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Trev Guru  Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
Later in the year (August, 2018) we went back down the coast to the Ipswich EV Expo. T-Rev did not go on this trip. It was in the process of fitting new motors.   September 2018 saw "Dad's Day in the Valley" show. We had an electric quad bike and a electric outboard boat motor on display as well, along with pictures of electric boats.    Then the last EV Expo was the AEVA Expo in November 2018, where I won the Glen George trophy. January 2019, Dale and I went to Cairns, Charged at Bowen, Townsville, Tully, Cairns, Yungaburra Info Centre, Atherton Motel (x 2), back to Tully, Townsville, Bowen and home.  Charging Bowen and Townsville   Charging Tully and Cairns. Tully was pouring rain the whole time. Most of this whole trip was wet.   Checked out a lot of country places, waterfalls and other good places to see. One good camp spot in the mountains near Atherton.  We went to Windy Hill, just south of Atherton, near Ravenshoe. Awesome the amount of power in these turbines. We got a video of one standing about 10m away from the base. Pictures do not do justice. You have to be there to feel it.   Edited 2019-09-03 12:10 by Trev Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
April 2019 Fitted 3 new chargers. TC Chargers. Waterproof, dustproof and shockproof. I had killed way too many Zivan NG3 chargers and had them repaired to kill them again. The Zivan NG3 charger is ok if you can keep it in a dust free, water free environment. When I had them in the cab behind the driver seat they were ok, but after shifting to their own alloy box under the battery box, it became a very big mistake. Anyhow The TC chargers are brilliant. I have 3 of them so when I charge from a public outlet I can run 1 from each of the 3 phases. The alloy boxes have sealed lockable doors.     Also in April 2019 I decided to remove 4 cells from the pack of 52, making it 48 cells. (Not like the last pack after 3 years(?) adding 8 more cells). I wanted to make it 48 cells because T-Rev is 48 cells. With both packs the same cell count, I can connect both packs together for the long drives away for shows etc. This has cut my range some.         May 2019. EV Expo again at the National Transport Museum in Inverell.   Went down via Brisbane, Toowoomba, Goondiwindi, Moree to Inverell. And returned the same way. Drove on stored battery power only all the way except between Toowoomba and Moree both ways. This is 345km in which I run the generator the whole way as well as run for an hour while setting up camp. Switched off genny for a sleep. Got going early again in the morning running genny again. Stopped driving for breakfast and left genny running. Going back up to Toowoomba was much harder..... uphill. I had to stop many times for quite a long time to let the genny catch up some power in the batteries. To some people it is wrong using the generator. I don't have a problem using hybrid mode sometimes. Here is the map with the charge points.  Here is the elevation chart.  To understand the position on the chart............ 1 Home, Kuttabul 2 Carmilla 3 Marlborough 4 Rockhampton 5 Miriam Vale 6 Childers 7 Maryborough 8 Cooroy 9 Hamilton Northshore, Brisbane 10 Toowoomba 11 Goondiwindi 12 Moree 13 Inverell Brisbane to Toowoomba is recorded as 145km, so the steep climb is no problem as the battery range is within reason. Going down from Toowoomba (10) to Moree (12) was ok, but going back up from Moree (12) to Toowoomba (10) took all day. I never charged at Goondiwindi either going down or going back up. (we charged at Goondiwindi last year). So anyway, elevation makes a huge difference to EV range. The elevation chart also shows a steep climb from Moree (12) to Inverell (13) but the distance is still within EV battery range, but used 25kW, 151km. On the way back from Inverell (13) to Moree (12) only used 19.8kW of battery power. . Edited 2019-09-04 10:05 by Trev Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
Back down the coast in June 2019. Noosa EV Expo. I have done this trek before without needing the generator, but I had bought a new petrol DC generator system (3 at 60v) and wanted to try it out. If it failed, it was ok, because I didn't need it anyway. It did fail. Parts came undone and other parts broke off. Oil leaks, which made a big mess. For a stand-alone solar back-up generator they will be ok, but not for range extending / hybrid EV application. I was glad I had them though, they did get me out of a bind at Cooroy. Cooroy charge station did not work and Chargefox couldn't fix it. So I started the generators to move on. Without the gennies, means a tow truck. It is not very often I have to share a charge point with other EV's. A BMW I3 came in to charge. He used the fast DC charger which was still working. I need the Type 2 which was not working.      . Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 814 |
Damn, wish I'd known you were going, you literally drove straight past me lol Did they still have the old AEC there? (it's quite likely that I rebuilt the generator on it, I did several up for various restorations back when I was still an apprentice, and also helped with the restoration of one of the old electric trolley buses now down at the Sydney transport museum) |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
