Saturn Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 I've always wanted to make a homebrew EV have any of you thought about this, or know anyone who has done it? Ideally something likea buddy van, or even a tuktuk would be an interesting project to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchman Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 EV? As in electric vehicle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturn Posted July 1, 2008 Author Share Posted July 1, 2008 (edited) Dilesh said: EV? As in electric vehicle? Well I was going for eclectic ventroquilist.. but yes, EV would be a good idea too * I really hope someone tries to convert a tuktuk. the low weight would mean it could easily run on a couple car batteries and a small dc motor if someone set up a company offering conversions they could make money *and* reduce pollution. donno if that would happen but it would be awesome to see an electric tuktuk (etuk?) ive also mentioned buddy van because they are so light and theres lots of room for cheap car batteries, and a nice space for a small motor i hear there are complete kits to convert cars to ev's.. also people can manually do this by using a small powerful dc motor, e.g. from an electric forklift * J/K! No rudeness intended! Edited July 1, 2008 by Saturn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maliths Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 Saturn said: Well I was going for eclectic ventroquilist.. but yes, EV would be a good idea too I really hope someone tries to convert a tuktuk. the low weight would mean it could easily run on a couple car batteries and a small dc motor if someone set up a company offering conversions they could make money *and* reduce pollution. donno if that would happen but it would be awesome to see an electric tuktuk (etuk?) ive also mentioned buddy van because they are so light and theres lots of room for cheap car batteries, and a nice space for a small motor i hear there are complete kits to convert cars to ev's.. also people can manually do this by using a small powerful dc motor, e.g. from an electric forklift If you do convert a TukTuk to EV would it cost less than running with petrol since electricity in SL is quite expensive. I was looking at the REVA, it uses eight 6v batteries which it states gives it up to 80km. And also says that is takes 9 units of electricity to charge it (I assume this is 9 kWh). So a TukTuk would probably do a lot mor than 80km with a similar power supply. Does anyone know how much a unit of electricity is these days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhp Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 (edited) Saturn: looks like we think alike I have been looking for a good donor to make my first EV.. still looking for an E30 with a bad engine and good manual tranny. EVs make sense in stop-n-go traffic (ie colombo) cos when you stop moving the motor stops spinning (but then so does the AC.) saving energy. there is a guy who does conversions here in NC.. search for [mike moore, EV] on youtube. You can find almost step-by-step instructions on youtube to do an EV conversion. Is SL, you'll have a hard time sourcing the controller and contactors (hairball) if you want some motivation check here its a daily stop for me Edited July 1, 2008 by dhp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturn Posted July 1, 2008 Author Share Posted July 1, 2008 (edited) dhp said: Saturn: looks like we think alike I have been looking for a good donor to make my first EV.. still looking for an E30 with a bad engine and good manual tranny. EVs make sense in stop-n-go traffic (ie colombo) cos when you stop moving the motor stops spinning (but then so does the AC.) saving energy. there is a guy who does conversions here in NC.. search for [mike moore, EV] on youtube. You can find almost step-by-step instructions on youtube to do an EV conversion. Is SL, you'll have a hard time sourcing the controller and contactors (hairball) if you want some motivation check here its a daily stop for me wow, and i thought i was the only one who liked that site donno much about how to make an ev but its been on my list of 'things to do before i die' please update autolanka when you get started on your EV. it would be awesome to see that personally, I wanna see a homebrew e-tuktuk someday Edited July 1, 2008 by Saturn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmax Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/080629/Plus/timesplus0015.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pericles Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Ya mean like this? http://autolanka.fotopic.net/p47975681.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhp Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Choosing the donor vehicle depends on the purpose of building the EV. IF its for short distance speed, range or a lil bit of both and also the cargo capacity. IMHO a lighter car with enough room for the additional distributed weight but at the same time with a strong enough frame to take the weight is ideal. Usually this means older European cars and some older Japaneses cars. I am not sure if a tuk tuk is the best donor for an lead-acid EV but you can look into it (do the numbers) Can someone check their electric bill and post the rates (per Kilowatt Hour)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomaHAWK Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 I have started building an Electric car about a year ago. Had a L reg (year 1994) micra from a friend as a donor car (he meant to scrap the car for metal anyway). Some tips it might help - structure modification for batteries. - if it is hybrid – think about drive link -motors are bl**dy expensive, I am not sure about the price in SL, but the ones I have looked are costly. Price of a battery?, if you are having a normal car battery that might be cheaper but have a look at the limitations, and the add on weight. If it is pure electric then that is fine as there is no engine!! After struggled in a big time.. GENTLEMEN I GAVE UP , Yes I scrap the car, sold the engine and gearbox for spares.. I think it is better if you have a garage so most of the work can be done by mechanics and you can provide the design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.