> Just because you *can* get a 400 mile range doesn't mean you should. > For one thing, doubling the range doubles the cost of your batteries. > It also lowers efficiency, since you'll be carrying around twice the battery weight. > ... But I do like the idea of a re-sizable pack.
Yes, good idea to scale the battery to the individuals need. > It also facilitates swapable battery packs.... Which, although completely impractical, does have some niche uses, such as EV endurance races.... See our GaTech cross country attempt in the 1970 MIT/CalTech Clean Air Car Race... The photo at the top right of the 5th page (labeled p 17) shows it takes two people to swap each of the ten lead-acids along the road. The car was still going when it reached the Mississippi, but the 2 ton truck carrying all the battery packs and recharging equipment broke down... http://aprs.org/EV-at-tech.html I just found this old article and would like to get in touch with anyone else on the crew that made the trip. I graduated immediately into the Navy and missed the actual race. Other than this 1970 anecdote, the idea of battery swap makes about as much sense as traveling cross country by boat using a trailer from each river to the next. Use EV's where they do best (travel within range) and stop trying to stuff them into every application there is. Bob Bruninga, PE _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
