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18-Month Electric Truck Evaluation (Dec. 18, 2006 to June. 18, 2008)

June 18, 2008 marks the end of 18 months of service for my S10 conversion. During the past 18 months, I drove the S10 a total of 6791 miles with an approximate savings in gasoline cost of $700.

Problems Encountered

On January 26, 2008, I had to replace one of the original batteries because plates were shorted in one cell. Symptoms: whistling sound, spitting acid out onto top of battery case.

On March 15,2008, I added a 'Hog Tamer' across each of 3 newer batteries to help the others in the string get a full charge. Click here for details.

Two of the original batteries are showing an increased resistance to charging. I occasionally use a separate 6-V charger on these to bring their charge up.

Overall Performance

Acceleration and distance have changed to a noticeable extent. It looks as though I will have to change the battery bank in the next 6 months or so. I will do all I can to stretch the life of these batteries into 2009 when most of the batteries will be over 2 yrs. old.

My 'Power Wheel' controller is still working great.

My slightly used Curtis controller is up for sale. Curtis Controller model 1231C-8601, 96-144VDC, 500 Amps max, 0 to 5 k/ohm input - $950

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12-Month Electric Truck Evaluation (Dec. 18, 2006 to Dec. 18, 2007)

December 18, 2007 marks the end of 12 months of service for my electric truck. During the 12 months I drove a total of 5,034 miles with an approximate saving in gasoline cost of $463.

Problems Encountered

I had to deal with a problem that started early on. When I first built the conversion, I used wing nuts on the battery terminals. Terminals on three batteries melted enough so that I could not use the terminal clamps that I had changed all of the other battery terminals (cable ends) to. One battery had to be replaced because the melt-down was complete. A couple months ago, I had to replace another one of the three for the same reason.

I didn't wait for the distorted terminal on the third battery to totally melt down. Using a short piece of aluminum tubing, I was able to make a mold and re-pour the terminal, restoring it almost like new so I could use a clamp-on cable end.

Recently, one of the batteries demonstrated that it had some shorted plates. The symptoms were whistling and spitting acid. In addition, the chain of batteries would not finish charging keeping the charge current high all night long. After replacing this battery, everything normalized. Fortunately, the battery was still under warranty and I got an even trade for a new one.

All but this last problem are related to the terminal meltdowns early on. If I had started with the clamp-on terminal connectors from the beginning, I would not have had these problems.

Overall Performance

Acceleration and distance have not changed noticeably. I really would like to get three years of service out of this set of batteries. Just two more years to go. Maybe.

My 'Power Wheel' controller is working great. I am now in the process of building an improved second-generation controller. The improvements have to do with making the controller smaller, more compact.

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6-Month Electric Truck Evaluation (Dec 18, 2006 to end June 2007)

The end of June 07 marks the end of the first 6 months that my S10 conversion has been in service. During that period, I added 2800 miles to the vehicle. The following is my evaluation over that period of time and distance.

Problems Encountered

The only significant problem was with the battery terminals early on. I discovered that using the wing nuts to secure terminal lugs to the top of the battery terminals was not a good idea. The lugs offered insufficient contact surface area for the high current and could loosen to increase contact resistance, heat and meltdown. The solution was to replace the terminal lugs with terminal clamps, which provide much more contact area and remain secure. One battery had to be replaced because of severe terminal meltdown.

I had to replace the vacuum switch and relay on the 12-V vacuum pump. The company provided free replacements.

Overall Performance

The truck performs well with no signs of stress on any of the components. After driving, I can place my hand on both the controller and the motor and leave it there because these components are only warm, not hot. That's a good sign.

Early on, I replaced the tires that came with the truck with Michelin X radials that offer low rolling resistance. This made a noticeable improvement in performance - increased coasting distance and less battery drain.