innovation

Technical discussion on converting internal combustion to electric
Post Reply
christopher666131
Noobie
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat, 28 Apr 2018, 23:02
Real Name: christopher harding

innovation

Post by christopher666131 »

hi im looking into making a self charging electric vehicle out of a 94 delica spacegear its a 4wd van automatic trans but i need help with part sourcing and technical info on some of the innovation side of it but i cant say everything about what i want to do any help would be appreciated
User avatar
jonescg
Senior Member
Posts: 4721
Joined: Thu, 21 Jan 2010, 23:05
Real Name: Chris Jones
Location: Perth, WA.
Contact:

Re: innovation

Post by jonescg »

Self-charging eh? As in using sunshine?
AEVA National President, WA branch director.
antiscab
Senior Member
Posts: 3183
Joined: Mon, 26 Nov 2007, 05:39
Real Name: Matthew Lacey
Location: Perth, WA

Re: innovation

Post by antiscab »

Or an RTG?
Matt
2023 BYD Atto 3 - 21k km
2017 Renault zoe - 147'000km
2012 Leaf - 101'000km - soon to be trialing a booster battery
2007 Vectrix - 197'000km (retired)
2007 Vectrix - 50k km
christopher666131
Noobie
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat, 28 Apr 2018, 23:02
Real Name: christopher harding

Re: innovation

Post by christopher666131 »

its something more other then whats already being used
antiscab
Senior Member
Posts: 3183
Joined: Mon, 26 Nov 2007, 05:39
Real Name: Matthew Lacey
Location: Perth, WA

Re: innovation

Post by antiscab »

For the EV side of things, I'd recommend just getting an imiev cab for $15k.

If you want to do a conversion on the space gear, you'll need at least $30k. It doesn't normally pan out unless you really need or want that specific vehicle

Brace yourself, the mirth is coming; discussing anything overunity
Matt
2023 BYD Atto 3 - 21k km
2017 Renault zoe - 147'000km
2012 Leaf - 101'000km - soon to be trialing a booster battery
2007 Vectrix - 197'000km (retired)
2007 Vectrix - 50k km
User avatar
Adverse Effects
Senior Member
Posts: 1172
Joined: Sat, 01 Jan 2011, 03:30
Real Name: Adverse Effects
Location: Brisbane

Re: innovation

Post by Adverse Effects »

i just carn't work out why my candle wont make my sterling engine tank move
If you don't have time to do it right,
When will you have time to do it over

Help those who help themselves first
User avatar
coulomb
Site Admin
Posts: 6357
Joined: Thu, 22 Jan 2009, 20:32
Real Name: Mike Van Emmerik
Location: Brisbane
Contact:

Re: innovation

Post by coulomb »

In this forum, we obey the laws of physics!

I'm afraid that "self charging" is going to provoke comments like this.

Do you perhaps mean wireless charging? That's at least a little more believable, though with plenty of practical issues.

If you mean charging via solar power, a little arithmetic reveals that you need to spend too long charging and very little time driving.

Any method of recovering energy from driving or braking won't allow for any losses, and losses are unavoidable.

So really, "self charging" isn't possible. It's got to be self delusion. This isn't meant to ridicule you, just to save us all the time to shoot it down. Shift your focus to something achievable, and we can all benefit.

Sorry, I know that this is not what you want to hear.
MG ZS EV 2021 April 2021. Nissan Leaf 2012 with new battery May 2019.
5650 W solar, 2xPIP-4048MS inverters, 16 kWh battery.
Patching PIP-4048/5048 inverter-chargers.
If you appreciate my work, you can buy me a coffee.
christopher666131
Noobie
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat, 28 Apr 2018, 23:02
Real Name: christopher harding

Re: innovation

Post by christopher666131 »

well the only problem is i cant go into detail but there is a charge system that i have thought of and yes im aware there are issues and i have yet to test it but im confident in the science behind it but thankyou for the input dont worry i expect backlash its not something i am annoyed about it will still use solar but there is something else im going to do my main thing is i was wondering if i could get advice on parts engines or battery packs
User avatar
coulomb
Site Admin
Posts: 6357
Joined: Thu, 22 Jan 2009, 20:32
Real Name: Mike Van Emmerik
Location: Brisbane
Contact:

Re: innovation

Post by coulomb »

christopher666131 wrote: Tue, 01 May 2018, 00:09 it will still use solar but there is something else im going to do
Solar insolation is about 1 kW/m² peak, and solar panels are roughly 20% efficient, so 200 W/m². So perhaps 400 W on a typical vehicle. Compare that with typically 20,000 W for highway cruising, 10 kW for low speed level driving, and 50 kW for acceleration (more for more spirited, or for a heavy vehicle, up hills, etc). The "something else" has to be pretty spectacular to make up that sort of difference.
my main thing is i was wondering if i could get advice on parts engines or battery packs
I'm sure we can help there, but our main concern at present is saving you the trouble of testing ideas that simply can't work because of the laws of physics. Nothing much happens in EV land for less than $10,000, often 2-3x that or more, so the lesson could be quite expensive.

