Solar and Electric Bicycles, Scooters and LEV's | |||||||||||
Solar Scooter
Article on the scooter in Tree Hugger with some additional pictures: Updated: Don reports on the status of the scooter after
three seasons of heavy commuting use. |
![]() Thanks to Don for making the plans available! |
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Accelerated
Composites Aptera
Unfortunately, Aptera did not make it and went of business in December of 2011. Hopefully someone else will pick up the concept. Maybe not -- Aptera's assets have been purchased by a China company... |
![]() While it is licensed as a motorcycle, they have put a lot of
emphasis on safety including air bags and front, side, and
rollover protection. |
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Light Electric Vehicles
(LEV)
This is a good place to start looking for a small efficient electric vehicle. |
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BugE
http://blueskydsn.com/BugE_Concept.html
Owner's manual: NEW: Nap
Pepin's BugE based advanced homemade EV -- 56 watt-hr/mile: |
![]() one passenger, electric vehicle with some weather protection. Offered as a kit for about $4000. |
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Meyers
No-More-Gas
http://www.myersmotors.com/index.html
|
![]() One person, 75mph top speed, 30 mile range, heater, power windows, licensed as a motorcycle, safety features, ... 2 cents per mile fuel cost. |
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Vectrix Electric Scooter Vectrix did not make it.
|
![]() The website has quite a bit of information, and also includes some interesting planned projects, as in a hybrid version. About $8000. |
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SunETrike Solar Powered
Trike
|
![]() 170 watt solar panel/roof. Can actually run directly off solar panel at 6 to 8mph without
pedaling. 12 to 14 mph with battery. |
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Solar Electric Bicycle
Project
|
![]()
|
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Kevins
Electric Bike with Solar Mud Guards
|
And, the PV panels double as mud guards. More ... |
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Terry's
Suitcase Solar Electric Scooter
|
![]() ![]() It weighs 44 lbs and has a 13 km range. This is a one of a kind prototype. Terry has a unique plan going to fund a follow-on version of the scooter that involves giving away the first prototype to some lucky person -- see his site for details. |
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Green
Wheel -- A new electric bike design from MIT
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29259226/
|
![]() The handle bar mounted throttle connects to the hub via Bluetooth. Said to be good for 20 miles with you pedaling some to help. |
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Drive and EV and Never Buy
Gas Again, Moore Mother Earth News |
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SUNN - Solar Powered Car Kit
Kit Info:
|
![]() Solar panel on the hood for charging the battery. Plans and a parts kit are to be available in the spring of 07. |
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"Moonbeam" -- a DIY 100+mpg
car
|
![]() Quite a bit of information on building it. |
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Motorhome Bike
From Bike Portland and Treehugger |
![]() "Amazingly, the guy claims to have ridden this contraption all over the U.S. and down to Mexico" |
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NYCE Wheels -- Electric Bike Conversion Kit Reviews...
|
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EV Album
|
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Ecomodder
|
![]() The Ecomodder site has user submitted projects ranging from simple tips and mods to some very ambitious projects. Lots of detail on some of them. Lots of interesting material. "Welcome to EcoModder.com, an automotive community where performance is judged by fuel economy rather than power and speed. EcoModders employ a combination of vehicle mods, driving techniques, and common sense to squeeze every penny out of the pumps." |
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Transportation
that Works in Disasters
|
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Dog Powered Scooter
http://www.dogpoweredscooter.com/
|
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Electric Cars | |||||||||||
Electric Cars: A Definitive
Guide
www.hybridcars.com/electric-car#up-and-coming
|
![]() A really helpful rundown on what's available or soon to be available. |
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New
Electric Section for www.FuelEconomy.gov... |
![]() I think they overstate the environmental benefits for the US, and that its good to also see this study..., but there is a lot of good information in the new section. |
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Electric Forum |
Electric car forum with lots of particiapation. |
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Solar
Today -- Efficient Cars Roundup 2014-15... |
![]() |
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How do electric car CO2 emissions compare to gasoline powered cars? Is Electricity A Clean Energy Source?...
|
How the comparison comes out depends a lot on how clean the source of your electricity is. For electricity produced by coal, an EV is equivalent roughly to a 30 mpg gasoline powered card, for NG its 54 mpg and for wind its 3900 mpg.
|
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Nissan
LEAF EV
http://www.greencarcongress.com/... http://www.autobloggreen.com/... NEW Latest on the Leaf -- price to be around $33K with rebates bringing it down to about $25K... |
![]() Carries 5 people, range 100 miles, top speed 90 mph.
