Not Just Electricfly Driver - Also EV Surge Editor and More!

While many people read my posts here like what they see, and many also watch in depth activities in the Electric Car Fields, I should point out that while I am working on the Battery Electric Research Vehicle I call electricfly, I also am the Editor of the Newsletter for the Electric Vehicle Society of Canada - called EVSurge, which we usually produce 6 times a year since I began, but 2010 had such a large increase of EV News, that both it's size and it's freqency have taken a bump up, with an extra issue in the spring, and more pages to share the increasing EV Content happening out there with members of the Electric Vehicle Society of Canada.

I am also Editor of their web site - www.evsociety.ca - and this year worked on two EV Shows with them: In the Spring we put together our first this year, and the first in many years they have been involved in - called EV Show & Shine, on April 10, 2010; followed by a fall show - EV Fest, Toronto's Premium Electric Vehicle Fall Festival, with it's own web site at www.evfest.ca!

If you want to know more about the Electric Vehicle Society of Canada - see the website - or if you're in the Greater Toronto Area - come by for a visit at one of our General Meetings - we meet 10 times a year on the Third Thirsday of the month, excepting July and Augus, at Centennial College - Ashtonbee Campus.

So if you see anything missing or out of date on the website there - well - that would be my bad! I also work in Aerospace which also has deadlines to meet with scheduled deliveries and such so I often have to choose who gets my energy - and in the end - work has to come before the Volunteer activities, though it has had it's moments of trade off -in the end it has to win. Looking for work in Aerospace? There are some job openings there at the moment!

Toronto Star: Homegrown EVs turn heads at Toronto show

Peter Gorrie covered our show last week, and the matter is presented - in a story by the same title as attributed to them in this blog post!

Peter Says "Most of the big names didn’t make an appearance.

No shiny Nissan Leafs, Chevy Volts or Mitsubishi i-Mievs.
Perhaps it was because the Electric Vehicle Society’s first annual autumn show was held at a Toyota-Lexus dealership near the corner of Eglinton Ave. and Leslie St.", and goes on with "Corporate competitors couldn’t have matched the array of Toyota Priuses — standard and plug-in hybrids, and a couple of all-electric conversions — that lined one side of the display area."

Then there was the reference to cars like mine - the blood, sweat, and even - yes, tears some times: "No matter, though: The stars for about 400 visitors last Sunday were mainly across the aisle; individuals who’ve caught the electric bug and created their own alternative wheels."

While I did get interviewd by Peter, I did not get quoted by him, but that might have been because another writer for the Toronto Star - Monte Gisborne - intervied me also, and was doing his own article, and while it is not online yet, it was in the Saturday, October 23, 2010 issue of the Star in Print - Wheels Section, along with Peters Story! That one has a paragraph about me, and a good shot of 'electricfly' - the Embroidered Front Seat Headrests, and Embroidered Ball Cap!

The Story - found at - the front cover - below the fold on the wheels section and online at http://www.wheels.ca/article/792247 did a pretty good job of telling it like it was and covered some of our better members projects in Southern Ontario! 

Jan Szott, with two of his projects - the Horseless Hybrid Carriage, and the Chassis of his future Electric Sportscar; Brian Kirk and Graham Lambert, with their 1983 Porsche 944 with Lithium Iron Phosphate Cells - made th cover of the Story;  Ken Roach’s 1995 Ford Escort now in phase two of PbA Battery Tests with some new ones I tracked down and he is testing; the UOIT Team with The blue Saturn Vue, and their exotic Lithium Polymer pack and exotic cooling and heating system for the cells; and Aaron Cake on his 10-year-old Honda Insight hybrid, which he got 'only' 3.8 l/100 km instead of his better 3.0 l/100 km! Aaron also brought his custom built, 48 volt, home built for abuse, scooter! Steve Dallas can be easily seen, but not heard, driving Toronto’s streets in his 'Little Yellow Car' officially called 'Project EVE', and all Electric Custom built, Prototype he hopes to produce!

Check out the Show info at http://www.evfest.ca/!

EV Fest Today - A Packed House!

EV Fest, Toronto's Premier Electric Vehicle Fall Festival, Came through today with Flying colors: http://www.evfest.ca/ !! We had the Tesla Roadster Sport, provided by a local owner - David, who was nice enough to take me for a short ride, between arriving, and my guiding him to his parking place for the show, and what better place to do that from than the Passenger Seat of a Tesla Roadster Sport!

We had the Toronto Electric Project EVE, also called 'A2B' - the Little Yellow Car that continued to draw crowds all day! The Toyota Canada Prius PHEV was there, and the UOIT eVue also! Up Front we had Unlimited Mobility - an Electric Scooter and Mobility Products Company. And that was just in the drive in service area!

