DIY Electric Car Conversion Basics
Can a gasoline powered car really be converted to run on household electricity? Absolutely you can. In fact, I cannot understand why there aren’t local companies offering to do these conversions for profit. Actually, if I ever get tired of the website thing, I might even try starting a business that does just that someday because I bet it could be very successful.
Learn more about electric car conversionsat diyhomepowergrid.com
Converting a car to electric power from gas can be done in one of several ways. In some areas of the country, there might be mechanics that will do it for a price, but often, the price they charge is close to that of a new car. You can buy a kit, which will run you between $2000 and $8000. A kit usually comes with all the electrical components and some basic instructions. Please note that kits you purchase never include the batteries you need. Of course an electric car won’t run without batteries, so figure on another $1000 or more for those.
A far better alternative is to do it yourself using inexpensive reconditioned parts you can get second hand. You have the choice of using an AC electric motor or a DC electric motor. AC motors are lighter and produce more power than DC. However, DC motors are much less expensive than AC. For this reason, we always go with a second hand DC motor. There is no reason to spend the extra money buying a new AC motor for your electric car conversion when a decent DC motor that you can get very cheap (and sometimes free) will outlive just about any car you put it in.
Your DC motor will need to be in the 9 to 13 inch range. A top speed of 50 MPH or more can be achieved with this size motor. The amount of current that flows from the batteries to the motor determines how fast the car can go and this flow is regulated by a controller, which is also necessary. The controller is assembled to your old gas pedal linkage for smooth control of the vehicle.
The conversion requires an on board battery charger in order to charge your batteries between trips. That way you can simply plug it in to any common AC circuit and get charged up again.
The car will require about 20 deep cycle batteries to achieve a range of 200 miles on a charge. There are a number of sources for finding these very cheap and often free. These batteries allow you to discharge further and charge more quickly than regular car batteries normally found in gas powered vehicles. In fact, that’s why they are called deep cycle – because they permit and stand up to greater and more frequent draining, as opposed to the battery you have in your car now. Deep cycle batteries can regularly be discharged down to 30% or so, but you won’t want to go lower than 30%.
It is important to balance the battery capacity against the space available to hold the batteries in the car. For example, if your project will require 20 batteries, you must be certain there is room enough for 20 batteries. Although this sounds like common sense – this detail is often overlooked by many people.
If you are planning to complete your own electric car conversions, you can find more information on our site including the best type of car to use.
