EV Digest 4715
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) Re: Freeway vs Sparrow and 3 wheel stability
by Ryan Stotts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
2) Re: Surplus EV motor as used by the evolks guys
by Stefano Landi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
3) Re: pennsylvania
by Jeff Shanab <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
4) Re: More motors -> More speed?
by Jim Husted <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
5) Re: IOTA power supply not dc to dc?
by Lee Hart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
6) Re: DC-DC for lights only?
by Lee Hart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
7) RE: pennsylvania
by "Don Cameron" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
8) EViL bus name
by Jeff Shanab <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
9) Contactor Controllers (was Re: Surplus EV motor as used by the
evolks guys)
by Mike Chancey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
10) IOTA power supply ... really works!
by Ryan Bohm <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
11) Need Fuses
by "Jeff Wilson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
12) Re: More motors -> More speed?
by Ryan Stotts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
13) Re: IOTA power supply ... really works!
by Ryan Stotts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
14) Re: Coax
by Lee Hart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
15) IOTA works addendum
by Ryan Bohm <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
16) Re: Practical payback???
by Danny Miller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
17) Re: Practical payback???
by Ryan Stotts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
18) Re: Plasma Cutter
by Ryan Stotts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
19) sound file request
by Stefano Landi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
20) Re: DC-DC for lights only?
by Danny Miller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
21) RE: Electricity stored in batteries. The biggest dissapointment of the
modern world.
by "Noel P. Luneau" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
22) Re: OT Troubles with nuclear - PLEASE STOP THREAD
by "David Roden (Akron OH USA)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
23) Re: Practical payback???
by Neon John <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
24) Re: Plasma Cutter
by Andrew Sackville-West <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
25) Re: More motors -> More speed?
by Ryan Stotts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
26) RE: Electricity stored in batteries. The biggest dissapointment of the
modern world.
by "Noel P. Luneau" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Rod Hower wrote:
> I would
> like to see some real world numbers on CG for the
> Sparrow versus the Freedom.
I think Jerry is going to race his car with the Electric Imp in
autocross after he gets it built this month:
http://www.proev.com/
It will be an interesting race that's for sure..
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Hi David,
OK didn't find the pipe... yet! LOL. However, check out this image of that
adapter sold by e-volks
http://fest-ev-a.slandi.net/images/plate-coupler-contactor.jpg
I took an image they had on their site and zoomed in, makes me feel like I'm
on CSI or something.
LOL :)))
Stefano
On 9/14/05, jerry dycus <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Hi Andrew and All,
>
> Andrew Sackville-West <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>
> jerry dycus wrote:
> > Hi Stefano and All,
> >
> > Stefano Landi wrote:
> > Hi everyone,
> >
> > Just passing on some information and a link.
> >
> >
> http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2005091410121302&item=6-936&catname=electric
> >
> >
> > While usable, not eff as a reg series motor which would be better. They
> have one, a 48vdc GE at $339 that would power most anything but you are
> getting close to new prices for a very used unit.
> > Check your local Fork lift, motor repair shops for orphaned, out of date
> , thus cheap motors. I have a rule, never pay more than $100 for one. Amd
> make sure it works by taking a battery, jumper cables with spare battery
> cables to hok it up for test.
> > Jim Husted may have some like this. I like GE as they usually are fairly
> eff though only a little more. Some like the one you noted and the
> Prestolites are only 75% eff vs others are 80-82% eff.
> > Of course, the E tek if a very small EV or 2-4 of them for a larger EV
> may be fairly eff letting you use less batteries or more range.
>
> This seems to fit right in with our other thread on low-cost conversion.
> Can these evolks guys be too good to be true? $1500 complete conversion
>
>
> Yes but you can do it much lower than that with just a little work,
> probably under $500.
>
>
>
> kit? They mention using a contactor and shifting to control speed
> instead of a PWM controller at 36 volts, does this kind of rig work for
> higher voltage too?
>
> Up to 96vdc as higher than that the contactors get pricy.
>
>
>
> I'm very confused by all this as it seems to me that
> using just a contactor would give you either all on or all off type
> performance. so basically you're flooring it or not and using the tranny
> to control speed? wouldn't that be dangerous? what am I missing here?
>
> Speeds !! You have several speeds with a resistor for starting at 1/2 or
> 1/4 voltage and then voltage up to full voltage. If you have 2 motors you
> can series/parallel, as you would the battery pack, them for another speed.
