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A:
1.
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If you are getting 20 miles per
gallon at $3 per gallon and you go 30,000 miles you will spend
about $4,500 dollars for gas alone. If you average 30 miles
a day at 60 cents per charge for three years about 30,000
miles about $600 and then have to change your batteries for
$1800 dollars you will have spent $2,400. Figure in that electric
motors are not running when you are at traffic lights or in
traffic jams so you are not spending energy when standing
still. You will not have to change oil or spark plugs every
5,000 miles and the electric motor can last ten times longer
than a gas engine. So drive on to 150,000 miles about the
life of your gas engine you will spend more than $22,500 in
gas alone compared to less than $12,000 in electricity and
batteries. This is enough to pay for your conversion and your
electric motor is still good while your I.C.engine is junk. |
| Q: |
How much does it cost to convert
a gas vehicle to electric? |
A:
2. |
It depends on the vehicle you are
converting and the performance you need. Are you going AC
or DC power, using new or used parts? At this time GREV is
only working with DC. AC is just too cost prohibitive for
us. The basic components are: Motor 48 to 350 volts $200 to
$7,000, Controller 400 to 2000 amps $500 to $5,000, Batteries
Lead Acid 6 or 12 volt or exotics in a 48 to 350 volt pack
$200 to $20,000. Conversion
Packages
This should give you an idea of just how varied this answer
can be. |
| Q: |
What is the best vehicle for a conversion? |
A:
3. |
A manual transmission is best as an automatic
requires that the motor run continuously and waists alot of
power. We always have to ask what you need this vehicle to
do in terms of speed and range. A rule of thumb is 500 to
1000 pounds of lead acid batteries will give you the range
of a gallon of gas. Weight is a major factor, for more range
and speed a light sturdy car or truck is best. You have to
look at the spaces for batteries. Unless you are using one
of the highly recommended Mike Brown kits for the Porsche
914 or VW Jetta it is pretty much a custom job that will require
some engineering and machine work on somebody's part. |
| Q: |
Can I run my motor without it being hooked to
the car? |
A:
4. |
Yes, its a good idea to test out
the motor. Care must be taken not to "over rev"
the motor. 24 volts could be over the limit. Electric motors
run quiet; you will not hear its power. Know your motors capacity.
Without a load on the drive train your motor could be throttled
to high RPM beyond its capacity, upon acceleration the motor
could break apart, throwing dangerous metal fragments at high
speed in every direction. At 18 Volts the 9" will rev
to about 3,000 rpm and will pull 50 amps. If the motor has
advanced timing, you can check to make sure it is timed in
the direction you want it to be by running it one way and
then the other (switching the A terminal wires). It will run
faster in the direction that it is advanced for. |
| Q: |
What type of batteries should I use? |
A:
5. |
The type of batteries you use will
depend on the performance you want.
We use Lead Acid Batteries; they are affordable and readily
available.
There are many ways to configure battery packs.
You will have many questions concerning batteries so in an
attempt to answer most of them here we offer these comparisons.
We offer these three 12KW 120 volt battery packs as hypothetical
examples for the same 3,500lb vehicle with the same motor
and controller.
20 * 6 volt deep cycle golf cart batteries with water levels
to be maintained; this pack might weigh about 1300lbs and
cost about $1,800. If you keep the water levels up and don't
over charge or go below % 50 discharges too often this would
be averaging 20 to 30 an occasional 40 miles a day they should
last 3 to 4 years.
25 * 12 volt AGM (Absorption Glass Mat) sealed maintenance
free batteries also weigh about 1300lbs but cost about
$4,800. You won't have to worry about fluid levels but you
still have to be careful not to over charge or discharge to
much and you should be able to get 3 to 4 years out of them.
We do not suggest anyone purchase Lithium batteries unless
you have money in your budget to risk on research and developement.
Check out the: WFFC
Battery Show Down
|
Battery
Type
|
W*Hr/
Litre |
Watts/Kg |
Life
(re-charge) |
US$
/ Watts |
| PbO2/H2SO4 |
65 |
35 |
400 |
$0.16 |
| NiCOH/KOH/Cd |
150 |
60 |
500 |
$0.96 |
| NiCOH/KOH/MH |
170 |
70 |
1500 |
$2.00 |
| LiCoO2 |
120 |
100 |
500 |
$1.35 |
| LiMnO2/LiBF6/C |
200 |
200 |
500 |
$1.09 |
|
LiFePO4 TS-LFP |
330 |
720 |
1100 |
We will
let you know |
|
| Q: |
How do you calculate how many batteries
you need?
|
A:
6. |
You have to give your acceleration,
range performance and budget requirements first.Let's start
with the voltage of your system. This would be determined
by the controller you use;
check the nominal voltage. Higher the voltage and amperage
the more power the vehicle will have. Then divide the nominal
voltage by the size battery you will use; 6 volt, 8 volt or
12 volt. This is the number of batteries you will run in series.
The higher the amp hours the greater the range. If you want
to double the number of batteries then you would buddy up
two in parallel and then run the pairs in series. You also
have to consider space available and the weight that your
motor, controller and suspension can handle.