|
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Mitsubishi
i MiEV
http://www.autobloggreen.com/ ... Fun video driving the iMiEV...
|
![]() 4 passenger, 80 mph top speed, and 80 mile range. "Ride comfort is surprisingly good" 330 volt Li-Ion battery system charges in 7 hours, but a half
hour quick charge is being pursued. |
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Unfortunately the Aptera did not make it
|
![]() While it is licensed as a motorcycle, they have put a lot of
emphasis on safety including air bags and front, side, and
rollover protection. |
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The Buddy
Small electric car from Norway
|
![]() 3 people, crumple zones, regenerative braking, and trunk capacity
of "8 bags of groceries". Also accepts "varying battery
technologies". |
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EV Resources
|
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Solar Electricity at
Home..., Kevin Johnson |
![]() This is quite an amazing story. Kevin details how his family has 1) cut their transportation energy use to about 5 KWH per day by using an electric vehicle conversion, and 2) their home electricity use to about 5 KWH per day through conservation. All of this energy is supplied by all of this energy is supplied by a 2.9 KW grid tied PV system. |
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Why We Need Electric Cars, Steve Heckeroth, Mother Earth News Finding Mother Earth News articles...
|
![]() Good article on electric cars -- makes a good case for electric vehicles and plug in hybrids. Shows that even with electric cars and plug in hybrids charged from the largely fossil fuel powered electric grid that a significant reduction in green house gases results. |
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Tesla Motors-- high performance EV sedans...
http://www.autobloggreen.com/...
|
![]() Seats up to 5 adults + 2 children, ranges from 160 to 300 miles depending on battery pack, zero to 60 mph in 6 seconds, and a price just under $50K (including $7K fed rebate). Production by Q4, 2011 -- start saving! |
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|
![]() A bit out of my price range, but nice to see what can be done. The first few have been delivered. |
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Electric
Car Future? Fix the Grid First, Chris Ellis http://www.hybridcars.com/fuels/electric-car-future-fix-grid-first-27623.html
|
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EV
Conversions Converting a gas engine car to an EV is entirely feasible simpler than many would think. There are kits available that make the job even more straightforward. |
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How Stuff Works -- Electric
Cars
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/electric-car.htm
|
![]() Goes through an actual conversion as an example. |
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The Electric Vehicle Association of Greater
Washington DC...
Build and EV:
|
![]() Its not as detailed as some of the materials below, but its a good overview of the whole process. The site also has some current news on EV developments. |
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Jerry's Electric Car
Conversion
and,
|
![]() The description is very detailed and covers all the design and build issues encountered in detail. If you want a feel for what's involved in a conversion, this is the one. |
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Electric car forum with lots of particiapation. |
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Building
a Low Cost EV in 1 Week
http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?page_id=17
|
![]() The three videos give a good feel for what's involved in the full EV conversion process, and the site provides quite a bit of information in the form of drawings, and a whole raft of links to useful EV conversion information. |
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DIY
Electric Car
http://www.diyelectriccar.com/
|
![]() Looks like a very good place to learn the details on conversions and get expert advice. |
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EV
Calculator from EVConvert
http://www.evconvert.com/tools/evcalc/
|
![]() It has a whole inventory of actual donor cars, motors, controllers, ... You put a car together from these choices, and it then reports the performance for the car you assembled. |
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Build Your Own Electric
Vehicle, Bob Brant, TAB Books, 1994
|
![]() My reaction after reading this was that it looks a lot more straightforward and practical than I thought it would be. Part of this is due to the inherent simplicity of electric cars compared to gas engine cars. The book provides quite a bit of design information, as well as a detailed how-to on the actual conversion. |
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Chevy S10
Conversion from EV Help
http://evhelp.com/S10_Conversion.htm
|
![]() Other useful material on the site that is dedicated to helping with EV conversions. |
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Born to be Wired, Kelly Davidson, Home Power Magazine issue 122 |
![]() Covers the tradeoffs on range, battery capacity, vehicle choice, and provides a bit of detail on the actual conversion process.
|
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Solar
Van UK
http://www.solarvan.co.uk/index.htm
|
![]() ![]() The conversion uses an AC motor and is power by Lithium batteries. Picture at right shows battery installation under a raised floor. |
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EV
Album
|
![]() A page of technical data on each conversion, and in some cases, pointers to websites that give more detail. |
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Drive Electric -- Shockwave Motors...
