Go Green-Go Electric! Faster, Cheaper, More Reliable While Saving Energy and the Environment
“Empowering people with the tools to convert their own vehicles provides an immediate path away from petroleum dependence and should be part of the solutions portfolio.” – Chelsea Sexton, Co-founder, Plug In America and featured in Who Killed the Electric Car?
“Create a superior driving experience, strengthen America, and restore the planet’s ecosystems…that’s the promise of this book and it’s well worth a read!” – Josh Dorfman, Founder & CEO – Vivavi, Modern Green Furniture Store; Author, The Lazy Environmentalist: Your Guide to Easy, Stylish, Green Living.
This new, updated edition of Build Your Own Electric Vehicle contains everything that made the first edition so popular while adding all the technological advances and new parts that are readily available on the market today.
Build Your Own Electric Vehicle gets on the expressway to a green, ecologically sound, cost-effective way that even can look cool, too!
This comprehensive how-to goes through the process of transforming an internal combustion engine vehicle to electric or even building an EV from scratch for as much or even cheaper than purchasing a traditional car. The book describes each component in detail---motor, battery, controller, charger, and chassis---and provides step-by-step instructions on how to put them all together.
Build Your Own Electric Vehicle, Second Edition, covers: EV vs. Combustible Engine Overview Environmental and Energy Savings EV Evolution since the First Electric Car Current Purchase and Conversion Costs Chassis and Design Today's Best Motors Battery Discharging/Charging Styles Electrical Systems Licensing and Insurance Issues Driving Maintenance Related Clubs and Associations Additional Resources
Author(s): Seth Leitman, Bob Brant
Edition: 2
Publisher: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics
Year: 2008
Language: English
Pages: 358
Contents......Page 7
Preface......Page 15
Acknowledgments......Page 21
1 Why Electric Vehicles Are Still Right for Today!......Page 25
Convert That Car!......Page 27
What Is an Electric Vehicle?......Page 31
Electric Motors......Page 32
Controllers......Page 33
Electric Vehicles Make a Difference by Standing Out......Page 34
Electric Vehicles Save Money......Page 36
Safety First......Page 37
Myth #2: Electric Vehicles Have Limited Range......Page 39
Myth #3: Electric Vehicles Are Not Convenient......Page 40
Disadvantages......Page 41
The Force Is with You......Page 42
Why Do Electric Vehicles Save the Environment?......Page 45
Save the Environment and Save Some Money Too!......Page 46
So Who’s to Blame?......Page 47
Waste Heat Due to Inefficiency......Page 50
Electric Utilities Love Electric Vehicles......Page 51
A Proactive Solution......Page 52
3 Electric Vehicle History......Page 55
Timeline of Vehicle History......Page 56
Up Until 1915......Page 57
1940 to 1989......Page 66
After 1973: Phoenix Rising, Quickly......Page 71
Third Wave After 1979: EVs Enter a Black Hole......Page 75
Mid-1960s to 1990s......Page 76
The 1990s–2000s......Page 84
Tesla......Page 91
Hybrid and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles......Page 93
Near Future Trends For Electric Drive......Page 97
Conversions Save You Money and Time......Page 99
Buying Ready-to-Run......Page 100
Converting a Vehicle......Page 101
Electric Vehicles Built from Plans......Page 102
Converting Existing Vehicles......Page 103
Converting Existing Vans......Page 105
Your Chassis Makes a Difference......Page 110
Your Batteries Make a Difference......Page 112
The Procedure......Page 113
Conversion for Fun and Profit......Page 114
Motor, Controller, Battery Tests—Your Electric Car Will Run Just Fine!......Page 115
Choose the Best Chassis for Your EV......Page 119
Conventions and Formulas......Page 120
Remove All Unessential Weight......Page 122
Weight and Acceleration......Page 123
Weight and Climbing......Page 124
Weight Affects Speed......Page 125
Remove the Weight but Keep Your Balance......Page 126
Remember the 30 Percent Rule......Page 127
Choose the Lowest Coefficient of Drag......Page 128
Relative Wind Contributes to Aerodynamic Drag......Page 130
Shape Rear Airflow......Page 131
Block and/or Shape Front Airflow......Page 132
Pay Attention to Your Tires......Page 133
Brake Drag and Steering Scuff Add to Rolling Resistance......Page 135
Less Is More with Drivetrains......Page 136
Drivetrains......Page 137
Difference in Motor vs. Engine Specifications......Page 138
Going through the Gears......Page 140
Automatic vs. Manual Transmission......Page 141
Heavy vs. Light Drivetrains and Fluids......Page 142
Horsepower, Torque, and Current......Page 143
Calculation Overview......Page 144
Torque Available Worksheet......Page 146
