About
300MPG.org is a web page and blog dedicated to people who take positive action to improve their own transportation options. From electric vehicles charged from the sun to just making sure you have the right amount of air in your tires, we can all make a difference to create a a better future, while still gettin’ around.
The site is administered by Ben Nelson, a self-professed tinkerer, who once almost accidentally built a motorcycle that gets the equivalent of over 300 miles per gallon.
If you have a great project that shows off what the common man (or woman) can do for a cleaner, more sustainable transportation future, let us know, and help share the story.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Ben , I went to order the video at energy fair discount and it was nowhere to be found. Now what? Frank
Hi Frank,
Sorry about the bad link. I fixed it. You can now get the Energy Fair discount at:
http://300mpg.org/dvds-energy-fair-special/
I will e-mail you the password.
Frank,
Loved your presentation at Mother Earth News Fair! The best one I attended. You were engaging and entertaining!
I purchased a copy of your DVD and I will be checking it out as soon as I have a spare moment.
I loved the fact that you kept it fun with silly pictures of you popping your head through the floor after you cut out the new space for your batteries.
I was going to talk to you at the show but it was so crowded I didn’t have an opportunity.
Please contact me. I would love to give an interview on my new podcast at http://www.saveourskills.com (launcing this week)
It would be a good venue to sell your DVD set I think.
We have been trying for 4 years to do.. just this ! We enjoyed your presentation..
(by the way batteries are 95% recyclable. !!).
Steve Clunn (Green Shed Conversions and Grassrootsev) has been converting for over 15 years and trying to get the word out there and get people to convert. He had a lawn service for almost 30 years, the last 4 or 5 was all electric, INCLUDING his Dixie Chopper. (see his video on our site page). We have been a full time conversion shop since 2007. Converting anything that comes through the door, A hurst, S10, Ford Explorers, Pickup’s, cars, motorcycles, a lamborghini, Porsches, go carts for the Middle School kids Competitions. I have to be careful… WHAT he will put an electric motor and controller ON !!!
At our Green Shed… we offer an assisted program at our shop in Fort Pierce, FL where you bring your car, use our tools, our facility and steve’s 15 years of experience and the two of you “Git R Done”… it s lots of fun !!!
I especially got a chuckle when you told of the bed frames… Steve and I did that every Thurs night for years !!! they DO make great battery boxes !!
And… yes EVEN OLD LADIES can do this ! I did my own Rav4.. with ” a LITTLE” help from Steve… I started with 6 batteries, and now have 13.. and it WILL do 75mph and I have about a good 30 mile range.
We are presently “on the road” converting EV’s for customers at their home/shops across the country. We spent 3 weeks in Ca.. we are presently in OK.. for the next 4 or 5 weeks, then SC for a week.. the back to the shop for the winter rush of EV snowbird converters!
Our 13th Annual Electric Car Rally is this April, 2011 !!!!
EV’s are just too much FUN !!!
Thanks again for spreading the word !!
Keep it Green.
Audrey Martin
Green Shed Conversions
Ben,
I know you’re probably getting hit with tons of EV-related emails all the time, but I’m dying to know how much the propane generator has extended the usable range in your Geo Metro!
I’m sure that there’s a ton of curiosity out there. Hope you can find time to post an answer soon. Happy New Year!
I’ve actually just run into a problem with the charger. It was something that was wrong with the charger from BEFORE I started work on the hybrid version of the car. I tried fixing the charger and made it worse! Doh! I also cut my finger really bad (totally unrelated kitchen accident!) so I haven’t been able to do any more work on it lately.
In general, what I was really hoping for is a 50% increase in range. The generator provides LESS energy than the average to drive the car, so it can’t be used to directly power the car the way the generator in the Volt does. Instead, it allows the batteries to drain more slowly – hopefully 50% less slowly. The car has a range right now of about 20 miles. That’s on the very low end for homebuilt electric cars. I’m shooting for 30 miles with the generator. I know that doesn’t sound like huge miles, but all semester, I had to drive my gasoline pickup truck to and from a class that was exactly 20 miles away. And NO, they don’t have EV charging at the college. If I could only go a bit farther, it would make a big difference – the difference of taking the electric car vs a gasoline vehicle. Again, this is all experimentation, but it has been successful experimentation! It really has me thinking about what it would take to build a really efficient vehicle. I may end up adding additional batteries to the car and see that it would take to use a slightly bigger engine and custom generator.
All it takes is time and money!
PS: You can help support my projects by purchasing a copy of the BUILD YOUR OWN ELECTRIC CAR instructional DVD set through this web page.
-Ben
Ben,
I just wanted to thank you for bringing your converted Geo to the MREA Energy Fair this weekend. I had fun poking around at your vehicle’s innards, and have already started looking for my own parts on craigslist. Thank you so much for showing how feasible and fun a project like a car conversion is. I look forward to seeing your projects at future events!
-Charles
Thanks Charles!
The best thing about the Energy Fair is all the fantastic people I get to meet there! It’s one thing to look at photos and videos on the web, it’s another to meet people, talk with them, and poke about in their cars!
-Ben
Hi Ben
I am looking to convert my Suzuki Wagon R’s have done lots of reading and background work and now ready to get started.
Just got one of your amazing dvd’s that is invaluable in my project.
My background is design and engineering with practical skills so i hope to be able to undertake this project without too many problems. However, electrical skills are not my forte . I have both a manual and automatic wagon was hoping to do the automatic one first for my disabled wife to drive but looking at the info it seems that there is an awful lot of electrical gizmo’s involved in the automatic transmission… what do you think is the best way forward or has anyone reading this got any ideas.
cheers
srsphoenix
If you have an appropriate motor and gearing, you may not even have to shift in an electric car with a manual transmission.
I mostly use my car in lower speed zones and live in an area that’s not particularly hilly. I generally just use a single gear in my car. Since the motor stops spinning when you come to a stop, you can avoid even needing to use a clutch for stopping, or pulling away from a stop.
I would say to convert the manual transmission car to electric. When you are done, it may be every bit as simple to drive as an automatic.
-Ben
Hi Ben,
i have watched all of your videos on YouTube and read a lot of your projects, i am now looking at starting my own project very soon, i was curious to what spec batteries you were using as i would like to achieve a 40-50 mile range. Any help would be much appreciated.
Many Thanks
Jason
UK
Hi Jason,
I originally ran the car off six used Group 31 gel lead-acid batteries. They were the Deka Dominator brand and rated at about 100AH. I later changed to (still used batteries) AGMs of the same size, but a different brand. The main thing you need to know to get a 40-50 mile range is the capacity of the battery pack. To get the capacity required to go 40-50 miles on lead batteries, that’s enough batteries that usually a pickup truck is used as the electric vehicle. Weight and space become major considerations at that battery pack size. LIthium batteries save considerable weight, but require a large cost up front to purchase.
You can find some battery calculators at:
http://www.evsource.com/battery_calculator.php
http://www.evconvert.com/tools/evcalc/?s=b
Many thanks for your quick response and ill be ordering your dvd shortly. Ill try and keep the weight down and see what i can manage without it costing me an arm and a leg!