In the Shop, we had 'Prius Alley' down the left side, 8 Toyota's 7 Prius and a Hybrid Camry.  The Prius' were converted to PlugIn Hybrids either with the Hymotion Pack or the Enginer Pack, topped off by the Porsche 944SM! Counting down from the Porsche, was 2 by Erik,  followed by Emile, Jack Chen, Mony, Lee Davies, Allan Hays, and Pat's Scarborough Toyota Hymotion Demo Prius.

Dividing up the left and right, down the middle was EP Riders display!

Down the right side, we had Ron groves with the Eco Driver Presentation, followed by Derek Wilson with the Eco Alternative Energy Display. Then John Farmer's Ford Ranger EV, JP Fernbach's Skoda EV, My Electricfly, Aaron Cake's Insight Hybrid, Ken Roach's Escort EV, Jan Szott's Electric Sports Car Chassis & Hybrid Horseless Carriage, and lastly - Bruce Westlake's Ford Escape PHEV from Michigan!
Members of the Press came, (at least two, but I think there were three, all together!), and over 500 people registered in for the show! I guess the Burger count might be most accurate, but there were 300 Burgers and 200 Hot Dogs provided and enjoyed by Attendees! (Guests, Volunteers, and Exhibitors alike!)

Getting Ready for the show, I learned a bit how to do a group text with my cell phone (It's not realy a smart phone and I'm not realy a smart guy - trying to hack out a message with multiple presses to get a single letter, but in the end, in got results!)

Keep an eye out for Stories in the press from Peter Gorrie, and Monte Gisborne!

Enjoy!
(Updated October 20, 2010, 5:30 P.M., with corrected information. R.W.)

3 Days Left to EV Fest! Are you registered yet?

Hey you all Electric Vehicle (EV) Fans, are you coming to EV Fest? Toronto's Premier Electric Vehicle Fall Festival? Just three Days Left!

More Electric Vehicle's registered for Exhibit than were at the last Toronto Auto Show, ranging from High School Student Conversions to Million Dollar Plus EV Prototypes, and - the Xof1 Solar Car!

Meanwhile, tell everyone about our free "EV Fest", Toronto's Premier Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Fall Festival, on Sunday, October 17th at Toyota-On-the-Park, 1077 Leslie St @ Eglinton in Toronto. You'll see all kinds of Hybrids, Plug-In Hybrids and Electric Vehicles, both from major manufacturers as well as conversions and hobbyists.


Please register the whole family for free tickets on the EV Fest website (www.EVFest.ca) and drop by for a free BBQ and say "Hi" on Sunday.

And remember to bring your registration confirmation, as it may be used for some special activities access. [TBA]

Just 16 Days Left to EV Fest - Toronto's Premier Electric Vehicle Fall Festival!

Just over Two Weeks to Go, and the Guests are starting to take the plunge! Registrations are coming in at an increased pace, but - Are YOU Coming? Check out the Website http://www.evfest.ca/ and notice the updates: the Pages are now highlighted as active on the menu, and - there are more exhibitors shown in the image list on the home page!

Do you have your own Electric Vehicle you would like to Exhibit? Bring it on down to EV Fest  and Register as a Non-Profit Exhibitor for just $15! More Details onsite at http://www.evfest.ca/.

Guests can Register For Free Online - Just check out the website at http://www.evfest.ca/ today!

Just 26 Days Left to EV Fest - Toronto's Premier Electric Vehicle Fall Festival!

Just twenty six days left, and I will have my electricfly on exhibit at EV Fest, along with Electric 944 Porsche, Ranger, Saturn eVue', eSkoda, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Horseless Carriage, EVE, and More! Come on down to join me in Toronto as and EV Exhibitor or a guest at EV Fest - http://www.evfest.ca/ for more info!

Leave me a note as to what would be the best Electric Vehicle for you to see at an Electric Vehicle Show! Maybe we can get it for this show...but - most likley - it might take until the next show to get new requests on board!

Ok - now I am asking for help! If you are reading this post before October 17, 2010, the Sunday of EV Fest, then please forward this post to all your friends, and online e-zines regarding Electric Vehicles!
Robert

UBC E-Beetle Visits Toronto, Spends a Day before Moving on!

The Now Famous University of British Columbia Electric Car Club's Electric 1972 Beetle passed through Toronto, on the way to a first ever Licenced Vehicle Crossing of Canada in an All Electrically Propelled Vehicle, arriving in Toronto on Monday, August 30th, 2010, at 2:30 PM! See Their Story at their blog: www.ubcecc.com/blog

I took some time - and switched shifts on my job so I could connect with them Tuesday Morning, August 31st! (Looks like my Camera Date needs correcting!)

