OwnerMartin Ridge
LocationBastrop, Texas United States map
Email email image
Vehicle2000 Corbin Sparrow
VIN #052 Jellybean
MotorAdvanced DC 203-06-4001 Series Wound DC
8"
DrivetrainCog Belt drive
ControllerKilovac
Batteries13 Optima 750 DS, 12.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, AGM
Yellow Top
Deep cycle

540 lbs pack wt.
My first pack installed 7/10/2007
4205 miles
System Voltage156 Volts
ChargerZivan NG3 220 VAC v.10 w/temp probe upgrade
Also has a NG3 110 VAC Zivan with the v.10 chip set and temperature sensor upgrade.

I built a trickle charger that was designed by David B. you can see it at his blog here --> WebPage /> I have parts to put another together if anyone is interested.
Heaterheater-blower
DC/DC ConverterIota 30 amp DLS-30
WebPage />
DC Output Voltage (No Load) approx...13.6 VDC
Output Voltage Tolerance (No Load)...+ or - 7%
Output Amperage, Max Continuous...30 Amps
Output Voltage (Full Load) approx...>13.4 VDC
Maximum Power Output, Continuous...400 Watts
Ripple and Noise...80%
Max Inrush Current, Single Cycle...30 Amps
Short Circuit Protection...Yes
Overload Protection...>100%
Line Regulation...100 mV rms
Load Regulation...
InstrumentationE-meter, Analog Amp Meter
Top Speed85 MPH (136 KPH)
As told to me by the previous owner, "and held the road well, but wouldn't want to do it again."

Now has a limiter chip set to 70 MPH
AccelerationEnough to do 360's on wet pavement.
Range35 Miles (56 Kilometers)
Real world average is 25-30 miles per charge.
Watt Hours/MileTry to stay below 75 Amps while getting up to speed.
I have found this easy to do.

1.076 Amp/hrs per mile
26.9 apms / 25 miles @ 45-65 MPH
EV Miles
Start:4,205 Miles (6,765 Kilometers)
Current:5,010 Miles (8,061 Kilometers)
Total:805 Miles (1,295 Kilometers)
 
    As of 5/1/2008
Seating Capacity1 adult (That should be willing to talk about it at every stop.)
Curb Weight1,500 Pounds (681 Kilograms)
Tires3 13" radials
Conversion TimeProduction Vehicle
Conversion Cost$12,900 from factory
Additional Features40 amp intermatic timer (220 VAC water heater timer from Home Depot $40.00) This was installed to assist in reducing the chance of thermal runaway. A real problem with AGM batteries. $2200.00. Well worth the peace of mind. I have wired it to run both the 110 VAC and 220 VAC from a 220 VAC outlet.

Upgraded the fans in the controller compartment. Added a fan to the controller itself, and replaced the existing fan with the same type high flow fan as I installed on the controller, to pull air into the compartment.

Replaced E-Brake cable @ 4680 miles
New brake pads arrived, not installed yet.
WebPage

see it here. top photo top left corner.

We have found that only 4 of the 13 batteries held a charge of any kind from the pack that I bought it with. We elected to change all thirteen batteries. It is now running, and should be on the road in just a few more weeks from now (7/10/2007) We have taken it around the block a few times and it is in good shape.

8/29/2007 - I have just completed a trickle charger as per David Butcher's design see it here. WebPage It puts out close to 180v DC at .1-.2 amps. Great for a float charge while away. David uses it to charge after short trips. The DC-DC converter is giving me fits I believe. I will be working though this and will update as it progresses.

4235 miles - Installed the Iota DC-DC converter and a new PCB board built by Black Sheep LLC. WebPage This was part of my Defang process.

4360 miles- I have now registered Jack Sparrow and dorve it for a week. Man what a head turner. I have made business cards to help with the questions and placed a few web address' on them. I am working on a Raffle of 1000 tickets for a Sparrow at 50.00 each, 5 for 200.00 and 10 for 350.00 If you are interested in tickets please e-mail me. The proceeds will benefit the Boys and Girls club of Bastrop, Texas.

10/08/2007- Made it home for a day and couldn't resist a quick spin around town. The trickle charger is working great. I plugged it in when I left 14 days ago and the voltage was 166 at rest. The Ah on the Link10 was reading between .1 and .2 charging when I left. Today the meter was reading 0.0 to .1 and voltage was 171.5. I took it for a drive and after 5 miles the resting voltage was 166.0, most excellent. My next trip home I plan to place a box I built into the system so I can check all the batteries from one point under the hood. This should help keep better tabs on the pack.

