| Owner | Thomas Brennan |
|---|---|
| Location | Seaford, Delaware United States map |
| | |
| Vehicle | 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle |
| Motor | D&D Motor Systems, Inc. ES-31C 72-144 VDC 18hp Double Shaft Series Wound DC Installing the double shaft for the option of adding a pulley as a power take off (PTO) for alternator or A/C or Ultracapacitor charger. Tach sensor will be from the tail shaft. |
| Drivetrain | Standard VW Drivetrain |
| Controller | Kelly KDH14651B I upgraded the controller which can now handle up to 180VDC at 650 Amps max. I wish the motor could handle 180VDC. |
| Batteries | 12 Autocraft Marine/RV Deep Cycle, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded |
| System Voltage | 144 Volts |
| Charger | Russco 144 Volt Russco SC 30-120 |
| Heater | Warm Coat, Gloves and a 1500 watt ceramic heater powered by the Honda generator. |
| DC/DC Converter | Iota Iota DC-DC converter @ 55 Amps. 8 lbs vs the 50 lb deep cycle *No brainer* I may have to run a small battery in parallel with the Iota as the headlights are a little dim. |
| Instrumentation | Speedometer, PakTrakr, Voltmeter for Ultracapacitors, and Tachometer from SenDEC Corporation, see: WebPage |
| Top Speed | 70 MPH (112 KPH) Will not require anything over 60 mph, in fact, I don't intend driving the car over 55 mph. |
| Acceleration | 60 -1500 Farad (162VDC) Maxwell Ultracapacitors I will be using for acceleration and hill climbing. The Ultracapacitors should take the car from 0 to 40 mph to relieve the batteries from accelerations. First tests got 23 mph with 129 volts (48 Ucaps) |
| Range | 20 Miles (32 Kilometers) 20 mile range right now with the Marine/RV batts. Ranbge will be depend on what UCaps do to battery use. If I can recharge the Ultracapacitors after each acceleration, I should be able to get the 70 mile range once I get the Lithiums. I have installed a Honda EU2000i generator for recharging the UCaps, 12V accessory battery, and a small heater. |
| Watt Hours/Mile | Will get data as soon as car is on the road |
| Seating Capacity | 2 adults - Back seat holds batteries |
| Curb Weight | 2,500 Pounds (1,136 Kilograms) 2500 lbs. with driver and 600 lbs of lead |
| Tires | Michelin Energy MVX4 Plus - Low Rolling Resistance 195/65 -- Will probably change over to 155/80s |
| Conversion Time | Purchased VW on eBay May 1, 2008 Car became roadworthy September 15, 2008 5/1/09 -Will have actual hours for conversion soon. |
| Conversion Cost | Restoration went a bit over budget but they did a fantastic job. This is one cool conversion. |
| Additional Features | Conversion work done by Whitney's Auto Repair Seaford, DE EV components from Cloud EV WebPage Maxwell 1500 Farad (44 = 119 VDC) Ultracapacitors from The Tecate Group WebPage VW restoration (upholstery, lights, wheel rims, seals) parts from California JBugs WebPage VW fenders and running boards from So Cal Imports www.socalautoparts.com Restoration and painting by KLP Customs, Inc - Seaford, DE Webpage for my Lithiums Ordered 48 100Ah LiFePO4 China Hi Power with BMS and 3000 watt charger WebPage |
| 9/15/2008 Stage 1 is complete and the car was on the road and made it to 50mph with no problems. The only thing left is to install the Ultracapacitors and on board generator. 11/18/2008 - Finally got it inspected and tagged so I am now Street Legal. 1/01/2009 - Happy New Year! Rewired the batt pack and added upgraded controller. Should be back on the road by Jan 10, 2009. 1/09.2009 - Back on the road! With the new Kelly Controller I was able to achieve decent acceleration and 50 mph with a little pedal left. The motor and batts only have about 40 miles so I anticipate better once everything is broken in. Once I can afford a Honda EU2000i generator (can run on gasoline, CNG, or propane) I will install the Ultracapacitors which will help with acceleration and hill climbing. The generator will be used to recharge the Ultracaps, keep the 12V accessory battery charged, and provide some AC power for heating. 1/26/2009 Another test drive with the new controller. Very good acceleration and smooth ride at 40 mph. I will be doing a number of short rides to break in the motor and batteries and then do a test to 80% DOD to see what range I can expect. I will be reprogramming the controller soon to see if changing any of the parameters makes any difference. 2/1/2009 Another short run and got it up to 60 mph on a flat surface with a headwind and a little pedal left. Front end is a bit light and I could feel a little instability so I will add those two extra batteries up front to help with the balance and get 144 volts as a bonus. 