[ElectriCar]

Originally Posted by EVfun

It sounds like there is an issue with the current limit. Usually the Curtis is noted for having an excessively slow throttle ramp rate that pretty much prohibits a decent burnout.

If you want to moderate the throttle you can put a capacitor in parallel with the throttle pot. This was done a few times to tame the older B model Curtis controllers in reverse. It is a variable voltage set by the resistance across the pot.

If that's so I wonder if I could use an external supply and generate a voltage through the pot and apply it to the correct terminal, which I also don't know which one it would be.

[ElectriCar]

The Curtis 1000A mod was most awesome however it lasted only about 3000 miles, has blown up 3 times costing me two tow bills and three blown 400A fuses. Enough of that!

Upgrading to a Soliton1. It came Friday and unfortunately it was damaged. The Ethernet port was smashed and pushed into the controller. Looked like UPS ran it through a trash compactor! Based on the note in the box about not setting the controller down on that side, they should probably switch from plastic to a metal housing or recess the terminals in a raised metal box projecting from the side of the controller for protection.

I was however able to make a template before sending it back. THIS THING IS HUGE and heavy. The mounting board I have has to be reworked as it's nearly 20" length wouldn't fit with my existing layout. I also had to shorten the mounting frame to keep the hood from closing on it as it's about 6 inches high. The thing looks pretty much bullet proof! Can't wait to get it going!

I know some of you have switched to Soliton as well, the more I learn of it the more I see the value in it. There truly is no comparison to the Curtis I had but the S wasn't available when I bought it.

So did you build a new mounting board to mount yours? My first one was 3/4 plywood. I'd like to use something thinner like a plastic of some sort. What did you use or what do think would make a good base for it?

[JRP3]

Aluminum plate.

[DIYguy]

Originally Posted by ElectriCar

The Curtis 1000A mod was most awesome however it lasted only about 3000 miles, has blown up 3 times costing me two tow bills and three blown 400A fuses. Enough of that!

Upgrading to a Soliton1. It came Friday and unfortunately it was damaged. The Ethernet port was smashed and pushed into the controller. Looked like UPS ran it through a trash compactor! Based on the note in the box about not setting the controller down on that side, they should probably switch from plastic to a metal housing or recess the terminals in a raised metal box projecting from the side of the controller for protection.

I was however able to make a template before sending it back. THIS THING IS HUGE and heavy. The mounting board I have has to be reworked as it's nearly 20" length wouldn't fit with my existing layout. I also had to shorten the mounting frame to keep the hood from closing on it as it's about 6 inches high. The thing looks pretty much bullet proof! Can't wait to get it going!

I know some of you have switched to Soliton as well, the more I learn of it the more I see the value in it. There truly is no comparison to the Curtis I had but the S wasn't available when I bought it.

So did you build a new mounting board to mount yours? My first one was 3/4 plywood. I'd like to use something thinner like a plastic of some sort. What did you use or what do think would make a good base for it?

Congrats!
Unlike some controllers, the Soliton1 comes with a substantial Aluminum base with integrated water cooling. So, u don't really have to mount it on aluminum . . although, as JRP says, it's not a bad idea. I just used a piece of Teflon because I had it and thought electrical isolation isn't a bad thing. I would not use wood. . it's just not the right material for automotive.
I would definitely hook up the water cooling circuit though and run it through a small rad. Use the optional output to drive an ice cube relay. This feature works great. Although I didn't use the water cooling when I ran lead, I found that the added available power did cause the controller to limit power on warmer days.
Our builds "were" always close in many ways. . . now u change ur controller to what I've been using. . . and I'm changing mine again...lol

[ElectriCar]

Whew, Teflon and carbon fiber are outrageous! I think a 3/16 sheet of cf would be awesome but it's about half a G. Just can't make myself spend that much on it! JRP I thought the same thing but I'd be concerned about vaporizing a wrench or something using aluminum!

Now to get the AC back working before it gets hot...

[ElectriCar]

Haven't done an update in a while but lots of stuff to report. Got the 1 going in mid August and have since put about 4400 miles on it. I'm doing around 1300 miles/month. I've saved $1133 in just over 3 months, well on my way to the estimated $2500-3500/year when I decided to build this thing! At this clip, by next August I'll have saved about $4500! And this is after deducting for property taxes and insurances costs.

