Converting a van to full plug-in electric

[russbinder]

I'm working on a van to convert it to full plug in electric. This one is a project for a customer, and as such is already sold. The one we are working on has a 200 hp AC motor, 35 kwh battery which should be good for about 100 miles of normal driving, and runs so quite as to be a bit weird until one gets used to it.

However, now that we have the mechanical portion of it finished, making another one (or more...) would be duplication, not creation. Would a van like this, or to have your van converted, be of interest to anyone? Putting price, range, speed, everything else aside, is this sacrilegious or would anyone be conditionally interested? As I see it, it could be pretty much a bolt-in kit - not something to be undertaken lightly, but not rocket science, either.

Just asking at this point. Your thoughts?

[dan65]

Hmmmm.......

this is a Purist or a Non-Purist question.

I say rip it all out, put 295's on the back, get a Hot Momma and go Screamming down the street!

: ^ )

[Vanner68]

GM made a fuel cell electric van from an early, so there is historical factory precedent.

I don't think you will find a general hate from the vanning community over this, we tend to appreciate the work done on a van even if it isn't our cup o tea.

I think your biggest determining factor will be price.


Soo......

Are you hooking the battery pack to a variable frequency drive to get a 3 phase output for the electric motor?

[108VanGuy]

Welcome aboard!
How much modification of the van is required? Got pics? How does the curb weight of the van compare with other retrofits? Before and after. what is the manufacturer of the equipment? Sounds like a great idea.
108VanGuy...

[kookykrispy]

With fuel below $2 a gal now, I'm quite happy with my gasoline powered engine. But I am interested in your conversion, and learing all about it, and seeing pictures.

Welcome to the forum

[Vanner68]

Yes, gas prices will affect the demand for such a conversion.

It's something we talk about at work, since our equipment uses VFD's. We discuss modifying a Yaskawa VFD to use a battery input (600VDC is the buss voltage for a 480VAC freq drive) and then power a 480V 3 phase motor to run the vehicle. We could do the controls with obsolete parts we have laying around, the biggest cost would be building a 600V battery pack.

[russbinder]

this is a Purist or a Non-Purist question.

I say rip it all out, put 295's on the back, get a Hot Momma and go Screamming down the street!

: ^ )

So far, we did "rip it all out" and we put 275/60/15s on the back. It has a 200 hp AC motor, a battery pack in the back, an 18 kw integrated charger, other features.

As for the tires, the tires hit the wheel wells, but that's the customer's choice/problem. Speaking of rims, am I right that these vans came with wheels that had a fair amount of offset, such that the rim was offset into the body?

[Vanner68]

As far as I know, they should be a zero offset, 5"or 6" wide wheel.

Here's a .pdf of the info available at the GM heritage center.

This is for 68, which would be 2nd gen. 67-70. First gen has a flat windshield, 64-66

https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/docs/gm-heritage-archive/vehicle-information-kits/G-Van/1968-Chevrolet-G-Van.pdf

64-66

https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/docs/gm-heritage-archive/vehicle-information-kits/G-Van/1965-Chevrolet-G-Van.pdf

[russbinder]

GM made a fuel cell electric van from an early, so there is historical factory precedent.

I don't think you will find a general hate from the vanning community over this, we tend to appreciate the work done on a van even if it isn't our cup o tea.

I think your biggest determining factor will be price.


Soo......

Are you hooking the battery pack to a variable frequency drive to get a 3 phase output for the electric motor?

We are using an AC Propulsion AC-150 Gen 2 drive system. It is variable frequency, variable voltage, and has a two-way inverter which gives it DC from the batteries to AC to run the motor, as well as regenerative braking which makes AC from the motor into DC to refill the batteries a bit. The inverter is also the charger, such that it takes AC from the grid/plug and makes it DC for charging the batteries. Very slick setup, really. Price...not so bad, considering. We're using a system that was taken out of an OE project from a few years ago. The cost of the system is about $6K, plus batteries, plus the installation and all.

[Vanner68]

We are using an AC Propulsion AC-150 Gen 2 drive system. It is variable frequency, variable voltage, and has a two-way inverter which gives it DC from the batteries to AC to run the motor, as well as regenerative braking which makes AC from the motor into DC to refill the batteries a bit. The inverter is also the charger, such that it takes AC from the grid/plug and makes it DC for charging the batteries. Very slick setup, really. Price...not so bad, considering. We're using a system that was taken out of an OE project from a few years ago. The cost of the system is about $6K, plus batteries, plus the installation and all.

Cool, so with battery around $10k plus install?

[russbinder]

Welcome aboard!
How much modification of the van is required? Got pics? How does the curb weight of the van compare with other retrofits? Before and after. what is the manufacturer of the equipment? Sounds like a great idea.
108VanGuy...

The modification to the van is minimal, all things considered. Mostly, it was taking stuff out. There was some brackets welded in the engine bay to hold the inverter/controller. Some mounts attached for the motor/trans, a new driveshaft, and the mounts in the cargo area for the battery box. Some cables and switches added, and away we go.

The curb weight is going to be close - I need to get the van on the scales once it is done. The weight distribution will be different, of course, in that the batteries are in the cargo area, the motor and trans still centered (more or less) and there's no 6 cylinder engine, radiator, or much else up front.
The manufacturer of the basic drive system is AC Propulsion. http://www.acpropulsion.com and the manufacturer of the batteries and everything else is EV Grid http://www.evgrid.com
I'll have some pictures of it later this week.

[russbinder]

With fuel below $2 a gal now, I'm quite happy with my gasoline powered engine. But I am interested in your conversion, and learing all about it, and seeing pictures.

Welcome to the forum

Thank you.

This was not done for fuel saving purposes. This van is intended to run around a local theme park. They wanted something quiet, reliable, that didn't spew hydrocarbon-laden exhaust fumes all over their guests, among other things. The van drives for only a few miles per day around the park, so the gas saving was no issue in the first place.

[russbinder]

Yes, gas prices will affect the demand for such a conversion.

It's something we talk about at work, since our equipment uses VFD's. We discuss modifying a Yaskawa VFD to use a battery input (600VDC is the buss voltage for a 480VAC freq drive) and then power a 480V 3 phase motor to run the vehicle. We could do the controls with obsolete parts we have laying around, the biggest cost would be building a 600V battery pack.

I can help you with the battery pack, if you like. EV Grid's main business is making batteries for the EV market. I'm sure EV Grid could make up just about whatever you liked. One item of concern should be the battery management system - being able to detect temperature and voltage problems, and taking action to protect the batteries and system. You probably have that sorted out, but if not, and you are still interested, maybe we can help somehow.

Again, for this conversion, gas was not a consideration. The elimination of exhaust fumes and noise were two key objectives.

[russbinder]

Cool, so with battery around $10k plus install?

That's close for the used system and batteries as-is (the batteries are take-outs as well, and are at about 90% or so of original capacity). You have to make an enclosure for the batteries, so they can be contained and cooled, plus all the other installation work.

[Vanner68]

Part of what we do is industrial controls, I have serviced electric forklifts and charging systems in the past, but that is all conventional lead/acid batteries.

I am interested in seeing how this has turned out, it's been one of my 'if I ever hit the lottery' dreams to do something like this.