Sentra Saga, Last? Chapter.or Ampabout East.

[Bob Rice-2]

  Hi EVerybody;

    OK the 87 Sentra was FINALLY working to my satisfaction, and felt it was
time to pass it on to one of our younger club members, Jesse Pohorsky. OK
HOW do ya get an EV with a 40-50 range 120 plus miles to Mass? OK Drive it!
Started off Tue mourning, about 8am, PFC-20 in the trunk and a few miles of
'stench chords. started out with 121603 mi. on the odo. Not going on any
expressway, fiigured I'd take in the pleasent spring scenery on the back
roads of CT, working along as the Volt-ure would fly, a sorta direct
route.After a very leasurly ride I arrived on RT.6 in Willimantic, CT 43
miles into my flight. OK I'll stop for breakfast IF i can find a friendly
outlet? Pulled throught the parking lot cruising for outlets. BINGO! There
IS a plug on the mini maul sign! There was EVen a CORD, coiled up like; "Hi
Bob, we were expecting you"All I had to do was plugitin, to the K and W
setup in Sentra. All done! Walked over to the "Aero_Diner" one of those old
restored "Silver Diners" Right out of the 50's. Sat down to breakfast at
945AM. Lingered awile, maybe an hour, read Hartford Current,
Newspaper,Miandered back to the very hungery car, still charging along. OK
I'll sit awile. Guy drives up, sez it isn't a "Public " plug. OK I sez, I'll
pay for it. He said not to worry, but don't make a habit of it. I sez" I'll
bet this is the FIRST EV of the day, week, month?"In THIS area Electricity
has gotten SO high, 21 cents a KWH that people ARE very concerned that you
are "borrowing" it. It's no wonder!My reasoning, it worked, is hook up, and
ask if anybody, like belongs to the outlet, asks. The novelty of the thing
goes a long way!" A REAL electric car?"

   Pulled my plug and headed east on RT. 6 toward RI, at 1145AM. Hell,
didn't go far. Maybe 57 miles, found an auto body shop, Tom's in Brooklin ,
CT. Car was out of juice! Feh!Pull in, "Can I buy some electricity?" That
gets them! I have an electric car. Let's see. I SURE could use some 240 from
your welding plugs I noticed when I came in the shop!" Sure" Gotta cord? You
bet. AND the right adapters. I plugged in and wired the PFC-20 up and in 5
minutes had juice coursing into my DEAD batteries!35 amps for starters!
Sounds great, but watching batteries charge is like watching a pot of water
on the stove to boil. Go away, answer the fone, take a shit, and come back,
and it is boiling furiously!!" How long will it take?" Big question. FOUR
hours later it is up to 110 volts(90volt system) I'm ready to head out, In
the meantime took a look at a couple of Tom's VW Kit cars he will part with
fairly cheep, IF anybody is interested? They fit cut down VW Pans, and are
EV wannabee light! I said I'd pass it on IF anybody wanted to go the kitcar
route?Boy some folks just plan and do garages right! You see these BEAUTIFUL
garage setups with enough room for maybe 3-5 cars INSIDE! Lifts, pits heat!
Gees! Guys an' garages, well garages ARE a guy thing! Make 's my little one
car garage look pitiful!Over the years I DID build some , you guyz that have
scene my place see my setup. Stuff IS under cover, a good start. Paid Tom 2
bux for the juice and rolled out, nice and juicy.

