News:
September 18, 2006
It's been quite
a while, and I'm overdue for an update. The truck is actually ON THE ROAD
now, operating as an electric-only vehicle for the time being. I will
have some new pictures up soon detailing the progress made over the summer.
I am away from home for the next few months, and there will be a bit of
a hiatus on additional progress. The vehicle has been left in my family's
hands, and you might see it cruising around town!
May 29, 2006: Memorial
Day
The installation of the battery racks is under way. The four battery rack
under the hood as well as the eleven battery rack in the rearmost poriton
of the truck are both close to being complete, and after that there are
only two more which go under the bed. There are new pictures
posted!
May 22, 2006
I've been home
from school for a little over a week, and have been making some tremendous
progress with the truck. The motor is now securely mounted in the engine
compartment and the battery racks are built, and now need only to be installed
in the truck. It's getting really close!
May 3, 2006
I've finally uploaded larger versions of the images in the latest
gallery. Check them out!
April 19, 2006
Nick Viera of www.driveev.com
has generously offered to host my website. This means (virtually) no more
space restrictions, and no more tripod! While the old url, http://hybridproject.tripod.com/,
will still point to the website, the acual address has changed to http://hybridproject.driveev.com/.
April
10, 2006
Back
at school, now, and I still haven't found new hosting space for the site.
The only thing not fully functional now is the latest photo album, which
remains thumbnails only. I was actually able to drive the truck out of
the shop at the end of spring break... with the motor strapped down and
a single battery powering it. Next on the long list is motor mounts, battery
racks, and lots and lots of cabling and chasing down wiring. School's
out in a little less than a month, so I'll post more news as I have it!
March 30, 2006
I'm currently
on spring break, and I've made some progress this week with the drivetrain
components. The transmission, motor and transfer case are all currently
installed in the truck, and they look great. There's still much to do,
but it's exciting to finally see some more progress. Check out the pictures
page for some new views!
Febuary 1, 2006
The adaptor
plate, although promised by mid-December, has finally arrived. Although
I'm currently attending school in Boulder, I hope that the truck will
see some considerable progress soon! This time, the matter is completely
in my hands.
December 7, 2005
Finally, an
update! All signs point to my adaptor plate arriving in time for winter
break, which begins December 16th. With this, I should be able to get
the driveline all straightened out, and I might even have a moving vehicle
by the time I return to school (early January). Cross your fingers!
August 20, 2005
In the midst
of preparing for college and finishing up working for the summer, I have
found out that the transmission adaptor plate ordered from Electro Automotive
will not be ready anytime in August. Apparently, Electro is still getting
caught up with work that's been backlogged all summer. The good news,
of course, is that I will have all next summer to complete the project.
I hope to be contacting each of my sponsors soon to inform them of the
hang-up. Thanks to everyone for your patience; I hope to see you on the
road next summer! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to
contact me.
June 29, 2005
It looks like
the grant from the school district will total $1,500! This is intended
to directly offset the cost of the Zilla controller, which is the most
technologically advanced component of the conversion thus far.
In other news, I have just
acquired a well used 4kw industrial generator, which will allow hybrid
functionality before I get the Honda powered generator built and figured
out.
As before, I'm still waiting
on my transmission adaptor. As soon as I have this, I will be able to
mount the driveline up and get the vehicle to move (albeit slowly) under
its own power!
June 16, 2005
New news on
the adaptor plate that I've been waiting for: the machinist is recovering
from a back injury, and is currently working through his backlog. According
to the email I received, it will be "Just a couple more weeks".
At least I know it's back on track. It will be exciting to get the electric
motor mounted to the transmission and in the truck; having this completed
will be one less obstacle in the way of getting the truck on the road.
June 10, 2005
I just found
out that the grant request was approved! The specifics have not yet been
worked out, but this is awesome. The grant is not to be for more than
$1500, and the exact amount has not been decided upon.
Other than the grant, there's not much new news to report. I'm
still waiting on the adaptor, and the batteries have yet to arrive. I
do have the battery charger from Manzanita Micro, and have been experimenting
with that recently. The next step on the project is to mount the motor
(as soon as I get the adaptor) and build battery boxes. I also need to
start concentrating on collecting all the odds and ends that will help
finish the project: cable, tools, mounting hardware, etc.
I will post new news as I have it.
May 29, 2005
The open house
went very well, and I was able to show my project to quite a few people.
Thanks to everyone who came by to check out all the senior projects.
There's still no official news on the grant, but I will post information
about it as soon as I have it.
Also, I'm up over $6k now!
Thanks a million to all my generous sponsors.
May 23, 2005
Tomorrow (Wednesday,
May 24th) the high school is putting on its annual senior project 'open
house,' and all current seniors will have their display boards there.
It runs from 5 pm to 7 pm at the high school, and anyone who's in the
area is welcome.
May 20, 2005
The school presentation
went very well, and my project 'passed' with flying colors. I also re-presented
my project to the school district's technology commission, which is considering
writing a grant to help pay for the conversion! I'll have more news about
this as it unfolds.
Furthermore, I just placed
an order for 24 6-volt lead acid batteries from Carquest, manufactured
by Deka/East Penn Battery Company. Both corporations are pitching in to
make the battery purchase as affordable as possible! Again, thanks to
Marge at Carquest and East Penn Battery.
I am still waiting on the adaptor
plate for the motor. Current estimates put the vehicle on the road in
approximately two months.
May 17, 2005
Tomorrow I will
be doing my "Senior Boards" presentation, which will involve
a 20 minute presentation of my project to a small panel of judges. This
is the finale of the High School's program. I will, of course, continue
to build the vehicle for the next few months, and I will be perfecting
it for years to come!
May 12, 2005
I just sent
away for my battery charger: a PFC-30, made by Manzanita
Micro. This will allow me to charge the battery pack from the AC mains
instead of the generator whenever possible. Also, in addition to plug-in
charging, the PFC-30 will serve as a temporary generator management system
while I devise my own, more application-specific control.
May 9, 2005
The high school
car show on Saturday went off pretty well, despite some less-than-optimal
weather. There are some pictures of my truck at the show here
(you also get to see it with all the trim on it in these pictures).
Also, the Zilla controller
from Cafe Electric arrived today. It is awesome. It certainly
is nice to start to accumulate more of the parts needed to do the job!
I took some pictures of it.
Laura Sefton, a local architect
(970.879.4893), has decided to donate her (aforementioned) 1989 Honda
Civic to the project, which I will use for its small, efficient engine,
fuel injection system, exhaust system, and all the other little bits that
make an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) go. From preliminary measurements,
it looks like this engine will fit nicely under the hood of my Ranger
with a generator head, sharing the space with the WarP, the controller,
and perhaps a few batteries. Thanks, Laura!
Finally, I have ordered a second
Vicor DC-DC converter after verifying that the first one I purchased functions
properly. This was a bit of a project in itself; here
are some pictures. I decided it would be prudent to get a second one
because of a) The extraordinarily low price of these units (They list
at $490 and cost me $45 each) and b) To make sure I have enough accessory
power to perform all the duties I need it for.
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