Albany Trip III: Final Stretch

Sunday, Aug 3, 2015

Day 1: Florida, MA to Albany, NY (60 miles)

We were hoping that day 2 would be a piece of cake after the 130+ miles that we put down the day before.  The original itinerary put us in Albany around 2-3pm depending on traffic around the city, and with a 3 hour ride back to Cambridge, we could be back before sunset.  But with the wear that the trike sustained, the team was in for a much longer day.

10:05 - Jarrod leaves
 
Jarrod started off the day, planning to trade off in 10 mile shifts, hopefully concluding with Roberto bringing the trike into Albany.  We only needed 30 miles to take us across the state line, and a little over 50 to reach the Capitol. 

Successfully making it to Albany required navigating some of the steepest roads through the Berkshires, hopefully giving us valuable data on the regenerative braking, but undoubtedly posing some challenges.  The day almost ended early with Jarrod taking the trike down the steep dirt road leading out of the camp site.  Jacob did well bringing it up the hill, but it was tough going down without building up speed.  In swerving around a pothole, the trailer skidded out behind the trike and nearly dumped the vehicle into a ditch beside the road before Jarrod got it back under control.

10:55 - Loses regen down hill

Another tough moment came several miles later, when the regen controls temporarily stopped working.  Unfortunately, it occurred down a steep hill with no locations to stop and reset the controller.  After nearly a mile of steady descending with just the mechanical brakes holding back the trike and 300lb trailer, the drum brakes heated up enough that the trike wouldn’t stop at the bottom of the hill.  Swerving into the intersection, Jarrod couldn’t get the emergency brakes to work and luckily didn’t get hit by a car before turning it uphill and stopping.

11:15 - Stop, brakes overheating

It was all hands on deck to get the trike back up and running.  After a quick couple repairs and allowing the brakes time to cool, everything appeared to be ok.  The aggressive camber of the front wheels on the tadpole trike had led to visible wear on one side of the tire, so we also took the tires off to flip them around.

It wasn't quite the start we had wanted to the day, but a great team effort got the trike back on the road.  Two hours had passed with only a little over 10 miles traveled, but we were back on the road at noon.

 

12:00 - Go!

12:20, 149 miles, 86.89 Ah - Cheshire Elementary School

After about 12 miles through farm country, Jarrod passed the trike off to Hanna at the Cheshire Elementary School.  Brakes appeared to be once again fully functional and good to go.

12:25 - Kid driving electric police car!

We finally crossed paths with another electric vehicle! A young kid at the elementary school drove past us in an electric powerwheels police car.  He and his dad stopped to check out the trike for a few minutes, and we were able to make a few more fans!

We were behind schedule, but at least there was a view!  Back on the road, there was nothing but hills, trees, grass, and farms.  Still about 35 miles left to go.

12:46 - Power failure, contractors open

1:25 - Lanesborough, MA
Lunch, ice cream, debugging...

We had only been a bit behind schedule when we hit another major roadblock.  The controller kept losing power while Hanna was driving, and she had to keep resetting the controller.  After slowly creeping down the road, Hanna pulled over into an ice cream stand/country store to regroup.

We called a break for lunch there, and took a look at the wiring in the back.  Roberto and Joey traced the problem back to the main Kelly connector, and after cleaning it out the power appeared to stay on. 

On the bright side, we had a good chance to calm down and get some food.  There were enough curious bystanders that we got to do some outreach and tell them about the project!

There was still plenty of time left in the day, but the slow pace was still concerning considering the 30 miles we still needed to cover.  The problems kept coming too, as Hanna got back on the road but only was able to travel about a quarter mile before once again losing power to the trike.

2:41 - Berkshire Hills Adventist Church 
Re-crimp, check connectors...
 

We pulled over in a church parking lot to work through the problem and discuss our possible options.  Joey went to town checking and remaking the connectors, trying to diagnose the problem.  We found that a problem was being triggered in the battery management system as the pack was discharging.  With limited options, we decided to bypass the BMS and connect the pack directly to the controller, and we would continue moving forward.

