ZeroGasoline.com Video #23 - 110 volt system

[bluanvil1]

You could put a cheap inverter in to run your heater while you are driving. you could louver the hood to help cool the motor. I really like the way you have thought out the things like the timer and the retractor for the cord. Very creative keep it up!!!

[bluanvil1]

You could put a cheap inverter in to run your heater while you are driving.

[d3adp001]

I would wrap some copper tubing around the electric motor, and wrap that with insulation, and run the tubing to cool the controler and whatnot. Use the waste heat just like a normal engine. Just a thought. Great job, hope to join ya soon.

[ZeroGasoline]

Thanks.

I don't know if the motor and controller will give off enough heat to warm the cabin or defrost the windshield (it's a small motor). They both got pretty warm when driving for a while but you could still put your hand on it without being burned. I'll keep an eye on it though and if it does turn out to be a problem I'll definitely use some of that heat for the passenger compartment.

[d3adp001]

its not gas engine heat, but it could help a bit, maybe by the time the 110v warmth is gone, there might be enough from the car to make the passenger compartment a little better. Good luck man.

[ZeroGasoline]

Thank you.

[n2confusion]

look up the class of insulation that the motor winding is coated with. class h is 18 degree's c and that is about 350f. so it is ok for the motor to get hot to the touch. just mount a 12v rv fan that will help cool the motor down. hope you get more than 4 7.3mph that is all that the truck would get to.

[ZeroGasoline]

I finally got some speed testing done this weekend. On perfectly flat road I got it up to 54mph. That is definitely the max, but that's not bad, the highest speed limit between me and work is only 55mph.

[n2confusion]

180 degree c or about 350 degree f

[n2confusion]

i picked up a 1500 watt rv water heating element and i am going to get a 2 gallon container to hold the heating element. but you and i have the same idea. put an icechest and pump cold water and you have ac. the coil temp is only 40 degrees with comfort cooling. and ice water is 32 so there you go a green cooling machine. ice can last a couple days maybe.

[kylehondarider]

It's looking great.. One idea for the water heater, if you want to have heat when you're on the road (although given a short range) or for the way back home, you could incorporate a power inverter. I have a 250 watt power inverter I bought at Target for around 35 dollars. Then you can just hit the switch on the inverter when you want heat! I've seen those water heaters. Dad has some on the tractors, never thought about that. I think I'm going to go with a ceramic heater though.

[ZeroGasoline]

I was thinking about an inverter actually. However, because this is such a small pack I didn't want to drain anything else from the batteries. The heater is 500w and I found a 500w inverter for 75$. I only have about 8.5 miles to travel for work. Once the cabin heats up and the windshield is clear, it should be enough to get me to work. When I get my new pack next spring, I think I will get an inverter for the heat. How's your project coming along?

[kylehondarider]

It's going alright; I'm going home this weekend to work on it. I should probably take the fuel tank out one of these days haha. I have brought the bell housing template to my fabricator, but I'm not sure when I'll get it back. His family builds their own racing snowmobiles (you may have heard of the Wahl Bros. Racing), so they are really busy right now. I have just about all of the parts, but I'm waiting to get the motor in. I don't have any battery cable, so I'll probably order some soon.

Kyle

[kylehondarider]

So yea, every day when I go to class, there's a Tercel parked on the street. Every time I see it, I think of your car. What kind of pack are you installing next spring?

[ZeroGasoline]

Best of luck to you this weekend. It's a good feeling seeing the motor in the car, even if it's not completely hooked up. The day you get your adapter plate will be a good day.

There are two companies making lead acid batteries using a lead carbon foam rather than lead plates in the battery. The result is a lighter battery that charges faster and holds more energy. I hope I can get my hands on next year. Firefly energy and one other that escapes my memory right now.

[Redshift21]

Looking good

[ZeroGasoline]

Thanks, it really feels like it's coming together. I still have a few small things to get done and it will then be my daily commuter. Hopefully I will get it all wrapped up this weekend.