10/30/2007 - 4561 miles, I had sent my 110v charger in for an upgrade to the v10 chip set and new algorithm. I received it and sent the 220v charger in for the same upgrade. While home I took the Sparrow out for the day. The morning Temp was a chilly 45 over night. I unplugged the trickle charger, then pulled the Sparrow out and read a resting voltage of 164.5, I had recently changed the settings in the link 10 to the settings suggested on the yahoo groups Sparrow WebPage
site. The rest of the readings where 100% and -.3 Ah after pulling it around to the front of the house. All good numbers (other then what I thought was a low voltage. Well after a quick run to Mail and Signs and the local HEB store (3.5 miles), the pack had a resting voltage of 165.5, I guess the batteries warmed up some and that gave the pack a higher resting voltage. Long story short, I drove for a total of 25 miles on this day, used a total of 26.9 Ah / 76% of the pack. At the end of the day I had a resting voltage of 157.5, still had some room for more driving had I had anyplace to go. I am charging for the first time with the 110v / v10 charger.

11/03/2007 - 4566 miles, Home for a day, drove the sparrow for 5 miles to burn off the top charge and allow for a new charge cycle with the new v10 upgrade 110 vac charger. This time I used the 220 plug through the timer with a 110 connection. This made a big difference in the finish. 178 volts and 100%. This gave me 2.2 Ah in the positive. I parked it and hooked up the trickle charger. Amps 0-.1 and floating @ 178 volts.

11/17/2007 Home for a week. Drove Jack Sparrow around for the day. I had to use the trickle charger because I sent the 110 vac to Richard in Florida, (He is upgrading his charger to charge a Lithium pack he is designing. Good luck with that, I hope it works as well as he makes it sound. This would have twice the range now offered in the optimas and half the weight). So I had to wait till Tuesday before I received my 220 vac Zivan with the v10 chip set. Now that it is in, I have been charging with it. What a difference it has made. Ed Ang was right, the batteries do love the 220 vac better then the 110 vac. When I started charging the pack with the 220 charger, I had a -6 Ah and resting pack voltage of 165 with 85% usage left after the little I drove and charged with the trickle charger. I charged 3 times now with the 220 Zivan, since then the pack has been pushed up to 97% of 100% and a resting voltage of 167 volts, -3.5 Ah. I am sure that a few more cycles I will have a balanced pack and should charge close to 100% every time after that. The charge cycle takes 3.5 hours, I set the timer for 4 hours to ensure a complete charge but not allow a long thermal run away to happen, cooking the pack. It now sits with the trickle charger doing what it does best, keeping it all warm till I get home.

12/28/2007 4765 miles - Home again for 7 days. Took Jack Sparrow out for a quick discharge and then put it back on the 220 vdc charger. after the first charge cycle I found the batteries were holding 165 volts and the e-meter was showing a capacity of 85% and -5.8 Amp/hrs. I drove a few short cycles to lightly discharge and recharge the pack. Nothing over 15 mile for the first few days. While doing this, each subsequent charge pushed the e-meter back towards the 100% and 0.0 Amp/Hr. After 5 cycles (two in one day early on) I had 100% and 1.3 to the positive. On the forth day of driving I had my deepest discharge yet, I took the ending voltage to 151v. The gage showed I still had 15% capacity with 28 Amp/hrs used. I traveled 24 miles that day. This works out to 1.16 Amp/hrs - mile.
I have compiled the numbers for voltage/Amp/hrs/miles driven and I show an average of .98 Amp/hr - mile used.
I just offered to wrap the Sparrow to support Ron Paul, I hope they choose me as a wrap.

2/6/2008 4950 miles- The sparrow just made 4900 miles on the Odometer. All is well. Daily driver while I am home from work. Still putting on 15-25 miles a day just doing errands around town here. People are starting to recognize me in stores and around town now. What a PR tool. I have to give myself plenty of time to get through the day when I drive around, so many questions. Until next time, Happy EV'en.

3/14/2008 5010 miles- I took the offer for my sparrow and a couple from Florida have come to pick up this bird. I will miss it greatly. My wife was just getting use to having it around and will miss the Sparrow as well. I look forward to my next EV. This will not be the last for me.

End blog.

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