We Met, I took some photos of the Car, Did an Interview - Video Style, with Ricky, and fellow EV Enthusiasts and PHEV drivers showed up and we then went off to get some Breakfast together. While there, one of the local EVer's contacted CBC and shortly thereafter - their news camera operator caught up to us and we watched as the E-Beetle and Ricky Gu made there story more widely known!
For a Larger Copy of the Above Picture - Click Here!

Visiting iMiev in Whitby!

iMiev as on display at Motorcity Mitsubishi.

I had a chance today to see the i-Miev "I-MEEV" in Whitby while it stopped for a chance for followers and fans to check it out!

While it was there, I had a chance to meet others coming to see it, and check out fit, leg-room, passenger leg-room, and get an interview on video! Not ready for posting yet!

It turns out that the Right Hand Drive Cars, only take a short time to get used to, and then it is just settle in and go!

EV Fest - did I Mention I'll Be Exhibiting there?

On October 17th, 2010, I will be having my electricfly on display - exhibiting it with 20 Plus other electric vehicles at EV Fest - www.evfest.ca at Toyota-Lexus On the Park, 1077 Leslie Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada! [Leslie & Eglinton, about a mile West of the Ontario Science Centre!]

Why Not Go Register to Attend or Bring an EV of your own today! Join me there, it will be fun!

So - in my quest to have done something more on the electricfly - I have started to take the measurments I made in the under seat / gas tank area, and enter them by row into a spread sheet! Got 4 rows of 40 number entered last night, maybe I can get some more done tonight! [20 more rows of 40 to go!]

My plan for this is to make a model of the under seat space and use it to consider, evaluate, and prove the volume available for a new battery Pack, so I don't have to guess any more!

Robert

Instrument Pod - Finally Free!

After Finishing with the Manual 3D Scanning of the Gas Tank Space, I decided to get one more EV Item dealt with today!

The Other project of using the basic instrument display was removed from the car and used as a reference structure for making a back shell plug, with the intent to make a mold and create instrument cluster back shells. that was some time ago, and at the last opportunity to work on it, it was ready for sanding, smoothing and prep fpr making the mold, but - it was still holding the operational analog gauges captive, so today - I finally got or took the time to get serios and spring the original instrument rack free!!

Using the Wifes never before used Dremel, and both the carbide cutt-off and the small router bit to start the jail break! After the UV-Curing Body Plastic and Aluminum Mesh were cut through, the next material was the ill fated and badly chosen Dollerama Modeling clay - which of course made a lot of dust with the use of the rotary cut-off carbide.

Next attack was with the Router Bit, and finally saw-blade knifes to clear the remaining Expando-foam support, and release the back-shell from the basic instrument support!

The Total time to spring the Instrument rack and clean up the back shell plug was about an hour and fifteen minutes. Not so bad, actually! Now I just need to vacuum the Ammeter, and Voltmeter, and decide if they are going to be serviced and checked for valid performance, or simply put back in service while I work out the back shell mold/parts process!

3D Scanning Gas Tank space - By Hand!

Now that the normal requirements of summer holidays have been taken care of, I have finally had time to get some things done on the Electricfly!

As to the Goal of verifying the car can fit specific Lithium Cells into a new location on the car and removing the Lead Acid Batteries, the first Job to work on this week, was the profile and volume measurment of the space under the back seat, or normally called, the Gas Tank area!

I am trying to see if the ThunderSky 100 Ah Cells can, in fact, be used, [Dimensions：179×62×218（mm）] or if the largest cells that might fit would be their 40 Ah cells [Dimensions：116×46×190（mm）]!

Not having the budget for a nice hand held 3D Scanner like the Zcorp's ZScanners - I opted for Slow-Mo 3D Measurment. I had the option of going low-tech and slo-mo, to save a chunk of money, and turns out - using about 8 hours of my time and time with the vehicle on a drive-on hoist to do the measurements by hand.

I used a 12" Digital Caliper, a piece of white painted peg board, 2' x 4' and trimmed to 45" length to fit between the rear wheels, and 4 tie-wraps (or Zip ties as Mike - the worker at Florida Garage, where I used the hoist, called them) to secure the panel under the rear of the car!

OK - Setup took about an hour, then the work began - Measuring the vertical 'depth' up from the face of the Peg board, at each hole, up to the first obstruction, or the external skin of the car in the gas tank well, and then writing the measurment onto the white face of the peg board at that hole, then measuring the next hole!

Wednesday, gave me setup and measuring for a couple hours. then Today - I was back at the Body Shop at about 7:20 Am - Shop hours - to continue. I finally finished measuring all 24 x 39 reference holes - 936 of them in total, at about Noon! Average time in total = 2.225 minutes per hole!