    Back to Tom's autobody shop, by 4pm I was ready to roll! Into Rhode
Island by 415! RI isn';t that big, and finally hit Massa two Shits at by
5;10! Hell you coulda kept up with me with a 10 speed! I mean average
speed!Boy! Do we NEED Dump Charge Stations! Like IF I coulda pumped in 300
amps for say, 20-30 minutes? I coulds been on my way?My route took me north
of Providence, cought I-295 bypass around Prov. Over to RT-1, the OLDE way
to Boston. I sorta got carried off in contentment on the big wide
interstate, cruised along 50-60 MPH with the slower traffic. Hit RT-1, OK
I'm ALMOST there? I was TRYING for Ken Olem's place in Sharon. So near , yet
SO far. Godammit! Again I was out of juice!Pulled into a gas station, found
an outlet by the Ice machine, asked if I could plugitin, she sez" Sure" was
sorta amused at the first EV of the afternoon. I bought some good old
healthful junk food, as it was sorta dinner time. " How far to Walpole?"
Oh,just up the road a few miles"So close, but so FAR, with a dead car. 120
volt oportunity charging is pittifully slow! Oh pronbably sat an hour,
trying to get a few amps stowed aboard! I guess had I REALLY gone slow on
the freeway I MIGHT have made it top Walpole?? Unplugged and headed out on
the great, open, highway, again, following my directons to Sharon, a simple
shot in a CHARGED car. But ran outta luck, juice etc. Finally died across
the street from a couple guyz sitting in their yard." Need Help?" they ask?
I need to borrow a wall outlet!""Sure" Come on in. They plugged in my
starving pack. Asking them WHERE I was, they KNEW Ken, Oh the guy with the
electric Tracter and EV Cars? "Yes! That's him!" Yur about 2 miles short!
Had I took it super easy I MIGHT have made it all the way to Ken's from
Brooklin CT to Sharon , MA?OK on the way again, FINALLY rolled into Ken's
driveway. BACKED up as it's my lowest gear. Car was DEAD. Battery-cide I
know. Sigh.Plugged it in and got on the fone to trak Jesse down.Wired up the
PFC to feed the starving batterry pack. Ken graciously put me up for the
night, put the K and W on for the rest of the night, expecting, rightfully
so, that by 8AM it would have charged stuff up and woulda cut back to 2-4
amps. It DID, by AM, Jesse came over and led me over to Waymouth, about a 25
mile run, down back roads, NOT on the interstates! Car went fine, arrived at
Dave Robies in good order.A few Show and Tell runs in order and off to the
Chinese Buffet place for lunch.

   Coming home in Jesse's prius was a quick flight! Didn't have to plugitin!
When Jesse was leading me across town, he was getting something like 70 MPG!
So IF you drive electric speeds, no squeeling out, jackass, 'er, rabbit
starts, ect ,you get great miliage. Hell! I buzzed right along in suburban
traffic.

   Bottom line; These EV's aren't travelin' cars! I coulda rode a HORSE to
Sharon ,MA from Killingworth CT in better time?? Hell! I DON'T know HOW to
ride ANY horse,anywhere, though!Maybe a horse and wagon?Freight train? I
mean 12 hours to go about 120 miles? No wonder Trains wre the modern miricle
150 years ago!?The Last leg of the trip, 26 miles was run off at normal
speeds.So, Sentra is just for running around town, something it has done
admiribly, for the last few months. But yur pushing your luck to TRY for 120
miles? In less than a day?!I guess I coulda rented a trailer and made it up
an' back, quicker, but after the shit I got from You Haul@ Middletown, last
time, I'll be DAMMED!I wanted a Car Carrier, reserved it, LAST year, drove
up to Middletown to pick it up. Guy gave me shit about my hitch! Wasn't
approved, all this bullshit. I mean it was WELDED to the ship channel
bumper. Had towed a Saturn up from DC to NYC LAST year,, no problems.Anybody
who has met my "Trusty Rusty" Ford E-150 Van, knows the rig. I will be doing
SOMETHING with it for Power of DC?Dolly, trailer??IF I have Jetta ready? I
Sure as hell  won't DRIVE it there!!!Unless I leave tomorrow?

    Ah the energy of youth: Jesse said he wanted to run it over to his old
school and do Show an' Tell, grade school, too!Sorta passing on the torch to
the younger generation. Jesse is about 24 I think?HE hangs with the new
generation. I feel that this is part of our EV mission, young guyz "Get"
EV's and do show and tell better than us Old Farts that remember Steam
lokies,Studebakers, Packards, Howdy Doodie, Victrola Records, Brill
trolleys, Philco radios, and other antiquities.  but we are TRYING, and it
has been very TRYING, to leave things a bit better. ReTHUG-licans,
Dumba-crats? Feh! Isn't gunna be easy!

  So Sentra has a new , loving home in MA. Gotta get my ass out and work on
Jetta as I'm EV-less right now! Building a new battery box, sealed to the
inside of the car WITH steel straps around the finished wooden box, threory
being in a rollover, there wouldn't be any "short circuses" with the wooden
box holding the batteries intact in the "Well".  My trademark setup, as
scene in the Sentras, BOTH of them, the 97, too.I don't want flying around
batteries in a crash! The front? I don't care,if they get away, I'll just
pick them up later, IF I can? In that there are NO batteries in the
passenger compartment, SHOULD inpress the DMV guy?I'm right up to my GVW
though, and plan on fitting 4 wheel disc brakes from a GTI or what ever they
call the high performance Jetti?14 inch wheels, disc all around, SHOULD let
me go 300lbs over gvw safely?After all being able to STOP is a big thing.So
many gas cars weigh over 3400 lbs nowadaze, with only ONE 12 volt
battery.I'll just run 96 volts for now, putting me well below GVW for now.

  Only two weaks to P of DC.

   Seeya

    Bob

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