BTW, we usually use the word "engine" to refer to an oil based engine (petrol, diesel, etc in, mechanical power out), and "motor" to refer to an electric motor (electric power in, mechanical power out). I assume that you're not putting an engine into this device, but perhaps you're making some sort of hybrid.
MG ZS EV 2021 April 2021. Nissan Leaf 2012 with new battery May 2019.
5650 W solar, 2xPIP-4048MS inverters, 16 kWh battery.
Patching PIP-4048/5048 inverter-chargers.
If you appreciate my work, you can buy me a coffee.
User avatar
Adverse Effects
Senior Member
Posts: 1172
Joined: Sat, 01 Jan 2011, 03:30
Real Name: Adverse Effects
Location: Brisbane

Re: innovation

Post by Adverse Effects »

christopher666131 wrote: Tue, 01 May 2018, 00:09 well the only problem is i cant go into detail but there is a charge system
that sounds a lot like and maby it would super charge your system

1 Million cycle +85c temp "KiloWattLabs supercapacitor"
If you don't have time to do it right,
When will you have time to do it over

Help those who help themselves first
christopher666131
Noobie
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat, 28 Apr 2018, 23:02
Real Name: christopher harding

Re: innovation

Post by christopher666131 »

sorry i did mean electric motors thankyou for correcting me well could annyone point me in the direction of a supplier for solar panals or electric motors and im going to test it on a small scale first with my other idea but i still would like to convert my van
User avatar
jonescg
Senior Member
Posts: 4721
Joined: Thu, 21 Jan 2010, 23:05
Real Name: Chris Jones
Location: Perth, WA.
Contact:

Re: innovation

Post by jonescg »

We're more than happy to help you with that!

They were quite a heavy van, so chances are the suspension is probably sufficient for carrying a couple of hundred kilos of battery.

Electric motors are available in any size, shape, weight, voltage and power - and price. The relationship between dollars spent and kilowatts per kilogram is exponential, so aim to find something of similar or slightly less than the performance to the ICE and you will have a viable powertrain.

Solar panels - lots around and they are getting quite cheap, but if you wanted to mount them permanently on the car you might like to look into embedding cells on the surface and painting over with clear epoxy, much like the Solar Car racers do. Enough solar panels to be moderately useful will get very heavy otherwise.
AEVA National President, WA branch director.
christopher666131
Noobie
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat, 28 Apr 2018, 23:02
Real Name: christopher harding

Re: innovation

Post by christopher666131 »

ok thankyou for the tip it has a 4 cylinder diesel in it at the moment
christopher666131
Noobie
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat, 28 Apr 2018, 23:02
Real Name: christopher harding

Re: innovation

Post by christopher666131 »

any help with where i could buy solar cells to embed into my van
User avatar
jonescg
Senior Member
Posts: 4721
Joined: Thu, 21 Jan 2010, 23:05
Real Name: Chris Jones
Location: Perth, WA.
Contact:

Re: innovation

Post by jonescg »

I think @weber might have some clues? I suspect harvesting them from old panels would be too slow and painful.
AEVA National President, WA branch director.
User avatar
weber
Site Admin
Posts: 2936
Joined: Fri, 23 Jan 2009, 17:27
Real Name: Dave Keenan
Location: Brisbane
Contact:

Re: innovation

Post by weber »

christopher666131 wrote: Tue, 01 May 2018, 22:44 any help with where i could buy solar cells to embed into my van
I think it would be a complete waste of time and money. But if you're determined, this web page seems to have good advice.
https://www.solar4rvs.com.au/buying/buy ... exible-so/
One of the fathers of MeXy the electric MX-5, along with Coulomb and Newton (Jeff Owen).
User avatar
Richo
Senior Member
Posts: 3737
Joined: Mon, 16 Jun 2008, 00:19
Real Name: Richard
Location: Perth, WA

Re: innovation

Post by Richo »

Dumtree is cheapest for 2nd hand panels.
I'd suggest a roof rack solar PV for proof of concept before embedding them.

The autotrans makes it a bit more complicated unless you ditch the 4wd and run direct drive to the rear.
evworks.com.au and/or evmotors.com.au will have most of what you need to get rolling.
So the short answer is NO but the long answer is YES.
Help prevent road rage - get outta my way!
User avatar
Richo
Senior Member
Posts: 3737
Joined: Mon, 16 Jun 2008, 00:19
Real Name: Richard
Location: Perth, WA

Re: innovation

Post by Richo »

coulomb wrote: Tue, 01 May 2018, 06:54 ... So perhaps 400 W on a typical vehicle.
In Perth this is ~12km range per day average free from the sun.
There is a few people I work with that live less than 5km from work.
I have explained to them that it is possible.
A nice set of LTO's that can cope with the high discharge as a small pack ~3kWh.
Only a top speed of 70kph would be needed.

This would be self charging...

But I'm sure that this is not what the OP had in mind...
So the short answer is NO but the long answer is YES.
Help prevent road rage - get outta my way!
Post Reply