> Add the trans gears and you have a very controllable drive. Though I only
> use 2 electric speeds on my 45mph at 36vdc E woody without a problem. It is
> quite easy to get 3-8 speeds with a contactor controller for as much control
> as you want.
>
> HTH's,
>
> Jerry Dycus
>
> Andrew
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Yahoo! for Good
> Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.
>
>
--- End Message ---
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California, Fresno. Converting an '87 300zx with 300V of excide
orbitals,z1k and a warp9.
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--- Begin Message ---
Hey everyone,
Just thought Id pop a few random thoughts into the fold here. Although two
motors are not as efficient as a single larger one, they can be used together
to create a larger drive system. Waylands car is a good example of 2 small
motors coupled together allowing faster acceleration while at the same time
allowing the motors to share the load. Dave Clouds Etek car is an even better
example of a lot of small motors working to move a load pretty darn well. A
lot of forklifts use smaller dual drive motors, which have replaced the older
larger single motor types. The latest models are now using medium sized single
drives as times advance and to save costs, but I notice a lot more burnt up
motors now from those who dont have great maintenance programs. As someone
coming from a background of D.C. and not necessarily an advocate for it, I see
that in fact two small DC motors may be able to do different applications that
a single motor may not offer.
Imagine a two motor setup where each motor had a different goal for the
vehicle. Could you free-wheel one while the other worked where it was being
most efficient? Could one make an AC drive with a small DC motor assist or
visa versa, heck I dont know but its fun to think about. The issue I think
is that if someone found a pair of old motors and using one just wouldnt cut
it, they could build an inexpensive drive system using the two they just got
cheap. If someone has a gutless wonder and wanted a bit more pop they could
add a second motor if it was a better / cheaper option for them.
Someone posted correctly that no two motors are alike (most dont like to hear
this) and the faster would push a bit more, but a loosening of the comm. plate
and a tap over can adjust them pretty close at which point you retighten the
bolts. Wayland was able to set the rotation on the Siamese 8 within an RPM or
two and so far there is no detectable overload being caused by any
indifference. Here one motor is even being run electricaly backwards.
Ive had time to show video and talk about what you all are doing (not just
Wayland stories) to those I deal with and there has not been a single un-awed
person. Although I am not yet an EVer myself I am having way too much fun
just being able to help and share about those that are.
Forget long term, forget extremely long range, there are a great many people
who could use an EV right now. Face it 80 % of driving is single person
commute, and for those in the city, 80% of that time is sitting at a light.
Heres to all those walking the walk! I cant wait to see what lies tomorrow.
Much to learn.
Cya
Jim Husted
Hi-Torque Electric
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Cwarman wrote:
> So Lee, I would be better off with a DC DC converter made with
> an EV in mind... Whats your recommendation?
It all depends on your expectations. What do you want to spend, and what
do you have to get for it to be worthwhile?
If lowest cost is your most important criteria, then just use a largish
12v accessory battery. No DC/DC, no alternator; just charge it with a
12v charger at the same time you're charging the rest of your batteries.
It works the worst, but costs the least.
If you want low cost, but also want "normal" automotive 12v behavior,
then use a 12v battery with an alternator. The voltage drops and the
lights dim when you stop, but the rest of the time you have a moderately
stable voltage. The battery will last a few years, as it would with any
car. This system isn't all that efficient, but is simple and reliable,
and you don't need to worry about a separate 12v charger.
If you want better performance (a more stable 12v system) and higher
efficiency, then get a DC/DC converter. A cheap one (really just a
warmed-over switching power supply) will still work better than the
normal automotive system, and is smaller and lighter as well. Used
properly, the battery can last longer; 3-5 years. But the DC/DC is
likely to have long-term reliability problems, especially if you live in
a place where there is a harsh climate.
If performance, reliability, and efficiency are your most important
criteria, get an expensive automotive-grade DC/DC built for the purpose.
Barring other mishaps, the battery can last 5-10 years. In some cases,
you can eliminate the accessory battery entirely.
"You pays your money and takes your choice!"
--
"One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the
shore for a very long time." -- Andre Gide
--
Lee A. Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, leeahart_at_earthlink.net
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Nick 'Sharkey' Moore wrote:
> I'm considering a electric bike conversion at 48V...