|
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Solar Car Anatomy, Nelson Kruschandl www.speedace.info/solar_car_anatomy.htm
|
![]() There is quite a bit more information on the site on electric cars and solar cars. |
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Electric
Drag Racing
www.opb.org/programs/ofg/segments/view/1686
|
![]()
|
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SEE ALSO the suppliers list for EV conversions .. | ![]() |
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Gas Powered Scooters | |||||||||||
Scooters www.Vespa.com Articles on popularity of scooters: |
![]()
|
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Vetter
Streamlined Motorcycles
|
![]() His current project is a practical motorcycle that gets 120 mpg under real highway conditions and is comfortable to ride. I really like the cardboard prototype. |
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CNG Powered Cars | |||||||||||
New Federal Incentives Could
Put CNG Vehicles on the Map New Incentives for CNG cars... |
![]() They will be offering substantial subsidies/credits to both manufacturers and car buyers. And, incentives for people providing CNG refueling stations. |
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The Honda Civic GX CNG
Fueled Car Honda website for the GX... |
![]() You can find the details at FuelEconomy.gov... The new incentives for CNG cars should make this a much more attractive choice -- and make T. Boone Pickens very happy. |
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Green
Car Reference Sites These sites offer the best information I have been able to find on finding and buying a green, efficient car. |
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The Fuel Economy Guide Fuel
Economy Guide... |
![]() The www.FuelEconomy.gov site provides more in depth data on each car including cabin volumes, emissions, range, fuel costs, ... |
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Fuel Economy dot Gov
NEW: The 2012 Fuel Economy Guide is out... |
![]() Very informative site. Fuel economy data on all models. Some info on the various green and fuel efficient technologies. The "side-by-side" comparison tool is very handy for comparing mpg, cost, carbon, interior size, ... for multiple cars. |
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Hybrid
Cars dot Com Selecting an efficient car: www.HybridCars.com Excellent Gas Mileage Impact Calculator:
|
![]() Sample: Ford Explorer to Toyota
Prius |
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Plugin
Cars
|
![]()
|
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Latest EPA Fuel Economy
Guide
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/feg2000.htm
|
![]() Mid-size cars show a range of 12 to 55 mpg! |
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Top 100 Green Cars
Top 100
|
![]() A quick way to browse the 100 most green cars, as rated by Environmental Defense. The green rating depends mostly on fuel economy, but takes a number of other factors into account. |
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AutoBlog
Green
|
Sign up for their email news to keep up on what's new in green cars. |
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Does It Pay to Drive a
Hybrid? Andy Kerr Home Power Magazine article How to get articles from Home Power ... To download the spreadsheet: |
![]() You can download the spreadsheet that goes with the article to determine the payoff for buying a hybrid for your particular case. Most of the analyses out there on hybrid payoffs make a whole set of assumptions that are likely not right for you. |
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Ecomodder
|
![]() The Ecomodder site has user submitted projects ranging from simple tips and mods to some very ambitious projects. Lots of detail on some of them. Lots of interesting material. "Welcome to EcoModder.com, an automotive community where performance is judged by fuel economy rather than power and speed. EcoModders employ a combination of vehicle mods, driving techniques, and common sense to squeeze every penny out of the pumps." |
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PV and EV -- My
Solar-Electric House and Car Mark Jensen Home Power Magazine Article, Issue 113 |
![]() These EV's are no longer offered by Toyota, and after reading the article, one wonders why? |
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Green Car Congress
http://www.greencarcongress.com/topics.html
|
![]() Well organized and up to date. |
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Efficient
Cars You Can Buy Now This is a small sampling of efficient cars now in production that stand out (to me) -- not by any means an exhaustive list -- just ones I've heard good things about or that seem interesting. See the Green Car Reference Sites section above for more complete information on selecting an efficient car. See also the Concept Cars section for some near term offerings. |
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This is a bit out of date in that the 4th generation Prius is due out prety soon -- rumored that it will get about 55 mpg. |
![]() Impressions and numbers starting to come in on the 3rd
Generation 2010 Prius. Note: we bought a 2010 gen 3 Prius to replace our gen 2, and have been quite happy with it. |
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Toyota Prius (Gen 1 and 2)
Prius Websites & Info: |
![]() I'm probably a bit biased on this, since we own one. |
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John's
Prius Site
|
![]() This is an amazing collection of Prius material for all three generations. |
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Using your Prius (and other Hybrids) as backup generator to power you house Very simple emergency power from Hybrid car... The ConVerdant Prius generator... |
More out there if you Google for it. |
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10,000
Miles in the Jelly Bean car (now over 100K
miles)
Gary (Updated 7/2007 -- 40,000 miles and 100F) |
![]() In our attempt to cut our total energy use and CO2 emissions in Half of the 24 energy saving projects we did, the Prius was the single most effective project.
|
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Costs of Owning hybrids vs non-hybrids over
100,000 miles
|
These are my thoughts and some
comparision data on the cost of owning a hybrid vs a non-hybrid car
(or SUV) over a 100,000 mile period. It compares various 2010
offerings and includes both initial price and fuel costs over the
first 100,000 miles.