3/14/2009 The car is in the shop for a paint job and some restoration. While doing the paint and resto, they will try to find metal that can be eliminated to try to reduce the weight. When it is finished I will install the Honda EU2000i generator and Ultracapacitors and bring the car up to 144 Volts. I hope to have it back on the road before the end of April. Film at 11:00 :-) 4/3/2009 Restoration is proceeding smoothly. The Honda generator has been disassembled and we are now in the process of finding spaces to fit all of the parts. The generator will be placed in the engine compartment to the right of the electric motor. All of the outlets will probably be routed into the passenger cabin for easy access. Still looking to be back on the road by the end of April. 4/18/2009 Waiting for parts is a killer! New fenders, aprons, and running boards finally arrived and the painting should be finished by the end of April. We found a home for the generator right where I wanted it to fit. The outlets and controls will be in the cabin for easy access to 120 VAC. I will probably need at least another week to put the batteries and control circuitry back together so should be back on the road by mid May. Saved some weight by losing the bumpers as Delaware DMV does not require bumpers for inspection. I am hoping to find someone local who can make up some polypropylene battery boxes. 4/30/2009 Painting and resto almost done. Am now trying to decide if I want Vanity Tags on the car. My alternatives thus far VLTSWGN -- it has been done to death! AMPSPPR -- would the non EVs ever figure it out? ACIDTRP -- would probably get me arrested or HAULNPB HLNLEAD HIVOLTG HIVOLTS ELECTRC GASFREE NOGAS 5/16/2009 Painting will be finished by May 22 and back to the shop to put it all back together. 6/14/2009 A bit of delay but the electrical components, batteries and the Ultracapacitors will be installed beginning 6/15/2009 which should put the car back on the road soon. 8/4/2009 Redesigned placement of batteries and other components and beginning to install all compo ents. Hoping for a debut by the end of August. 10/08/2009 Back on the road. The only thing left to do is install the Ultracapacitors. I hope to have an update shortly. 01/03/2010 The Ultracapacitors and generator are installed and testing of the entire system will begin on 01/06/2010. I was able to get it up to 45mph in 2nd gear and then an easy 55mph in 3rd gear. I will begin to optimize the driving once the tach is installed. Although I don't intend doing more than 55mph, I hesitate to use 4th gear until I know what RPMs I am dealing with. 01/15/2010 I will install the tachometer today and make preparations to fire up the Ultracapacitors and do some initial testing within the next few days. 01/26/2010 Making some safety changes to the Ultracapacitor pack and will begin testing next week. The tachometer was a perfect choice. Now I don't have to worry about RPMs which makes driving the car a lot less stressful. I am geting an easy 20 miles with lousy batteries. The motor and batteries are still not broken in so even with lousy batteries my range should be increasing. 02/07/2010 We were snowbound (24") and without power or heat for 44 hours The onboard 2000 watt Honda generator supplied power for the refrigerator and two 250 watt heat lamps OR one 1500 watt ceramic heater. Some of the batteries were called into play to run a heat lamp or the computer or a 60 watt light bulb and an electric blanket. Having a PHEV has even more appeal after getting through the Blizzard of 2010. But .... this was one of the reasons I designed and built this car. I had always planned that it could be used in an emergency and it performed flawlessly. We were cozy, had lighting, heat and even got to do some *couch potato* videos that I had previously downloaded from iTunes. I learned a lot from this experience and have already begun planning how the car and its available power will be used in the next emergency. And guess what????? The wife no longer whines about my *Toy* 02/27/2010 The snow is almost gone and I will be able to get the car out of my garage. The Ultracapacitors are ready to go. I will be charging them and testing my discharge circuit and hope to be under Ucap power during the first week of March. | |
1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle
“My PHEV Beat the Blizzard of 2010”
Last Updated 08-09-2010
Copyright © 1997-2024 by Mike Chancey