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| Q: |
How do I hook up the controller?
|
A:
7. |
Very Carefully, follow
the instructions that come with your controller. Be very conscious
of electrical safety procedures. If you touch the wrong cables
you will blow it. There are several different configurations
depending on the controller, cooling system, motor, contactor,
key switch and throttle set up you will be using. You should
prepare with your own readable diagram. Zilla Manual (click
here), Logisystems youtube video: How
to Install a LOGISYSTEMS CONTROLLER, |
| Q: |
How do I hook up the air conditioner
? |
A:
8. |
Steve usually puts a pulley on the
end shaft but if you don't have a end shaft or enough room
you will need to fit a small electric motor to operate the
compressor. |
| Q: |
Can Grassroots Electric Vehicle Company
be “commissioned” to do a conversion for me? |
A:
9. |
We do help people get conversions
done. See our Grassroots Electric Vehicle Conversion
Shops Directory. Professionals experienced in converting
gas vehicles to electric, willing to help you. Shops get $25
to $250 dollars per hour depending on the caliber of your
project. Experienced technitions get a troubleshooting/consultation
fee of $25 per half hour.
If you would like to schedule a tech to call you back to help
with his undivided attention call Jon at:702 277-7544 |
| Q: |
What voltage motor do I need? |
A:
10. |
I would have to ask you; what kind
of load are you going to put on the motor, and at what RPM
will it be running? Then I could tell you what voltage controller
you should use. The controller correctly matched to the motor
will give it the right voltage. The weight of the motor magnets
and size of its brushes determine the power and torque.The
rpm rating for the 9" and 11" motors is 5000rpm
and they are happy to spin this fast; so that if you hook
them up direct to your differencial and you have enough power
at 5000rpm you would go over 100mph; 60kilowatts |
| Q: |
So, what voltage would you recommend
for a normal car?
What controller would you use? |
A:
11. |
In general; I put as many batteries
in as possible. The Zilla controllers
are the best dc controllers on the market and they come in
3 voltages 156v, 300v and 348v at 1000 or 2000 amps. As distance
is related to weight of batteries, golf cart batteries give
lots of weight at 65lbs each. You get the most for the money
but it is hard to get the voltage high when you need 20 of
them, just to get 120 volts. Of course 12v AGMs give you twice
the voltage for the same number of batteries and they come
in smaller sizes so with them your voltage can be much higher,
all the way up to 348 volts as the controller is rated it
will smartly give the motor as much voltage as it can take.
AGM batteries are also happier delivering hi amps and can
put out 5 times the hp per pound. Their higher price, usually
more than double that of the 6 volt golf cart batteries is
what keeps them from being the all-around winner. |
| Q: |
What are the advantages and disadvantages
of the AC motors? |
A:
12. |
AC Advantages:
AC systems do regenerative braking well.
They do forward and Reverse switching easily.
The may have a percent or two better efficiency than DC.
They are not as susceptible to a run away condition. AC systems
will out last DC.
A 35Kw AC system will feel more powerful than a 35Kw DC system.
My gut feeling is from a 35Kw AC feels like a 150Kw DC.
AC Disadvantages:
AC systems don't have the Mega Low End Torque of a series
system. (DC systems still hold the best 1/4 mile times at
the drag races.
Cost comparison for $6,000.00 AC Systems puts out about
35kw vs. DC puts out about 300kw.
DC Advantages:
More bang for the buck! DC is a 5th to a 10th the Price
of an AC.
Old time tried and true technology that is easy to understand,
troubleshoot and repair.
Almost any series controller will work with any series motor.
DC Motors will operate over a wide range of voltages.
DC Motors can put out more than 10 times their continuous
horsepower for short periods.
DC Disadvantages:
No easy regenerative breaking.
Motor can disassemble without a load (fly apart).
Motor can go full on if controller shorts out. (Newer controllers
and other safe guards keep this from happening.)
Brushes will need to be changed, every 50,000 to 100,000
miles.. This will cost you about $100.00. (Your AC motor
will save you this inconvenience)
|
| Q: |
What Horse Power is my electric
motor? |
A:
13. |
Peak Horse Power is mostly a marketing
gimmick used for IC Engines
it should not be used in reality since it is much higher than
"true continuous HP"
|
| Q: |
Were do you plug your
EV in? |
A:
14. |
This depends on your vehicle and charger. You want to plug
in when ever possible at the nearest available outlet. At
home you should have a 240 volt outlet like for the dryer
or air conditioner, you can have one put in a convenient
location. You want to draw as many amps as safely possible,
50 amps would be great.The PCF20, PCF30 and PCF50 are Extremely
versatile battery chargers, designed to charge any
battery pack from 12 volts to 360 You should be able to
plug into 110 at remote locations without drawing to hot
of amperage or you will trip your friends breaker. Most
110 outlets will let you draw about 10 amps, but not all.
Before you plug in, you should let you friends know you
might trip the breaker to find out if this would be a problem
if they have to reset the breaker. When you own an electric
vehicle every trip must be planned so that you will have
enough time and juice to get to your next charge.
|
| Q: |
What is an electric
vehicle contactor? and do you think I need one? |
A:
15. |
The contactor is like
a big relay , it disconnects the power from the batteries
to the controller , and can handle all the power that comes
from the batteries . If there is any problem opening this
will disconnect power from controller and motor . It runs
from the 12v supply battery |
| Q: |
Why won't a generator
on the wheel work in an electric vehicle? |
A:
16. |
A generator takes more
power to turn because of electromatic flux, friction and extra
wieght then the power it generates; otherwise it would be
perpetual motion. Regenerative
braking; utilizes the motor by converting the motor into a
generator and utilizing the electromatic flux for braking. |
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Grassroots
Electric Vehicles
Fort Pierce, Florida
|
Grassroots
Electric Vehicles
Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Ph#:
772-971-0533 |
Ph#:
702-277-7544 |
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