One result -- driving an efficient vehicle instead of a full sized SUV or truck can save $30,000 and neark 50 tons of CO2 emissions over 100,000 miles. |
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Guy's
Chevy Volt www.arttec.net/Chevy_Volt/index.htm |
![]() Lots of in depth information on the Volt. Guy tracks EV vs gas operation and also the fraction of the Volt charging that is done with their own PV array -- all very interesting. If you have not seen Guy's site, there is a ton of good renewable energy project information on it. |
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GM
Volt Electric Car
http://www.chevrolet.com/electriccar/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt A site dedicated to ongoing news on the Chevy Volt: http://www.gm-volt.com/ |
![]() It has a range of about 40 miles before the gas engine is needed. The charge for the first 40 miles comes from the grid. Price is about $40K, but it qualifies for an about $8K rebate. Interesting article on Chevy Volt battery longevity ... |
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Chevy Volt Owner Says He'll Soon Be
Driving For 'Free'... From HybridCars.com |
![]() ![]() He is off-grid and has added enough capacity to his PV system so that he can charge the Volt using his own PV for his daily drive. Quite and interesting story. |
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New
Honda Insight Hybrid
A good detailed description of the new Honda Insight from
AutoBlogGreen:
|
![]() This is a designed from the ground up hybrid that is that Honda is expecting to capture a lot of the Hybrid market -- starting price is said to be $18,500. The link gives the first detailed description of the car, including a road test -- looks very promising. |
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Ford
Fusion Hybrid
|
![]() The Fusion hybrid is reported by reviewers to be roomy, comfortable, and quiet. Ford Fusion hybrid tops 80 mpg, 1,000 miles with 1/3 of a tank left... |
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Honda Civic Natural Gas
|
![]() EPA mileage 24/36 equivalent on NG -- the price of NG is equivalent to gasoline at $1.50 a gallon. Very low emissions. Range is only 170 miles, and CNG tank cuts trunk volume in half. |
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Honda Civic Hybrid | ![]() Well proven hybrid package. A new Honda hybrid design is due out soon -- this will be a new model that is designed as hybrid from the ground up (like the Prius). |
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Fiat
500 -- efficient, clean, safe, cheap, and cute Green Car Congress on the 500 ... |
![]() Cost 10,000 Euros. Voted "European Car of the year 2008". Available in the US? I suppose not. |
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Honda Fit
Some info on the 2009 model -- now available: |
![]() EPA mileage of 28/34 with a price around $13K. "agile handling, zippy performance, and impressive practicality. A four-door hatchback, the Fit is amazingly comfortable, given its dimensions, even in the back seats." |
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Ford Focus | ![]() Gets good reviews. |
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CalCars.org -- Plug in
Hybrids
A video from Science Channel on Plug In Prius: |
![]() The video gives a good overall description of the concept. A question one might ask is do plug in hybrids result in lower
GHG emissions when you include the GHGs from the grid electricity
used to charge them? Here is another report on the same subject from Eric Williams at Duke University ... |
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The Obivo "Trybrid"
|
![]() High performance and prices starting at $14K are claimed. |
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ZENN (Zero Emissions - No
Noise Car)
2015 - Zenn is no longer making electric cars
|
![]() Top speed 25mph, range 40 miles. Driven by 72 VDC, 5hp electric motor. More pictures of the Zenn taken at the Livingston, MT Sustainability Fair |
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The "It" electric car
|
![]() |
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The Bruce Weiner MicroCar
Museum
http://www.microcarmuseum.com/index.html
|
![]() Many on display in Madison, GA |
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Peel
P-50 -- World's Smallest Car
|
![]() 50 cc engine, 130 lbs empty weight, 3 wheels, 1 door, no reverse. |
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1989
Geo Metro
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geo_Metro |
![]() I tried looking up info on the Metro -- these are the best of the links I found. Its kind of a mixed story. I'd be interested in hearing from Metro owners. From Jonathan: "I owned a Geo Metro with the 1.0L 3 cylinder engine, and 5 speed manual transmission. I think it was a 92 model. It didn’t have much pep and couldn’t go over 80 mph floored. It did get 48-49 mpg consistently." From Jerimiah: "I drive a 1993 Metro that I modified a bit. I just broke my previous records for fuel economy with it; my last tank of fuel was 648 miles on 9.75 gallons - 66.5 mpg. That was 55 mph interstate driving." Full details on Jerimiah's Metro and its mods... |
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Clean
Diesels Vs Hybrids...
