I'm going to build an electric car........

[Big Al]

Ok folks,

I'm going to make an electric vehicle and it's easy to charge the batteries overnight from mains electric etc but I've been dreaming again and I was wondering if I could use a solar panel like the stick on ones here http://midsummerenergy.co.uk/buy_solar_ ... anels.html. Secondly I am thinking of using a couple of the savonious type vents you see in vans http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FLETTNER-2000-rot ... 240%3A1318 as a second source of charging by putting these in some sort of an aerofoil on the back of the car. This will not be the main charging set up, that will be mains electric but I am still at the thinknig stage for this project and my thinking is that this could add a few miles to the range of 30 - 40 miles or use less mains electricity for a full re charge...
If I was able to build the car and attach the solar panel and wind turbines how would I conect these to the batteries to charge them?

As I say, it's at the design stage and still in my head but thoughts on this would be of help.

Thanks in Anticipation.

[pumpy]

Hi Al, don't know too much about this stuff, but if using a multi-system charge set-up, be aware of "back feeding" one system to another.

[Rod in Japan]

In terms of weight and performance, it would seem to make more sense to have your solar and wind attached to your house for charging the car when it's 'docked'. Keep things simple for your first try...

Good luck. I'd like to do the same thing if I had anything resembling the skills necessary, and the time.

[mamos]

What are you going to use as your base vehicle Al?

Are you going to use an existing car or are you going to build it from scratch?

I would try and keep things as simple as possible and adapt an existing electric vehicle like a forklift or a milk float

Good luck and keep us informed

mamos

[Big Al]

In terms of weight and performance, it would seem to make more sense to have your solar and wind attached to your house for charging the car when it's 'docked'. Keep things simple for your first try...

Good luck. I'd like to do the same thing if I had anything resembling the skills necessary, and the time.

I don't have any solar at the house just yet so it would cosr more to install that than make the car. Also for a range of 30 -40 miles at a reasonable speed of 45 - 50 mph you will need about 1 kwt of juice to replace the power used from the batteries. This would need a heafty panel back home. The idea I was thinknig of was just to suppliament the power into the batteries whilst out to maybe give an extra few miles on the range. There was one car that was decked out in them in the news a few years ago, I think it was a tesla that only ran on the solar cells but then it was an industry car with a no limits budget.

Hi Al, don't know too much about this stuff, but if using a multi-system charge set-up, be aware of "back feeding" one system to another.

For some reason this did cross my mind one night. I think it might have to be based along the lines of seperate charging systems into a controler of somesort then these two fed into a battery pack..

What are you going to use as your base vehicle Al?

Are you going to use an existing car or are you going to build it from scratch?

I would try and keep things as simple as possible and adapt an existing electric vehicle like a forklift or a milk float

Good luck and keep us informed

The original idea was to be based on this http://www.neurotikart.com as i wanted to build a fast granny scooter to wizz round the shops on but then I found out that these are restricted to 8 mph even ON THE ROADS ! A class 3 full road worthy scooter is only 8mph... So I will be using the basic design of this cart and going from there. Then I did more and more digging around and found that you can actually convert cars to electric. I come across a whole mass of different cars including the smart car but costs seemed quite high in the region of £10k then I found a peoper mini that had been converted.... I have one of those fully restored on my drive not being used...... no it's my sons, repeat he is a petrol head....

I still fancy the idea of making a space frame from the go kart but out of 2" square tube about 7ft long ( big enough t get into a parking box at the supermaket) then vertical rear end about 5 ft tall then at right angles the roof about 4ft. Fro mthis point join the front to the back with a swooping curve incorporating the bonnet lines of a MKii 1968 jaguar..... well it's like that in my head,lol...

You don't see many milk floats these days but I might just check out that as they will already be licenced for the road etc....

Thanks for the input, any more from anywhere??

[Rod in Japan]

In terms of weight and performance, it would seem to make more sense to have your solar and wind attached to your house for charging the car when it's 'docked'.

I don't have any solar at the house just yet so it would cosr more to install that than make the car. Also for a range of 30 -40 miles at a reasonable speed of 45 - 50 mph you will need about 1 kwt of juice to replace the power used from the batteries. This would need a heafty panel back home. The idea I was thinknig of was just to suppliament the power into the batteries whilst out to maybe give an extra few miles on the range. There was one car that was decked out in them in the news a few years ago, I think it was a tesla that only ran on the solar cells but then it was an industry car with a no limits budget.

Given that most panels on the market are only 13% efficient at best, hauling that weight around on your vehicle isn't likely to pay off*. So I would think that any panel on the vehicle would be a waste, unless you're talking about a very high level of engineering. And isn't a windmill on a car getting into perpetual motion machine territory? I'm not entirely certain on either of these points, but I think you'll find cheap windmills off the car a better way of charging it, if'n you have a bit of wind at your gaff.

* There's rather amusing programme on Japanese TV where they tool around the country in a converted light van with a big solar panel bolted on top. It works fine until it gets dark or really cloudy, but it's TV, so they have a big budget.

