EVs – Limited Working Power

First I saw this little .gif sitting out by itself:

It wasn’t a surprize that Canada supplies our fuel. It was surprizing to see our usage about 4 times higher than the next hog. But I went on to electric vehicles and almost got in the car to look one nearly within bicycling range:

…but later, after a quick note asking for more information, found the makers of the Kurrent went out of business in April 08′. There were 47 produced and 4 left unsold, or so more thorough investigators reported. The website (http://www.getkurrent.com/home.html) even shows the “safety frames” , shipped from a still operating plant in Italy, lined up for production which was supposedly going ahead in 2007 at one vehicle per day.

Looking at conversions, the Fiero is my pick, there is a wealth of DIY information available:

http://www.evhelp.com

http://www.motherearthnews.com

http://www.beepscom.com/Electric_Vehicle_Automotorive_Conversion_Component_Kit

The entry price is high, the range is low along with energy costs. Obviously, the technology has been around the block and is pretty user friendly. I drove an electric Ford Ranger and it was turn key perfect. The tightening of our belts and lowering of usage scares me a bit. I recently witnessed a conversation that involved energy efficiency of pleasure watercraft and possibilities of piracy ala Mad Max for fuel to go places.

Vegetarian Fuel for the Real Power Pack

Northern Michigan calls and says “do me by bike, again”. Logistics rule and food choices are limited for me. I’ve cut saturated fats and cholesterol = vegetarian, and that makes planning more important. The two egg yolks suggested are the first thing I’d cut – that’s not a significant problem. A target of 70 grams of protein is closer to my own scheme but suffering is to be avoided by this old guy and protein intake was the first of the hurdles.

Bicycle magazine to the rescue – suggestions anyway. (Read the entire article http://www.bicycling.co.za/articles/handbook/the_fuel/3068) but I just need to rescan the meaty part:

Here are four ways to trim the meat and still hammer the local rides:

1. Eat more frequently. Because the fibre in a vegetarian diet makes you feel fuller faster, you might not eat enough to meet your energy needs. Instead of three meals per day, try five or six smaller feedings.

2. Choose whole grains. Without meat, vegetarians sometimes don’t eat enough iron and zinc. Fill those voids with dark-brown, whole-grain cereals, breads and pastas. Read not only the package label but also the list of ingredients.”The more whole food in that list, the more actual fibre you’ll get (wheat is better than wheat flour.
3. Go faux. Today’s soy burgers, ground beef and sausages are much tastier. Incorporate them into your diet and you won’t miss the taste of meat.
4. Boost protein. To repair the small tears in your muscle fibres from hard rides and workouts, you need to make sure you get enough protein (easy to do when you’e eating meat). Check out the list below for a high-protein, vegetarian day of meals.

A DAY IN THE DIET OF A MEATLESS CYCLIST

To get your daily protein quota of 100g – the same amount found in a 400g rump steak – eat the following foods throughout the day.

3-egg omelette (2 whole eggs and 1 egg white) PROTEIN: 20g

2 cups beans and rice (1 cup each) PROTEIN: 20g

2 cups skim milk (or soy milk) PROTEIN: 16g

1 vegetarian burger PROTEIN: 13g

2 cups cooked pasta PROTEIN: 13g

1 slice wholewheat bread, 2 tbsp peanut butter PROTEIN: 10g

1 cup fruit yoghurt PROTEIN: 8g

Power of the People

Search results got me on a starter ebike but looking for a conversion kit for my recumbent and learning the details hasn’t been that efficient. Oh, I’ve got a ton of Bookmarks which follow and now include the forums that were the focus of my latest readings and gave the most valued tip for the bookstore equivelent reading material:

http://www.ebikehub.com/forum/

This is an incredibly information rich source starting with “Electric Bikes for Dummies” which covers Batteries- The basics. through Electric Bikes and Wet Weather.

Here’s my current set of bookmarks on the subject of ebikes:

ebike

Forums | V is for Voltage Community

Electric Bikes – Bike Forums

Some of us could use a little “assistance”. Here’s a place to discuss ebikes, from home grown to high-tech.