|
![]() Bottom line is that while diesels have improved on all counts, they are still significantly worse in greenhouse gas and general air pollution. |
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Toxic Batteries in Hybrids? | Many of the efficient cars listed in the section are hybrids. The hybrids use batteries with some toxic material content -- is this going to cause an environmental problem? | ||||||||||
Concept Cars and Prototypes | |||||||||||
Mitsubishi Concept PX-MEIV... | ![]() |
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VW XL1
Concept Car
Some nice pictures on AutoBlog...
|
![]() The car seats 2 side by side, uses a carbon fiber body and many
other advanced features to keep the weight down to 1750 lbs. It
has a drag coefficient of only 0.186 and a frontal area about
2/3rds of a VW Golf. Wow! |
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Toyota
FT-Bh 112 mpg Concept Car www.hybridcars.com/news/toyota-takes-wraps-112-mpg-f... |
![]() |
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New Honda Hybrid
http://www.autobloggreen.com/ ... No longer a concept -- you can buy one at your neighborhood Honda dealer |
![]() This is a designed from the ground up hybrid that is that Honda is expecting to capture a lot of the Hybrid market -- starting price is said to be $18,500. |
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Toyota 1/x Concept Car
http://www.greencarcongress.com/... http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/...
|
![]() It uses carbon composite construction and weighs only 926 lbs! The gas engine is only 500 cc. Same interior space as a Prius. Estimated EPA mileage is just over 90 mpg. Batteries can also be charged from grid. |
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Single
Seat Volkswagen
|
![]() ![]() This car is powered by gasoline only, and its 250 mpg is not one of the phony plug in hybrid mileage ratings that does not include fossil fuel burned to make electricity -- its an honest 250 mpg -- amazing. Said to be ready to go on sale in Shanghai in 2010. |
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Honda
Clarity Fuel Cell Car -- drive report
http://www.autobloggreen.com/ ... This is quite a detailed report on the Honda Hydrogen fuel cell
car and a drive in it from AutoblogGreen. NEW
Home Energy Station -- make Hydrogen at your home for the FCX... |
![]() The specs make it sound like a practical, usable, high efficiency car -- the biggest problem being the availability of Hydrogen (and cost?). The "Home Energy Station" is interesting -- A home station that makes Hydrogen from NG, and uses waste heat for space heating. Its puzzling that this only achieves a "30% reduction in CO2 compared to home with IC engine car and electric heat"? Seems like it should do much better? |
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Toyota iQ
City Car |
![]() More details coming in early Oct of 08 at Paris auto show. To be in production by late 2008. Toyota has talked about a hybrid model later. |
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VW Polo Diesel -- 71 mpg, 87
g/km CO2
http://www.autobloggreen.com/...
|
![]() Claim is 71 mpg and 87 gm/km of CO2. This would make the most fuel efficient 5 passenger car on the road. |
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Electric
MINI -- The MINI E
On AutoBlogGreen: |
![]() They should be little hot rods with the equivalent of 200 peak HP. Powered by Li batteries and an advanced AC power plant -- said to have about 150 mile range. They will be leased ($850?/mo) in selected locations, including east coast and west coast cities. BMW is doing this to get real world experience with electric vehicles. |
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Saturn Vue Green Line will
offer 2-mode and plug-in hybrid technology
|
![]() Finally some signs of life from Detroit. |
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Prius PlugIn Hybrid
|
![]() Specs are a bit underwhelming (10 mile electric range), but maybe helpful to some. A question one might ask is do plug in hybrids result in lower
GHG emissions when you include the GHGs from the grid electricity
used to charge them? |
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The Think went out of business in 2011 To be offered in the US: Larger, faster 2011 model: The sleek version: |
![]() 2 or 4 person capacity, air bags, heating and AC, power steering, regenerative braking, ABS, ... Range 120 miles, top speed 62 mph, weight 3000 lbs, Li-ion or sodium batteries. The company also has some unique ideas on how the car and batteries are to be sold and marketed. The 2nd two links are for follow on models. |
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Venture
Tilting Two Seater
"Flying the Road"
http://www.autobloggreen.com/...
|
![]() I have to say that the video makes it appear to be a very fun car to drive. Kind of a cross between a motorcycle and a car with an outstanding view of the scenery. |
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Diesel-Hybrid Pickup Coming to US, Mahindra has dropped this pickup for the US
|
![]() From Mahindra. Not sure I quite believe this, but their tractors have a good reputation. |
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The AIRPod Compressed Air Three Wheeler...
