Saturday, June 21, 2014

A Little Summer Maintenance

The Electric Booger has been parked since the insurance ran out at the beginning of the month. In Summer I ride my motorcycle exclusively, so no sense wasting money on car insurance when I don't need it.

Today I pumped up the tires and drove it around my townhouse complex just to make sure things are all still good. They are. Funny thing about an electric car. Even after sitting for three weeks just switch in on and drive it. No fuss. It is as if I drove it to work yesterday.

I am charging the pack, letting it float charge all day. It uses about 50 watts to keep the batteries happily sitting at 13.5V. It's something I do about once a month when the car sits.

In a few weeks I will put a permit on the car when my parents come and visit en-route home to Manitoba on their Alaska trip. They have never seen the car before in EV form, so I do not want to waste the opportunity to show it off!

Since it does not look like anybody wants to purchase the Booger, it looks like it is mine forever. So I think I will install my home made Arduino based BMS & fuel gauge over Summer. At least it will keep me interested in the car for the time being. And maybe a cool new paint job? We will have to see.