A recent CNN story called “Converting Gas-Powered Cars to Electric” sparked a round of e-mails among us Electronic Design editors. The story specifically described a man who ripped the engine out of his Chevy S-10 pickup and installed an electric motor, reminding me of a conversation I had yesterday with Dave, my barber. Dave drives this brobdinagian pickup camper, and we were talking about what’s under its hood. But before I get into that, I need to explain about Dave and, literally, where he’s coming from.
Dave grew up in timber country, way the hell up in Butte County, in a small town that’s a five-hour drive from Silicon Valley. He grew up there, hunting, fishing, cutting school, and watching all the jobs go away. So he learned barbering and moved down where I live, where people make money and get haircuts fairly regularly.
He opened up his own barbershop in a strip mall next to a donut shop. Being a hunter, he’s got the walls of the place hung with all the heads he’s had the pleasure to shoot, which tends (with the visibility afforded by the donut shop and the fact that he charges less than the blow-dry hairdressers he competes with) to bring in a steady customer base of a certain age and crustiness.
Dave’s relatives still live up in Butte County, except for last month, when the fires all drove them down here to move in with him. His pop has a hunting cabin way out in the wilderness that gets buried in snow every winter. Thus, it’s not totally unreasonable that Dave has that massive pickup camper. He uses it.
Getting back to yesterday, I’d stopped by for a donut, and Dave was outside, grabbing a smoke and talking to a customer about the truck. The gist of the conversation was that, yes, when the dealer had replaced the compressor in the turbo-diesel, he’d drilled out some drain hole that had been too small, resulting in some condensation, resulting in some rust, etc., etc. Then Dave mentioned some other truck he’d seen with a compound turbo diesel, and how when you opened the hood, you couldn’t see anything inside but hoses and wires.
Wait a minute, I thought. We aren’t talking Ferraris here. This is a pickup truck! I know pickups. I used to have a ’52 Chevy with the straight “Bluefire Six” engine with the solid lifters. The vehicles Dave was talking about are the automotive equivalent of the end of the dinosaurs—over-specialized, overweight, and doomed to have their eggs eaten by quick-thinking rodents.
Here’s what I mean. My wife works on the electronics of the Tesla Roadster. I’ve seen the engine. It weighs 100 pounds, and it ain’t very big. The electronics for the car are complex. But while they’re presently optimized for the torque/power characteristics of a two-person performance car, adapting them for a pickup would be essentially a change of firmware.
Adaptability. That’s what we’re talking about here. And, by the way, that’s what Dave demonstrates when he moves back and forth between Butte County and Silicon Valley. So, should Dave try some DIY engine conversion with his camper? Let me know what you think.
Your barber might consider adding propane to the existing diesel engine instead of an electric conversion. It is a lot cheaper and does not limit the travel distant like electric does,but is does increase the mpg.
A good explanation of adding propane to diesel can be found at:
So, every few months, the media features some students at the local community college who've done such a conversion that'll be ready for comercialization just as soon as battery technology improves. The tone of the article is always "if some kids can do it, why doesent GM. What a crock.
EV realist -August 28, 2008
He'd be better off keeping the diesel and adding propane to it. Mileage increases dramatically and power gains are nice too.
F250inFL -August 28, 2008
The mention of a five hour drive answers the question: no way! That's five hours in a vehicle that can go at least a few hours at a time between fill-ups. In a vehicle that will be lucky to have an hour's range at low speed with no payload, it will be a lot longer. Going into an area which has no recharging / replacing infrastructure for the half ton or so of batteries, it may take a lifetime, or at least be faster on foot. I have yet to see ANY electric vehicle that could handle my daily commute (60 miles each way, one person, everything from back roads to freeway). A conversion (as opposed to an optimized design) is even less likely. Dave might be able to use a short-range commuter EV between the shop and home, and save the truck for the longer runs, but conversion would be ridiculous!
Ron -August 28, 2008
As an EV user who has done two conversions, I would not recommend it for this application. The home converted EV mainly excels in the daily commute where the distanc eis short and the route and driving conditions are predictable. If he does convert, he will have to get a small generator to convert his truck to a 'hybrid' for the long trip and then he can leave th trailer behind for short pure electric trips.
TheMANwithNoName -August 28, 2008
Careful about counting out those "automotive equivalent of the end of the dinosaurs—over-specialized, overweight, and doomed to have their eggs eaten by quick-thinking rodents". The new Diesels are about as high tech as they come. Besides, I've yet to see a Prius pulling a load of lumber down the road.
Check out some info on the new Diesels: http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4237945.html
Diesel Engineer in MI -August 28, 2008
The "drive-by" media (CNN, et al) still doesn't get the big picture. Electric motors - and the controls - are tangential issues (and quite easily solvable, as you suggest). The real energy problem is how/where to generate the energy in the first place, how/where to store it, and how to put in place the infrastructure for this brave, new world without tipping the economy on its end. (You have to get the recharging electricity from somewhere, and carry enough of it to get you where you want to go.)
The ultimate sources for energy - the only ones we can tap on earth - are solar, nuclear, fossil, geothermal, and chemical. For most of these, the technology doesn't exist yet to exploit them economically with a net positive output of energy and in sufficient quantities and accessibility to make a substantial dent in the country's needs. The most rational of these, other than fossil, is nuclear - and we all know the political baggage that it carries.
Anonymous -August 27, 2008
You mean a DIY conversion to electric? I wouldn't recommend it. After having driven a conversion EV for the past 10 years or so I'm here to say they're not for the faint of heart, nor wallet.
First off, that "100 lb engine" in the Tesla is just the motor. The real power is in the batteries. In a conversion EV this will be somewhere between one half and one ton of batteries. Even after the removal of the engine, you're talking a minimum net increase of about a half ton of vehicle weight. All of this to get you somewhere around 30 to 50 miles of driving range. Last I checked the cost of batteries was such that it is still be cheaper per mile to burn gasoline, and that's not including the cost of electricity or conversion expenses. EV's can be fun for their novelty factor but they're not really practical for the masses. Batteries will have to make huge leaps in terms of cost and performance before battery EV's would ever be practical.
EV'er in ABQ -August 27, 2008
One of my neighbours has converted a pickup truck. He posts pictures here -- http://sparkyev.ca/
Anonymous -August 15, 2008
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