Endless-sphere.com • Index page

EV DownLoad Library | V is for Voltage Community

Are these hub kits any good? $285 shipped brushless – Page 6 – Bike Forums

Page 6-Are these hub kits any good? $285 shipped brushless Electric Bikes

Pedelec Forums – Electric Bike Forum – Powered by vBulletin

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk – Discussion forum for electric bike enthusiasts

Drive Through Gears on E-bikes – Pedelec Forums – Electric Bike Forum

This is the first in a series of technical articles covering some of e-bikes complexities in quite full detail so that all aspects of the subject can

Motor-ize your Bicycle with our Bike Engines Kit. Engine Kits include gasoline motors and mounting hardware. Bicycle not included.

Use our gasoline Bicycle Engine Conversion Kit to make any standard pedal bicycle into a real motor bike.

Eric Peltzer’s Electric Bicycle

Electric Bikes | Folding Bicycles | Electric motor kits | kick Scooters

New York City dealer of electric bikes, folding bicycles, electric scooters and adult kick scooters. We also carry electric powered trikes and bike electric motor conversion kits.

Wilderness Energy

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Inexpensive DIY E Bike Kit

E Bike KIT for DIY Project

We R Electrified- Electric Bicycles and Electric Bike Conversion Kits

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Lithium iron phosphate, LiFePO4, Lithium ion batteries, LiMn, scooter batteries, e-bike batteries

Electric transport starts with electric scooters, electric mopeds and electric bicycles. E-bike hub motor conversion kits, Lithium batteries.

Matt Shumaker electric recumbent bicycle

Electric Bicycle Motor Kits from Cyclone-USA

Ampedbikes e-bike kits

EcoSpeed, Worlds Best Electric Assist

Ecospeed manufacturers and sells electric recumbent bicycles and kits to allow customers to build their own hybrid pedal-electric recumbent bicycles

Electric bike, wind generator, and solar tracking skylight order page.

electric bike, wind generator, and solar tracking skylight order information…including refund policy.

Phantom E-bike hub motors, folding e-bikes, electric trikes, lithium

Electric transport starts with electric scooters, electric mopeds and electric bicycles. E-bike hub motor conversion kits, Lithium batteries.

BRUSHLESS GEARED HUB MOTOR – EV TECH, INC.

BRUSHLESS GEARED HUB MOTOR – REAR, 135mm, WITH 7 SPEED FREEWHEEL POWERFUL BRUSHLESS PLANETARY GEAR HUB MOTOR 900W (W/25A CONTROLLER)MOTOR WITH TORQUE RIVALING 1000W MOTORS 25A CONTROLLER HALL EFFECT THROTTLE W/POWER ON…

ATIV Solutions LLC: Crystalyte Conversion Kit

Starting at $695 – Powerful 500W 36V Li-Ion/NiMH electric bicycle conversion kit by ATIV Solutions LLC.

BIKEsutra.com: Electric and Motorized Bicycles Links

Electric Bike, Folding Bike, Electric Recumbent, Folding Bicycle, Electric Bicycle, Electric Adult Trike, Electric Folding Bike, Electric Cruiser, Electric Bike Canada

Electric Bikes and Bicycles, Folding Bikes and Bicycles – buy and rent high quality electric bikes, folding bicycles, the finest city bikes right in Downtown Vancouver. Test pedelecs, power on demand bikes, Dutch bikes, German Biria bikes, retrofitted bicycles in our store in Vancouver Canada. The ultimate source for high quality electric bicycles (TidalForce, BionX, Prima, Crystalyte, Wilderness Energy) in Vancouver, and Canada in general. The only electric bike rentals in Vancouver Canada. An excellent selection of folding bikes including Birdy, Dahon, Giatex, Brompton. JV Bike is the only Birdy dealer in Canada, and the only Birdy dealer offering an electric conversion with BionX conversion kit. Attractive Cruisers and Choppers from Torker, Sekine – Norco. Easy Boarding bikes by Biria. Standard and electric recumbent bikes. Electric folding bikes. Custom built electric conversions. Custom built cruisers and choppers.

FAQ – The Slipstream Electric Bicycle

This not an electric assist vehicle, but a full fledged electric bicycle with amazing speed and power!

Method for making 3D shapes (used to make a bike fairing): Tape and Glue on the sides – Instructables – DIY, How To, ride

You will find that gluing the elongated sections is much more annoying than gluing the smaller segments because they are larger and hence more unwi…

Izip – Ezip – Currie – Schwinn – Mongoose Electric Bicycles

Offers Wide variety of Electric Bikes By Currie: E Ride, Currie E Folder, E Ride MTB, Currie Cruiser, Merida & Freedom. Also offers Currie, GT, Mongoose, & Schwinn Electric Scooters.

