 | Geopolitical Disruptions #2: Identifying the Feedback Loops | The Oil Drum | DrumBeat: September 9, 2008 |  |
102 comments on Post peak vehicles: 10,000 km on batteries
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102 comments on Post peak vehicles: 10,000 km on batteries
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Ugo,
the San Francisco Electric Vehicle Association had one of these at the Marin County Fair a few months back and I will attest to its quality. My father has a Chinese one and in comparison the Italian one is sturdier and better made. There is, as you noted, a big price difference though (or was a big price difference since the Lepton is no longer available). My father is stopped everywhere when he rides his and people ask questions.
Nonetheless, Italian or Chinese, these are wonderfully fun to ride. One caveat: I don't recall the wattage on my father's machine but I'm quite sure it wasn't above 1500W -- and it couldn't handle more than the slightest hills.
It seems that with even just moderate hills in a commute 3000W is likely necessary.
The Lepton's engine has indeed 1500 W power. The typical Chinese scooter is only about 500 W. Additionally, the Lepton has a regular transmission; whereas the Chinese models, typically, have the engine directly mounted on the rear wheel. As a result, the Lepton can go uphill very well; you should see the hills here, steeper than in San Francisco! For a while, I tried a Chinese model; it could barely make it all the way to the top. After I did that a few times, the poor thing died on me in a puff of smoke and bad smell. I guess that in China they don't have these hills; or at least no roads on them.
Yes, 500W seems to ring a bell re: my father's scooter.
Going to LiPo was a huge improvement on climbing hills. The ~50 kg weigth gain helps, but even the much better discharge curve on high load allows you to fully use the 1800 W of the motor. Batteries are discharged at about 1C, that is not stressful for LiPo (they can handle 4C) but is very demanding for a Pb-gel automotive battery.
Car batteries can deliver current at 1C, they have lower internal resistance, but for the same reason (high surface to volume ratio in the electrodes) they last for a much lower number of cycles, usually much less than 100.
Regenerative braking is also much better. Pb-gel batteries can be charged effectively at 0.1-0.2C, i.e. if the motor delivers 1800W, only about 400W are actually used to recharge the batteries. LiPo's absorb 90% of the power produced by the motor.
As I stated below, I can reach 20 km/h on a 15% slope, I never tried steeper ones.
This corresponds to 1400W to win gravity (I am very slim) and the remaining 400 W for attrites, losses, ect. Not to say, I get a range of 15-18 km in these conditions.