> headlight... 12V 55/60W halogen H4. Does anyone know if I can run
> this at 48V if I switch it at say 20kHz, 0.25 duty cycle?
Sure, it will work just fine. There's no reason to run it at 20 KHz
either; it will just increase your switching losses. Even 120 Hz won't
produce a discernible flicker (same as if it were powered on AC).
I'd use one of the many switching regulator chips. Set it up so the duty
cycle automatically adjusts to keep the same RMS voltage on the lamp.
Note that you want the RMS voltage to be correct; not the average
voltage! As a bonus, use the chip's current limit feature to "soft
start" the lamp and it will last a lot longer.
--
"One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the
shore for a very long time." -- Andre Gide
--
Lee A. Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, leeahart_at_earthlink.net
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Dave, Check out evalbum.com - do a search for your favourite state.
Don
Victoria, BC, Canada
See the New Beetle EV Conversion Web Site at
www.cameronsoftware.com/ev/
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of EVdave
Sent: September 14, 2005 6:57 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: pennsylvania
I'm just curious, where the majority of the people on this list are from?
does anyone know? Im from philly and i feel like im the only one on the east
coast with an EV. (minus a couple of people ive seen respond to msgs from
Conn. and upstate NY....)
db
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While I think renameing is generally a bad thing to do, it destroys
momentum and invalidates old documents. Who will find existing pages on
the net, who will update them and all the search engines :-) , If it is
early enough, it can be changed without too much "loss"
On that note
EVDB Electric vehicle Data Bus
EVIB Electric vehicle isolated Bus "I" looks like number 1,
recommend avoiding it there will probably be revisions?
EVB Electric vehicle bus a TLA! like CAN,LIN,VPW gotta have a
TLA to be taken seriously ;-)
IDB Isolated Data Bus
EVnet taking hint from arcnet
EVtos,EVwire,EVrf optical,wired and *gulp* wireless triplets.
I still like EViL bus best.
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Contactor type controllers have been around since the beginning of of
commercially produced EVs back in the 1880s. It can be very simple
technology, and with enough discrete steps can provide very reasonable
control. With proper design, batteries can be made to discharge evenly and
no jerking or lurching will be caused. Unfortunately, to do all this a
price must be paid. Lots of additional wiring, lots of additional
contactors or oversize switches, and no currently limiting to protect the
motor or batteries.
Too many folks only recall the simple three step system used on the
Citicars and Comutacars and feel this is an example of a contactor
"controller". Well, it is an example, but not a good one. For those
unfamiliar with the C-car system, what they had was a 48 volt pack of 6
volt batteries split into to 24 volt groups. The first "click" on the
accelerator closed a large double pole/double throw center off contactor
feeding power from the two 24 volt groups in parallel, through a large
strap resistor to the motor. The effective voltage to the motor was about
18 volts. The second "click" closed a contactor to bypass the resistor
increasing motor voltage to 24 volts. The third click switched another
double pole double throw contactor to feed 48 volts to the motor. On level
ground it worked okay, but starting out on hills was almost
impossible. Add to this that C-Cars have no transmission and no clutch,
and you begin to see the problem.
The Lectric Leopard LeCar conversions had a contactor arrangement as well,
I think it was just two steps, 24 volts and 48 volts. Since those
conversions retained both the trans and the clutch, they didn't seem to
have any major issues, but did require a bit more driver skill to drive
smoothly.
My suspicion is for a low performance budget conversion EV built today a
salvaged 48 Volt SCR forklift controller might make a better option. It
would certainly make it easier to upgrade in the future to more modern
components as needed. Does anyone know if the GE EV-1 SCR controllers can
be easily setup to run on 72 volts? It would seem to me, a small motor
from say some sort of industrial vehicle, combined with an SCR controller,
72 volts worth of T-105 golf cart batteries, and a 36 Volt golf cart
charger rewired for 72 volts would make the basis for a very effective and
fairly capable EV on a very tight budget.
Thanks,
Mike Chancey,
'88 Civic EV
'95 Solectria Force
Kansas City, Missouri
EV List Photo Album at: http://evalbum.com
My Electric Car at: http://www.geocities.com/electric_honda
Mid-America EAA chapter at: http://maeaa.org
Join the EV List at: http://www.madkatz.com/ev/evlist.html
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Hi Everyone,
I'm really surprised to hear all the skepticism about the IOTA power
supplies being used for DC/DC's. For the record (I think I've said this
before): paralleled IOTA DLS-55's have been working like a charm in my
144V conversion for 9 months now.
