tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3971910067723323642024-09-21T18:57:29.440-04:00An electric vehicle (EV) enthusiast's blog about a conversion from gasoline to electric on a Geo Storm. This conversion will use a series, brushed DC motor and UPS batteries for a 20 mile minimum commuter car.eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-71197721357781549702010-09-20T10:27:00.000-04:002010-09-20T10:27:04.017-04:00

Well, I hated to do it, but I have sold the Geo Storm and had it towed away the other day.  It looked funny riding off with the gas tank sitting in the back dash.  I'll be relocating to San Antonio, and just do not have the time to get the project finished before I go.  I could tow the car in the state it's in, but I do not know yet what our garage/living situation will be there

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-63732002757903086622010-08-11T21:36:00.002-04:002010-08-11T21:42:43.616-04:00

Now that I have my laptop set up as my primary computer, I've been going through the site and looking at the traffic the site gets to see what it is you guys are looking for and looking at.  In light of that, I've added a section on the right which has links to specific topics I see you searching for.  Also, I've set up a site feed now, if you would care to get subscription notices rather than

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-47233780708162004772010-08-08T11:10:00.002-04:002010-08-08T11:16:40.294-04:00

Sorry for the delay folks. The power supply went bad on my computer, and I had to set up my laptop to download and edit the videos, which took some time I'd ordinarily spend on editing. I also ran into a problem where the original video had sound, but the edited video was mute, which took a while to sort out.That's all behind us now and Episode 11, as well as a brief update filmed a few days

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-84232035022430225432010-07-16T15:16:00.002-04:002010-07-16T15:17:55.536-04:00

Sorry for the delay all. I've had some new segments filmed, some since Veteran's day, but computer problems have kept me from updating the channel/blog. I hope to have this sorted out sometime this upcoming week and will have two, maybe three video episodes ready.

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-64235767720275786012010-05-16T10:56:00.004-04:002010-08-11T21:45:00.920-04:00

Well with spring cleaning, I haven't been able to get much work done, but I did procure some batteries (for free!) and am in the process of charging those up. You can see more about it in the video below:Now for the discussion of batteries and the math I promised.So here are the pros and cons of the batteries I have. Let's start with the pros:These are deep cycle batteries. That means they can

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-21839526395869679452010-02-20T09:39:00.003-05:002010-02-20T09:57:30.653-05:00

The next video episode, such as it is, is posted below.  It's been too cold to do much of anything, as you can see.  We had two more snows since I shot this video.  It's just today starting to get up to normal temperatures, but the wind is gusting at ~30 mph, making it feel much cooler.  Next week, the wind is supposed to die down, but the temperatures will be falling too supposedly.  I'm hoping

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-7189196892073790212010-01-08T10:35:00.002-05:002010-01-08T10:38:03.574-05:00

Usually in winter time here in NC, we have a few days below freezing, and most of the rest is in the 40's and 50's.  This is the second straight week we're having that we're lucky to get above freezing for the high.  With no heated workspace to work on the EV more, I'm pretty well stuck at a standstill until the weather warms up more.  I'll be using this impromptu break to finish some things

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-78345638952893419662009-10-10T23:31:00.002-04:002009-10-11T00:11:16.805-04:00

Sorry for the long delay.  Since the last episode my wife went on a week long trip, we were in various stages of illness for two weeks, and it rained for about three weeks.  The weather is finally starting to dry up, and everybody is on the mend and at home, so here we go, pressing ahead!So here's the timetable I see left for the project.Week 1: Take out the alternator, move the air conditioner

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-53517770147609721872009-08-01T22:42:00.001-04:002009-08-01T22:47:19.025-04:00

A family reunion, weather, and a schedule change at work have kept me away from working on the car.  But next weekened, I have a three day weekend coming up, should get some movement then!

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-72700820721202272452009-07-14T10:44:00.004-04:002009-07-14T11:25:40.333-04:00

There are two new videos out, episode 6 and 7. I've also got about an episode's worth of unused footage that I may cobble into something later on.  I'm not real happy with how Episode 7 is right now so you may see a reloaded update later on, but for now it's good enough.First up is Episode 6, detailing what's been done and what's left to do:After that, we emptied out the gas tank.  I've since

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-46435732434249039732009-07-11T09:18:00.003-04:002009-07-11T09:22:52.917-04:00

Hey guys, I have the next video shot, but not edited yet.  It's been a busy week but I have a long weekend comming up, so not only should I be able to make some progress on the car, but also get that last series edited and posted.In the mean time, I have gotten the gas tank removed and think I'm ready to tackle the fuel pump next.  Then it's the exhaust manifold and the halfshafts, and we're

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-87537365697619405812009-07-01T10:10:00.008-04:002009-07-01T10:22:18.139-04:00

Okay, episode 5 is up!  This week I got the wipers off (don't ask me why, you have to take them off for engine removal apparently) the hood off, the radiatior and radiator resivoir, battery, battery pan and some bit of relay (I think maybe a thermostat) taken out. So far I have the alternator, and power steering pump to take out, and the air conditioning condenser to move.  After that, I think

