Don’t fill ‘er up

Father and son convert gas guzzler to electric car. “It shows that this can be done by just about anyone,” says Colin Gallant

Besides the obvious advantages of not having to buy gas, there are a lot of other no-hassle benefits that come with an electric car.

There’s no oil to change. There’s no radiator, so there’s no antifreeze to dispose of and replace. There are no spark plugs to get tuned up. No filters. And - good for all of us - there are zero emissions.

These are just a few of the cool things Colin Gallant learned when he chose, as his Senior Project at Edwin O. Smith High School, to convert a standard compact car into a battery-operated electric car.

Colin was responsible for the research and much of the work, but he also got some valuable assistance from his father Roy Gallant, a longtime mechanic at Storrs Automotive.

George Buch gave me his car.

Colin credits Storrs Automotive owner Renee Lizee for inspiring his choice of project by recommending a documentary called “Who Killed the Electric Car?” about the rise and demise of the battery-operated EV1 of the 1990s.

He also became curious about alternatives to gas-power after taking a class that delved into the environmental-impact aspects of physics.

Things began to fall into place, too, when a Storrs Automotive customer from Windham, George Buch [not Bush], decided his car was too far gone to repair and talked about donating the ‘95 Honda Civic to a charity. Instead, he was persuaded to let Colin give it a new, and ‘”greener”  life.

Geeorge Buch “has been a great supporter,” Roy said. “He’s seen it, and he’s taken lots of photos.”

After pulling out the engine and just about everything else under the hood, Colin and his father began a search for parts and instructions for a battery-powered system.

“We finally found Electric Vehicles of America in New Hampshire. They were really supportive. And they specialize in electric conversion kits,” Colin said.

Some parts, though, had to be hand-built in order to customize the kit to fit a smaller car. “It took a lot of imagination,” Colin said.

Lifting up the hood, Roy pointed inside and said, “See the mounts - under the vacuum, the motor, the pump, the battery packs? We designed and built those.”

A mini-computer called a controller, electrical relays, a “pot box” for the accelerator, a DC/DC converter, batteries and a small motor are now under the hood. The DC/DC converter steps-down the normal 120 volts of a standard car battery to 14 volts, to power things like the windshield wipers, radio, horn and headlights.

Where do you put ten 66-lb batteries?

One of the toughest puzzles to solve was weight distribution. There are 10 specialized, heavy-duty “deep-cycle” or “traction” batteries, each of which weighs 66 lbs. Some are placed in the engine area, and the rest are in a custom-built, recessed case below the cargo area in the back.

When the car is registered by the Department of Motor Vehicles this month, it will have to pass inspection, and that will include meeting weight requirements. The car cannot weigh more than its original design.

“The goal is to swap weight-for-weight,” Roy explained. “The motor weighs 125 lbs, but you also had the radiator and other components, which are now gone.”

Because the car isn’t registered, it hasn’t been on the road much - just traveling between Storrs Automotive on Dog Lane and across Route 195 to E.O. Smith High School. The car also was displayed on “Green Day” and made its first general public appearance in Willimantic’s July 4th “Boom Box Parade.” [Another opportunity to see the car will be in the Sept. 14 Festival on the Green parade.]

One of the most noticeable differences between a gas-powered and a battery-powered car is when you turn the ignition key. There’s no sound, except a low whine that diminishes as the car picks up speed.

Roy noted that the first questions people ask about the car is how fast and how far can it go? Until it’s registered, they can’t test it on the highway, “But we shouldn’t have trouble getting up to highway speeds, and we should get up to 40 miles per charge,” Roy said.

He added that this kind of capacity makes an electric car a perfect second car for a family. “It would be good for just getting around town or even commuting to work, if you don’t have to drive too far,” he said.

Colin pointed out that studies have shown that about 80 percent of workers are driving 40 miles or less to work, and about half those people are commuting an average of 25 miles.

Watch for big changes in 2010

Roy predicts big changes in driving habits in 2010 when the major car manufacturers expect to bring out all kinds of modified cars - from hybrids that switch to electric power when gas isn’t needed (i.e. driving downhill, sitting at a stop light), to those that use electric power and then when the juice runs out, switches to gas power (until you get home and plug the car into the house - along with your cell phone and digital camera - to recharge the batteries).

Father and son agree, though, that it will be a while before the average car-owner will be able to afford some of these “green” cars.

“They had to wait until they could bring the price of the batteries down,” Roy said. “But what they’re hoping to start with is still $35,000.”

Hydrogen-powered cars have an even longer stretch before they’re affordable, Colin said. “Their average cost is about $1 million. That’s because fuel cells are very expensive, and very expensive to replace,” he said.

Whether or not electric cars are a boon to energy conservation depends on where you live, Colin added. “That’s the thing. You have to think about where you’re getting your electric power. So, it’s only 27 percent cleaner to run an electric car if you live on the East Coast, while on the West Coast it’s about 90 percent, because they use alternative energy like wind and solar power.”

Colin’s project earned him an “E” grade, as in “Exemplary.”

“I learned a lot about energy conservation, and cars, and electricity in general,” he said.

Even more important, he said, “It shows that this can be done by just about anyone.”

Photos:

1. Roy and Colin Gallant, from Ashford, beside car donated by George Buch.

2. Colin and Roy show the work they did under the hood.

3. A closer look at the controller (center), the “brains” of the engine.

4. Some of the 66-lb batteries are stored in a custom-made bin under the rear cargo compartment.

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Posted Aug. 23, 2008

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