What's more, I have some pretty heavy loads like a system that
originally taxed the 60 amp alternator and a MR2 electric power steering
pump. Now while the IOTA was not designed for DC input (I suppose), it
*does* work. After just a few hours of sleep last night, my crystal
ball is a little cloudy, so I don't know how it will be doing 5 years
down the road. But speaking from the last good portion of a year with
1000+ miles, the IOTA's are still going strong.
I know there are others out there that have had good experience using
the IOTA's, so let's speak up and give some encouragement to those that
have purchased these with the intent to use them in their conversions.
I can't see any reason why they should be discouraged when operating in
the 120-144V range (for the 120VAC units). By the way, I didn't mention
that I often attempt battricide and drop my Zilla low voltage setting to
70V! While I notice a slight dimming of headlights at night when I do
this on hard runs, the 12V system stays pretty darn strong!
Of course we are all looking for the perfect EV-purpose DC/DC, but until
then, I'm going with the IOTA's. In fact, I might just opt to use them
even if there was another alternative - 110 amps for around $300 is hard
to beat.
One more thing - I don't stock the IOTA's (at this point), but *highly*
recommend SolarSeller (http://www.solarseller.com/index.htm). Very
prompt e-mails, and a good prices.
-Ryan
--
- EV Source <http://www.evsource.com> -
Selling names like Zilla, PFC Chargers, WarP, and PowerCheq
All at the best prices available!
E-mail: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Toll-free: 1-877-215-6781
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
I've been looking all over trying to find 180amp 200vdc fuses for my E-10.
Voltage isn't so much the issue as amperage. Does anyone have any idea
where these can be had? I've seen everything from 100 up to 800 in 50 and
100 amp increments but have been unable to locate 180 amp fuses. Help!!
Jeff Wilson
USA(Ret)
Thou shalt not send me any thing which says unto thee, "send this to all
thou knowest." Neither shalt thou send me any spam, lest I smite thee.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Est. yearly US cost to safeguard Persian Gulf oil supply: $50 billion Est.
2001 value of US crude oil imports from Persian Gulf: $19 billion
-- Harper's Index, April 2002
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Victor Reppeto wrote:
> Yes I was suggesting 2 or 3 motors in series.
What about a single 11" or 13" motor?
http://www.evsource.com/tls_motors.php
> The cost of AC may be prohibitive.
Will a high power, relatively low cost inverter EVER be built? Or is
this item just fantasy and will it never be reality? Are there any
big, low cost off the shelf AC motors available that would work for EV
use? I've looked and haven't seen any(existing industrial type, air
cooled motors, currently in use).
> 30*12 in series will be too high for any single DC motor.
Get a Zilla and set the motor voltage to 170 volts. Then you can run
a 360 volt pack with your DC motor!
http://cafeelectric.com/products/zilla/index.html
Or send a ~$10,000 advance or so to Otmar and see if he is money
motivated to build a Zilla type inverter for our AC dreams... Maybe
he'll get bored this winter and build it... and a nice DC/DC... a
couple of other things too..
Would anyone here on this list, for some amount of money be willing to
build the most powerful inverter ever for EV use? Name your price and
what you could build with that money...
I was looking in the archives for this list and found a link and
looked and noticed the progress on this inverter has been recently
updated....
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/awmatt/
Interesting discussion Rudman had about that back in the day..
I got a free magazine subscription from finding and reading through
that discussion:
http://www.powerelectronics.com/
http://pm.pbsub.com/dnnsubform.asp *
*I put "Electric Vehicle Research and Development" where it asks for
"Company Name".
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Ryan Bohm wrote:
> Of course we are all looking for the perfect EV-purpose DC/DC, but until
> then, I'm going with the IOTA's. In fact, I might just opt to use them
> even if there was another alternative - 110 amps for around $300 is hard
> to beat.
I'm still curious why no one has used one of these yet? Check out the
"500 watt" model:
DC input voltage (90 to 370 VDC)
Output: 12 volts, 40 Amps or 15 volts, 32 Amps
$280
http://www.powerstream.com/DC-HV.htm
I'm going to mount it in the vehicle where it won't get wet or dirty.
