Heating Up

I have not done much with the EV since I was away on vacation, but I do have a few things going on.

First, I started my Battery Management System. I have one prototype made up and will be trying it out soon. It's a Shunt type regulator with a programmable PIC processor and I have it setup for a 12 volt flooded lead acid battery. It also has a basic State of Charge meter, 0%, 25%, 50% 75% and 100%.

I also have a meeting next Friday about getting my plug for my electric car at school. I have been trying to get a plug for about 8 months now. This time instead of asking for a plug and getting clueless responses, I went out and found a spot on campus that would be great for electric vehicle charging, gave a picture to the right people and get a meeting two weeks later!

Now the controller. I am on the waiting list for the next batch of Synkromotive Controllers, and it might take more than 4 weeks! I have been going over more data from my EV driving, trying to get the most out of the Kelly, and I think if I add some more high powered fans to the bottom heatsink, it might make the hills better. There are these two hills in my Dad's route that the car really slows down, and they also happen to be at the end of his commute. The other day when he came home I decided to check the controller's temp, and the top casing was fine where I put the CPU fan on, but the massive heatsink was HOT! I have no forced air cooling over it, so that is my next job. I have a whole ton of high power CPU fans, so I will try those out. I am also going to take some TEMP readings today when I take the EV out and try some massive hills.