Truck taps solar, electric power

By Jay Almond, Staff Writer

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 — A truck, powered by the equivalent of a 240 horsepower gas engine, rolled silently into the college parking lot without a drop of fuel.

Its silent approach and lack of fuel not the tail-end of a coasting effort after running out of gas but rather the third link in a growing chain of progress with electric power.

The small Dodge pickup was the third vehicle converted from a smog pumping gasoline burner to clean electric and it was done entirely on the campus of Stanly Community College (SCC).

Electrical engineering students at SCC are getting a real charge out of classes where the electric vehicle projects put them in an advanced setting.

They’re not just fired up about applying what they learn in hands-on projects, they’re proud to completely convert fossil fuel burning vehicles into electric and solar-electric ones.

While Electronic Engineering Technology instructor Chuck Safrit and the students were selling off the gas burning guts of the last electric vehicle they built, they stumbled onto their next quarry.

The most recent one, the department’s third since 2004, was pegged for conversion that very day as it sat in the salvage yard dripping oil.

“We saw it there and the more we looked at it the more it was crying out to be converted,” Safrit said.

After swapping gas engine parts, including fuel tanks and pumps, the radiator, motor and exhaust system for the old rust bucket, the class had a new project on the horizon.

Having converted a Ford Ranger three years ago, followed by a Chevy S10, engineering students work more advanced technology into each truck they convert.

This one’s built around the chassis of a now canary yellow Dodge pick-up, with a few added tweaks its predecessors didn’t get – not to mention an “All Fired Up” decal with matching yellow Tweety Bird, of Warner Brothers fame on the motor.

It weighs 2,500 pounds with a maximum speed of 90 mph, a top end that would increase by another 10 mph with lithium-Ion batteries rather than the lead acid batteries used in golf carts.

The maximum range would triple to 210 miles with the Lithium-Ion upgrade.

The Ranger was 1,000 pounds heavier, had a top speed of 70 mph, a range of 50 miles and cost $1,500 more with parts bought comercially from vendors.

Lithium-Ion batteries would increase that truck’s range and top speed too.

A Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) with student produced programming controls vehicle functions, solar panels charge capacitors for added power, and a custom interior harken to the popular t.v. garage hotrod shows.

With all its advancements, the newest solar-electric member of SCC’s fledgling electric fleet is certainly the most evolved.

Whenever it needs a little juice, students just plug in it to a typical 120 volt outlet, such as are found in any home, for a recharge.

It was put together primarily inside the modified Whitley Technology Center Electronics Engineering Technology Lab and incorporates a variety of technologies.

Traditional in-dash gauges are replaced with Voltmeters and Ammeteres, but keep the gauge feel of a sporty dash layout.

A pulse-width modulation motor controller, a 2,000 watt DC to AC inverter, solid-state relays and, of course, the batteries make up the truck’s power plant.

With a 30 horsepower DC motor keeping the truck on the go, a zero-emission, virtually silent commute requires only a plug in to be ready to go.

But the real story of its birth, its evolution, is owed to dedicated engineering students and Safrit.

“We asked how much he wanted for it and he said $300, but we arranged to to trade him the S10 parts for it at no cost to us,” Safrit said.

With that exchange the project was underway.

Chassis and cab in hand, the class set out to purchase the remaining parts for their electric Dodge.

Although Safrit would prefer to gather materials in Stanly County, about 80 percent of the parts were bought on the Internet.

That means the $9,500 total production cost of the vehicle, including controllers, solar cells, electric motor and everything else was spread out across a wide swath.

That fact doesn’t sit well with Safrit, who would rather keep the money local.

“Why am I going to New York for motors; why am I going to California for controllers,” he said.

“Because that’s where they’re available ... why aren’t they available in Stanly County.”

The engineering instructor makes no bones about connectivity, whether it’s wiring a controller in an electric truck, or networking local suppliers for local needs.

“I want a source for everything that’s on this vehicle in Stanly County. I want mom and pop stores to provide the materials we need,” he said.

“I would rather keep our purchases local somehow. Michelin could make the tires, Hammond Electric could make the motors – that kind of thing.”



Jay Almond can be contacted by email at snaponline21@yahoo.com.

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