Electric M37?

[johnbyrdgates]

Agreed. When I was looking at 100LL was before I learned how to remove ethanol from premium unleaded. As I’ve been bumping into this problem out here for almost 10 years, I think I’ll do the electric conversion. Not that I don’t like getting intimate with my truck’s fuel supply...

[Doc Dave]

One other option for you all.
We have a bulk gas and oil supplier who well sell ethanol free and deliver it if you buy 100 gallons at a time.
I got a 100 gal tank from tractor supply and now run ethanol free in all my power wagons and small engines. Also occasionally in my street vehicles.

[johnbyrdgates]

Nice idea, Doc!

[johnbyrdgates]

Well. Batteries are expensive and I’ll need a lot of them. I’m upgrading the rear suspension to carry the extra weight and still be a useful truck. Bob at Electric Vehicles of America in neighboring New Hampshire has estimated I could get as much as 100 miles on a charge with enough batteries and two 35 hp motors in series. 144V, 400 amp hours. The batteries will cost twice what the motors and control system. But I have a heated barn, a long winter ahead and a poorly running 67 year old internal combustion truck that I dearly love. I’m going for it. I’ll send postcards.

[Chewie]

I just read where Eaton and Meritor are building electric drive axles for the bigger stuff. Might be a day coming where we could convert our trucks that way. The battery in my fork truck at work is about the same size as a big block.. just swap a battery under the hood to drive the axles..

[johnbyrdgates]

Hey, Chewie,
Tesla batteries (12 of them), in place if various internal combustion related components, actually land you with a lighter vehicle. So that’s what I’m planning to do. If someone can teach me how to post photos on this blog using my iPad, I’ll show you all what I’m doing.
john

[John Mc]

Well. Batteries are expensive and I’ll need a lot of them. I’m upgrading the rear suspension to carry the extra weight and still be a useful truck. Bob at Electric Vehicles of America in neighboring New Hampshire has estimated I could get as much as 100 miles on a charge with enough batteries and two 35 hp motors in series. 144V, 400 amp hours. The batteries will cost twice what the motors and control system. But I have a heated barn, a long winter ahead and a poorly running 67 year old internal combustion truck that I dearly love. I’m going for it. I’ll send postcards.

You mentioned working with Electric Vehicles of America in neighboring New Hampshire, which caused me to look up your location, hoping you were somewhere close to me (no luck, I'm in the Champlain Valley of Vermont, a 4 hour drive away). I do get down to Lincoln, MA occasionally to visit my mother (though no trips recently), which is not too far from you. Once the pandemic crap is behind us, I'd love to swing by and see what you have come up with.

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

John, how will you couple the motors to the transmission?
have you already hit on this?

[johnbyrdgates]

Hey, Matt
I’ve had a 6” diameter by 2” thick piece of aluminum machined to join the electric motor coupler to the M37’s clutch disc. The splined center of the clutch disc drives the transmission with the six springs absorbing any torque surge. The aluminum disc is machined to bolt onto the clutch disc in the space between the frictional surface and the spring plate. I can’t upload pictures on here from my iPad. Anyone done that?
I get as far as uploading the picture to the server and then, after a lengthy wait, it displays a message telling me I’ve set the picture size too large. But there’s nowhere to adjust the picture size that I’ve been able to find.
I am photo documenting the project as I go and would like to show you all how it’s going.
John

P.S.: head over to Steel Soldiers and search ElectricM37 to see my pictures. For some reason I can post them there.

[W_A_Watson_II]

I get as far as uploading the picture to the server and then, after a lengthy wait, it displays a message telling me I’ve set the picture size too large. But there’s nowhere to adjust the picture size that I’ve been able to find.

Johnbyrdgates, How are you loading from thr iPad? Are you using the "Upload attachments" or "Image" buttons?

[johnbyrdgates]

WAWII
I use upload, choose from file, save to server, then OK. After about a minute I get a message telling me the file size is too large.

[W_A_Watson_II]

WAWII
I use upload, choose from file, save to server, then OK. After about a minute I get a message telling me the file size is too large.

Yea, their is a size limit to the "Upload attachments" to prevent server overload. The "Image" embeds it into the post, and performs a re-size.

[johnbyrdgates]

I was unable to change the size of the picture, making it a problem with no solution. Whatever software they’re using over on Steel Soldiers was able to automatically resize or otherwise accept my pictures, so that’s where they are.

[Bruce]

I'll check them out, thanks for the heads up!

[Desoto61]

The biggest issue for EVs today is the batteries. The motors and controllers and such are there, and getting better, but most of the cost of an EV is the batteries, and considering what can happen if you do them wrong, it's not like humping a handful of lead-acid batteries into a tray and calling it a day. Plus you are dealing with serious voltages, most modern EVs are over 300V DC with some of the newest running closer to 800V.

I think it would be a fun and interesting project, and the axle ratios and electric motor torque would make it a decent match I think, but it is a whole new set of challenges and not for the timid.

[johnbyrdgates]

Desoto61
Batteries are definitely the most expensive single element in my project - and I’m using recycled Tesla modules! Lithium ion type batteries need to have matched characteristics and must be managed by a battery management system to avoid overcharging. There are scary videos of these things going off like runaway fireworks when improperly used.
The saving grace is that all the technical bits have been worked out and real world tested and the battery management systems work. There are also scary videos of gasoline tanks blazing away.
Cheers,
John