Thank you so much for sharing all of this information with the world during your build! I am considering doing a similar build.
I am really curious about the lifespan of your battery pack. Of course that will require a fews years (hopefully) of service for you to find out. Do you have any good sources of info on battery pack life? What distance do you plan to drive on a daily basis? Also, are you concerned about Obama’s vow to make coal powered electric gerneration impractical with taxes?
Thanks,
Neal
Neal,
Thanks for taking a look at everything. It’s nearly as much work as building the car was!
The lifespan of my current battery pack will be about 9 months. I intend on replacing them in the spring with some better quality batteries. I have found homes for all the ones I have already (a renewable energy system) so I won’t be out of all that money. From all the research I’ve done and all the conversions I’ve read, deep cycle lead acid batteries should last anywhere from 2-6 years. This depends of course on the battery itself, the depth of discharge, how carefully you charge them and any other “abuse” they receive. This pack here would probably have last me about 2 years due to their quality (relatively low) and due to my inexperience – I’m sure I’ll over and under charge them and run them well below what I should. A good quality 6 volt battery (Trojan T105) should last you 4-5 years if you treat them well.
The car currently was designed and built with one purpose in mind – to transport me back and forth to work. This trip is 8.6 miles each way. I charge it overnight at home, drive to work and charge it while I’m working, then drive home and charge again. With a new battery pack in the spring it should increase my rage quite a bit and would allow me to do my regular shopping in nearby towns as well. Even just driving back and forth to work, the car will save me about 900$ a year in energy costs.
I generally shy away from politics regarding this project because it didn’t have any political intent. I built it for pure economics – it’s cheaper to operate than a gasoline car (plus it’s pretty cool). In Obama’s acceptance speech, he said something to the effect of “there are new sources of energy to harness”. I don’t believe he will be a president that will close one door without opening another. This could be through renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydro, or it could be with nuclear. We’ll all find out soon enough what this man is capable of.
Again, sorry if that was a vague or incomplete answer. I want this project to stay technical and not get political.
Thanks again for taking the time do drop me a mail.
Ed
ZeroGasoline Administrator