Makerfaire KC

It's that time again! 

http://www.makerfairekc.com/

Makerfaire is a time to get everyone's great stuff out on display in town. Why not get the Twike to show it's Face. I'm still repairing the batteries, but This is definitely a time to spread the news. Come on out if you are in KC. 

Earth Day

Sorry for the long delay in posting, Work has kept me busy.

the Electric Vehicle club made it out to Earth Day. I was able to meet and drive the MiEV, Volt and fun little electric bicycles. The display was at the Shawnee mission East High School.

Since the display, I have had some battery issues and my long hours at work. I hope to get some time to get the Twike up and running soon, but in the mean time, it has had some rest.

MiEV sits on one side

Volt on the other

Some people pop their hoods, other's pop their sun roofs. 

About the TWIKE

The Twike is a 3 wheel electric vehicle that is currently built in Germany. for more information, the Wikipedia article is pretty informative and a good place to get some information. I have numerous links on the right column of this site that I update periodically with more information. All together, they get you quite a bit of info.

Browse around the TWIKE website and others for more information. If you would like to contact me or get more information (or a ride) Please visit the contact section on the website and put in the appropriate information and I can get in contact with you via email. For quicker response, please put " TWIKE in KC" so it can be routed to me quickly (few days).

The TWIKE is my daily commuter vehicle. It was Built in 1999 and when I purchased it in 2011 it had ~1000 Miles on it. I was able to salvage the vehicle and revive it with new batteries. I have learned a lot in the process and would be willing to share/help with any EVs if people would like some insight or to demonstrate this to a group for education or discussion of topics.


TWIKE on!

First Months

My goal in purchasing this was to make it my daily commuter, and my goal is complete. I have been driving it to/from work, as well as other activities and clubs. The only reason I've not driven is for extreme range. My favorite story so far is being pulled over to have my registration checked. "Is ..... That..... Street.... Legal?" the officer asked in complete disbelief that it could be street legal ( trust me officer, I spent nearly 4 months figuring out all the legal issues with it). I may start a story section on here for humorous comments. What I've noticed that that most of the people that approach me are very excited about the prospect and form factor of the vehicle. They love how small it is and how efficient it is.My favorite part is when people realize that it is electric. It is Quiet, sleek, and for reasons that escape me, it stands out in traffic.

 I have noticed that the cold weather does affect my range a little bit. I'm excited that the temperature is warming up and that I'll be getting some good testing on range coming up soon.

Driving during the day is SOO much more fun that at night . I then can tell that people can see me as well as the friendly Honks and comments like " HOLY COW! IS THAT THING REAL" as I pull into parking lots.

Driving this is a real learning experience. I have learned more about driving by watching other people watch me. I suggest to you all to pay more attention to other people on the road, see what they do, watch how they accelerate... see how going faster than the speed limit doesn't really get you there sooner? Drivers really need to chill out.

I have broken a few charging station.... I think the Twike likes to take all the current it will be given... or else their Circuit breakers are poorly set. I will investigate this when time permits.

First Drive on New Batteries

New batteries are holding up so far. My estimates give me about 30+ miles per charge, I think it may go farther when the weather warms up.

SUCCESS! It drives.
I ran into a few mechanical hiccups as is expected with an older vehicle, but in general, for a vehicle that has been Idle for 4+ years, it is running fantastic. the vehicle does have a audio system on board , but I've resolved myself to not turn on radio for first month or so of driving; not only to extend range, but also to fully get my attention on the vehicle. Get to know the sounds, the turning, the feel of the vehicle. It really is exhilerating.

Thing that I've noticed and will get accustomed to:

* People like to take pictures of it
* if the person pulls right up to your bumper, it's not them being impolite, it's them getting a better look at the vehicle.
* They aren't honking at you.. more of a "with" you, affirmatively.
* Defensive driving
* Having a crowd around the vehicle


I am planning on getting a ChargePoint account which allow me to use the public Charging Stations. (it's fantastic)

I'd been debating for a while what to expect while driving the vehicle around.What would people do. Would people follow me? What questions will they have? Is it possible to give a ride to Everyone?
It's all happening now and it's going to be exciting.

It really comes down to being honest, giving people facts and bring them out of the "Shock" of seeing it. Everyone goes back to being a little kid when they see it. I've heard multiple people say " it looks like a _____" .... In my mind, it looks like a TWIKE.

Few fun photos of getting it out and about:

Everyone needs to inspect it

Also changed the tires on it because it had been sitting for a while: 

It's a pretty simple task to replace the tires, once again, refer to the TWIKE MANUAL.

Basics: 

*leave the back wheels on, and jack the back side up one at a time. -> Change tire

*Jack the front up, remove the bolt, but make sure to know where the washers are before you take them out(take a pic). 

Battery ReBuild

I took the initial test drive on some old batteries and got about 6 miles. I recharged and tried some some different battery configuration... and all the batteries died. This at least did confirm that components of the system worked.

With a little guidance and some prior knowledge of the technology, I engaged on a journey to put together 2 new battery packs. Each pack has 280 "C" cell batteries and they need to be integrated with the Battery Management System "BMS".

After searching through multiple sites and pricing out my options. I found a price I could manage and decided to rebuild the packs. I hit a few barriers like " How do you assemble 280 batteries into a single solid pack" and " Does the BMS really work" and "How to install thermal fuses... "

I was able to contact a few people my Hacker Space  and they were enthralled to help me in the assembly of the pack (and getting the vehicle back on the road)

Few things in the reassembly that I chose to do to make things easier:
1. Get the batteries "With Tabs" so that I wouldn't have to weld the tabs to the batteries. I do not have the proper tools to do that, but it wouldn't be difficult if I did. It all just takes time.

2. Put COMPLETE new battery packs together. I could have tried and salvaged a few portions of the old packs, but when building Batteries; it is best for them all to be the same chemistry and age. ( preferably the same batch form factory) This helps in the balancing and maintaining pack integrity.

Few important things about Ni-Cads: (specific to Twikes)
-In Winter/ Summer, Never leave them discharged, always charge when the drive is complete.
-do not leave it charging more than 48 hours unless it is in a deep discharge state and hasn't charged for >2 weeks
-Do not Fully charge at the top of a hill. OR if you do, do not use regenerative braking. The batteries are completely full and can't take any more charge.
- See Twike manual for more charging info.
- Batteries are Expensive :-(

Pictures below:

Disassembly:

Batteries Removed from Pack

Old Batteries

Soldering:

"Packing":

Battery Strings

Into the "20-cell" packs

Reassembly:

Got it all assembled and ...

 "THE LIGHT TURNS ON! IT WORKS"

...

...

So with New batteries and operational vehicle. What to Do?

... Range Testing time!