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--- Begin Message ---
Harris, Lawrence wrote:
> Arggggh... Gets me thinking.
C'mon; thinking isn't that painful, is it? :-)
> How about an I/R receive at each battery and one I/R transmitter
> that broadcasts to the whole box and can send commands like 'send
> voltage' or whatever.
(I/R means IR as in "InfraRed"?)
I think it can be even easier. Each battery can have a little circuit
that transmits its data using an LED. It doesn't need to be IR; visible
will in fact make it easier to set up and get working. It doesn't need
to receive anything; it just sends what it knows (say, voltage and
temperature) about once per second, over and over.
The "about" is in fact a random time delay of 0.5 to 1.5 seconds. Each
message is very short, and only lasts perhaps 1% of the average
repetition rate.
So, you have a battery box full of these little "lightning bugs",
blinking away at random intervals independent of each other. If each
"data blink" only lasts 1% of the total time, and you have a couple
dozen of them, the odds are that your receiver can receive all of them
without any "collisions" where both happen to transmit at once.
But when a collision does occur, the bad data can be detected by a
parity, checksum, hamming code, crc error etc. The receiver just waits
for the next ones; since the repetition rates are random, they won't
land on each other the next time.
If you have some emergency alarm condition (say, overtemperature or
undervoltage), the "lightning bug" just lights its LED for a long burst.
The receiver doesn't know which battery has the problem, but it sees it
immediately and can react accordingly.
> If heat interferes with the I/R system then I suspect you could
> do the same thing with an ultraviolet LED or even just different
> colours.
IR LEDs are just *barely* out of the visible light spectrum. We can't
see them, but for all intents and purposes they behave exactly like
visible light. They don't respond to heat any more than normal LEDs.
--
"One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the
shore for a very long time." -- Andre Gide
--
Lee A. Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, leeahart_at_earthlink.net
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I thought I should throw in a couple of disclaimers to my last bold post.
1) Both my IOTA's are sealed from direct contact with the environment,
but still have adequate airflow over them. I recommend this to achieve
longevity
2) My claims are from my experience only. I hope they hold true for
everyone else as well (which I think they will).
-Ryan
--
- EV Source <http://www.evsource.com> -
Selling names like Zilla, PFC Chargers, WarP, and PowerCheq
All at the best prices available!
E-mail: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Toll-free: 1-877-215-6781
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
In fact a nuclear bomb would have been far kinder. Those start with
something like 100 lbs or less of material. The tons of material
basically formed a volcano of isotopes. It will take hundreds or
thousands of years for the area to be acceptable again depending upon
who you ask. 210,000 people were resettled from a 4300 sq kilometer
area. There are still a few people who live or work there. A lot of
the old guys wouldn't leave and a 70 yr old guy doesn't worry too much
about birth defects or cancer that may take 20 yrs to develop and kill you.
Three Mile Island involved the core overheating, partially melted and
irradiated its coolant. A critical difference is that US nuclear
reactors have a very thick, very well designed containment building
around the reactor. Chernobyl, you've got the reactor core, shielding,
and then it's just like a common factory building that can't "contain"
anything.
TMI involved the loss of radioactive coolant turned to steam, not the
core material directly. A very expensive cleanup effort of a huge
irradiated mess inside the containment building had to be done. It was
a partially molten mess, completely ruined, and while an imminent danger
it was properly cleaned up without contaminating the area. Nothing
compared to Chernobyl.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mile_Island
Danny
Ralph Merwin wrote:
Ryan Stotts writes:
The accident in Russia that one time was really just a steam boiler
explosion was it not? I'm still not clear on exactly what happened at
"3 mile island" way back when.
Ryan,
Chernobyl may have had "just a steam boiler explosion", but that caused
a second explosion that released about 8 tons of radioactive material
into the surrounding area. That area is now a dead zone.
Ralph
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Danny Miller wrote:
> It will take hundreds or
> thousands of years for the area to be acceptable again
Interesting link:
http://www.kiddofspeed.com/default.htm
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Reverend Gadget:
What's your take on 14" chop saws:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=44829
And metal cutting circular saws:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=8897
Opinions/tips/experiences?
I bought one of these "metal cutting" bandsaw's years ago on sale for
$160 and I cut everything with it and have never had any problems with
it:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=37151
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This may sound like an odd requet, but would anyone have a fairly clear
sound file of a motor controller whine?