X-Y Measurment Precision:
Peg Board Holes diameter = 0.258",
Vernier Depth Stem (Tail), Approximately 1/8" x 1/16"
Position Accuracy of the depth measurment is therefor - based on the hole / Tail fit equation - very limited, ie: Hole Size is 200% to 400% of the Vernier Tail used for depth measurment, so X-Y Precision is quite variable, on the order of +/- 1/8".
Verical Precision
Vertial Angular Perfection = +/- 5 to 10 Degrees (Vertical Perpendicularity) hard to maintain precision tighter than 2 Degrees variation.
Target Precision therefore varies by as much as +/- 0.25" to 0.50"
Depth Precistion
Digital Vernier accuracy: 0.001" - 0.0005".

While the Digital Vernier is a very highly Acruate Instrument, the ability to get a net measurement precision close to it's capabilities for this excercise was compromised by all of the above reasons, plus one more:
the Inability to secure the Pegboard perfectly flat to the underside of the vehicle to start with. Due to the simple attachment technique, designed for minimalistic techniques, and speedy setup with limited precision tooling equipment, resulting in both a sloped peg board instalion in the fore and aft direction, and a slight slope in the left- right locations.

A Further issue compromising Accuracy, was the inability to see the point of impact or touch point of the tail of the vernier in many of the hole measurments,essentially it's hard to see clearly through the Peg board itself, limited light - mostly from the rolled up shop door to the rear of the vehicle, and hard to hold a well pointed light and simultaneously ensure good verticality of the Vernier, and good target selection and measurement.

Bottom Line - While the Vernier displayed 3 decimal accuracy, I wrote down to two decimals, will round off to 1 decimal and subtract 0.1" from the rounded off figure, for measurment of the EPS Foam for building a Volume & Fit Model to verify the Space and Volume as a package, and visualize the actual space available, suitable for using the space for fitting new Lithium Cells in the gas Tank Area.

The Process Continues!

NoGas96Volts gets Recognised in the top 10 Blogs!

NoGas96Volts was just published in the list of “DIY Electric Cars: 40 Top Blogs for Learning about the Electric Car Conversion Movement” - and came in #5 of the first list - Individual Conversion Projects!

Check it out - it looks like a great collection of EV related sources!

This Posting also includes topics such as Electric Car Conversion General Tips, and Electric Car Conversion News And Trends.

It also is a site with aditional content and subject matter on online colleges!

Considering TS 40 Ah versus Trojan 100 Ah!!

Having discovered how little energy is available from the Trojan SCS150 Batteries installed in electricfly - I have been considering using even the smallest ThunderSky Cells - 40 Ah - installed in the Place of the Gas Tank - in a 3 Wide [side by side, in the skinny direction] by 11 flat [face to face] for a 33 Cell Pack, such that the potential voltage sags, if any, will still be above the target of 90 - 96 Volts for the motor!

When you consider the Trojan SCS150 Battery, it is hard to get the hard figures for the 1 hour rating of the battery, but the do give the 20 hour and the 5 hour ratings!

Batteries in a Flash Show the Trojan SCS150 for Reference.

Inspite of the fact that the details I want are hard to get - it can be seen that the list price of @299 is quite astronomical - and even the current sale price of $159.95 each in quantity 2 or more, still gives a cost of about $1,280 for a pack of eight of them, versus the $43 per cell each for the 40 Ah ThunderSky from Alliance, which equals $1,419 for them.

This is a very slight premium, alone considering that they would weigh in at 1.6 Kg each, or 52.8 Kg for the pack, or 116.16 lbs, versus the current trojan pack at 400 lbs!

Differing Suppliers charge even more - like the $190 per battery price at ECO Direct!That's $1,527.60 for the pack! Even More than the ThunderSky Cells! Plus The Lead Acid Batteries have the infamous 'Sulfation' Problem and need things like the Battery Life Saver just to keep them going! Then - the Flooded Batteries need frequent checking of water levels or a 'Watering System' no available from Trojan!

My own sites Whitepaper gives some indication as to why the ThunderSky Cell would be better.

Trojan Battery's own site specs show only 36 minutes at just 75 amps! that's just 2700 Amp Minutes, in theory that is 300 amp minutes more than the rated 40 amps x 60 minutes from the Thundersky Cell at 2400 amp minutes! then again - this is with a pack weight for my car at nearly 4X the weight of the little Lithium Pack!

And Remember - this is the Trojans 'Reserve' Capacity - not exactly the 'Normal' Expected performance - time after time, for over 1,000 cycles!

Some Research Can be done - but a very good site to check the Peukert Effect in Lead Acid Batteries - is Smart Gauge Electronics! They even have a spreadsheet you can use to figure out real energy availability! Need More in-depth info - try this advanced spreadsheet!

In any Case - the Small 40 Ah Cells can be set up - for less money than larger ones, give me operational experience configuring a pack with lithium, fit much easier into the Given Gas tank Space, and be more affordable quicker, therefore sooner installed!