|
Designed for urban use. Target price is about $8000.
|
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Wind-to-Wheel
Energy Assessment, Patrick Mazza and Roel Hammerschlag, Institute for Lifecycle Environmental Assessment
|
![]() Batteries appear to be the clear winner from this point of view. (Thanks to Ron for finding this) |
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Determining EPA fuel rating for plug-ins is difficult | ![]() Complex because the Volt runs 40 miles on electricity in the
batteries with no gasoline use, and after that runs on electricity
produced by the onboard IC engine. |
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MIT's pint-sized car engine
promises high efficiency, lost cost -- Ethanol empowers little
engine that could
Massachusetts Institute of Technology news
office...
|
Article from MIT Tech Talk on a gasoline
engine that uses direct injection of Ethanol to suppress knocking
under high power demand situations.
Claim is that this allows a much smaller, higher compression, turbo charged gas engine to power a car, with injection of Ethanol only when high power is demanded. The claim is that this could reduce fuel consumption by 30%, which is comparable to hybrids, but at a much lower cost. |
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Scuderi Engine -- Potential air hybrid...
|
![]() |
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Israeli
Microturbine-Based Range-Extended Electric Vehicle From the Green Car Congress
|
![]() This type of vehicle is electrically propelled, but an onboard generator is used when the batteries can't provide enough range -- this means no need for a lengthy charging stop on long trips. It is claimed that the gas turbine may use as little as half the fuel of an IC engine for battery charging. |
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PML's In-Wheel Motor,
Plug-in Hybrid Mini
http://www.greencarcongress.com
|
![]() Motors in wheels, 21 KWH lithium-polymer battery pack, 200 mile range as electric, 930 mile range as gas hybrid. Zero to 62 mph in 5 seconds. 250cc engine. Traction control and anti-skid built into each wheel. 80 mpg? |
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The UltraCommuter -- 500 mpg
2 seat car, University of Queensland
|
![]() “This is a real car designed for today’s Australian conditions using current technology,” he said. “Our goal is to have a fully operational prototype on the road later this year.” |
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Taiwan
Solar Car Prototype
|
![]() "The battery can be charged with just a few hours sunlight and can power the car for three hours." Expected to be available "this year". |
||||||||||
UBC 3100 mpg car
www.physorg.com/news70040977.html
|
![]() “We achieved this level of efficiency by optimizing many aspects of the vehicle design, including: aerodynamics, light-weight construction, a small displacement engine (54 cc), and conservative driving habits,” says Team Captain Kevin Li. |
||||||||||
Peugeot -- 69 mpg Diesel
Hybrid
NEW update on the Peugeot diesel
hybrid: |
![]() Sounds great, but unfortunately not available until 2010. |
||||||||||
Loremo debuts 150 mpg
concept car in Geneva
From AutoBlog
|
![]() |
||||||||||
Bob -- A Motor Home for the Greenhouse Gas Age?... |
Also, have a look at our fuel efficient ProMaster van conversion camper... |
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X-Prize The X-Prize Foundation is offering a 10 million dollar prize for practical 100 mpg car. |
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Summary of Auto X-Prize
material on Autoblog Green
X-Prize article and video summary ...
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The Auto X-Prize offers a $10 million
prize for a car that can get 100 mpg. The emphasis is on a
practical car that meets real consumer needs, and meets current
safety requirements -- not on concept vehicles. This summary of Auto X-Prize material on Autoblog Green provides a lot of useful material. |
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Edison's
Very Light Car
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![]() The website brings up a number of interesting issues, including why the car is not a hybrid. There is also a good blog attached to the site. |
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Kinetic Vehicles X-Prize 100
mpg entry
http://www.kineticvehicles.com/
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![]() In contrast to most of the X-Prize entries this is an "open source" entry with all of the details on how they are going about the design/build available on the website -- right down to detailed parts lists. |
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Commercial Vehicles | |||||||||||
GTB-40
Hybrid Bus
www.fishercoachworks.com/vehicles.html
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Reducing Drag on Big Trucks | ![]() They have come up with a number of practical looking drag
reducing changes. The boat tail fairing alone (pictured to left)
reduces drag by 7.5%. |
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Mercedes-Benz
Actros -- an efficient big rig
http://www.autobloggreen.com/...
