July 30, 2008 by Rob.

Wow…quick response from the AustinEV team!  Thanks.

From Brian:

It’s Cupric Sulfate.  It’s formed by the reaction of Sulfuric Acid (in the air, bubbling off from the battery) with the exposed copper of the battery wire lugs. On the plus side… It’s no longer reactive after forming Cupric Sulfate, so it will not hurt anything.  And another positive, is that it’s the copper lugs that are corroding… and they can be replaced
much easier than the lead battery terminals.  

I do not think it’s a big problem.  If you were really concerned, you could re-tin the copper lugs, or put some waterproof paint over the lugs and terminals.  Waterproof paint would make it much more annoying
to change / remove your wiring at a later date though.   :-/

From Mike:

Try coating the exposed surfaces with vaseline.  It will keep the air and
moisture off and greatly reduce corrosion.  There are several brands of
spray on corrosion preventative, but from past experience vaseline works
just as well, cleanup is pretty easy, and it is cheap.

From Roy:

I get that a lot too, it does not effect conductivity for me.
I usually brusk off the powder with a stiff nylon brush and vacume it up.

Posted in Safety, Daily Use, Improvements, Electric Vehicles, AustinEV | 1 Comment »

July 29, 2008 by Rob.

I was watering the RAVolt’s batteries this weekend (as usual, 1 basterfull per cell) when I noticed that one of the battery terminals is corroded.  The powered is bluish and there is no acid splash around the terminal.  I’m not sure what to do yet, just reporting the problem.  I’ll ask AustinEV for help.

Corroded:

Clean:

Posted in Safety, Batteries, Daily Use, Parts, Pictures, AustinEV | 1 Comment »

July 29, 2008 by Rob.

John De Armond (Neon John) on the EVDL posted an interesting response to someone’s claim that EV’s are reaching a “tipping point.”  Even though I did it, I agree that it does not make economic sense to convert a car to get a 20 range.  I never expect to break even on my costs - my payback is ego and education.

Here is what he said:

I’ve been answering slightly more queries about my hotrod scooter of late. The usual questions.  How much?  How far?  How fast?  Many times we’ll talk about electric cars but when we start to discuss costs, the interest wanes. Most folks, I think, are smart enough to realize that they won’t live long enough for an EV conversion to pay for itself in fuel savings.

We’re in that “nether land” right now.  People with commutes that current reasonably priced EVs can handle don’t use enough fuel to justify the cost. People who DO drive long distances can’t be served by pure EVs. Yet.

Meanwhile, the price of petroleum will drop to something reasonable again, probably by the end of this coming winter.  Fuel Subsidies Overseas Take a Toll on U.S.” from the NYT explains one of the many reasons why.  That is, when 3rd world governments run out of money they’re spending to subsidize the price of fuel.

The BP energy report mentioned in the article is here.

Posted in EVDL, ICE Cars, Commentary | 1 Comment »

July 23, 2008 by Rob.

The National EV Auto Association’s CurrentEVents for July 2008 (not online yet) is bursting with news about potential EVs from major and minor auto manufacturers.  Here are a sample of the headlines (sorry, no time for links):

• Toyota Dealers not waiting on Toyota for Plug-ins - they are signing up with Hymotion to do conversions
• GM talks to buy Battery Maker Cobasys
• Miles moving ahead with Full Function EV (editor’s note: reportedly using EESTOR caps)
• Th!nk to Produce, Sell Small Electric Cars in US
• Volvo’s Recharge - a series hybrid like the Volt, but with wheel motors
• Gumpert Apollo Geneva (hybrid supercar below)
• Caterpillar creates a AC electric hybrid tractor drive
• VW & SAnyo form a partnership for Li batteries
• Tesla test drive report
• Myers Motors launches Li option (editor’s note: the single person NMG)
• Mitsubishi to provide EVs to Japanese Post Office
• Mitsubishi may introduce plug-in hybrid

(source Carblog)

Posted in ICE Cars, Electric Vehicles, EV News, EV Tech | 1 Comment »

July 23, 2008 by Rob.