Electricfly at Windfall Ecology Festival - on eStreet!

June 12th - 13th, 2010, Electricfly will be on display at the Windfall Ecology Festival in Newmarket, Ontario!

It will be towed there by the Dodge Dakota Aerocap project truck!

At work today - I did some thinking on both ThunderSky Lithium Iron Phosphate Prismatic Cells, and 26650 cell types from another source, and both considerations look good! The target spaces are 1) - My existing Fuel Tank (Removed at conversion) Dimensions and location; and 2) the Firewall Battery location at present! (It could be my 'reserve' using the LiFePO4 26650 Cells from Alliance Renewable Energy! As would the ThunderSky Cells be sourced from!)

More soon to come!

Electricfly at the front of Eco-Wheels Show

Electricfly was there! Saturday and Sunday! May 29 - 30th, 2010!

As part of the show contingent, and supporting as well as representing the effects and results of the work of the Electric Vehicle Society of Canada, Electricfly was at  Toronto's 1st Annual ECO-WHEELS SHOW set in the unique Victorian backdrop of The Distillery District.

Again - I have not got all my pictures sorted out for uploading yet, so they will be added later!

Electricfly has a Capital Idea!

On Saturday, May 15, 2010, I took my electricfly up to Ottawa (Canada's Capital) to show and share at EVCO's EV EXPO 2010!

It was in interesting trip, and although I arrived late and registered in as #38 of a total number of 39 attendees, it was till worth it. for some info on the trip up - see my AeroCap Article in my other Blog.

I have had a few problems with my PC - so will get the pictures added in later as an update to this blog!

Electricfly Gets it Clear!

Monday saw my electricfly get new glasses, or - in fact, a brand new windshield!

It had been living with a crack some 40% of the way accross from lower right to nearly the mid point of the windshield, and - along the way - the corrosion and rust at the upper windshiled frame needed cleaning, so that got take care of at the same time, along with new Rust Limiting Primer along the edge and forward roof section!

Brian from Corporate Auto Glass took care of the removal, and replacement processes and did a very Fine Job of it!

Just one of the many things needed getting done to improve the appearance of the car, and continue with the refhinishing of the roof and other body panels. More notes and the Pictues to follow!

EV's & Cars at the Green Living Show!

Checking out the EV's & Cars at the Green Living Show allowed me to see some of what people are interested in, and what's being promoted!

Tesla's Roadster was there, at least 3 e-Bike stores, and - yes - the Chevy Volt (Mock up, non-driving model) was there! So - I talked with them to see if we could get the Volt for our Next EV Show - this fall, in October, but - instead was given a contact person to check this out with, and not much hope to go with it!!

Lots of Solar Panel Displays and Exhibitors as well - made a possible good contact there!!

Will Try to go again on Sunday, April 25th!

President Brings his Ford Ranger to EV Show & Shine BBQ

That is - the President of the Electric Vehicle Society of Canada - Howard Hutt; brings his OEM Ford Ranger EV to the Show!

It was one of the EV's made before 'They Killed the Electric Car!'

And - yes - it was made by Ford, as an OEM, and yes they used Lead Acid Batteries at first - smaller ones, but two layers thick - in a large tray that was bolted up - under the frame, and the Motor was in fact - between the rear wheels!

Howard, Thanks for bringing your Truck to our Show!

Best In Show Award - EV Show & Shine BBQ - April 10, 2010

Brian Kirk and Graham Lambert Won Best in Show for their Work In progress of a Conversion of a Porsche 944 'SM944'.

It was nice to see there two new 5-packs of 100 Ah Thunder Sky Cells in the car, the Lithium Iron Phosphate ones, like I have done a white paper on  my web site, and I compared my 40 Ah ThunderSky Demo Cell besides the 100 Ah Cells: Just alittle bit larger than mine - in height, width, and thickness!

They are on their way, and further added to the support as to moving EV's to Lithium Iron Phosphate Cells Sooner, rather than later!

Brian, Graham, Thanks for Bringing your car and supporting our Show!

Best Tech Award at EV Show & Shine BBQ - April 10, 2010

Ken Roach Won the Best Technical Award at EV Show & Shine for his Ford Escort 'ESCORTEV' work.

I will admit - I voted for his car as best Technical also! Great Job Ken! Thanks for having your car at our show!

Electricfly enjoys a good showing at EV Show & Shine BBQ

Using my Dodge Dakota with Aerocap, I took the electricfly down to the EV Show + Shine BBQ the Electric Vehicle Society of Canada held today at Scarborough Toyota, in conjunction with the Toronto Hybrid Group!