A bit of disturbing news now. Today I hit the 10,000 mile mark on the pack and I've noticed a significant drop off in the capacity of the Calb pack. It's much worse than I expected IF my metering is correct. I'll need to do it again to verify the CA info, I'll explain.

Originally the mileage limit tested to around 110-120 miles. I did a LOT of driving one day last week and when I made it home I was at about 190Ah. Voltage was still OK so I didn't sweat, after all these batteries were tested to about 210+ Ah when new. Being near empty I decided to go ahead and see just how much I could use before serious voltage drop so I drove down the street to stay within walking distance. I ran it down to 198 of the 200Ah capacity per the CA and the controller shut down at 150V or 3.0 VPC as I had set it to do. I walked the mile to the house, took the PC and lowered the threshold to 135V and drove it back.

198Ah wasn't the correct Ah though as the CA had drifted and was showing 5Ah once recharged. That said, it looks like the pack was depleted at only 193Ah. I don't reset the CA every time I recharge so the error accumulates until I reset it. On this trip, I documented and charted the last 40 Ah or so versus the voltage after no throttle for 5 seconds at each reading on a trip back home but the numbers on the chart aren't in even increments.

So in short, at 10,000 miles it appears my Calb pack purchased in January 2011 has lost about 9% capacity. I need to test it again after resetting the CA to verify this. If this is the case, it doesn't look good if this capacity decrease is linear. By the time I reach the 100K mark, I'll have no pack but I'll still have saved an estimated $22000 or so which will completely cover the cost of the conversion and several thousand dollars to boot. In reality I'm not convinced it will last that long. At the rate I'm going now though it won't take long to find out.

I'll continue to document my capacity and mileage over time and repost it if my old head remembers to do so!

[GizmoEV]

Make sure the CA actually reads 0A when no current is flowing. Mine wanders around quite a bit, apparently depending on temperature.

How many Ah has the pack delivered? That would give an idea of the number of equivalent full cycles.

What are your typical sustained current values and also peak values?

I've heard that the decline in capacity isn't linear but more exponential decay in nature. I'm hoping that is true. Please keep us posted.

[jeremyjs]

Originally Posted by GizmoEV

Make sure the CA actually reads 0A when no current is flowing. Mine wanders around quite a bit, apparently depending on temperature.

How many Ah has the pack delivered? That would give an idea of the number of equivalent full cycles.

What are your typical sustained current values and also peak values?

I've heard that the decline in capacity isn't linear but more exponential decay in nature. I'm hoping that is true. Please keep us posted.

I dunno. All the cycle life charts I've seen are very linear in nature, other than the first 50 cycles or so where the capacity increases a few percent, then declines a few percent. I've never done it myself though.

Let us know what you come up with. How far do you normally drive before you recharge? 9% seems like an awful lot for such a short time.

[ElectriCar]

Originally Posted by GizmoEV

Make sure the CA actually reads 0A when no current is flowing. Mine wanders around quite a bit, apparently depending on temperature.

How many Ah has the pack delivered? That would give an idea of the number of equivalent full cycles.

What are your typical sustained current values and also peak values?

I've heard that the decline in capacity isn't linear but more exponential decay in nature. I'm hoping that is true. Please keep us posted.

Hi guy. I've noticed it varies with temp. Re how many it has delivered, not sure about that. This thing came in with some data already in it and I didn't reset it. Not sure I could have or not. Maybe it can be calculated somehow.

I have the Kw put back in the pack from the wall since new and know it is about 13% more than the watt hours from the CA so that would get me a close approximation. I'll try and do that tomorrow. I'll also post the spreadsheet from that trip and another shorter recent trip up to I think about 75Ah.

Peak current has hit 1000, likely close to 1500 for a split second when I had that bootleg Curtis in there. Now I have the Soliton set to 1000 but seldom hit that high anymore. Acceleration is usually 350-400 for a few seconds then it tapers off to maybe 75-150 depending on local roads or interstate.

[ElectriCar]

Originally Posted by jeremyjs

I dunno. All the cycle life charts I've seen are very linear in nature, other than the first 50 cycles or so where the capacity increases a few percent, then declines a few percent. I've never done it myself though.

Let us know what you come up with. How far do you normally drive before you recharge? 9% seems like an awful lot for such a short time.

Drive to work is about 13 miles for my normal route and I recharge nearly every time right away. Most of the time I recharge at less than 50% depletion but using it like I do, it's not uncommon to drive it down to 60-75%.