Solar powered electric car

After converting 1995 Aspire to electric vehicle ,I decided to go 1 step further. I installed 6 solar panels on garage roof , with batteries and inverter in garage. Car charges during the day and I drive it on after work missions. Works great driving around town (usually only 5-10 mile trips) will go 55 mph. If it is cloudy a few hours charging continues due to batteries in garage.

Step 1 Remove engine

First step is removal of engine and components, radiator , tailpipe , muffler ,etc

Comments

[clintcooper2003]

How many total miles can you go off of one charge?

[solar car]

50... i think.... i would think...idk

[DRC888]

You could try putting vents at the top of the bonnet (Windsheild end) to help the air flow freely through and reduce drag.

I don't know if it will work but could be worth trying :)

[Planecrazy361]

Where in IL are you? I'm in Buffalo Grove, and would love to see the car someday if you're not too far away! Regards, Steve

[speedy4442001]

Yes, I too am in IL and wondering how far away from you I am. Also wondering if you do conversions for other, mechanically challenged people? And you total costs? I am very impressed!! Good job!

[misterwelder]

Awesome job. I've been wanting to go electric with and old beetle for a while now. I hope to have the success that you have.

[mrmusty]

Actually I was looking for an old beetle , before I found this Aspire , If I remember its a little lighter (and I wouldn't have to wear a seat belt) .I'm sure that someone has already figured out mounting motor and other tricks if you search online.

[BGreenHVAC]

Why ruin a valuable car like an older VW. If it is old enough to not require a seat belt, It is an extremely valuable VW. It would make more sense to restore the Beetle and sell it. There should be enough cash to buy a new electric car if you wanted.

[Dr. Al]

It seems Tesla is also taking this convert a gas car (Lotus) to electric and add solar panels to the garage roof. The better solution is found at Stinger Motors Inc.

[ThreeWestCreative]

Your Car is awesome and gives us great hope for having our own electric cars and the video I posted shows this guy with an electric car beating high class sports cars and using smaller batteries. :)

[ThreeWestCreative]

[desotojohn]

Have you thought about mounting the solar panels on top of the car?

[pmartinez]

Great project.!
I though about making a conversion myself, however; I live in Costa Rica and hill are steep here, I assume battery life would not last the typical 40-60 miles. I have a question:  Sorry if it sound "dumb", can a small generator be attached to the car, in order to "boost" the energy going up hill, and charge batteries on a long trip. I understand it defeats the purpose of going "electric", however; is a though for "emergency" boost.
Thank you

[tristantech]

Is something like this street legal? or did you have to get this approved with the government before you could drive it on the street?

[rommel543]

What kind of speed and distance do you get out of the car? I was looking into a conversion kit but it only went 60-75 miles per charge and took 8 hours to charge the batteries.

[mrmusty]

Car will go 55 (but will cut range down) . Driving to work is about 25 mile round trip at 30-40 mph and a few miles on interstate at 55. Thats as far as I really want to discharge batts . But on a warm day at 30 mph I'm sure it would do better. Temps below 30-40 degrees slow you down. With my solar setup I am sometimes affected by cloudy weather. I used 9 - 8 volt batteries ,if you used 12 -6 volt batteries you could get more range. Maybe with a small pickup and a whole bunch of batteries you could get 60 - 75 miles per charge. You may have to move up to higher tech batteries !

[luigi2999]

If ur car ran on 48V, you could use a couple of 48V LiFePo batteries, which have a vary high energy to weight ratio.

[guitarman63mm]

How does lower temperature slow you down? I thought electricity conducts better at low temperatures. Or perhaps you're talking about something else...

[mrmusty]

Yes the wiring has less resistance but the lead acid batteries lose quite a bit of power when they get cold , maybe 50% when its below zero. Also grease in wheel bearings and transaxle gets thicker.

[JerryMopar]

you are correct with the temperature situation about the circuits, but batteries like the temp just right, not too hot, not too cold

[bernarte_affiliate]

how many voltage is the electric motor?

[rankhornjp]

You can check out http://www.diyelectriccar.com for all kind of information about conversions.

[Skitter302]

I like the plan, food for thought here>> how about mounting a fan for a generator about were a trailer hitch would go( just under the rear bumper).

[sebberdreng]

You allready have a mac you maket the on it i can see.

[muell291]

Nice to see your combat robot skills going to good use here! What are the amp-hour ratings on your batteries on both the car and the home station?

[mrmusty]

Yea gotta keep buildin stuff ! There are 9 - 8 volt 170 AH batteries in car and 8 - 6 volt 225 AH batteries wired up for 12 volts in garage.

[blksheep]

What kind of motor did you use? It looks so dinky compared to the engine you removed. Could you give the specs on it? I'd like to know where I can get one.

[mrmusty]

Its made by D and D Motors and has 40 peak hp. It measures 6.7" dia. x 12.28" long and weighs 62 lbs. Its a series motor and several ev conversion web sites sell them.

[srharvey]

There has to a be a better way to charge the car off the solar battery pack. Converting from DC to 120V AC and then back to the DC in the car seems like a waste.

[mrmusty]

You are so right, If I connected the 6 -12 volt panels in series it would be just perfect for charging. It would eliminate loss from inverter and battery charger. But I like to use solar panels and batteries as a back up during storm etc. I still might do something like that if I can figure out a way to switch panels from a parallel connection to series, and back again.

[AdHd]

Plus, your setup allows you to recharge the car anywhere you go, not just at home. If you had enough batteries at home, you could also drive the car to work and charge it overnight from the solar batteries. Your setup gives you lots of flexibility at the cost of some efficiency - I wouldn't change a thing.

[Funk_D]

What if you had a gearing system that activated whenever you pressed the brakes that kicked in alternators and regenerated energy while providing a little bit of stopping power? (in union with the regular brakes of course).

[mrmusty]

I was thinking of using the clutch pedal (I removed clutch ) to do something like you are talking. As I pressed the pedal it would tighten a fan belt or somehow engage a generator while slowing down. --- Maybe someday.

[Funk_D]

Actually, the more I thought about it, wouldn't the motor work in reverse as a generator whenever you weren't applying current to it and the car was still moving (such as downhill travel and braking) while providing resistance?

[AdHd]

It's called regenerative braking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regenerative_braking Check it out. Every hybrid uses this technique, as do electric trains. I think you'd need a speed controller which includes that feature, but I'm no expert.

[djr6789]

one other thing you could do is instsall some sort of windturbine behind the radiator's grill to charge up the batteries while driving

[Noodle93]

But. Wouldn't that cause more drag? Or else you'd be talking about a perpetual motion machine. Which is impossible. Well I think that's what you're talking about.

[djr6789]

im not sure about what your talking about. i just meant a little wind turbine behind the grill so it uses up the air that passes through the engine bay and turns it into energy. P.S sorry if the first sentance sounds mean DJ

[sax-matt]

Noodle is correct. You would end up having to use more energy to get the little wind turbine to move than you would gain. I saw an 'ible a while back talking about installing a turbine to an air conditioner fan and had a similar discussion about this. Good thought though!

[BorisTheSpider]

I don't know. If you set it in s place where there's already drag (like a flat angle), that's energy that would hve been totally wasted on drag but instead gets converted back into electrical energy.

In other words, you're still not going to make up for the energy wasted on drag, but you'll make up a little bit that would have been wasted.