In the EV Collection showing up, We Had ESCORTEV, a Ford Escort Conversion from Barrie, Ontario, NOGAS96V - my electricfly, A Ford Ranger Electric from Scarborough, plus we had Two Works in Progress: SM944 - an 1983 Porsche 944 from Brian Kirk & Graham Lambert at www.singularmotionev.com, and 'eDart' - a 1974 Dodge Dart Swinger by Gavin Bogle.
Two EV Scooters Made it to the Show, and one was sold while there! There was also Ron McCurdy's Freedex Electric Assist Trike, which he drove around the shop and Visual Presentation area a lot, and Jan Szott with his Horseless Carriage!

In addition to that, we had a freshly converted Hymotion PHEV Prius from Scarborough Toyota, Plus their Regular Prius Customer Service Delivery Vehicle, a Hymotion PHEV Prius from the City of Toronto, Emile with his emileage 'Enginerus' PHEV Prius Conversion and two more Prius' - one of the Enginerus type and one Hymotion type!

Also on display was a TTC Hybrid Bus with the New A123 Lithium Pack (Much Better than the Lead Acid Packs they began with) and a Camry Hybrid being used for Taxi Service!

Non Vehicle Displays included Darius Vakili's presentation of his available Motor Controllers, Chargers, and DC-DC Converters for EV's, along with Solar/Wind Power Controlers/Chargers for the Off-Grid Crowd. Also were DVD and VHS presentations of various EV Machines, High-Mileage Special Vehicles, and more. In additon, Plug-In Canada also had a loop of their newly operational web site showing.

And...The BBQ was Great too! I got one burger Early, and one near the end - a double!

Electric Vehicle Parking Spots Scoped Out

Due to the Nature of Private Property issues, and Security Standards, I ended up having to stop by the Vice President's office for a little help getting permission to take the requested sample parking place pictures, but I did get permission before days end at work!

So - I scoped out one spot in current car-pool areas, next to a light pole (Wooden), and one spot in the general parking next to a Steel Light Pole of which there are two lines of three like that there, and each of which could suit up to 4 EV Spots with power, and finally I scoped out a sample spot in the Long-Service Parking area, for our more senior members to take advantage of!

In the end - we will ultimately find out how well my employer is serious about supporting Electric Vehicles!

(March 6, 2010 update: There are two lines of three steel poles, & Amazon Book Addition)

Electricfly goes Back to the Future!

While at work today, I spoke to our Director of Facilities and mentioned - "We have wheelchair parking spots, and car pool parking spots, so when can we get a couple of Electric Car Parkings Spots with a plug?"

Having had a similar conversation a couple of years ago in a different setting, and getting an unenthusiastic or unsupportive response then, I was surprised when he told me he wants to promote Electric Cars!

So - to scout out a possible parking spot of preference - I drove electricfly to work, late this afternoon, got some things arranged with Security and some tips and instructions, and drove back home. I had walked to work today - so I needed to grab the car and go back to take care of a few things to begin the process.

So - now it is back on the charger after the trip, and I noticed while driving it there - the 'weakest link' batteries - were #3, and #8. However - When recharging - I still nticed - the Accessory Battery had gone down to just 10% SOC, and the Battery # 4 was at 40% SOC! The Rest were at 70 - 80% SOC. So - Until I get the New Lithiums from EV Components - I might need to pick up 2-3 new Trojan SCS150 Batteries to tide me over.

I will save the further details until there is some meat that goes with these new bones, but for now - stay Tuned for EV Parking!

Should we Subsidize? (EV's, Solar, Wind, etc.)

The big question these days is - How much will it cost me? - and - Can I get a Tax Break on that? - or - Will the government (you & me, ultimately, at reduced efficiency) help you buy that shiny new electric car, or Solar roof, or Wind Turbine, etc.!

To put this in perspective - it might be wise to first ask - just how much Government involvement is there in the Oil Industry - in terms of Guaranteed loans, direct fuel purchases for Military activity, Specific Oil Discovery Funding, Research Grants, Infrastructure (Pipelines, Ports, Refineries, Roads) investment to deliver Oil and Refined Petroleum Products to market, Refundable Loans, and more.

While I have not spend the last two months or more digging to get specific quotes on this - I am sure - with newspapers ability to get access to FOI information (Freedom of Information Act), others also could. And that - combined with some historical reading, and the Internet as a search tool, could likely net a large collection of data showing just how much the Oil Industry takes from your pocket each day - including those of you who ride a bike!

If you drive a ICE Vehicle - you will no doubt notice Taxes included in the fuel pump price, plus taxes on the pumped price, from both federal and State or Provincial sources! These are direct removal of money from your pocket - and no doubt go to funding some - if not all - of the subsidies that go to Oil Companies, and more - coming from other sources - besides fuel taxes - are likely siphoned off to Oil Companies.