August 2019 Ipswich EV Expo. This is the first trip that I had to use my phone and chargefox app to switch on the charge outlets. First, I set up an account with chargefox which includes credit card details so they can deduct the payment. However they have not started to deduct any money yet. So just as all the other trips have been, totally free electricity still. It was easy to connect up both sides of the Type 2, that is, 2 outlets of 32A 3 phase each, before chargfox took over the control. I did eventually work it out though, I can still be connected to both at the same time. A little tricky with only one phone/ app. Much easier with 2 devices.   One charge point didn't work on this trip as well, Childers. Spent around 2 hrs on the phone to chargefox support with no success to get this charge outlet functioning. See the 2 red lights on the charge outlet in the background. They kept trying to reset the fast DC charge outlet, even though I told them I can't connect to the fast DC outlet. I told them over and over again I needed the Type 2 AC outlet. A guy from chargefox rang me 2 days later and said the Type 2 AC hardware was broken and had no idea when it would be fixed. I managed to work my way around this problem, and still did not have to use the generator.  This Ipswich show I decided to follow the many suggestions that I should show the same way that I drive. Many people don't believe that I tow T-Rev on the trailer, so here it is, around 2000km round trip. From Kuttabul to Ipswich and back again.   . Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
Fathers Day 1st September 2019 "Dad's Day in the Valley" car show again On display..... EV Hilux, T-Rev, 2 electric quads, 2 electric outboard boat motors, along with pictures of electric boats etc, and the display of Thundersky Winston Lithium LYP batteries. Everybody like to see the batteries we run everything on. the pictures are before they let the crowds in. I didn't hear what the visitor count was this year, but last year was over 6000 visitors. It could have easily been that many again this year     . Edited 2019-09-05 10:24 by Trev Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548 |
Hi Trev. Been following your adventures with EV ,you are one very smart fella ,lol. You are one of those fellas that you meet in life that does everything just perfect, luv following your projects ,from way back ,gee too far back.. Anyhow ,Trev ,one thing I've wondered about is charging costs. If you have to charge at a servo or shopping centre, what do they charge you for a normal charge ?. (with petrol @ $1.80 a Ltr. bet you have a smile on your face when you pay the bill for power ?. (Bruce has seen the light ,sold his yank tank and has a vw 2 Ltr diesel now,, 6.something for 100K ,better than 15 Ltrs like the tank.) Anyhow ,mate hope you and the family are well, call in sometime when down this way. Bruce and Ilda Bushboy |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
Hi Bruce, Happy Christmas mate. I know you have already seen my blog for the Sydney EV drive and your question has the answer there, but thought to add the link for those who have not seen the answer to the question, 'whats the cost at a public outlet' https://www.thebackshed.com/forum/ViewTopic.php?TID=11773&P=4 Yes one day I will have to stop in and see what you have been up to again. A very different sleep over to my swag I must say. cheers Bruce! Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
sorry wrong thread, post deleted. Edited 2019-12-25 14:51 by Trev Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
The cost at Mackay public charge outlet has started. I have been charged 20 cents per kWhr. That's slightly better than normal house rate of 22 cents per kWhr. We are past another year (now 7 years) on the 260Ah battery pack. Remember April 2019, I removed 4 cells to bring it back to 48 cells. Those 4 cells out lost me a few kWhr. I generally drive around 100km and generally takes me around 18-20kWhr, depending on conditions. Today was exceptionally good. I had a tail wind, then on return the wind had died down. 16.5kWhr to do 99.6km. That's 6.03km/kWhr. Normally its 4.5-5km/kWhr. This is driving mostly highway speeds.It is better at slower speeds, but why should I drive slower when I don't have to. Photo taken at 16.3kWhr, I put the charger on and remembered I need to update the past year. So the charger got 0.2kWhr off. It was 16.5kWhr.   VDO speedo reading is 106811km now minus last year recording of 88599km (in Sept) makes 18212km for the year. Not as many km's this year, as recorded late last year and no EV shows this year. 18212km + 137231km = 155443km over 7 years Cost of this pack was $1.40/ah x 260ah x 52 cells = $18928 155443km / $18928 = $0.082 per km. (8.2 cents per km)  The old speedo is still ticking over. The speedo reading now is 592840km and 260Ah batteries fitted 437956km. That makes it 154884km. This speedo became unreliable, hence the reason for fitting the VDO speedo.  From what I see, I think my range now (48 cells) will be around 120km. I should be able to see another year before I have to change them. But of course if someone wants a cheaper pack to play with, I am happy to listen to the offers. (then I would change the pack sooner) The first lithium pack was down to 14 cents/ km, 5 years, when I took them out and put them on the house solar. They did another 7 years on the solar. Could have done more without grid tie inverters emptying them every day. That is, if they were stand-alone only, they would be good for a few more years. We changed the house solar earlier this year. http://www.thebackshed.com/forum/ViewTopic.php?TID=6010&P=1 Edited 2020-08-15 16:03 by Trev Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