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![]() Lots of interesting material on factors effecting big rig mpg and CO2 emissions in the article. |
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London Plans for Hybrid Bus
Expansion
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Hybrid School Buses
http://www.hybridschoolbus.org/ Hybrid Drivetrain Maker:
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![]() "40 percent increase in fuel efficiency" So, maybe city buses, garbage trucks, ... are coming? |
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HST
(Highly Sophisticated Transporter) Kioko Muthui http://akmuthui.synthasite.com/ HST brochure/specs... (4.5MB pdf)
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![]() "With reference to contemporary trucks, the HST would feature extraordinary fuel efficiency, a significantly improved driving experience, a higher level of active and passive safety, and enhanced environmental and infrastructural considerations." |
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Efficient Driving | |||||||||||
GasSavers -- Helping you
Save at the Pump
The "Top Ten Vehicles" section is quite interesting. |
![]() "GasSavers is a community of fuel economy
enthusiasts. Our typical member does not own a hybrid. Our
typical member is like you: With a normal vehicle and a desire
to increase the fuel economy of that vehicle." |
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Hypermiling
CBS hypermiling story Hypermiling website: |
![]() The CBS video covers an "ordinary" driver and a hypermiling driver using identical cars on a trip from Chicago to New York. |
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Modifications to Improve Efficiency | |||||||||||
Choosing
Low Rolling Resistance Tires
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CalCars.org -- Plug in
Hybrids
A video from Science Channel on Plug In Prius: |
![]() The video gives a good overall description of the concept. A question one might ask is do plug in hybrids result in lower
GHG emissions when you include the GHGs from the grid electricity
used to charge them? |
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PV Enhanced Prius
Lapp Renewables Ltd.
www.lapprenewables.com/hybrid%20project.html |
![]() Lapp has found that if you start with an efficient car, that you can indeed make a worthwhile improvement. The (admittedly non-optimum) prototype achieves a 10% improvement in mileage, and the potential for an about 33% improvement is discussed. |
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Rebuilding
a Hybrid Vehicle Battery Pack, Michael Lamb
How to get articles from Home Power ...
|
![]() Michael gives a very detailed how-to on refurbishing the NiMH battery pack from a Honda Civic hybrid. While this is not for everyone, it appears to be surprisingly doable -- if a bit time consuming. The incentive is that the cost of a new battery pack is $3000+ and the total cost of the rebuild (including buying a charger) was $380. |
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Car Fuel Conversions | |||||||||||
EERE Alternative Fuels &
Advanced Vehicles Data Center
http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/
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![]() Includes basic info on alternative fuels, index to publications, data on alternative fuel use, incentives programs by state, and lots of alternative fuel resources (although not a lot of the best ones from the point of view of Do-It-yourselfers). |
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VW
Jetta Conversion to Vegetable Oil
Jeff
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Thank you Jeff! |
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Mike Pelly's biodiesel method
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_mike.html http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library.html Part of the Journey to Forever site: |
![]() The Journey To Forever site is very interesting, with a good collection of information on biofuels and many other fine projects. |
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Do-It-Yourself Automotive
LPG Conversion
http://www.wps.com/LPG/LPG-book-final.html So, is an LPG conversion a way to 1) save some money, 2) reduce greenhouse gas emissions -- all without spending a lot of money on a new car, an expensive conversion, or the hassle of making Biodiesel? Any thoughts on this? -- Gary |
![]() LPG is a lower carbon fuel than gasoline, and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions -- and maybe save you some money. It is also appears to be a relatively simple conversion, and fuel is widely available. |
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See Also -- the BioFuels page | |||||||||||
Aircraft | |||||||||||
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About half of the power in flight comes from solar cells mounted on the surface of the airplane. Empty weight is only 100 kg. Pretty amazing. |
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Aeros airships...
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Solar/Wind Boats | |||||||||||
Electric Boats
www.mindspring.com/~jimkerr1/sebebts.htm
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![]() Introduction to electric boats and solar boats, and links to a number references, suppliers, clubs, ... for electric boat information. |
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The Biggest Solar Electric Boat this Side of the Mississippi Steve Cooper |
![]() Interesting article on using solar PV to provide auxiliary power on a 30 ft sailboat. |
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Econogics Electric Boat
Page
http://www.econogics.com/ev/evboats.htm http://www.econogics.com/ev/evboatlinks.htm
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Kite Sails for Boats Reduce Fuel Use...
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![]() Under good conditions, fuel savings can be 50%, with annual savings of 10 t 30%. Operation is largely autotmatic.