Joey reconfigured the setup and established the correct connections over the contactors.  Slightly concerned with the reliability of the trike moving forward, we decided Roberto and Jarrod would finish out the ride from there.  Jarrod suited up for another quick shift and took it back out.

4:20 - Jarrod leaves church 
26 miles from Albany

The trike gradually became slightly slower, with several steep hills providing a struggle.

5:20 - 12v battery died 

5:25 -Cross border into NY state

6:10 - Roberto takes over at gravel yard

Roberto took the baton again, with 15 miles left to go.  We had assigned him the very first shift as well as the very last, partially because he undoubtedly deserved the honors, and partially because he had the most riding experience in urban traffic.  

6:26, 180.1 miles, 104.1Ah, 58Wh/mile

Reprogram controller, lower minimum voltage

Jacob had to reconfigure the controller settings with a lower minimum voltage cutoff so that we could keep moving, but even when the trike was properly functioning, progress was substantially slower.  With a combination of exhaustion and frustration at the prospect of turning around after coming so close, the gang turned to John, always calm and collected.  Hanna got the picture of him above, appropriately chilling in front of a Johnnycake Lane street sign.   

6:43 - Stop at Rite Aid
 
Jacob checked the controller settings again in the Rite Aid parking lot, with Roberto just a few miles outside of the city. Roberto had stopped because he was worried about a potential problem with the DC/DC converter, but everything appeared to be fine after a quick diagnosis.

7:26,187.9 miles, 106.3Ah - Last roadside stop
 
Roberto kept rolling, and was fully prepared to bring the trike in even if he had to pedal to drag the 300lb trailer himself! 

7:39 - Crossing pedestrian bridge

There was one last pedestrian bridge, and once crossing in the bike lane, Roberto had finally made it to the city.  We ran after him on the pedestrian bridge while Alban and John drove into the city, and we all finally made it to the New York State Capitol building.  

8:12 - Albany State House, pictures

As we made sure to get plenty of team pictures, we were as exhausted as we were happy to have finally made it there.  The event turned out to be a great going out celebration for former team leader Roberto, who finished graduate school two months earlier, and had been committed to the team throughout the trike project.   

John was a senior and had just graduated as well, and he had been the only active member involved with the old EVT team.  To commemorate his four years of involvement with the team, we pushed him the rest of the way up to the steps of the building.

Final Trip Statistics

• 190.7 miles
• 107.2Ah
• 11.1kWh
• 55.9 Wh/mile
• 7.6% regen
• 8.25Ah regen
• 29.6 mi/hr max
• 15.5 mph avg
• 11hrs,53 min

As the sun was setting in New York, we packed the trike and trailer back up into Alban’s truck.  With a mere 3% of the energy left in the battery pack, it was time to take it all back home.  John and Alban drove us back to campus, with a celebratory team dinner along the way.  The trip certainly wasn’t a flawless run with the trike, and we had a lot left to process and consider in the ensuing team meetings.  But after everything we’d been through over the course of 2 years and 200 miles, it felt good to be able to say that we finally made it from Boston to New York on a single charge.

OpelGT - Engine Removal Time!

We've got a new Opel ready to go, and it's finally time to remove the engine!

The team made sure to take the necessary measurements for the original vehicle ride height and curb weight distribution, and then it was time to finally get rid of every unnecessary component and make room for some batteries!  

We knew it was going to be a big undertaking and not many of us had lifted an engine out of a car before, so we set aside the entire day for getting the job done.  Starting first thing in the morning, it was all hands on deck for the MechE team.  

We had the operation all planned out and prepared through the week leading up to engine removal day.  But with the usual clowns at work, it wasn't long before even draining the fluids led to a big mess...

Just kidding, aside from a couple of minor mishaps, the team worked effectively under the leadership of graduated EVT legend John Kongoletos, who had returned to give us a hand.  With everyone working away, the disconnecting and disassembly process was moving along efficiently.  

