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WAYNE KRAUTH SAYS, “QUITTING BUYING GAS IS A GREAT FEELING.”
Here is Wayne Krauth of Standish, Maine with his 1999 Saturn battery electric
conversion while working on it last winter. It has been on the road since May of
2009, and is used to commute 35 miles daily at 50+ mph.
Here is his beautiful 1999 Saturn electric conversion with the trophy
it won at the 2009 Standish Kiwanis Beach Car Show.
Here’s a view of the battery box he added to the front of the car.
The trunk is filled with rugged Trojan brand batteries. The range is about
45 miles per charge, and it costs 85 cents for a charge. The system voltage is
120 volts. Top speed is 74 mph in 4th gear, and it could probably go a little
faster in 5th gear.
It has an AdvancedDC ADC FB1-4001 Series Wound, 9" Single Shaft motor.
The fuel gauges look like this when the batteries are fully charged.
Here’s where the extension cord plugs in for charging.
This is the finished front end. Wayne’s electrical engineering background shows
in his beautiful work. Altogether the car has 15 eight volt Trojan batteries.
And this is the car being recharged after it had been on the road for several
weeks. It also has a ceramic 1,500 watt heater.
Wayne’s Comment About Fuel Costs
“The best part about it is the reduction in fuel costs. I expect that gas is heading
back to 4 or 5 dollars a gallon, and my weekly commute now costs about 4 or 5
dollars for electricity. So I have been telling people the choice is easy; 4 bucks
a gallon versus 4 bucks a week! This really struck me recently when I took the EV
off the road to work on it a bit more (adding a full length belly pan for aerodynamics).
All of a sudden I am paying $35 for a tank of gas again... What a strangle-hold the oil companies have on us all.”
And Wayne is already planning his next electric car.
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