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-54606229935353309122009-06-27T00:01:00.004-04:002009-06-27T00:05:42.146-04:00

As you can see, I'm getting a tidy little collection of hazordous waste.  One more to go! You see the engine oil and radiator fluid pictured here.  Once the gas is out, I'll start yanking things out.  After that, I'll change the oil in the transmission, and we'll be ready to take it to the hazordous waste dump, maybe as early as next weekend.  This weekend I plan to try and get the gasoline out

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-84892236132150149882009-06-24T01:23:00.007-04:002009-06-27T00:05:55.394-04:00

Well tonight I was able to get the radiator fluid out with suggestions of folks at diyelectriccar.com.  I gave up on finding the radiator drain plug (I'm going to look for it again once the radiator is out, I swear that thing is no where to be found), but with the suggestion of one of the members at DIY, I pulled the bottom radiator hose and it drained nicely. Anyone care to guess what this

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-33086046619984647732009-06-21T00:18:00.003-04:002009-06-21T00:23:29.223-04:00

I took this video on Wednessday, but am just getting around to uploading it today. I've been very busy remodeling the bathroom.Suffice to say, nothing went right, and while I planned to be done by now, I have succeeded in putting in the new floor. The painting can be done over the week after work, and the shower stall is just going to have to wait for a while, I'm pooped!But enough about that,

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-8470669320535256222009-06-14T06:46:00.004-04:002009-06-21T00:23:44.638-04:00

Today we're tackling the rust problems on the car. There's still some more work to do, but overal, it came out pretty well. The video, which I thought would be short, turned out to be the longest yet! I had to break it up into 3 parts. They'll be video responsed together as usual.Here's the first one:The manual did come in, but I did not get time to work on it. Today I'm tackling the bathroom,

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-44956644955629133262009-06-11T23:54:00.003-04:002009-06-12T00:01:21.234-04:00

Well, as usual, nothing goes quite as planned. I did get the tarps hung up, though it took quite a bit more innovation than I realized. It turns out I didn't have any metal drilling bits, which is good to know now rather than during the mounting period. Failing that, I decided to try and run some string over the length of the overhang. A toy and a bottle of water stuck on the roof proved to

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-65025959887991592372009-06-08T23:23:00.006-04:002009-06-21T00:24:24.094-04:00

Well, I didn't get as much done today as I wanted, but it was a start. I spent about two hours washing the car today. It still doesn't shine like a diamond, but at least it's clean enough to be crawling around. I still need to vacuum and shampoo the inside before I start driving off, but that's a ways off yet anyway.Let's start with the video and go from there!You can see some of the grime,

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-59837480987245437942009-06-07T22:06:00.003-04:002009-06-07T22:14:56.423-04:00

Well, it was tough, but I have the car under the car port now! U-Haul messed up my reservation plans, so instead of leaving at 5:00 AM to get it and be back before work, I didn't leave until almost 11:00. We got back at about 9:00 PM and it was too late to make the video then. I made one today but the lighting was poor and the video didn't come out well. I'll do it again tomorrow and show off

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-60432260059084898952009-06-04T10:03:00.003-04:002009-06-04T10:21:31.215-04:00

As you can see, I've added a new column on the right for helpful resources to an EV conversion. If you have a site that you'd like to see added, leave me a comment or drop me an e-mail (e-mail address is in the welcome text on the right).Things are starting to pick up the pace now, and soon we'll be ready to start the full blown conversion. I got the trailer hitch reciever I'll be installing to

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-2556467077193130352009-06-02T06:30:00.006-04:002009-06-02T17:03:06.173-04:00

Well, it's not much, but you can at least see who I am and hear me talk about the state of things right now. This shows my old Honda and why I'm looking for a new ride.You can see the video here:Or go to the link directly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTDK8xVP1w4Future updates will be video responses to make it easier, or you can subscribe to my channel and really make my day!Now I did forget

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-6005621753773594312009-05-31T11:33:00.001-04:002009-06-02T16:56:23.187-04:00

So, I've covered who I am, and what I'm doing, and some of the reasons for it. Let's do a quick recap:1) Me: Computer Scientist with very little (i.e. none) mechanical experience2) What I'm doing: Converting a Geo Storm to an electric vehicle3) Why I'm doing it: My 1994 Honda Accord LX has some age related issues that I just don't want to spend the money on to fix. Also, it feels incredibly

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-397191006772332364.post-13640363500254482672009-05-31T09:33:00.001-04:002009-06-02T16:56:58.170-04:00

First, a welcome to everyone, and a short introduction about who I am and what this page is about.Let's start with the site; these are (or are going to be) the chronicles of my attempt at converting a Geo Storm to an electric vehicle, i.e. completely battery powered. I plan to detail my decisions, my reasoning, my progress and expenses as much as possible.So now, a little about me. My name is

eatheringtonphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02972737794557039790noreply@blogger.com0