EAA Meeting

I took my MG to the meeting on Saturday and showed it to everyone that showed up. We had about 12 folks there and one other EV. It was an electric Harly Trike. Just converted to lithium with a grand total of 4 miles logged before coming to the show. He used GBS lithium cells for a 100 AH 48 Volt system including BMS from http://www.elitepowersolutions.com/ He was so glad to ditch the lead. Finally got the lead out. He now has cargo room in the rear box and has his shocks back as well. His pack is only like 150 lbs. It is less but I don't remember exactly. Every one poured over the MG and Bike. We talked at the meeting about what kind of vehicles make good conversions and costs and kits and such. Use what you want and what you like rather than just some old junker lying around. Do it right. Don't bother with a kit and just source the components you need and find good quality parts new or used. Don't rush into a build and plan it well. Know your needs and desires and be reasonable with your expectations. A good 50 to 100 mile vehicle is possible but it will require a good plan and some skills. If you don't know, find out.

I was able to take two for a ride in the MG and they were duly impressed. I was impressed too because the car did not falter one bit and I was able to show them that EV's are not slugs. I showed them about driving in lower gears with the motor at higher rpms to keep the battery amp draw to a minimum and showed them about starting in higher gears like 2nd and 3rd. 2nd in the MG is quite good but much more sluggish in 3rd.  Don't bother in 4th. So up to 45 in second is good and at 45 in 2nd and two passengers the amp draw was 45 to 50. Nice. That is what I like. So don't over rev and stay in the higher rev range if you can. It will help.

Meeting was like 2 1/2 hours long and we hung out for another 45 minutes or so and did those two drives for the new to EV's folks.  Hope to see more next time.

Pete :)

Electric Auto Association is a good place to go for information and links too. Look for a chapter in your area and join in the meetings and maybe even join.  http://www.electricauto.org/