Batteries
Update 4/30/08
So the last big decision is the batteries. Since my commute is short (<15 miles round trip), we are currently thinking 12V rather than 6V. AGM Pb is still the most likely, due to availability and cost. I am still looking for a reasonable cost source for large Li phosphate or Li Polymer batteries. We will be using at least 12, 12V batteries, so if consider $5k as reasonable, that works out to about $400/battery. So if you hear of one let us know.
Update 4/22/08
Batteries: We will probably use Lead-Acid AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) from Optima.
1. Lithium Polymer looks good, but there are safety concerns in the case of an accident.
2. There are several new Lithium based batteries that seem to have solved the safety issue (Valence, A123 and Altair Nano for example) but we have not found anywhere to buy them yet (fleet sales or engineering samples only). Valence looks to be in production.
Componets to the Conversion:
Page 1 Home Page
Page 2 Progress Report
Page 3 Motor
Page 4 Batteries: You are here
Page 5 Controller
Page 6 Battery Box/The TechShop
Page 7 S-10Kit(Parts list: Charger, DC to Dc,ect.)
Page 8 Clubs and Cool Links
Update 5/14/08
