Those of you following this log, must be wondering: what's happened to the car. I wrote really enthusiastic entrys in February and March saying it would be done by April 15, then, nothing.
Well, what happened was reality kicked in: fiscal reality. I'm in debt, and finishing this car is going to put me deeper in debt. Specifically: the batteries, the battery charger, and the controller (yes, I know I wrote earlier I had a controller, but I got an offer for it, and I was tight on money, so I sold it) all are high ticket items.
Since I couldn't finish the car right away, I lost some interest. However, I've been reassessing things, and I'm trying to do affordable things to the car. Things that can be covered out of pocket. Also, I've saved up enough money to fabricate the radiator battery rack. Here's what's happening now:
You might remember in an older post, that my Dad and I cut pieces for the rear battery box. Two Saturdays ago I drilled holes for the bolts into the rear battery rack. Once done, I put a final coat of undercoating on the rack, and bolted the PVC pieces into place. It went without event, and the pieces fit very well together.
The plan for the radiator battery rack has been pretty much finalized for a while. I justed needed to finish drawing the plans on the computer and make my cardboard mock up for the fabricator. I've updated the drawings, and you can see them below:
You'll notice the right side arm is truncated compared to the left. That's because when I mocked up the rack full size and tried to fit it in the car, it wouldn't go. I wound up trimming that side. I'll bolt on a piece of angle iron to extend it to the frame on the passenger's side.
This bracket will act as a hold down for the batteries. I only need to hold down one side, as the frame that held the radiator will hold down the other side. If this isn't clear, I hope it will make more sense when the rack and bracket is fabricated, and I have pictures of it on the web.
I put a post on the EV mailing list asking for some used batteries. One person wrote back that the batteries are heavy, and I really don't want to have them till I need them. However, I've become increasingly paranoid about my designs. As soon as possible I want to verify the design. So it's not enough to build a rear battery box or have a front battery rack fabricated: I want to have batteries to put in them to make sure my design works.
What was a helpful suggestion, was that if I wanted batteries, I was better off going to a nearby country club, and asking there, as opposed to trying to arrange to get some from someone on the list that lived 200 milles away.
While I didn't find any batteries at the country club (because they don't service their carts), they did refer me to Golf Cars, Inc. Golf Cars, Inc. leases and services golf carts for country clubs. Fortunately for me, they are located in Doylestown, only a few miles from where I live. After talking about what I wanted, they suggested I got through their scrap battery pile. I could have any battery I wanted for $5. I went through their battery pile with my Voltmeter, measuring each battery, and picking the healthiest. I finally decided on six batteries and took them home and put them on the charger. They all seem to have recovered, according to voltage readings and hydrometer readings.
Why six batteries? Well, since it's going to be a while till I get the car finished, I still have the practical problem of moving it around the yard. I have an old car battery I've been using (to move the car), but it's pretty dead. My plan is, once the radiator battery rack and box is complete, I'll put four batteries in the box and wire up the battieries to the motor via a contactor (yes I do have the contactors). This will allow me to move the car around the yard and make it easier to work on.
Well, that's the plan. Next entry should have pictures of the finished radiator rack and bracket.
Fabricating the Rear Battery Box
Radiator Battery Box Finished
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