So the question might be - should we continue to give the lion's share of such funding to these companies - or should we now start to re-direct it to more energy sustainable programs? After All - it's been over a 100 years for Petroleum, I think it is time to give RE (Renewable Energy) some of the money!

Besides - the famous statement - 'Supporting Terrorists is easy - just go fill up your fuel tank again and you have done your part!'- pretty much sums up where the money ends up going!

Live Closer to where you work: walk, drive a bike, drive an electric assist bike or Scooter, etc. are even more beneficial to avoiding continued dependence on Oil for our daily requirements. Even if you started with walking or biking just 1 day a week at first - that would be about a 20% reduction in your fuel consuption for going to work. then bump it up to switching to walking or biking for two days a week - and you have a 40% reduction in fuel use for your normal drive! Imagine that much of a change - if companies themselves started to support such changes in their ISO 14001 Environmental Policies! Think like more and better bike stands at work, with included re-charging access for electric assist bikes. More 14001 Info - take some time to lead your company.

If you need to commute - keep it short, drive an Electric Vehicle - even if you convert it yourself - and so long as it can take you to a local car rental agency - you then have all the range you need for longer trips!

Home made EV Conversions today - might not be a pretty as the Tesla or the Leaf - but they can cost less, and are good uses for a car with a blown engine! Also - the days of the home built conversion with deep cycle Lead-Acid Batteries is numbered, with the declining cost of Lithium Iron Phosphate Cells, and more suppliers providing such cells and other battery EV Components like motors and controllers.

More and more places support EV Conversions - and more and more people are looking for them. Based on the member interest in my local EV Society - there is a large percentage of EV Conversion Interest - and even larger Solar Power Interest! Both Topics of High Expense for most people, but there are also new products coming that promise to drop the price - in both areas.

Unite for Global Climate Change - (Not) - According to the 'New Shell'

Jasmeet Sidhu is the founder of the Peel Environmental Youth Alliance (PEYA), a network of students in the Peel Region working to implement environmental programs in all 220 Peel Region schools, and she writes -

"I almost spit out my coffee this morning as I was reading my copy of Toronto Star over breakfast.

Neatly inserted behind all the usual sections was one called "New Energy Future - The Energy Challenge and Environmental Responsibility". The first headline claimed to provide us with a 'reality check' on climate change, and scattered throughout the section are smiling feel good stories of employees of the tar sands with little myth buster boxes on tar sands production.

The entire section? Sponsored by Shell Canada."

To Read the whole story she wrote - continue to The Star Blog here

Electricfly adds an open Google Group!

Hi! As the owner of the websites - www.myelectricfly.com and
http://www.electricfly.info/, and this blog - nogas96volts,
I have decided to also offer a more open forum - a Google Group - electricfly1 - for others who want to discus issues and ideas around Electric Vehicles, Electric Vehicle Conversions, and EV Conversion of the Suzuki Swift and it's family of derivatives - the Pontiac Firefly
(Which was used in my electricfly), the Chevy Sprint (My First 3-
Cylinder Vehicle - even fewer than my old Honda Motorcycle!), Geo
Metro, and Suzuki Forsa!

Feel Free to apply to join, and add your thoughts on these subjects,
asking for help, and sharing your insights as well!

I wish you all the best in your Electric Vehicle Interests, and also
invite you to Join the Electric Vehicle Society of Canada, of which I am a member - and also editor of their newsletter and website webmaster.

(Detroit) Autoshow Goes Electric!

The Detroit (North America International Auto Show, or NAIAS) for 2010 went very big on Electric!

They set out an area - Electric Avenue - just for Electric Vehicles, and most major OEM's also had a growth of Hybrids, and/or Electrics and PHEV's, or Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles.

Take Mercedes, for Instance - They were showcasing two new hybrids to come, and focusing on the fact that they use the new Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries, and don't take up space in the Trunk area for Batteries!

Toyota was showing previews and cutaway of their pending PHEV Prius, but were not strong on when it would be released yet, sharing concerns about battery reliability, and pack size. Inspite of that - they also showed a small all electric concept that was cute, but a bit strange - definitely concept - not near production, from my guess!

However - all these concerns have not stopped China's BYD from showing both Hybrids, and Full Electric Vehicles at the show!

The Show was occupied by almost 1/3rd of it's space with Electric Vehicles, and maybe about 4 OEM's showing new Hybrids. It also offered opportunities for Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Makers to take passengers for rides downstairs and show off their wares. I took the opportunity to ride shotgun in the Tango, myself!

I had the opportunity to look at some new Lithium Polymer choices, and Dow Kokam is now the owner of Kokam America, which had a booth downstairs near the ride zone.

My current thought is to consider the possability of using Lithium Batteries in the very same pace as would have been accupied by the original 40 Litre, or 10.6 Gallon Gas Tank on the 1989 Pontiac firefly! (More on this soon!)