Torque Required and Available Graph......Page 149
Buy Your EV Chassis......Page 151
How to Get the Best Deal......Page 152
Late-Model Used Vehicles (Late 1980s and Onward)......Page 153
Buy or Borrow the Manuals......Page 154
Sell Unused Engine Parts......Page 155
Why an Electric Motor?......Page 157
Horsepower......Page 158
Magnetism and Electricity......Page 159
DC Motors in General......Page 161
DC Motors in the Real World......Page 163
DC Motor Types......Page 164
Series DC Motors......Page 165
Shunt DC Motors......Page 167
Compound DC Motors......Page 169
Brushless DC Motors......Page 170
Universal DC Motors......Page 171
AC Induction Motors......Page 172
Single-Phase AC Induction Motors......Page 173
Polyphase AC Induction Motors......Page 174
Today’s Winner: WarP Motors......Page 177
The Advance FB1-4001......Page 178
Tomorrow’s Best EV Motor Solution......Page 179
Conclusion......Page 182
Controller Overview......Page 183
Solid-State Controller......Page 184
AC Controller......Page 185
DC Motor Controller—The Lesson of the Jones Switch......Page 186
An Off-the-Shelf Curtis PWM DC Motor Controller......Page 189
AC Controllers......Page 190
Today’s Best Controller Solution......Page 191
Zilla Controller (One of the Best DC Controller for Conversions) ZAPI......Page 192
Metric Mind Engineering......Page 194
AC Propulsion Inc. to the Rescue—Today......Page 195
Tesla......Page 199
Conclusion......Page 200
Battery Overview......Page 201
Active Materials......Page 202
Electrolytes......Page 204
Charging Chemical Reaction......Page 205
Equalizing......Page 206
Basic Electrical Definitions......Page 207
Battery Capacity and Rating......Page 208
The Gentle Art of Battery Recharging......Page 210
Temperature Determines Performance for Lead-Acid Batteries......Page 211
State-of-Charge Measurement—Volts or Specific Gravity......Page 212
Lead-Acid Batteries......Page 213
Battery Types......Page 214
Battery Construction......Page 215
Battery Core Deposit......Page 217
TLC and Maintenance for Your Batteries......Page 218
Today’s Best Battery Solution......Page 219
Five Trojan Battery Solutions......Page 220
Tomorrow’s Best Battery Solution—Today......Page 224
Future Batteries: The Big Picture......Page 225
Batteries and the RAV4 EV Experience......Page 229
Charger Overview......Page 231
What You Can Learn from a Battery Cycle-Life Test......Page 232
Battery Charging Cycle......Page 233
The Ideal Battery Charger......Page 234
The Real-World Battery Charger......Page 237
The Manzita Micro PFC-20......Page 238
Rapid Charging......Page 239
Induction Charging......Page 240
Beyond Tomorrow......Page 241
High-Voltage, High-Current Power System......Page 242
Low-Voltage, Low-Current Instrumentation System......Page 244
Terminal Strip......Page 245
Ammeter......Page 246
Battery Indicator......Page 247
Low-Voltage Interlocks......Page 248
Auxiliary Battery Charger......Page 249
Wiring It All Together......Page 250
Checking......Page 252
Conversion Overview......Page 253
Arrange for Help......Page 255
Arrange for Tools......Page 256
Purchase the Chassis......Page 258
Purchase Other Components......Page 260
Removing Chassis Parts......Page 261
Mounting Your Electric Motor......Page 262
Mounting and Testing Your Electric Motor......Page 267
Fabricating Battery Mounts......Page 268
Additional Mechanical Components......Page 269
High-Current System......Page 270
Low-Voltage System......Page 275
Junction Box......Page 278
Charger System......Page 279
Battery Installation......Page 284
System Checkout on Blocks......Page 287
First Visitor Does a Second Take......Page 289
Improved Cooling......Page 290
Further Improved Cooling......Page 291
Paint, Polish, and Sign......Page 292
Put Yourself in the Picture......Page 293
Getting Licensed......Page 295
Driving and Maintenance Overview......Page 296
Driving Your Electric Vehicle......Page 297
Checking Connections......Page 299
Emergency Kit......Page 300
Electric Auto Association......Page 301
Electric Utilities and Power Associations......Page 311
Manufacturers......Page 312
Conversion Specialists......Page 315
Vehicles and Components......Page 316
Consultants......Page 317
Suppliers......Page 319
Conversion Kits......Page 321
Motors......Page 322
Controllers......Page 323
Batteries......Page 324
Chargers......Page 325
Books......Page 326
Publishers......Page 327
Online Industry Publications......Page 328
Federal Government Sites......Page 330
State- and Community-Related Electric Vehicle Sites......Page 332
General Electric Drive Information Sites......Page 333
Other Related Web Sites......Page 335
A......Page 337
B......Page 338
C......Page 340
D......Page 342
E......Page 343
F......Page 345
I......Page 346
L......Page 347
N......Page 348
P......Page 349
S......Page 350
T......Page 351
V......Page 352
Z......Page 353