You can just point me to a link as I know the list doesn't accept
attachments or you could send me the file directly to my e-mail address.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
regards,
Stefano
http://fest-ev-a.slandi.net
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--- Begin Message ---
Depending on your chip it may only be a matter of adding an appropriate
inductor and a Schottky diode and you've got a DC/DC converter. It's
not a really big deal.
Switching at much lower than 20KHz may create audible noise.
The current limit cannot really be used to do a soft startup unless an
inductor is used. Otherwise the pulse width will end up near zero and
it won't start.
Some of the higher power LEDs can make a good light source, but it may
not be legal street illumination. The type best designed for that would
be the Luxeon 3W-5W side emitter, rather than the batwing/lambertian
distribution. Side emitters are useless light sources on their own but
can be focused effectively with a reflector. A Luxeon or any power LED
emitter can be driven from 7V up to 300V with a special cheap DC/DC
converter chip that doesn't require too many external components. It's
very efficient and I've used them before.
HID lights are awesome. They are far more efficient than halogens or
LEDs. These use a xenon tube with no filament much like a camera flash
but designed to run continuously. A 35W tube and ballast creates far
more light than a 55W halogen. You can get those as automotive takeouts
from some high end catrs. They make some even smaller ones designed to
be run on batteries, there are several brands. The overall efficiency
is not as good, still far better than a halogen, and this size might be
more appropriate. They do make light similar to a 55W headlight. The
ballast is fairly small. They absolutely require DC power around 12v,
not PWM from 48V.
OK, looked it up. A single light is 13W and is supposed to be
equivalent to 38W of halogen power. $135.
http://www.trailtech.net/helmet_mounted_light_kits_1.htm
Danny
Lee Hart wrote:
Nick 'Sharkey' Moore wrote:
I'm considering a electric bike conversion at 48V...
headlight... 12V 55/60W halogen H4. Does anyone know if I can run
this at 48V if I switch it at say 20kHz, 0.25 duty cycle?
Sure, it will work just fine. There's no reason to run it at 20 KHz
either; it will just increase your switching losses. Even 120 Hz won't
produce a discernible flicker (same as if it were powered on AC).
I'd use one of the many switching regulator chips. Set it up so the duty
cycle automatically adjusts to keep the same RMS voltage on the lamp.
Note that you want the RMS voltage to be correct; not the average
voltage! As a bonus, use the chip's current limit feature to "soft
start" the lamp and it will last a lot longer.
--
"One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the
shore for a very long time." -- Andre Gide
--
Lee A. Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, leeahart_at_earthlink.net
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--- Begin Message ---
Must me nice my 10kW system gives me a net $150 bill in the summer and
$400 in the Winter!
Noel
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Lawrence Rhodes
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2005 9:43 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Electricity stored in batteries. The biggest dissapointment
of the modern world.
Hey my 2.4kw solar system gives me a net 10 dollar electric bill per
month.
LR.......NOT PRACTICAL?????
----- Original Message -----
From: "Neon John" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 11:51 PM
Subject: Re: Electricity stored in batteries. The biggest dissapointment
of the modern world.
> On Tue, 13 Sep 2005 23:15:40 -0400, "David"
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>
>>>Any new energy source MUST follow that route. The existing
>>>distribution infrastructure includes:
>>>
>>> Oil pipelines
>>> natural gas pipelines
>>> distillate pipelines
>>> The natural gas pipelines
>>> The electrical grid.
>>> and on a more-or-less local level, petroleum tankers.
>>>
>>
>>Oops! You forgot the most important one!
>>
>>The sun.
>
> No, I only listed things that are practical.
>
> John
> ---
> John De Armond
> See my website for my current email address http://www.johngsbbq.com
> Cleveland, Occupied TN
>
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--- Begin Message ---
Folks, PLEASE stick to discussing EVs. Nuclear power is a controversial
issue and off topic. It's not appropriate for this list and will only serve to
incite
flames.
Even though it was just a passing comment, NJ probably shouldn't have
brought it up in the first place. In any case the responses were definitely OT.
To other list members: Please DO NOT respond to this post and continue the
thread. If you have comments, email the poster privately.
Thanks for your cooperation.
David
EV List Assistant Administrator
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
On Wed, 14 Sep 2005 22:18:29 -0500, Danny Miller
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>In fact a nuclear bomb would have been far kinder.