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Electric Boats and Plans | |||||||||||
The
Loon Solar Electric Boat
YouTube Video on the Loon Solar Boat... http://www.tamarackelectricboats.com/
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Duckworks Electron
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Chesapeake Marine Designs | ![]() |
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Glen-L Plans and Kits | ![]() |
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Efficient and Solar RVs, Campers, and Trailers | |||||||||||
Small, Simple, Efficient RAM ProMaster DIY Camper Van Conversion |
This is a work in progess, and any comments or suggestions for improvements would be appreciated.
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DIY Composting Toilet for RV... |
Gordon passes on detailed instructions on how to build and use the composting toilet, and observations from their many years of using this and other composting toilets.
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Section on Composting Toilets for RV's... | ![]() |
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Solar Powered DIY RV Evaporative Cooler... |
The system uses fans to blow outside air through a porous wet cooling pad. Evaporation of water in the cooling pad cools the air, dropping the temperature by as much as 25 F. The compact unit contains a water reservoir, water pump, aspen cooling pad, and circulation fans as shown in the diagram. It runs on 12 volt DC power and is powered by the RV's solar panel and battery -- pretty cool :) Tom uses this to cool his RV without having to use grid power, but it could be adapted for all sorts of cooling applications, including emergency cooling when the power grid is down. |
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Solar Trailers and Mobile Workshops | |||||||||||
Portable Solar-Powered Workshop Jon Haeme Search Home Power article archives for issue 47, and order it. |
![]() Article on a complete, PV powered, workshop in a trailer. |
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90 Solar Powered Portable Workshop Search Home Power article archives for issue 90, and order it.
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![]() Interesting article on a portable, PV powered workshop in a trailer. Uses one 120W PV panel, 2 Trojan T105 batteries, and an 1800 watt inverter to power a wide variety of tools. System cost $2600. |
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Solar Tractors and Mowers | |||||||||||
Solar Garden Helper Machine Details on the solar garden helper machine...
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Its made from 1 inch steel tubing bent and welded by Randy, and uses a geared down drive from an electric wheelchair. Its electrically powered with 4 golfcart batteries that are charged with two 80 watt onboard PV panels. |
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Our Elec-Trak Tractor Project -- Using an Elec-Trak to Power Your House in Power Outages, -- Charging the Elec-Trak from a Grid-Tie PV System
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ElecTrack electric tractors .... Mark Frerking
Pictures of Mark's latest Elec-Track project...
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![]() These are fully electric, use no gas, and make no pollution. They could even be charged with a PV array. The fact that many made back in the 70's are still working is testament to their rugged design and construction. It boggles the mind that nothing equivalent is offered today. Thanks very much to Mark for providing this. |
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My
Elec-Traks www.myelec-traks.com/ |
![]() Also, manuals, brochures, information, and history on the ElecTrack tractors. |
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The Elec-Trak Owners Club www.elec-trak.com/ |
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A sampling of commercial
electric riding mowers
Some new commercial electric riding mowers are becoming available.
(Thanks to Mark for suggesting these) |
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Converting an Allis-Chalmers
"G" Cultivating Tractor into an Electric Vehicle, A USDA Funded SARE Grant
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![]() Covers both the tractor conversion and a charging station. The author uses two of these converted tractors day in and day out. |
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Lonnie's
Electric Walk Behind Tractor www.thegreensmachines.com/ |
![]() Lonnie sells a set of detailed plans for $80. There are a number of videos on his site showing the tractor in action. I'd like to hear from anyone who uses the plans to build a tractor. |
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David Goes Electric Bruce Johnson How
to get articles from Home Power ... |
![]() Interesting article on converting a walk behind gas tractor to electric power on a budget.
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Lee's
Solar Lawn Mower
Details ... Update -- Lee adds self-propulsion... |
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Converting
A Gas Lawn Mower To Solar Charged Electric Power, Guy Marsden
http://www.arttec.net/Solar_Mower/index.html Potential cheap source for electric lawnmower motors ... (updated September 16, 2008) |
![]() Guy's website has a wealth of information on solar space and
water heating, conservation, ... |
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The
EcoRider -- Converting a Gas Riding Mower to Electric
To see all the blog entries on the conversion, search for "EcoRider" |
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Solar Charged Lawnmower From Appropedia.org www.appropedia.org/Solar_Charged_Lawnmower Potential cheap source for electric lawnmower motors ...
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![]() Provides some useful information for any project that needs a fair amount of power (1 hp) run from solar electricity. |
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Solaris
Solar Mower http://www.solarispowerproducts.com/index.htm |
![]() Available mostly in Canada, but may be more available in the US soon -- about $500 to $600 Dan has purchased one, and will be reporting on how it works out (good so far) on Dan's site ... |
Gary Updated September 7, 2008