[jim]

Dear Big Al,

Portsmouth Friends of the Earth used to have an insulation business that made use of an old electric milk float to cart their stuff round. This was charged by an aerogenerator on the roof of their building in Pompey.

Don't know if they're still doing it but try contacting them to see if they've got any technical tips for you. They're to be found at .......


Portsmouth Friends of the Earth

Phil Coombe
8 Range Green
PORTSMOUTH
PO2 8RE
Email contact
phil@coombe0.fsnet.co.uk
Phil Coombe
02392 696070
Web site
http://www.portsmouthfoe.org

NCAAT at Machynlleth used to have a design factsheet for small aerogenerators with a circuit diagram for a rectifier for battery charging. I've found them helpful on technical tips in the past.

Hope it's been useful, good luck with it and put pictures on this site as work progresses please,

Love and Peace
Jim

[Big Al]

Thanks for the addy Jim, I'll contact them after chrimbo and see what they can offer.
Rod, This is the solar panels I was thinking of.
http://midsummerenergy.co.uk/buy_solar_ ... anels.html

They are stick on so they seem to be quite maliable. The company also do a kit now wit hall the regulators and wiring etc so it might be worth looking at this. The main power for the proposed car will come from the house but the idea of the solar /wind would just be to back up a bit of energy while the car was out in the open.... I nearly said in the traffic jams !
Hmm that gets me thinknig... bloody dangerous I know but would an electric car be able to use bus lanes as an incentive to use one.... I feel a letter to the MP / council coming on....lol.

[Rod in Japan]

Rod, This is the solar panels I was thinking of.
http://midsummerenergy.co.uk/buy_solar_ ... anels.html

Cool. That might be worth doing.
I wonder if I could stick some strips of that on my head and use it to power an air-conditioned jacket...

[Big Al]

Rod, This is the solar panels I was thinking of.
http://midsummerenergy.co.uk/buy_solar_ ... anels.html

Cool. That might be worth doing.
I wonder if I could stick some strips of that on my head and use it to power an air-conditioned jacket...

Stranger things have happened you know.....

I got a link to another company inthe UK that deals in all the bits i need. http://www.lemcoltd.com/ so at the moment I'm as happy as a pig in shit......as the saying goes....

Update,

I've been in touch with the lynch (mob) company and a whole set up of motor and controler will set me back about £1300. I have the bits for the chassis and lithium ion batteries are not bad on the cost size / weight ratio. All I need now is the plans drawing and shed loads of fibreglass........

[poppabear]

It's no longer necessary to build your own electric car. There's a new electric car coming out very soon.

The smaller automobile companies are coming out with new alternative energy transportation products and we just might see some of them hit the road in the very near future.

Wheego Electric Cars is officially launching its U.S. dealer network. The first car will be the Wheego Whip, which is most certainly not a smart fortwo, and the plan is to find 50 dealers in America who want to sell them.

Wheego has an exciting line of electric cars that I'd like to see on the roads very soon. The following article has more
info on these great electric cars: check out this car!

[Big Al]

It's no longer necessary to build your own electric car. There's a new electric car coming out very soon.

The smaller automobile companies are coming out with new alternative energy transportation products and we just might see some of them hit the road in the very near future.

Wheego Electric Cars is officially launching its U.S. dealer network. The first car will be the Wheego Whip, which is most certainly not a smart fortwo, and the plan is to find 50 dealers in America who want to sell them.

Wheego has an exciting line of electric cars that I'd like to see on the roads very soon. The following article has more
info on these great electric carscheck out this car!

Thanks popobear, Given up on the idea for now as money is not available.

Been looking at smart cars today and they have a eco smart which switches off at traffic lights etc and I do know that there is an electric conversion for one of these using a lynch motor. However I asked the salesman and he said that the company[smart] had put back releasing an electric smart until 2010 to work on getting more than 70 miles per charge. Middlesborough council are test running a fleet of electric smart cars and this is the conclusion of the trial so far.
Mind you this is my type of electric carhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp_jwE0KdOk
I'll look at the links soon but thanks again.

[anarchistinslippers]

I wish I was mechanically minded, but I seem to have been given my mother's genes for such matters. Bah!

[Turtuga Blanku]

Hi B-Al,

I haven't (yet) read through all of this thread, but quick replY: make your car as light as possible.. no extras even though it might help charge the car a bit.. I fear that overall the effect is contra.. Best leave the charging system off of the car.

Apart from that: big thumbs up to you!

cheers,


Turtuga Blanku

[Big Al]

Hi B-Al,

I haven't (yet) read through all of this thread, but quick replY: make your car as light as possible.. no extras even though it might help charge the car a bit.. I fear that overall the effect is contra.. Best leave the charging system off of the car.

Apart from that: big thumbs up to you!

cheers,


Turtuga Blanku

Thanks for the encouragement but sadly no money now so the metalwork will have to be used for something else.