Things are really happening this week including a chance to
express your support for sustainability. Check it out.
Best Russell Sydney
310-450-7419
In this Sustainable Transportation Club Newsletter:
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Community based action
Getting mass support for the Sustainable Goals
Agenda change for this Tuesday City Council Meeting
Outreach and Education
C.I.C.L.E Presents: Life Can Be So Car-Free
Saturday September 30, 2006 5:00PM –
Inconvenient Truth Showing on the pier this Tuesday
Getting your Sustainable Ride
Electric Vehicle Store in Long Beach area – Xebra’s on sale!
Update on BioDiesel pumps
Biodeisel comes to Torrance thanks to the Bio D Co-op
Silicon Battery Test results- ST Club exclusive report
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You can find the subject you want by looking for the separator bars
with the row of XXXXX’s in this document.
Please send any relevant information for inclusion in this
newsletter.
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Community based action
Getting mass support for the Sustainable Goals
We have received a very strong response in support of the letter we
submitted to the Santa Monica City Council. The item has been
postponed into October. We now have two or more weeks to build
even stronger support.
If you have not sent your notice of support please do so now.
(details in this article)
Who do you know that might want to support this?
What groups are you connected to that would want to support this?
The previous email would be a good one to send to your contacts
and it has the full content of the letter. The title of that email
started with “Sustainable Transport Club action being taken now”.
The list of the people and organizations that support this effort will
go to the council meeting when this item comes
up.
We are submitting the support responses in three
categories as follows:
1, Santa Monica Residents
2, People who work, shop and /or play in Santa Monica
3, Sustainable Transport Industry Pioneers from around the country
If you fit into one or more of these then now is the time to be
counted. You can be included on that list by taking a simple action.
Here is what you do to get on the list. Send an email to rsydney1@verizon.net
with the following information:
1, Your name
2, the city you live in
3, your phone number (this will be kept for Club reference only
and not included on the list)
4, any title or other credential that is related to Sustainable Transportation.
5, a statement to the effect that “you support the letter dated
September 19th regarding making sustainability a priority for our
transportation system in Santa Monica” (feel
free to copy this
phrase or write one of your own).
Call 310-450-7419 if you have questions or if we can help you to
get people and groups on board.
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Community based action
Agenda change for this Tuesday
The Santa Monica City Council review of the Goals for the
circulation element has been postponed into October. That gives
us more time to get support for the more sustainable versions of
these goals. See the previous item for details.
There are some items on the agenda that relate to sustainable
transport and Kevin McKeown is requesting our support on these.
Specifically he has put on the following item.
13-D: Request of Council member McKeown that, at the strong
recommendation of members of the City's Task Force on the
Environment, the Council direct staff to prepare an ordinance
setting specified air quality performance criteria for awarding
future taxi franchise agreements within the City of Santa Monica.
In addition there are other items on the agenda that relate to
transport. These include:
1-C: 1-F: 1-H: 7-A:
All of the items above involve sustainable transport. For instance,
7-A sets standards for "preferred" projects, and one criterion could
be access to mass transit.
The full description of these is available online from:
http://santa-monica.org/cityclerk/council/agendas/2006/20060926/a20060926.htm
Please read the staffs reports and see what you want to contribute,
in email to the Council or in person. Staff reports are available
about the specific items by using the links within the online
agenda.
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Outreach and Education
C.I.C.L.E Presents: Life Can Be So Car-Free
Saturday September 30, 2006 5:00PM - 10:00PM
At the new Los Angeles State Historic Park
Admission is Free
The Club will be doing a table there with and electric bike.
Anyone want to help with the table?
Anyone have a truck we can use to get an electric scooter to the event?
Or just come and get a car free groove on.
Located at 1245 N. Spring St. Just North of China Town. (Where
the Not a Cornfield Project site used to be.)
Bus Lines: 81,46,83,84,85 :: Gold Line Stop: China Town
A night of film, live music, interpretive walks, rides and fun
celebrating and demonstrating Car-Free transportation choices.
Bring a blanket, a picnic, and a friend and watch the sun go down
behind the Los Angeles skyline.
L.A. River 101 Bicycle Tour with Joe Linton and an Interpretive
Walk with Carmelo Alvarez
Local Bands Telematique and Triple Chicken Foot will be
performing.
