Comments on: Face, Face, Face http://electricar.us/blog1/2008/05/05/face-face-face/ Ed Begley Jr. Would Be Proud Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:07:00 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Administrator http://electricar.us/blog1/2008/05/05/face-face-face/comment-page-1/#comment-43 Administrator Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:07:00 +0000 http://electricar.us/blog1/2008/05/05/face-face-face/#comment-43 Hi James: Thanks for following along in our blog! Right now, the best batteries from a cost effective standpoint are still the lead-acid ones. Sixteen U.S. Battery No. 2200’s were in the car when I bought it. The local members of our EV club (www.lveva.org) are recommending that I switch to Trojan T-125’s or T-145’s (the latter costs more but carries more juice – they’re physically the same size) and, I suspect, that’s what I’m going to do. The nice thing about owning these GTEs is that they’re basically lab experiments on wheels. I suspect that, in the not too distant future, the price of NiCad’s and lithium-polymer batteries will decrease dramatically. We already know that they’ll be manufactured in standard case sizes so that they can be sold to the golf cart industry. For you and me, it should be a drop-in replacement. If you’re serious about getting the Bradley going again, I’d recommend sticking with the lead acid cells for now – just to get the car back on the road. However, the next time you have to replace the batteries – say in 2-3 years – you may find that you have more options. My Bradley never had a tachometer. The two large instruments were a speedometer/odometer and a motor volts meter. The three smaller ones were motor amps, accessory battery volts and state of charge for the main battery pack. Keep me posted on your work and if there’s anything that I can do to help, don’t hesitate to e-mail or call me. Tailwinds, Jim Hi James:

Thanks for following along in our blog!

Right now, the best batteries from a cost effective standpoint are still the lead-acid ones. Sixteen U.S. Battery No. 2200’s were in the car when I bought it. The local members of our EV club (www.lveva.org) are recommending that I switch to Trojan T-125’s or T-145’s (the latter costs more but carries more juice – they’re physically the same size) and, I suspect, that’s what I’m going to do. The nice thing about owning these GTEs is that they’re basically lab experiments on wheels. I suspect that, in the not too distant future, the price of NiCad’s and lithium-polymer batteries will decrease dramatically. We already know that they’ll be manufactured in standard case sizes so that they can be sold to the golf cart industry. For you and me, it should be a drop-in replacement. If you’re serious about getting the Bradley going again, I’d recommend sticking with the lead acid cells for now – just to get the car back on the road. However, the next time you have to replace the batteries – say in 2-3 years – you may find that you have more options.

My Bradley never had a tachometer. The two large instruments were a speedometer/odometer and a motor volts meter. The three smaller ones were motor amps, accessory battery volts and state of charge for the main battery pack.

Keep me posted on your work and if there’s anything that I can do to help, don’t hesitate to e-mail or call me.

Tailwinds,

Jim

]]> By: James W. Veenstra http://electricar.us/blog1/2008/05/05/face-face-face/comment-page-1/#comment-40 James W. Veenstra Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:11:10 +0000 http://electricar.us/blog1/2008/05/05/face-face-face/#comment-40 I built a yellow Bradley GTE years ago, ran it for a couple of years and it has set without batteries in my garage since. The only part I was short before the company folded was the "heater" and there is one instrument missing (?tach or ?). Reading this is getting me excited about maybe getting new batteries. I did buy a solid state controller for it maybe 10 years ago. Any suggestions about best batteries at this stage, or other suggestions. I built a yellow Bradley GTE years ago, ran it for a couple of years and it has set without batteries in my garage since. The only part I was short before the company folded was the “heater” and there is one instrument missing (?tach or ?). Reading this is getting me excited about maybe getting new batteries. I did buy a solid state controller for it maybe 10 years ago. Any suggestions about best batteries at this stage, or other suggestions.

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