Another drive. More town speeds in this one. 7 years Thundersky Winston LYP 260Ah battery pack. 116.6km using 20.7kW. Charged direct from solar to measure the Ah. When first connected up the solar charging it was doing 57A. But dropped a little by the time I got the camera as a light cloud partially blocked the sun. Photo'd at 50A charge rate. The cloud was of and on and so overall charging time took a little longer at 4 hrs 20 min. Measured 168Ah by the PL80 solar controller. EV Hilux BMS screen reads going down when charging and went passed zero, recording another 2.6kWh.     Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
Update again on the 260Ah Winston LYP pack. We are now 8 years past, since fitting this pack. I drove the normal drive, but there is quite a lot of roadworks so a mix of driving speeds. Drove 106km using 20.1kW. I didn't zero the kW reading before driving and don't remember what it was before I started to drive.   Charge by solar. Charged 156Ah.  Some may be wondering how I charge 168v from 48v (56v full) solar system. I use 3 x 48v solar systems, each to a separate section of the pack.  And after charge the EV Hilux monitor screen reads 1.5kw past the zero point so could be said 20.1 + 1.5 = 21.6kW, but the monitor tends to go past zero anyway, so it is not definitive.  The standard speedo was disconnected some time earlier this year. It sounded like a bunch of canaries in a feeding frenzie. It was still ticking over the numbers but disconnected at 601745km. The VDO speedo now has 120248.9km on it. Last years reading was 106811km. That makes 13437km for the year. (we have T-Rev registered so it does some of the driving)   13437km plus total from last year 155443km = 168880km driven on this 260Ah pack over 8 years Cost Found a mistake in last years numbers. Cost of this pack was $1.40/ah x 260ah x 52 cells = $18928 155443km / $18928 = $0.082 per km. (8.2 cents per km) This is wrong. It should be calculated $18928 /155443km = $0.12 per km. So this year, the cost is now calculated at $18928 / 168880km = $0.11 per km Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
The 260Ah cells are almost 9 years old now. On the first of June, I did the usual drive to Mackay round trip. Did 102.8km using 21.1kW by the screen. I also photo'd the single cell voltages at rest after the trip. Then I connected up to the solar for recharge and measured 163Ah going back in.         Then on the 3rd of June did another Mackay round trip for a second reference. 114.1km using 22.1kW by the screen. I didn't record the Ah going back in, but would be a bit over the 163Ah from the other recorded trip.        While this is still giving me 100km range, I have decided to do a battery change anyway. Fitted at the start of this thread, page 1, first drive was around the 15 July 2013. Now 15 June 2022. So 1 month short of 9 years. Since the last recorded speedo reading 120248.9km, now reading 127704.9km, makes 7456 km for the past year.  7456 km plus total from last year 168880km = 176,336km in total driven on this 260Ah pack. Now this 260Ah pack started as 52 cells but later removed 4 cells to match T-Rev 48 cells, so I could connect both battery packs together when I towed T-Rev on the trailer. The cost of the 52 cells x 260Ah was (from page 1 of this thread) $18928 $18928 / 176,336km = $0.107. That is 10.7 cents per km for battery cost. If I kept this pack in longer, this cost per km would come down lower. This 260Ah battery pack has been removed. Anyone want a pack for stand-alone solar? All cells were numbered so making it easier to parallel lower capacity cells with higher capacity cells for a solar system. A 48v solar system, can have 3 of these in parallel, making up 3 x 163Ah = 489Ah. As recorded from our first EV Hilux battery pack on our own house solar, another 6+ years http://www.thebackshed.com/forum/ViewTopic.php?FID=10&TID=6010   We have changed the battery pack to 48 cells x 300Ah. Today (15/6/2022) was the first drive on the new 300Ah.  Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 640 |
The old EV Hilux battery pack has been sold. $0.50 / Ah remaining capacity of the lowest cell. As stated in a previous post, measured 163Ah. 48 cells x 160Ah x $0.50 = $3840 These cells are now on a stand-alone solar system. 3P16S. 480Ah x 48v nominal. So ....... The cost of the 52 cells x 260Ah was (from page 1 of this thread) $18928 $18928 - $3840 = $15088 / 176,336km = $0.085. That is 8.5 cents per km for battery cost. Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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