Thanks for the upload of this project. I was thinking of doing the same thing. Do you mind emailing me? I have some questions that I like to ask you personally. Please.
You can contact me through 300MPGdotORG - just leave a comment there, it goes straight to me as e-mail and doesn't show up as a comment on the page unless I would allow it to.
I could only ever get that particular generator to output about half what the car uses while cruising, so running the generator will increase the range by 50%. However, the car only has a very small used lead-acid battery pack for about a 20 mile range. With the generator, it could then do 30. I know that doesn't like like much. Most of this was just an experiment to see how it all would work in the real world. Some ideas gained from this are already going into a future hybrid.
How about A video showing propane refueling or perhaps a challenge to see what the car is capable of in terms of long distance. I assume you could charge while eating lunch and grab propane tanks at gas stations, lumber yards etc.
A friend and I are starting work on a dedicated Plug-In Hybrid. (As opposed to this, an EV with some hybrid bits as an afterthought....)
The plan for that would be to drive a loop around Lake Michigan (about 1000 miles) using as little fuel as possible, running of both bio-fuel and charging batteries with electricity. (We can charge up at night at the RV spots at campgrounds!)
We would shoot LOTS of video of that trip, showing fueling, charging, etc.
I am currently looking for a vehicle, prefer a dj5 postal jeep, and curious as to how many batteries you had in yours and if you could go 55mph for any length of time. I am also considering a generator, 5500watt one that needs some fixing, in the front end and most of the batteries in the back. Most of the stuff like the speed controller I am looking at open source type systems to save money also.
I have usually just been using 6 batteries (72V) but have experimented with running up to 12 batteries for a 144V system. At 144V, I have had the car to 73 mph (in a 55 zone...)
For an Open Source Controller, do a web search for "Open ReVolt", most of the info for that is at Ecomodderdotcom.
My Metro weighed 1780 lbs as a stock 3-cylinder car. I never weighed it with everything out. It weighs almost exactly 2000 lbs with the EV system. I haven't weighed all the "Hybrid parts", batteries weigh more than small generators...
Nice Work! What i was thinking of is, you might have space in the front of the car for the generator, because of the space you saved with the electric motor. That way the noise wouldnțt be a bother eather.
nice work, how much do you think you'd need to match the drain on the batteries, i thought a 500cc motorbike engine would probably do the trick. that way you could drive indefinitely, or for several hours with reasonable efficiency.
This generator is a single cylinder 220cc. I am hoping to boost my range with it by 50%. There was an EV range-extender trailer called the "Long-Ranger". It was powerful enough to run a RAV-4 EV. That was based on on custom generator and motorcycle engine.
My little experiment here is all based on stock parts. The next step is a custom controller, to get more power through the charger to the batteries.
Benjamin,
Thanks for the upload of this project. I was thinking of doing the same thing. Do you mind emailing me? I have some questions that I like to ask you personally. Please.
Thanks
32cstyle 1 month ago in playlist ELECTRIC CARS
@32cstyle
You can contact me through 300MPGdotORG - just leave a comment there, it goes straight to me as e-mail and doesn't show up as a comment on the page unless I would allow it to.
BenjaminNelson 1 month ago
How much farther can you go with the generator running?
my73737373 1 month ago
@my73737373
I could only ever get that particular generator to output about half what the car uses while cruising, so running the generator will increase the range by 50%. However, the car only has a very small used lead-acid battery pack for about a 20 mile range. With the generator, it could then do 30. I know that doesn't like like much. Most of this was just an experiment to see how it all would work in the real world. Some ideas gained from this are already going into a future hybrid.
BenjaminNelson 1 month ago
How about A video showing propane refueling or perhaps a challenge to see what the car is capable of in terms of long distance. I assume you could charge while eating lunch and grab propane tanks at gas stations, lumber yards etc.
thoughtchallenge 3 months ago
@thoughtchallenge
A friend and I are starting work on a dedicated Plug-In Hybrid. (As opposed to this, an EV with some hybrid bits as an afterthought....)
The plan for that would be to drive a loop around Lake Michigan (about 1000 miles) using as little fuel as possible, running of both bio-fuel and charging batteries with electricity. (We can charge up at night at the RV spots at campgrounds!)
We would shoot LOTS of video of that trip, showing fueling, charging, etc.
BenjaminNelson 1 month ago
@thoughtchallenge Go outside US and you will find LPG refueling stations everywere...
ioanpena 1 month ago
I am currently looking for a vehicle, prefer a dj5 postal jeep, and curious as to how many batteries you had in yours and if you could go 55mph for any length of time. I am also considering a generator, 5500watt one that needs some fixing, in the front end and most of the batteries in the back. Most of the stuff like the speed controller I am looking at open source type systems to save money also.
Liowen 10 months ago
@Liowen
I have usually just been using 6 batteries (72V) but have experimented with running up to 12 batteries for a 144V system. At 144V, I have had the car to 73 mph (in a 55 zone...)
For an Open Source Controller, do a web search for "Open ReVolt", most of the info for that is at Ecomodderdotcom.
BenjaminNelson 10 months ago
@BenjaminNelson
I was thinking something like 10 to 12 batts myself but unsure of the motor that would be good enough to work with my goal.
Liowen 10 months ago
I forget if I've asked before but how much did the stock geo weigh and how much with all the ice junk out?
DanFrederiksen 10 months ago
@DanFrederiksen
My Metro weighed 1780 lbs as a stock 3-cylinder car. I never weighed it with everything out. It weighs almost exactly 2000 lbs with the EV system. I haven't weighed all the "Hybrid parts", batteries weigh more than small generators...
BenjaminNelson 10 months ago
better than volt
miniUMM 11 months ago
Nice Work! What i was thinking of is, you might have space in the front of the car for the generator, because of the space you saved with the electric motor. That way the noise wouldnțt be a bother eather.
wantomek 1 year ago
nice work, how much do you think you'd need to match the drain on the batteries, i thought a 500cc motorbike engine would probably do the trick. that way you could drive indefinitely, or for several hours with reasonable efficiency.
algea07 1 year ago
@algea07 That sounds about right.
This generator is a single cylinder 220cc. I am hoping to boost my range with it by 50%. There was an EV range-extender trailer called the "Long-Ranger". It was powerful enough to run a RAV-4 EV. That was based on on custom generator and motorcycle engine.
My little experiment here is all based on stock parts. The next step is a custom controller, to get more power through the charger to the batteries.
BenjaminNelson 1 year ago
You next upgrade will be to convert the propane into hydrogen made with water :)
labidus74 1 year ago
I wonder what the range improvement is (: extra 2 miles?
fakexloser 1 year ago
Now if you can dump the waste heat from the gas generator into the cabin - then you will not need to waste electricity doing that!
But I love it - the way a DIY hybrid should be done - simple extension of an EV.
Good work.
eTwisted 1 year ago
How many watts does the generator put out?
ibpointless2 1 year ago
@ibpointless2
3400 watts
BenjaminNelson 1 year ago
Nice. I prefer full electric though. When they stop suppressing real battery technlogy we wont need generators. :)
Love your vids keep them coming.
edstar83 1 year ago
How's the noise? Is it possible to add some sort of noise-reducing shielding to the whole trunk area?
lifeinhd 1 year ago
@lifeinhd
It's a little noisier than I would like it to be. That is one thing I was thinking - box in the whole back with soundproofing..
BenjaminNelson 1 year ago
Awesome!
burrismp 1 year ago