Everything was situated under the hood such that it was easier to leave the transmission coupled to the engine, and remove everything from below.  Having the car lift made the job much easier, as we could raise the vehicle and drop everything right out through the bottom...hopefully.  It seemed like a straightforward operation after everything was disconnected from the motor, but some stubborn stripped and corroded bolts holding motor supports in place added some extra challenge and significantly delayed the process.

We finally got the engine and transmission loose and up on the hoist.   It required some careful maneuvering to get everything to slide out, but with Jacob working the hoist, Joey and Jarrod handling the engine, and John adjusting the vehicle on the lift, we finally got it through.  It took nearly six hours to get the engine down and out after some unexpected difficulties, and although it wasn't graceful, we eventually got everything down onto the garage floor.

Taking out the engine was a big first step in prepping the Opel for the new conversion.  There's a lot more work to be done on the new car before we can start adding batteries and the new drivetrain components, but the team is ready and enthusiastic!  More updates to come soon.

New Opel, New Hope

It's only been two weeks since we cut up the white Opel, and we're already back in business.  Our faculty advisor and big Opel fan, Professor Dan Frey, has been a huge help all along the way and already fixed us up with a new Opel, one in much better condition than the previous car.  

With the excitement of bringing in yet another car, we brought in recent alums John and Thomas to take a look and assess the damage.

The body is in much better shape, and the new interior looks awesome as well, with everything complete and in very good condition.  It's definitely a relief to not need to worry about a full and complete restoration!

The Porsche 914 and Opel GT are now both in the garage and make quite the combo.  It took a while to obtain the new Opel, but now that we have it in the shop, we're ready to get started and excited by its possibilities it presents as a conversion platform.  

Opel Destruction...

It appears as though the last major team effort before spring break is going to be in the annihilation of a car, rather than creating a new one.  The white Opel had been a bit disappointing in its appearance, with its aesthetic inadequacies apparent at the time of its arrival.  As we had continued working on the car for the next few months, we soon realized that the rust damage was irreparable if we wanted to one day restore it for any reasonable cost.  We consulted our faculty advisor, Professor Dan Frey, and came to the conclusion that scrapping the car and finding a new alternative option was necessary.

The MechE team had faced some frustration in recent weeks as we realized the difficulty of implementing the intended plan for the Opel drivetrain, and chopping up the car was a great way to vent!  Since the frame was so damaged, we couldn't find any viable options in recycling the body or selling the scrap metal.  Space is tight in the garage, so we salvaged what we could and got right after it with the reciprocating saws.  Jimmy cuts it right in half below:

Fortunately, there was a good bit that we found could be salvaged from the old Opel.  All of the glass was saved, in case we need to replace it on the new car for any reason.  The entire dashboard was removed and saved so that the EE team can start designing and developing the layout for the final set of controls and dials.  We also saved the entire rear end, cut down so that it would just barely fit through the doors of the milkdrop shop upstairs.  Having the back of the car will allow the MechE team to prototype the new suspension designs with the actual car geometry in mind, even before we get a new vehicle.  

After getting everything situated in the prototyping room, Trevor and Jarrod welded up a stand to hold up the car for easy access.  

We continued cutting down the rest of the car, removing nearly all the sheet metal from the body...

After hours of slicing up the old car, we removed as much as the reciprocating saws could handle before calling it quits with only residual bits still attached to the frame.  We had high hopes that this car would one day travel down the alley, and it was a bit of a bummer that it had to happen by us carrying it...

That white Opel presented unexpected challenges every step of the way, and even its final march was no exception.  After the exhausting day of tearing it apart, it took the four of Jacob, Joey, Jimmy, and Jarrod to get it down the alley and somehow fit it into the dumpster.  

