Recomended Reading

[Saabman]

Hi All,

Ive been giving consideration to converting a car to Electric power for some time and that time is getting closer but before I head too far down the track Id love to get my hands on some reading material.

Does any one have any recommendations for worthy books to buy.

There seems to be plenty out there but would love hear what others have read and what they thought.

Im love technical stuff - Im Electronics Tech, repairing medical equipment these days but have spent a number of years repairing mobility scooters and Electric wheelchairs. Mechanically, Ive rebuilt a few cars, in the last few years done a Kombi and Beetle and currently working on another Kombi but for an electric car conversion Ive just picked up a 1999 SAAB 9-5. Ok Im a glutton for punishment...

So before I go and throw money at some random books your input would be greatly appreciated.

B

[Johny]

Hi Bernie.
I didn't find that books were all that helpful - being generally already out of date with what is available.
Trawl forums such as this one and ask LOTS of questions. Just expect the odd rude answer and ignore it. Especially check out anyone who has a build blog and has used readily available parts. Available parts plays a big part in decisions.

Also have a look at http://www.evalbum.com/. You can sort by car or whatever.

Finally - go AC.

Edit: books

[jonescg]

Yeah I'm with Johny - AC or nothing.

Unfortunately if it was published in a book it was too long ago to be relevant today. This forum is a gold mine, as is http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/ and the endless sphere: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/.
Just get clever with your search terms as they aren't the most intuitive.

[Jeff Owen]

Yeah I'm with Johny - AC or nothing.

Really. From the AEVA National Secretary.

Could you elaborate on why having no EV is better than a DC powered one. I am sure there are plenty of EV owners who would disagree with this, as their DC cars provide reliable, practical, useful and effective daily transport.

[jonescg]

It's a figure of speech

Let me try that again - "I strongly recommend AC motors for EVs where budget permits, as they offer the highest efficiency, highest reliability, are are the most ingress-resistant motors around. They are also able to offer regenerative braking which offers a very pleasant driving experience".

And yes I have used DC on my projects before and they incinerated too easily. Never had that problem with AC.

[Saabman]

Thanks for that,

The endless sphere is like the Wild West !

The trouble with the rapid march of technology is getting information organized in a logical fashion. As has been mentioned been crafty width search terms is critical to get the right results than sifting through the results to determine the fact from the fiction.

I've got a bit of time to research further as I MUST get the Kombi finished and out of the shed before I move onto the EV.