E-miles Under My Belt

After several thousand miles the car performs as before. No elec. or mech. problems but still the pesky voltage drop from the Interstate 8V batts. Range hasn't dropped from the 32 mi. but drive just a little aggressively and you'll need to rein that figure in substantially. I found a great deal on the decals from a local t-shirt shop (CK-designs). I have the urge to sell and do another motorcycle. 'Till then...

New Toy

I have a TED meter ($116) and will attempt to get an accurate watts/mile figure from it. Will post soon.

The Latest Range Info.

With batteries heated to 80 deg. I get a solid 40 mi. range now. I'm pleased with this new number, but slightly perturbed over the previously noted voltage drop when needing high currents (200-300A). I now find that my 120V only charger is the limiting factor for opportunity charging. So- what would I do differently? Shop in earnest for the best price on LiFePO4 batteries and buy a 120/240V charger.

Trying Them out

The battery heaters are installed and hooked up. They are 35W pancake style and are pictured on the Feb. 27, '09 post at the 4 o'clock position on the mat. They add 500W to the AC charging load. I am collecting time/temp. data and making sure I don't overheat. Will report soon on any range improvement.

Lighting A Fire Under The Bunny

We've had weather below the 20s so I haven't driven the car lately. However recent conversations with a more experienced car converter fella inspired me to install the battery heaters I bought with the original order. He says run the batteries between 80-100 degrees for much better range and performance. Should finish that up in a couple days.

Woo-Hoo for sister Judy & b'in-law Jack on their e-car purchase! AND - the ultimate; solar charging! (Is envy 'green' different from environmental 'green'?