Ah, no. The US government's best-guess death toll from Chernobyl is
in the low hundreds. Even a 10kt nuke, hardly even a trigger for a
thermo, would have killed tens of thousands instantly and more from
fallout.
>Those start with
>something like 100 lbs or less of material. The tons of material
>basically formed a volcano of isotopes. It will take hundreds or
>thousands of years for the area to be acceptable again depending upon
>who you ask.
Actually the area outside the plant boundary is habitable now, with
ambient levels down in the hundreds of millirem per year - lower than
the natural background in other parts of the world. There is a
website that doesn't take too much googling (I found it once, didn't
save the URL) that shows in real time the ambient radiation levels at
many environmental radiation monitors in the area.
In fact, there are several companies selling tours of the area
including a walk-thru of the undamaged control rooms at Chernobyl.
Remember that the other units returned to operation after a short
period. The Soviets could be kinda loose with exposure controls but
they had to at least wait until the ambient radiation was low enough
not to make anyone sick.
The very long-lived isotopes that gets laymen's bowels in an uproar
are exactly the ones that emit the least radiation. Specific activity
and half-life are the inverse of each other which implies that to have
a long half-life, the activity must be low. That's why uranium metal
is safe to handle (from a radiological standpoint, at least) even
though it is a pure radioactive material.
>210,000 people were resettled from a 4300 sq kilometer
>area. There are still a few people who live or work there. A lot of
>the old guys wouldn't leave and a 70 yr old guy doesn't worry too much
>about birth defects or cancer that may take 20 yrs to develop and kill you.
>
>Three Mile Island involved the core overheating, partially melted and
>irradiated its coolant. A critical difference is that US nuclear
>reactors have a very thick, very well designed containment building
>around the reactor. Chernobyl, you've got the reactor core, shielding,
>and then it's just like a common factory building that can't "contain"
>anything.
So much bad information out there. I spent 3.5 years at TMI helping
patch the place up and restarting Unit 1 and I was on a volunteer DOE
ready team that never quite got the go-ahead from the Soviets to go to
Chernobyl (though I did gain the benefit of some concentrated training
about the place) so I have a bit of first-hand info about both.
TMI did nothing outside the plant boundary precisely because it was
designed that way. Defense-in-depth which means that multiple
independent safety features were designed in. The reactor has a
negative temperature coefficient of reactivity which means it
inherently controls its power level. It is water moderated with a
nice negative void coefficient of reactivity which means that if the
water isn't present or is boiling, the reaction shuts down. There
were multiple layers of containment and cooling so that even though
the operators committed a veritable comedy of errors, the accident was
contained within the reactor vessel and containment.
Chernobyl, on the other hand, had everything wrong. A graphite
moderated reactor with a strong positive thermal coefficient of
reactivity which means that there was positive feedback designed in.
"We" (the western world) learned about that during WWII and designed
to eliminate it. Graphite is a solid which doesn't evaporate at high
temperature. There was not a hermetic containment, though there was a
vessel of sorts around the reactor. There was also a positive void
coefficient which caused the reactivity to momentarily go positive as
the shutdown rods were inserted.
The screwy test the operators were trying to run required that all
safety systems be disabled and that a severely depleted and xenon
poisoned core be forced to operate in abnormal conditions. When the
operator realized that he could not control the reactor under those
conditions, he hit the SCRAM button. The inserting rods displaced
water, causing a super-critical condition that peaked somewhere in the
many terawatt range.
This caused the massive steam explosion previously referred to but
that would not have been so bad by itself. The excursion froze the
shutdown rods in place only partially inserted. The positive
temperature and void coefficients guaranteed that the partial core not
only continued to react but that its power soared. This generated
enough heat to set the graphite on fire and to vaporize essentially
all the volatile fission products in the core. The core continued to
fission for days until some very brave and terminally irradiated
helicopter pilots managed to drop in enough boron to shut it down. The
graphite continued to burn for days, further vaporizing both
fissionable materials and fission products.
One simply could not fantasize a more severe accident. And yet, there
would have been few casualties outside the plant staff had the Soviets
done any amount of relocation in the first few days. (Shades of New
Orleans!)