Films selected by Ashira Siegel, director of 'Even the Girls' Red
Riding Hood Productions.
For more info go to http://www.cicle.org/cicle_content/pivot/entry.php?id=891#body
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Outreach and Education
Inconvenient Truth Showing on the pier this Tuesday
September 26
This is a free show and a chance to help a worthy cause. Some of
our members will be there doing information tables. You are
invited to help at the tables. Look for the Santa Barbara Electric
Bicycle table.
Presented by Sundance Channel
Arts Fighting Cancer and the Santa Monica Pier Restoration
Corporation invite you to experience a classic American pastime
by watching movies under the stars and over the waves on the
Santa Monica Pier every Tuesday Night in August and September
as we begin the 4th Santa Monica Drive-in at the Pier.
These outdoor, car-less screenings entertain an estimated 3,000 to
5,000 patrons who celebrate the greatest in American film classics
for a great cause, cancer relief. We are very excited to be working
with the Pier to create a classic family event for a great cause,
cancer relief.
Last week with your donations, chair rentals and raffle items we
raised over $1000 for the Cancer Relief Fund.
Please inquire how you can help this great cause.
If you need funds for your battle with cancer, please contact us.
COME VISIT THE PIER!
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Getting your Sustainable Ride
Update on BioDiesel pumps
Biodiesel comes to Torrance thanks to the Bio D Co-op
The BioDiesel Co-op is getting the pumps going. Congratulations
to all of those who helped get the new pump going in Torrance.
The team effort is exactly what it takes to get things turned around.
Kent Bullard sounded exhausted and excited when he finally got
the trailer in place with the help of lots of other Co-opers. Here are
the locations of the trailers they have out there.
Torrance – Ave De Almo - off Crenshaw
Echo Park area – North Ave 21 and Baranca - near St. Vincent De Paul
Big Sur – ok so you might not use this one every week
You can join the Co-op and get free from petroleum and foreign oil now…
Emails to membership@sustainableoptions.com
Or go to www.biodiesel-coop.org
In addition we have the USA Gas Stations in Marina Del Rey and
the Palisades.
Los Angeles - Cudahy FuelStop, ITL Corporation, 8330 Atlantic
Ave. Cudahy, CA 90201, 323-562-3230; B20 at the pump, B100 in
5 gal, 55 drums and bulk.
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Getting your Sustainable Ride
Electric Vehicle Store in Long Beach area – Xebra’s on sale!
There is a new electric car in Santa Monica and it is one of the new
Xebra’s from ZAP (pronounced Zebra). It goes forty miles an
hour and has a range of forty miles.
This was purchased from and electric vehicle dealer in the Long
Beach Signal Hill area. Please let us know more about this dealer
as the details become available.
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Getting your Sustainable Ride
Silicon Battery Test Results
Report on Silicon Batteries for Electric Vehicles
One of the ongoing testing projects is to test the new battery
technology from China called Silicon Power Batteries. These are a
Chinese creation and are a spin off from the lead acid batteries.
The technology on these batteries goes a few steps beyond the
AGM (Absorbed Glass Matt Technology) lead acid batteries. One
step is the reduction of the lead content to very low levels, another
is the use of a low sodium silicon electrolyte in the place of the
sulfuric acid, and a third is a more complex matrix structure inside
the batteries.
The technology is reported to have been developed by the Guineng
factory in China and has reportedly been licensed to several other
manufacturers. The reports also indicate that the Guineng factory
is working on buying back these licenses. The results of this
testing might show some of the reasons for this.
The testing on these batteries described here is done on a real
world basis and is not being reported as technically precise. Rather
this is an initial quantified exploration of the new technology. The
sample sizes are way too small to hold real significance and only
one brand of these batteries has been tested at this level.
This technology is the one featured in the E-Max Scooters. The
batteries have a number of features that are superior to the lead
acid gel cell batteries (the standard in electric scooter up till now).
These are reported to include:
· high capacity
· high current output
· rapid recharge time (full charge in ~3.5 hours)
· low temperature performance (-50 °C to +70 °C)
· long life span (>400 charge cycles)
· environment-friendliness (silica salt chemistry)
The test results will give you a real world view of some of these
reported features. The temperature range was not part of the
testing process.
They have a better charge density, both in terms of size and
weight. The batteries are smaller and provide a longer initial range
for the scooters.
