Bobby Keeland via EV wrote:
I'm retired so don't have a daily commute, but it is 30 miles to my doctor, dentist and whole foods for grocery shopping. I only drive when I need something.
Same for me. I'm 65, and live in a small town. I can drive from one end to the other and back again a few times even in an EV with a range of only 30-40 miles.
I prefer li-ion batteries. With a heavy vehicle I'd rather not add even more battery weight.
Lithiums are nice; but expensive. They also require a more expensive charger and battery management system.
You do have a truck, so carrying weight isn't a problem. It sounds like your range requirements aren't severe, either. You may want to start with lead-acids just as a learning pack, to keep the cost down and get the bugs worked out of the system.
My first EV was a 1974 Datsun pickup, with a dozen golf cart batteries in the bed, an aircraft surplus motor, and a home-made charger and contactor controller. I spent under $1000 for the whole shebang, and commuted to work in it for a couple years. I murdered the batteries from ignorance and abuse -- but that's OK; they were cheap and I learned a lot. :-)
An e-meter would be a definite.
A good choice. Costs about the same as 1 battery, but will save the life of all of them.
-- Knowledge is better than belief. Belief is when someone else does your thinking. -- anonymous -- Lee Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, www.sunrise-ev.com _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
