[ramnaresh_2000]

Originally Posted by aashishnb

Just a suggestion, since you mentioned there are many companies doing conversions in Hyd, perhaps you can go and see one of them in action and even get some post conversion reviews.

Good idea. I will approach them, but not sure if I will get positive response. We are on a strict budget of 2 lacs per vehicle. If this conversion flops for 1st vehicle, then, yeah we would probably go with EV vehicle directly.

We are still contemplating on the numbers. Wanted to be 100% sure before we place the order, as the supplier said no exchange and no refund

[Storm2.0]

Can you procure EV parts such as motors or batteries from scrapped cars for cheap from scrap dealers? Since it's just a pilot project you can try this option as well.

[aveemashfaq]

Here are my two cents on your conversion. First off, lack of ICE is going to be a problem for your booster brakes. Brakes become really hard and you have to stand on the brake literally to get a decent slow down speed. I suggest you read up how vacuum system works on Reva and implement that.


Then comes the part of motor selection. You can go crazy here. Maybe you can try an AC induction motor or DC forklift motor or whatever you want. Do the research and know the pros and cons of each motor before you make a choice. Just to give you an idea about the variety, you can wire up 16 batteries of 12 volts in series and make a battery system that will charge directly from your mains because battery charging voltage is 14.4 volts. And then build your own DIY regulator which is a sinewave generator. And you can put the run of the mill AC induction motor directly to the controller.


But be warned that you have to design for safety and have enough systems that make the system foolproof. 240v DC is more dangerous than 240v AC system and will kill people instantly if you mess things up.


You also need to decide whether you want to go down the hub motor route or the gearbox route. You can buy hub motor and controller from Aliexpress or other sites which you can directly install in the place of rear axle. That is a waaaay better designed solution. But it requires some manufacturing of a rear axle to hold the motor and hub motors comes with its own set of disk brakes, so make sure they are all connected right, install hand brake and so on.


Another way is to connect the motor to the gearbox. This is because if you directly pair it up to the differential, the mismatching torque curves will make the differential fail (just like what happens with our Indian lorries). If you attach it to the clutch point, it remains stable because of clutch slipping on excess torque. This is much easier to fabricate because of ooonly requiring mounting for the motor.


You need to go with lead acid batteries because that fits your budget. Li-on batteries are way too expensive for your budget. And if you are going with lead acid, make sure that you have a good mounting point because that is also important.

[pradeepkc]

Hi @ramnaresh_2000, I assume you already thought about this.

Did you consider converting the Ace to a Hybrid? XL Hybrids in US was good at converting existing fleets to 48V based Mild Hybrids. They supposedly were able to get up to 25% fuel savings for Fleet users. I think given the typical frequent start stop traffic in India, 25% seems very doable.

There's also an Indian company that has a mild hybrid conversion kit, http://hypixi.in/

Good luck!

[ramnaresh_2000]

Originally Posted by Storm2.0

Can you procure EV parts such as motors or batteries from scrapped cars for cheap from scrap dealers?

So you mean scrapped electric vehicles? I was not aware such vehicles exist.

Originally Posted by aveemashfaq

Here are my two cents on your conversion.

Seriously you have loaded us with too much information. We need to decode each of this scenario. Highly appreciate your inputs on this.

Originally Posted by pradeepkc

Did you consider converting the Ace to a Hybrid?

There's also an Indian company that has a mild hybrid conversion kit.

Yes we explored hybrid options as well. However, the biggest challenge my friend is facing is lack of control over Diesel costs. Some drivers are skimming Diesel after getting it filled in vehicle, some drivers are producing fake receipts. Hybrid conversion is not going to solve this issue. Hybrid will only increase the costs.

We had reached out to that Indian company based in Banglore I believe, we have not received any response.

[srini1785]

Originally Posted by aveemashfaq

Another way is to connect the motor to the gearbox. This is because if you directly pair it up to the differential, the mismatching torque curves will make the differential fail (just like what happens with our Indian lorries).

To add to the excellent points that @aveemashfaq has already made, i would suggest to get a motor with a fixed step down gearbox instead of trying to adopt a motor to a existing trany which is designed for a ICE. Electric motor gear boxes come in a variety of ratios ranging from 1.5:1 up to 1000: 1 and more.

