Drivingabout

Not much to report these days but that I put this up for sale on craigslist and EV trading post. Not exactly sure why. Part of me wonders how the winters will be here (ice and all), how long the batteries will last, etc. Mostly uncertainty but it is actually a good thing to have little to report.

It gets me to/from work just fine. The lead-acid batteries are easy to maintain, just a little watering every two weeks or so (takes about 10 minutes for 8 batteries). I plug in right away when I get home but don't start the charge until 11pm. I wired up the outside outlet I plug into to a switch in our kitchen. This way, right when I wake up (around 630am), I can just turn off the switch and the charging stops. It is handy and I bet this winter I'll be glad for it.

One note of caution: I do this partly b/c I haven't installed the vent fans for the battery box yet in the rear (I have no box around the front batteries and have noticed no effects). I figure (uh-oh) that it takes me about 1/2 hr to get to the car and that any leftover hydrogen will have dissipated. This may be a _stupid_ move on my part, but I'm seeing people all over saying that they aren't too chronic about the venting (though they are careful not to overseal the batterypack and are sure to leave the doors open a minute or so before the start driving). So, maybe my approach isn't a good one, but I have yet to figure out how to route the hydrogen/air out of the rear of the vehicle...Suggestions?

I have not gotten pics of the dash yet posted here (as I'm between cell plans so w/o a easily accessible camera), but the ammeter and voltmeters, as they are analog, are running fine. Next time I will get a digital voltmeter. The analog ammeter suits my needs fine as it is something I refer to in hill-climbing and starting from a stop (I try to avoid pegging it to 400amps but keep it around 300-350 while under a harder-than-usual load). The voltmeter though is barely useful as the analog type doesn't get the specificity I need for trouble shooting. When I use my multi-meter (that reads to the hundreth decimal place), I notice the voltmeter is around 2v off.

Otherwise, I finished the underside cover so the motor and controller are rainproof. A huge relief.