The New Fuel
As mentioned in part five we have a new AC electric motor which is controlled by an AC motor controller. The AC motor controller will ‘invert’ the DC battery supply to power the motor. So the new fuel is electrons!
In eTrixie’s case the new fuel is 37 LiFePo4 cells (Lithium Iron Phosphate). The cells are nominally 3.2 volt /180 Ah each. When all these are joined, in series, they create a 120 volt battery delivering about 22kWh of power.
Each cell weighs 5.6kg. These will be distributed, in two banks, in the old fuel tank position:
and 25 on the luggage tray behind the back passenger seat:
A local engineering company did a fantastic job building boxes to house the batteries. At the same time they worked with the LVVTA Standard to ensure the boxes meet certification requirements. The standards are well explained we were able to build and install the boxes according to these standards.
Front box with some cells in place
Rear box with cells in place
Now that the batteries have a home — the next step is to wire everything together! I’ll cover that in part seven.
Read more about the conversion:
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Electric certification in part one
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Power and brakes in part two
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Removal of petrol components in part three
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Flywheel and clutch upgrades in part four
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The AC induction motor in part five
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New Fuel in part six
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High Currents in part seven
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The Loom in part eight
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Keeping it cool in part nine
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Putting it all together in part 10 (including a video of the first drive!)
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Bottom balancing and battery management systems in part 11
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Getting the certification examination in part 12
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eTrixie the Movie! Video walk through
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A DIY EV in the real world in the final part