Gel Cells at 340 cubic inches each provided 25 mile range from a set of four.
Silicon batteries at 243 cubic inches each provided 29 mile range from a set of four.
That is sixty percent better range per cubic inch of battery. There
is a similar improvement per pound as well. Both of these are
based on new batteries in good condition. These ranges are the
maximums for any test run on these batteries.
The silicon batteries also are more stable in terms of maintaining
their voltage levels when not in use. This was validated by these
tests. The voltage drop is not noticeable after a month of storage.
Lead acid batteries on the other hand drop perceptibly in as little as
one day (one third of a volt drop in that time on a 12 volt battery).
Older batteries are even worse.
The silicone batteries are reported to have a better recharging
efficiency. The testing done did not really address this.
Another question about these batteries is to do with the
environmental friendliness. The point being made by the promoters
is that the silica salt electrolyte is safer than the sulfuric acid,
which is a valid concern during accidental breakage. The acid
hazard is a short-term issue while the lead content is the longer-
term environmental issue. The lead content seems to be lower in
these batteries and that has advantages. But that also raises
questions about how they can be recycled and have the lead
reclaimed for reuse. The answer to this question is not currently in
hand but should be addressed as part of any future implementation.
Testing results
The batteries in this testing project were brought over from China
on 9-24-05 as part of a shipment of test electric motor scooters.
There were extra batteries brought in for laboratory testing and one
motor scooter was obtained with silicone batteries for road testing.
The manufacturer of the batteries tested was Greensaver Tech
Corp. out of Ningbo China. This is not the same manufacturer of
the batteries reported to be used in the E-Max.
The laboratory testing was started and suspended without formal
findings. The testing included full discharge of the batteries
followed by recharging. That is how standard lead acid batteries
are tested. This type of testing does not seem to be suitable for
these silicon batteries as they failed quickly. The issue mentioned
as most problematic was that the batteries failed when left
discharged for as little as one week. They failed to recharge after
that time. These test procedures indicated they were expected to
fail after as little as 30 recharge cycles. Actual results are better
than this.
One lesson here is that discharging completely is probably a bad
idea for these batteries. That may not be an issue in normal
electric vehicle usage, as most controllers require a minimum
voltage level that is higher than the levels associated with complete
discharge of the battery.
Range testing was conducted on an Electric motor scooter with a
1500-watt brushless motor. The scooter had four 12-volt
Greensaver batteries connected in series – nominal 48-volt system
(each rated at 36 Amp hours on the 10 hr rating). All range testing
is done under normal driving conditions with a 200 lb driver in city traffic.
The initial range testing on these batteries was good with an
average of 27.3 miles and a high of 29 miles. This is compared to
18.1 miles for a similar scooter with a different 1500-watt
brushless motor on four 12-volt 40ah gel cell lead acid batteries. A
set of gel cells like this have been tested to get a range 25 miles
with different configurations of controllers and motors. Please
note that this is not a controlled comparison but just a reference for
general understanding.
E-Max scooter drivers are getting even better results. One driver
got 30 mile range out of the box that increased to close to 35 miles
after several recharges. These bikes have eight 6-volt 20ah silicon
batteries. Thirty miles is the generally accepted range for these bikes.
Here comes the bad part n the test scooter. Two months and 700
kilometers later the range was down to an average of 20.3 miles.
Four months and 1000 kilometers on the meter and the range was
down to an average of 8.8 miles. That is what is known as battery failure.
It is not clear what has caused this failure. One possible
explanation might be to do with the batteries sitting for 6 months
without being used. Another explanation might come from an
indication that the batteries are venting when charged. The
indication being a sound that resembles a gas relief sound
accompanied by the charger kicking in after having stopped
charging for a few minutes. That would suggest that one of the
batteries in the set has a bad cell and that could limit the whole set.
Checking with the local E-Max dealer it appears that the majority
of these bikes are doing fine and are not experiencing this failure.
There are a few that have had cells in the batteries go bad and
requiring the batteries be replaced. Bearing in mind that these
bikes are reported to use a different brand, there may be a quality
control issue from the batteries tested. The batteries tested were
also purchased earlier and may have been early versions.
Clearly more testing is needed before moving into using these
batteries more extensively. There are several hundred E-Max
scooters out there doing just that.
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Sustainable actions to take, fun transport events and a special report on new technology – not a bad collection of news.