If you never got to see the show - one of the best areas was the Electric Avenue - dominated by the Progressive Automotive X-Prize for Automotive Performance - the search for a (group of) 100 mpg Vehicles that can be produced in volume - creating a winner of the $10 Million Dollar Prize, and the number of displayed contenstants on the wall mural, along with some of them in person at the show!

Let's See How Toronto's Feb. 12 - 21st: "2010 Canadian International AutoShow" does in comparison!

Pack Batteries OK! Accessory Battery Bad!

Drove the electricfly to work last night and back this morning - and put it on a charge run this morning at about 07:20 hrs. Just checked it (10:45) to disconnect the chargers - and - the group 24 pack batteries were all fine at 100% and so was the Accessory Battery (it said), then I reset the chargers and the U1 Accessory Battery showed up again as the same 9% SOC that it was this morning before the first charge! (10.5V)

Well - that is pretty obvious it is done for, toast, fried, finished, gonners, dead, kaput! But - since I have not had the time to do a battery switch just now - I decided to just put it on charge again, alone, at just a 2A charge and leave it until I go to work early this evening!

The Temperature right now is not so bad - just -2C, like about 28F!

It is just another good reason to start thinking more aobut going with the Lithium Iron Phosphate Cells - LiFePO4: Mot likely Candidate source to Be Thunder Sky Cells from EV Components in Washington State.

First Plan seems to come out with 4 x 40 Ah Cells for the Accessory Battery, with one custom charger for it.

Next Plan calls for a set of 33 x 100 Ah Cells for the main pack - installed right where the gast tank used to be, With it's own charger & BMS Sytem - all yet to be determined!

96 Volt AC Motor Package

I was just looking over the web site at EV Components yesterday an noticed this nice 96 Volt Motor, & Controller Package! It said it had more torque than the AC motor I had been considering - the Azure Dynamics/Solectria system 'AC24'. So - I had to check it out!

The Key info - in the Description - firs part of the first paragraph was of interest: "High Performance AC motor, with 96 volt Curtis Regen Controller. This motor and controller combination produces 50 hp peak and 100 ft/lbs of peak torque. Will make a performance car out of smaller vehicles such as the Geo Metro."

So - 100 ft/lbs of peak torque, and the AC 24 chart says 55.32 ft/lbs of peak torque at 156 Volts, or 60.48 ft/lbs of peak torque at 312 Volts! So - if it is true - then this is at least double the acceleration response as to torque!

The Price from EV Components - $4,295.00, where the ElectroAuto Prices - show the AC 24 at $2,595.00, plus the DMOC445 controller at $3,495.00!

that is over $6,000.00 for the AC24 Package, plus it runs at a higher voltage - about 160V, so more Cells or Batteries are needed to feed it!

So - While I had thought of using the AC24 Motor for an upgrade - this package from EV Components - if it stays available until I scoop up the $4300 will be much better - from the first glance at it!

See the Update on 96 Volt AC Motor Package - Here!
(Feb. 2, 2013)

GeoMetro - 3D! Not The Same Geo Metro as GM Made!

Well, this is a new reference for my familiar name of the 3-Cylinder cars: GEOMETRO - a Hands on System for learning 3-D Geometry, particularly for teaching Children Science, and Engineering!

Got Children with Attention Span issues, "There are lessons upon lessons that a child can learn with Geometro materials starting in grade 1 and continuing to high school. Attention and passion are guaranteed."

Want your kids to get an idea about a Geodesic Dome? Want them to Manipulate Shapes and Structures, besides you and by breaking them? "Geometro offers a manipulative system and age-suited, extensively tested programs to enhance teaching of spatial Geometry."

Visiting Joel Clemens and his Electric Ranger!

Hey - It was messy weather today - but I took a drive down to Hamilton to Visit Joel Clemens, and see his Electric Ranger, in my Aerocap Dakota!

Along with just going for a Drive - I took along for him a couple group 27 Surrette Batteries from the original set in my electricfly that I had been charging and running tests on with the Duo-Regen Yellow Maxi-Life Desulphaters!

He Popped the Hood so I could see his front 4 batteries of the 12 he is using (144 Volt System). From this view - you can see how he mounted them in a rack just behind the front cross member, where the Radiator usually would be installed.

You can also see the Motor he used (Still has the heavy Lifting Ring on it!), and the Split-Loom Wrapping on his wires.

From this View you can See the Controller, IOTA DC-DC Converter, and top edge right of center - a disconnect relay controlled by the 'Ignition' key postition. It also is interfaced with the Vehicles Inertia switch for poweing sown if the vehicle gets hit!

There is also the Vehicles Original Wiring Interface Junction on the left.

Will be adding more shots of his truck shortly. Must get ready - am off to work again! So long Christmas Holidays! Hello Lear 45!