My first ebike -Schwinn Foldable AL1020

My first ebike -Schwinn Foldable AL1020 – Posted in the Electric Bikes forum.

ELECTRIC BICYCLE FORUM • Index page

ebikes.ca Hub Motor Simulator

Ebikes.ca store

Energy Conversions

Saved tables and charts and resources for energy conversions,

See http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/weigt-wood-d_821.html for everything you’d want to know, from wood to electric motor wiring specifications.

In a laboratory it is possible to get the heat value 8,660 Btu/lb from wood fuel. This “high heat value” is obtained only with perfectly dry wood with 0% moisture content and only in an atmosphere of pure oxygen. For laboratory use this is a useful number handy for theoretical problem analysis. But for the practical world, it is unrealistic.

When wood is alive and fresh it consists primarily of water, i.e. most of its weight is actually water. After being cut to length and stacked for a year or two, the average moisture content generally drops to approximately 20%.

The water must be evaporated and temperature raised to the flue gas temperature.

Condition of Wood	Approximate Combustion Value
	btu/lb	kJ/kg	kcal/kg
Wet	4,000	9,300	2,220
Dry	7,000	16,300	3,890

• 6.3 lbs dry wood = 1 Boiler Horse Power
• 11.6 lbs wet wood = 1 Boiler Horse Power

Moisture Content and Usable Energy
Moisture Content %	Energy by Volume Unit %	Energy per Weight Unit %
0 (oven dry)	100	100
20 (air-dry)	97	81
50 (green)	92	62
100 (wet)	85	42

Energy Source	Unit	Energy Content (BTU)
Electricity	1 Kilowatt-hour	3,412
Coal	1 Short Ton	20,681,000
Crude Oil	1 Barrel – 42 gallons	5,800,000
Diesel Fuel	1 Gallon	139,000
Gasoline	1 Gallon	124,000
Natural Gas	1 Cubic Foot	1,026
Heating Oil	1 Gallon	139,000
Propane	1 Gallon	91,000
Residual Fuel Oil 1)	1 Barrel – 42 gallons	6,287,000

BugE Electric Dream Machine

This looks better than anything I imagined.

BugE™ Owners Manual

Check here for many other resources along these lines:

http://visforvoltage.org/topics/manual

Efficiency Comparison
Energy Use BugE range
Brew a pot of coffee 3 miles
Run a 1200 BTU Air Conditioner for one hour 4 miles
Run a 1250 Watt Wall Heater for one hour 7 miles
Wash a load of dishes in a dishwasher 25 miles
Wash a load of clothes in a Washing Machine 34 miles
Run a Refrigerator for a day 42 miles
Drive an Electric Car for 100 miles* 534 miles
Drive a Gasoline Car for 100 miles* 862 miles
The typical stop and go BugE energy use within cities is about 170 watt-hours
per mile (580 BTU per mile). The national average residential price of electricity
is about 6 cents per kilowatt-hour. This means the cost of electricity to run a
BugE is about 1 cent per mile.
Sources: Eugene Water & Electric Board
*Mills McCarthy & Associates

Light Electric Transportation

I’ve been searching for the parts or a system to give a boost to my bike. Avoiding the noise and mess of gasoline, electric motors and batteries were more complicated than I thought and a whole lot less available than you’d think. Oh, there are plenty of websites that will sell a hub motor kit and lead acid battery packs but the end result, not so good. I didn’t get a response back from 4 of the 5 sites I 60messaged and the message from the responder was that they didn’t have the size I was seeking. Licensed or listed distributors in my area were an interesting visit. They had either very klunky, older versions of the heavy (over 60lbs) I-Zip that wasn’t available online nor instock at my local Walmart but listed with a picture at $300 or had given up trying to deal with the complex mechicanical and electrical system and focused on the more lucrative gasoline machine trade.

There was this dream to reality saga – obviously a man with considerable skill, knowledge, and resources, who set an entirely new tone for creatively addressing the conversion process.

Most interesting and lingering discovery so far was this review of the reasons why we don’t have our electric cars.

The bottom line for all of this is clearly off the center of the references here. Batteries are a really poor energy storage container. You can get some idea of energy densities from this Wikipedia table.

Take a hike or bike

I like to bike. It works – me and the energy thing, lots of ways. Bought an electric bike to go along with my recumbent.

I’m thinking both would benefit from some simple customization. You’ll see it happen before your eyes!