>
>TMI involved the loss of radioactive coolant turned to steam, not the
>core material directly. A very expensive cleanup effort of a huge
>irradiated mess inside the containment building had to be done. It was
>a partially molten mess, completely ruined, and while an imminent danger
>it was properly cleaned up without contaminating the area. Nothing
>compared to Chernobyl.
>
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mile_Island
There is much better and more authoritative information out there than
that. The Kemeney Commission report, while flawed in many respects is
decent. The NRC's report is much better. We (GPU Nuclear) published
reams of data in the aftermath. Much is on the web.
John
---
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.johngsbbq.com
Cleveland, Occupied TN
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Ryan Stotts wrote:
And metal cutting circular saws:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=8897
Opinions/tips/experiences?
FWIW i used a metal cutting blade on both a chop saw and a table saw a
while back. Mostly used to cut light gauge tinned steel (tin ceiling
tiles actually) at about 26 gauge, also used it on both 24 and 20 gauge
steel studs. The thing cut like a champ in these light metals though it
makes a godawful racket and you really need to lubricate the blade.
makes a pretty wide kerf, but the edges were fairly clean -- a quick hit
with a file and it was good to go. Also used it on 1/8" aluminum angle
and 1/8" steel. worked alright, though the aluminun tended to get
alittle chewed up.
straight line only...
A
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Jim Husted wrote:
>A lot of forklifts use smaller dual drive motors, which have replaced
the older >larger single motor types. The latest models are now using
medium sized single >drives
Hmm... That makes me wonder.
When was the last time a brand new 15" motor was ever built? What's
just a guess at how many of those were ever built in total?
When was the last time a brand new 13" or 11" motor was built, or are
they still being produced?
Are brand new 9" and 8" motors still being made, or are we using
discontinued products these days with a limited number of them
floating around(how many might be out there)? Can you build motors
from "raw materials" or order all the parts to build a motor from
starting just with brand new parts? Could you build a motor for less
then it would cost to buy one completed online?
Specifically, what types and sizes of motors are in the various brands
2005 and 2006 model lifts? What's 2007-8 look like for the lift
industry if you have that type of info?
Seen any or many AC forks? Think they will catch on?
--- End Message ---
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Hey John,
Just a note that I'm involved with a company that put 57,000 Solar
panels (10 MW) in Bavaria, Germany. If you want to pick the most
overcast area in Europe it's Bavaria.
Solar will work in overcast conditions, just not as well. The key is
living in a State that has a rebate program. I live in CA and our
system cost $68,000 but ended up costing us $28,000. Before you say
Holy Crumble, that is for a 10kW system which is four times the size of
the average installation of 2.5kW.
Word is that there is a nanotech breakthrough in the works that will
reduce prices while using much less Silicon in the process.
Let's cross our fingers.
Noel
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Neon John
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2005 11:02 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Electricity stored in batteries. The biggest dissapointment
of the modern world.
On Wed, 14 Sep 2005 09:42:45 -0700, "Lawrence Rhodes"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Hey my 2.4kw solar system gives me a net 10 dollar electric bill per
month.
>LR.......NOT PRACTICAL?????
You paid how much for that setup and the payback time is how much? Not
including the sugar from Uncle, of course.
When you do your cost calcs, please include the cost of battery
replacement and the occasional repair of the inverter from lightning or
just plain random failure.
And what do you do if you live in a place like here where the sun
doesn't shine for weeks at a time? That is most of the time from about
the end of October to March in this area.
Nope, not practical.
John
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Neon John" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: <[email protected]>
>Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 11:51 PM
>Subject: Re: Electricity stored in batteries. The biggest
>dissapointment of the modern world.
>
>
>> On Tue, 13 Sep 2005 23:15:40 -0400, "David"
>> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>>Any new energy source MUST follow that route. The existing
>>>>distribution infrastructure includes:
>>>>
>>>> Oil pipelines
>>>> natural gas pipelines
>>>> distillate pipelines
>>>> The natural gas pipelines
>>>> The electrical grid.
>>>> and on a more-or-less local level, petroleum tankers.
>>>>
>>>
>>>Oops! You forgot the most important one!
>>>
>>>The sun.
>>
>> No, I only listed things that are practical.
>>
>> John
>> ---
>> John De Armond
>> See my website for my current email address http://www.johngsbbq.com
>> Cleveland, Occupied TN
>>
>
---
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.johngsbbq.com
Cleveland, Occupied TN
--- End Message ---
