Re: newbie with questions

["David M. Stensland" <stensland@peakpeak.com>]

Welcome aboard, Gary!

#1... What state do you live in?  That could make a big difference on your
EV's final price tag.  For example, Illinois has a program in place that
rebates an EV owner with up to $4,000.  That's what I received when I lived
there, and it effectively halfed the price of my EV.  That way you can use
proven drop-in components and still enjoy your EV.

#2... I agree with your price/demand statement.  Besides building your own
motors and controls, it may be better on your first conversion to find used
motors and controllers.  I know you can find them if you shop around.  There
are several EV parts dealers that are clearing up their inventories at
reduced prices right now, so you've picked a good time to get into EVs if
you want to save some money.  I saved several hundred dollars on my
conversion that way.

Winding your own motor and building your own controller might be fun, and
you might be really good at it.  However, I think it would be better to get
your first EV going with a known-good motor/controller combination, then you
can try your stuff and see how it works in comparison.  There are companies
that put lots of time, money, and tons of effort into building the motors
and controllers like they do.  You'll have enough to do just getting your
conversion done.  Having access to a machine shop gives you an advantage
over many EVers.  You might be better off spending your time there forming
custom lightweight motor to transmission adapters, strong & attractive
battery boxes, and custom mounts that are nicely-built for the factory EV
components that you can put in your EV.

As I said before, with your experience I'm sure you can devise an excellent
control system for your EV but if you can afford it I think you should maybe
use existing components to get your EV rolling, then you can use it as a
test bed for your new ideas.

Having said that, there are several people out there who have built their
own controllers.  Anyone else have some links to them?

-Dave Stensland
Mead, Colorado


----- Original Message -----
From: Gary Van Ravenswaay <glvanrav@yahoo.com>
To: <ev@listproc.sjsu.edu>
Sent: Monday, January 29, 2001 12:38 AM
Subject: newbie with questions


> Just a couple of questions from a new kid on the
> block. What are the relative advantages/disadvantages
> of ac vs. dc motors and controls in evs. I'm hoping to
> build an ev that will drop some jaws around town but
> I'm really disappointed at the cost of some of the
> high performance systems I've seen. If this ev thing
> is going to take off we've got to make machinery that
> people will want to drive at a price they (I) can
> afford. Any advice/info on making your own motor/drive
> system? I've got access to a machine shop and some
> experience with machines. I've also got 20yrs+
> electrical experience in industrial
> electrical/controls. Thanks in advance for the info.
>
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