This was reposted from IHT by the Crude Awakening group.

In reversal, Ford veers from SUV’s  (Bill Vlasic, July 22, 2008)

DEARBORN, Michigan: Ford Motor, which devoted itself for nearly 20 years to putting millions of Americans into big pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles, is about to drastically alter its focus to building more small cars.

The struggling automaker, reacting to what it sees as a rapid and permanent shift in consumer tastes brought on by high gas prices, plans to unveil its new direction on Thursday, when it will report quarterly earnings.

Among the changes, Ford is expected to announce that it will convert three of its North American assembly plants from trucks to cars, according to people familiar with the plans.

Posted in ICE Cars, EV News | 1 Comment »

July 23, 2008 by Rob.

I drove 20 miles yesterday!  That was awesome until I went to recharge at 9 PM and the pack was still too hot.  I went back inside and enjoyed Batman Begins (can’t see #2 without seeing #1) until the wee hours.  Distracted by considering Gordan’s hero/villain escalation fear and ear worming Dr. Horrible songs, I forgot to plug in.

I remembered at 5:30 AM, but even at 220 VAC there was not enough time for the charger to get out of the “deep charge” cycle (EV geeks see note) at my regularly scheduled departure.  I will repeat my frequent wish that my charger could monitor the temperature and wait instead of giving up.  In my fantasy EV, the charger integrates with the utility grid and monitor both the batteries AND my $ rate.

(image source: Power Supplies Online)

Note:  Battery chargers have 3 charge phases.  1) rapid charge where the max current is delivered and 80% of the capacity reached, 2) topping charge to get the last 20% of the charger, and 3) trickle charge that maintains the voltage over time.  My charger is 3-4 hours for phase 1 if I’m fully depleted.

Posted in Daily Use, Storyline | 1 Comment »

July 20, 2008 by Rob.

The Plugs and Cars blog posted this “funny” video so I wanted to pass it along.

[embedded object removed…follow the link]

Posted in ICE Cars, Blogroll | 3 Comments »

July 19, 2008 by Rob.

I was invited to attend a Peak Oil meet-up and learned a lot and also left with a lot to think about.  Not about Peak Oil, but about sustainability and social change.  From today, it would appear that “Peak Oil” seems to envision a catastrophic societal change driven by limited oil supplies.  I’m 100% in agreement that we need to radically alter our demand for oil (and energy in general), but I think that macro-economics will drive a paradigm shift that is not Mad Max redux.  More on that on TribalGrid.

An amazing view to sustain the soul.

As the token EVer, I got to show off the RAVolt.  This group had great questions: more about why than how. One point I’ve been making is that EV conversions are not the wholesale solution to our gas problem.  Cars (especially SUVs) have a place and will be around for a long time, but our usage needs to shift to carpools, small electric vehicles, bikes, and walking.  In some cases this will require radical changes to the status quo.

Oil is an amazing fuel.  We’re lucky to have lived during a time when it was basically free.

Posted in EVents, Rants | 1 Comment »

July 19, 2008 by Rob.

Lester Germanio of the Food Water Shelter project in Westlake saw my write up in the Picayune and invited the RAVolt and I to the Austin Crude Awakening 7/19 Meet Up.

I’ve heard about his project and am excited to get a tour.  I’ll take pictures and post them to my TribalGrid blog.  Now that I’m caught up here, I can go back to the BIG issues I’m thinking out over there on sustainability and social change.

Posted in Green Tech, Storyline | 1 Comment »

July 19, 2008 by Rob.

It was nice to get a follow-up from the Picayune about the RAVolt and even nicer to see positive and accurate reporting!  Thanks Will Pafford and the Picayune!  Now, please get online so I don’t have to scan your copy anymore - hey, I did include your ads too.

Posted in RAV4, Pictures, Storyline | 1 Comment »