.
2 - The battery charger has malfunctioned a couple of times and melted the batteries - yet they are still working despite being a funny shape. (Problem solved by adding a $10 countdown timer.)
3 - Wire gauge was a little too light and melted one of the three connectors between the controller and the hub motor. (Solved by lopping them all off and soldering in a chunky plug
4 - 24V Charging plug is an IEC female; so a dumb person might accidentally plug a mains cable in and get a surprise.
5 - eBikes are limited by law to 200 watts in Australia. I think this was a 500 watt model @ 36 volts reduced somewhat by supplying only 24V, with a 200 watt sticker applied.
6 - I've been warned by other owners that the wire straight out of the hub motor is easily damaged rendering it useless. (So don't let it fall!) https://picasaweb.google.com/CCCMikey/Assorted02#5389829942900552978

Top speed 30kph. Top life originally 15km on full throttle in a headwind in the rain. (That was a fun ride.)

Now, a year and two meltdowns later, Top speed is probably about 20-25 and life about 3-6km full power.

There would be a reasonable market for cheap E-Bike conversion kits in Australia if someone can find or be a reasonable importer of them.

One day I dream of converting this - https://picasaweb.google.com/CCCMikey/Merc# - '63 Merc to an EV. It has a massive boot. But massive rust too :(

My first EV with lead acid batteries and lots of DIY / ebay parts still cost over $10k
Labor wise would be a couple hundred hours.  Cost is highly depended on range and power.  20 miles is easy with lead, but 100 is damn near impossible without making a pig.  Most are realistically 30-40miles.  But if thats enough for you, lithium may be a wasted expense

I do have a blog for my 240z conversion, though it's a bit outdated in that its focused on lead acid and not lithium like my current projects.

www.AmpEater.com


I'm near Ithaca and Binghamton, so not exactly close, but the closest so far!


You'd be lucky to get 300 deep discharge cycles from most lead acid batteries.

Well, my longest common weekly ride is 20 miles, and it is getting more and more easy to find an electric car recharging station. Even without that, I could 'juice up' a bit for the ride back using a common mains plug, I guess.

But maybe a better project for me would be a home made hybrid solution. I've had this idea of putting an electrical motor connected to the main engine belt (is that what it is called in english?) getting feedback for the ICE effort based on belt tension and going full throttle when the belt mechanical tension is above some threshold, or something like that. Do you have any experience in such a thing?

I don't think there is a recharge station in my entire country. Is it cheaper than gas if you plug it in to the wall? .25cents USD  a kwh where I'm at.

I have no clue whatsoever as to the cost, but we now have a more or less general trend of having reserved parking places for EV on shopping centers and these have recharge plugs. And we have a lot of shopping centers...

That's cool. Where are you?

Portugal

Is  that common in Europe in general?

I honestly don't know...

In terms of cost electricity out of the wall is WAY WAY cheaper than gasoline.  Thats the savings. Plus an electric motor turns near 90% of electricity into motion, whereas a gasoline engine peaks at about 35% conversion of fuel into mechanical energy.

I can see it being way way cheaper in the US where it's .9 per kwh but what about somewhere it's 25 or 40cents? Still cheaper?

Its goes from WAY WAY cheaper to just WAY cheaper.

It is so much cheaper that many have been able to justify spending $15,000 on parts and still come out ahead after 5 years of driving. 

Nice I think might go ahead and do that, probably a bike for me but I'm not sure.
Obviously it has disadvantages like waiting for it to charge but I don't drive that much so it should be fine.

How does 220v wall compare to us 110v ? I'm assuming it charges quicker / more efficient but I could be wrong maybe it's the same.
I'm not going to be able to buy this today but I'd like to do some more research and see all what is involved.
I'm also going to check how easy it is to register it here (Chile).

I'd recommend a bike, either a bicycle or motorcycle, as a first EV project over a car. eBike is definitely cheaper but it will be so much fun it wont be long until you want to do 60+ and that requires a beefy frame (unless you live at endless-sphere.com, then a DH bike and a crystalyte 5x hub is all you need). Pretty much instant gratification.  The maker of the GPR-S electric motorcycle will sell it as a rolling chassis too, basically bolt in parts and go.

220 is much faster, assuming you have a big enough charger to max out a 110 outlet. But then you are limited to your garage, or purpose made charging spots.  110 outlets are everywhere.  Really depends on the size of the battery pack, for an ebike it doesn't matter unless you need to charge in under an hour, but for a car its the only way to charge in less than 8.

Cool man, thanks, I'll look in to it and let you know if I get stuck on anything.
8 hours seems like a long charge. I guess you could drive to work and home if you charge there though.

How do they work if you get stuck in traffic? I'm assuming they hold up decent to stop and go or 3mph for 2 hours.