 When it was all said and done, we still had to clean up a mess of rust and residue left over in the aftermath of dismantling the car.  Overall, everyone had a fun time and made some good memories, in what we expect to be the only time we get to entirely disassemble a car with reciprocating saws.  Now we just have to catch up to get back on track with the Opel project!

Opel Tear Down: IAP Marathon I

 For the first time since the summer EVT months, we're getting back to Marathon Thursday meetings!
With just a handful of the crew around, we got started with Antony working on the blog, Eric and Joey learning some solidworks, Jimmy starting a new electric scooter, and I got some work done on my ATV.  After a few more of the troops arrived, we went down to see what we could do with the rusty Opel...

The main goal for the night was to start removing the unnecessary or unusable components such as the exhaust and to start cleaning up the car.  Given the rough shape of the car, we had some flexibility to go to town and have fun tearing apart the car.  After Joey made sure to remove all the hornet and bird's nests, we took a look at what we were up against on the underbody of the car.  Here Joey and Jimmy cut the muffler out with a hacksaw and remove the exhaust pipes:

We took a good look at the rear suspension setup with the panhard bar.  We were having fun inspecting all of the components, and nearly removed the entire rear axle before Eric brought up that we probably want to keep the wheels on so that we can move the car...

We still proceeded to drop down the driveshaft and the transmission.  Jack, the shop manager in D-Lab, gave us a quick lesson on torque tubes and rear suspension configurations.

Opel Driveshaft and Transmission

Next, we brought the car down on the lift and began to take a look at the engine bay and interior.  We ripped out all the dry-rotted tubing and deteriorating rubber from under the hood, and did what was possible to clean it out with a shop vacuum.  Without an engine or any components, there is a ton of space for batteries under the hood!

As we moved to the interior of the cab, the last main task for the night was removing the gas tank.  After ripping out the shelves and other brackets for the spare tire that were concealing the gas tank, we began the removal of the last major, unnecessary component in an electric vehicle conversion.  

This turned out to be a bit more intense of a task than we expected.  The Opel has a large open space in the rear of the car, but no rear hatch for access to this trunk area.  Therefore, Joey and I squeezed into the cab of the tiny car while Jacob and Eric helped us navigate from outside.  

After a long effort to remove all the hard to reach and rusted bolts mounting the gas tank to the car, we had it loose.  It turned out to have a very irregular shape that was difficult to pull up through the tight fit in the cab.   

Then we had yet another unforeseen complication, when we realized that there was actually still a substantial amount of gasoline left over in the tank.  At least this was just as safety-master Rango made his arrival and assured that we disposed of it properly!  With the help of our FSAE friends, we located a gas can and slowly drained the rest of the gasoline into the tank.  

After plugging and capping the openings to the gas tank, we were finally able to remove the tank and waited to consult EHS regarding its proper disposal.  The removal of the tank revealed another substantial open cavity in the rear of the car, optimal for battery placement.  We'll continue mapping out these spaces moving forward, as we continue working to find a suitable battery option for the car.  But for now, the long night of work concluded with our usual late night trip to Beantown Tacqueria!

Open space!

We're Back! EVT IAP Kickoff

With the EVT crew back for the new year, it's shaping up to be an exciting AIBD 2015!  Our team New Year's Resolution is to get back to diligently updating our work and progress on the website!

EVT Trike at the Albany Capitol building!

Despite not having any blog posts to show for it, the last few months have been extremely busy and productive for the Electric Vehicle Team!  Since the summer, we have successfully rode our trike 190+ miles to Albany on a single charge, revamped the Porsche, returned to Mt. Washington, and put an enthusiastic group of freshmen through our EVathon new member training program!

Now that the EVT roster is bigger than ever, we've decided to get back into classic cars and create an electric 1970 Opel GT!  Our faculty advisor, Professor Dan Frey, fixed us up with an old Opel, and we're ready to get started for IAP.  There's a ton of work to do, and a number of members are also working on electric vehicle projects in preparation for the February Techfair, so it will definitely be an exciting month!
Stay tuned for more team progress updates soon to come!