Motor with and without gearbox.


In addition to the normal DC brushless and AC induction motors, you can look into stepper motors too. Steppers are now the motors of choice for all EV cars including Tesla. Its also called as reluctance motors. The advantage of steppers is the ease of speed control. You just need to control the frequency of pulsing to the controller.

[pradeepkc]

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

Yes we explored hybrid options as well. However, the biggest challenge my friend is facing is lack of control over Diesel costs. Some drivers are skimming Diesel after getting it filled in vehicle, some drivers are producing fake receipts. Hybrid conversion is not going to solve this issue. Hybrid will only increase the costs.

We had reached out to that Indian company based in Banglore I believe, we have not received any response.

Ah. Pilferage is an issue in the Telecom Tower sector too. If you have already considered a fuel monitoring system like this, ignore it.

Let me know if I can be of any help. I am not a mechanical guy, but I have been in the EV Industry for 7 years now (mostly Software).

[mayd85]

Please include battery weight in your power calculations. You are targeting some 60V-450Ah with lead acid batteries, I understand. Lead-acid batteries are HEAVY! A conventional truck battery of 12V-150Ah weighs around 40kg (a big truck has 2 of them in series to make 24V). You'll need to do a series-parallel combination of such batteries to achieve necessary energy rating. E.g. for 60V-450 Ah, you'll need 5s-3p kind of combo which means 15 batteries of 12V-150Ah each. That also means roughly 600kg of additional weight on your vehicle.

If available, please try to get your hands on a Li-ion battery pack with proper BMS attached to it from somewhere. That will be safer, faster to charge and will also help you keep the weight down. Trust me, with 450Ah from Lead-acid batteries, your vehicle will be spending more time charging than running.

[vrprabhu]

Just a couple of thoughts -

1. I have seen electric (battery operated) mini vans used for garbage collection used on daily basis where I live. I am guessing that it could have been manufactured in Coimbatore - which is known for motors / pumps. While these may not be converted vehicles - the design of the vehicle would have factored some of the issues which you are now facing (I remember reading about some CSR activity where such battery operated carts were donated to municipalities for garbage collection; I also remember when visiting Ajanta caves, the last leg of the journey was only via TATA EV buses - even asking for their help may work out in your favour?).

2. From the discussions going on, I understand that there are three elements of engineering challenges - electrical, mechanical and automotive. I guess this makes it a ideal project for an engineering college - have their students take a crack at this. Heard there were similar projects for go-karting being sponsored by engineering colleges / IITs - this would be something similar.

[Shamegz]

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

Steps:

• Identify the vehicle
• Calculate the motor power requirements
• Calculate the battery requirements
• Actual Conversion
• Price Estimates
• Testing
• Re-engineering (if required)

You need to consider the Charging & Charging system, go with any traditional approach, then you will end up with lot of charging time with Safety issues.

Add a battery safety circuit to protect the battery and passengers.

Getting it road legal would be another challenge (if u plan to).

[COMMUTER]

Buying an used E2O and then modifying/swapping the components should also be considered since the cost of the conversion is higher than the cost of a new E2O itself. The 25bhp powertrain will be enough.

Make sure that you have multiple battery packs designed in a manner that they can be swapped easily. This will allow you to lower the payload from batteries. You can charge the battery pack when they are not mounted. This will solve the problem of range. Most of the runs for EVs are supposed to be short and this will solve the problem of having extended downtime from charging too.

If the EV gets stranded then you can take a charged battery pack in the trusty diesel vehicle and enable it to be taken home or be ready for another environmental friendly run.

[refaircargo]

Hi guys.. sorry for the late look up. Maybe bhp forgot to copy me the responses. ( Honestly, I did not log in either all these months ) Anyways. I am from Hyderabad. A "senior" citizen of 65 + with lots of qualifications and experience of over 5 decades and unlimited ambitions. I have some "outlandish" and inspiring electric ideas, worth testing. Can you please update me on the status of your conversion project/s. RSVP. Regards. PJ 9849031066