Introducing the Electric Duster Project

DionR - yes, there is nothing too new or groundbreaking in what I am doing, other than my choice of vehicle. When I was researching what I could do to buy less gasoline, I was really surprised when I discovered that people had been doing electric conversions since the early or mid 90s. The technology has improved somewhat over time.

My choice to do it was because it will work for my situation and it was the only alternative that will actually pay for itself over time. I will be paid back in full at 45-55,000 miles depending upon gas prices - even sooner if I receive any tax incentives. At this point, I don't care about 'green' other than the 'green' that is in my wallet. No other type of conversion or fuel alternative I found would do anything but cost me more money than continuing to buy gasoline - even at much higher prices. So my decision was strictly economics - at least at first. Since I have begun this project though, I have discovered it to be something more - a challenge I guess. I think I have been more enthused about working on this than any of my past Mopar projects.

There are a couple of misconceptions floating around about EVs. It really is less pollution to use power generated at a power plant. They apparently use clean coal where I live, but even if they didn't, it is still way more efficient to have the power generated at one location instead of each individual vehicle. As far as charging millions of vehicles, I have read that our current infrastructure could handle it because most of the charging is done at night - off peak hours.

True, 'they' still control the electricity distribution. However, as far as I can tell, electricity is the only power source that we will have a shot at producing ourselves via solar or wind. The technology is way too expensive so far to make it worthwhile economically. But as with battery technology, these other forms of power generation should improve over time. You're right though, the promises of that have been around a long time. Maybe with growing interest in this stuff and people starting to purchase en masse will make it happen. My feeling is that electricity is the only power source that we can hope to obtain without someone else controlling the supply and price.

To drive one of these conversions definitely requires a different mindset. I have been talking to my employer about possibly recharging while at work, which would double my commute range. I have also been investigating other ways to partially charge while on the road - including a small generator in the trunk - so as not to get stuck somewhere. The good news is that if you stop for a while, you regain a certain amount of charge without doing anything. It's like stopping your car and having your tank magically gain gasoline :)