The case for electric vehicles

[DumbAss Tanker]

I never want to use an electric vehicle for anything but getting from where I hit the ball to where I'm going to hit it again.

So, you're basically looking for an ATV with 4WD, full amphib capability, and front and rear winches capable of pulling it up into a tree, then?  That's going to take a Hell of a battery pack...

  

[BlueStateSaint]

So, you're basically looking for an ATV with 4WD, full amphib capability, and front and rear winches capable of pulling it up into a tree, then?  That's going to take a Hell of a battery pack...

  

So, he wants one of these, for starters . . .

[GOBUCKS]

So, he wants one of these, for starters . . .

Actually, I bought a new camo Honda 4-wheeler before deer season this year. It's a lot more rugged than that one, but golf courses don't like those tires, and it isn't exactly quiet.

[Wineslob]

Yeah, my son "dropped" off an '86 Nissan pick up in my yard about 5 years ago. Been thinkin' of doin' the same thing with it, just to use around here or maybe run down to the local convenience store once a week. I need to move hay and grain around once in a while and havin' to warm up the diesel for a few minutes work is a pain in the ass! Just not sure I want to invest that kind of money.

I have access to all kinds of large electric motors though, and might be able to adapt one of them. The electronics aren't much of a problem since I've been designing my own circuit boards for years. The only real expense is batteries.

I've always wondered if an GE EV1 SCR would work in this situation.

[BlueStateSaint]

Actually, I bought a new camo Honda 4-wheeler before deer season this year. It's a lot more rugged than that one, but golf courses don't like those tires, and it isn't exactly quiet.

It's electric, GOBUCKS . . . so the EZ-GO is very quiet.  That would be the reason I would, if I could, get one.  Noise discipline.

[GOBUCKS]

It's electric, GOBUCKS . . . so the EZ-GO is very quiet.  That would be the reason I would, if I could, get one.  Noise discipline.

Nah, mine's the one that makes noise. I hunt with a guy who uses an electric side-by-side Polaris, but I think it was over $15K. That's a steep price, plus it's a bigger vehicle for threading through the woods to a dead deer. I pulled six out this year, and drove within fifteen feet of every one. I don't worry about making noise getting into the woods because no one sneaks up on a deer, and their memory span is pretty much zero. My priorities are to avoid climbing hills and killing myself dragging deer.

[BlueStateSaint]

Nah, mine's the one that makes noise. I hunt with a guy who uses an electric side-by-side Polaris, but I think it was over $15K. That's a steep price, plus it's a bigger vehicle for threading through the woods to a dead deer. I pulled six out this year, and drove within fifteen feet of every one. I don't worry about making noise getting into the woods because no one sneaks up on a deer, and their memory span is pretty much zero. My priorities are to avoid climbing hills and killing myself dragging deer.

Cabela's has a "Stealth Exhaust System" available.  Not sure if they have one for a Honda.  They advertise that it cuts the noise signature by 50%--must be by decibel reduction.

[AllosaursRus]

I've always wondered if an GE EV1 SCR would work in this situation.

Yeah, it will work, but from reading the boards on electric vehicles you have to have the right motor and drivers. It has to be a DC shunt.

[Chris_]

DC systems don't support regenerative braking either.  At least not without a bunch of very expensive extra parts.

I thought about solar charging, but anything small enough to fit on a car probably won't be powerful enough to provide much of a boost.

[AllosaursRus]

DC systems don't support regenerative braking either.  At least not without a bunch of very expensive extra parts.

I thought about solar charging, but anything small enough to fit on a car probably won't be powerful enough to provide much of a boost.

Well the idea is you only use the electric vehicle once or twice a week as opposed to a daily driver. Then you can basically trickle charge the batts and not worry about all the expensive parts. Even if I use it to run to town, I'm only talkin' 6 miles one way. If I use it once or twice, the batteries will never actually run down.

[DumbAss Tanker]

The value of regenerative braking circuitry depends pretty heavily on what kind of driving you're doing.  For what Al and I are talking about, it's not a very useful feature.  For vehicles doing urban driving with a lot of stop and go, and short charging intervals between daily use, it's a lot more useful.

[BlueStateSaint]

Well the idea is you only use the electric vehicle once or twice a week as opposed to a daily driver. Then you can basically trickle charge the batts and not worry about all the expensive parts. Even if I use it to run to town, I'm only talkin' 6 miles one way. If I use it once or twice, the batteries will never actually run down.

AR, I went to the EZ-GO website and found one that is street legal.  WHere I live here, I'd use one a few times a week, but not to do stuff like drive to work--20 miles is a tad far for one of these.  Plus, the solar array I'd have to put on top of the damned thing (there's backpack fold-out ones available) to keep it charged would be a nightmare.