[happycamper]

What kind of speed/distance could I expect in a VW bus with this set up? And could this take any kind of batteries?

[mizlplix]

You can use any type of battery you want, from a thousand flashlight cells, to one giant custom made cell. Having said that, if you are a first time EV'er, I would suggest FLA, golf cart batteries. Lithiums are very expensive and are fragile, so require careful monitoring, charging and using. FLA's only need a decent charger, terminal cleaning and water added every so often. Although shorter life span than lithiums, you can change types after the first batteries wear out, 3-5 years or so.

How far on a charge? The often quoted saying: "It depends on your battery pack type, size, voltage, vehicle weight, your driving style and terrain type", still applies here. No difinitive or accurate answer is possible without these values plugged in. Sorry.

Now, if you want a guess....fla golf cart type batteries, 108vdc pack voltage (18 batteries), flat terrain, sensible driving style, my guess is 30 to 35 miles per charge, Just a guess .... If you have room, you can series 18, series another 18 then parallel them to get double benefit. Downside is WEIGHT.

Advice: An early bus had a 4.88:1 ring gear ratio plus the drop boxes giving a nice reduction that would suit the AC50 motor. I would have a 4 spider differential and close ratio third and fourth gears installed. Stock VW trans has an overdrive fourth gear which is not usable with the AC50. Woth the close ratio set up, fourth is direct, third splits second and fourth (evens out the large 2-3 split).

cheers Miz

[valerun]

cruisin - I will PM you. Have interest in AC50 as an auxiliary power source for our DC conversions. Would love to tap into your experience and you are local (I am in San Mateo)

to someone's question on batteries: in this day, LiFePo4 is the only meaningful choice IMHO. Going with lead, you will:
1. Spend up to 2x MORE with lead over the life of the car on batteries.
2. You will have 2x weight of the pack for the same capacity
3. You will have 0.5x the range for the same capacity
It's just a losing proposition all around.

And no, you don't need to babysit them. Lead Acids require more maintenance than LiFePo4.

Lastly, to one of the posts on the first page. Someone asked for a choice between AC50 system and 11"DC with 1kA Zilla. That comparison is just unfair. AC50 will feel like a golf cart compared to 1000A running through a 11" series DC motor. You will see at least 3x the torque and, if you configure your pack voltage right, at least 3-4x the top power. Now, you will pay for that with 3x the weight (~350lbs for motor + controller vs. ~130lbs) and loss of ~15-20% in efficiency. This could result in 15-25% decrease in your range. And that's before considering the fact that when you have power available, you WILL use it ;-))) - further reducing your efficiency. But that's a matter of personal choice. I went with a 11" DC + 1000A controller on 256V Lithium pack on my 2500lb Fiat conversion (http://www.emotorwerks.com/cgi-bin/FiatConversion.pl). I like it! ;-)) I am going with a big DC motor (Warp11HV most likely) and 340V pack for my BMW E46 conversion but am thinking of adding an AC50 system for regen and additional power boost - sort of an AC/DC hybrid ;-))) Cruisin - would love your take on that latter config idea.

V

[mizlplix]

I just cant afford lifepo4. If that were the only choice, id only drive ice vehicles.

Couple that with their fragility, their need for balancing. Their need for an expencive monitoring system and smart charger. Their need to not charge them fully and not use them too low....

Well my opinion is that their technology needs maturing or a betterbattery altogather.

The lifepo4 decision is not so clear where I sit.

Sorry in advance to all this offends. But it is my opinion thats all.

MIZ

[frodus]

Originally Posted by mizlplix

Couple that with their fragility, their need for balancing. Their need for an expencive monitoring system and smart charger. Their need to not charge them fully and not use them too low....

yeah, mostly opinion, agreed.

Fragile: Not IMHO. I've seen people beat these cells pretty good and they come back. Not as tough as lead, but still pretty tough.
Balancing: Depends on your definition. All you NEED is HVC and LVC to control discharge and charge. You can balance manually yourself.
Expensive monitoring: It doesn't have to be expensive. Some people use Cell-log's to look at the cell voltages and trigger LVC/HVC, and they're cheap. Other options are miniBMS, and it's pretty reasonable.
Not charge/discharge them fully: Why not? If you have a system that monitors HVC/LVC, then it won't overcharge/overdischarge.

It doesn't HAVE to be expensive....

but in the long run, you'll replace SLA more than Lifepo4, and spend more over the life of the car (if you take care of both properly)