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Forum » Electric Vehicles (EV) Forums » TWIKE

Any idea what this is for?

Author	Message
Written on: 14. 02. 08 [19:01]
childress Topic creator registered since: 14.08.2007 Posts: 81	It looks like they replaced the stock plastic shelf with a beachwood shelf, and in doing so closed off the holes that are behind the lights, and made open-air/fan racks where the other set of holes were... Which leads me to thing what directions are the fans blowing, in or out? If the fans are blowing out, then won't that make the compartment warm/hot in the summer? If they're blowing in, where is it exhausting from -- underneath the Twike somewhere that isn't visible in the photo? Ideas, thoughts? I think a firmer shelf would be nice -- I'd like to have something that I could more easily mount things to, like a child carseat... here's the original place where the photo came from. It's talking about the new Li-ION battery packs... http://www.dreifels.ch/page.asp?DH=28 I was thinking that the heat from the batteries might be good to use for the defogger too? Dunno, this winter I've seen the temperature of the 'warmest' battery read 3deg Celsius... and it climbed all the way up to 7 degrees by the time I got home. M@ [This article was edited 2 times, at last 14.02.2008 at 20:20.] Commute suck? Twike it; You'll like it! http://www.uiuc.edu/goto/twike
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Written on: 15. 02. 08 [13:21]
ecoadmin Administrator registered since: 20.07.2007 Posts: 387	Hi M@, Unfortunately I am not yet a Twike driver, I only rented it a couple of times. If I remember correctly the fans are blowing out, but not sure though. I remember the compartment got pretty warm when the Twike was used on warm days. I know of one Twiker owner which used the warm air from the exhaust to defog the windscreen. I think this has been described somewhere on a Twike site. I'll try to find it and post it here in english. When I last time visited the manufacturer in Germany, I was told that the new Li-Ion batteries do not require cooling from a blower. That makes me thinking that the new defogging system developed by FineMobile uses another source of warm air. It should be available for next winter 2008/2009. The new shelf you see in the picture is part of the package when purchasing the D-Cells (D5000 NiCd Battery) from dreifels AG. The new shelf is necessary because the the d-cells are slightly larger in size than the previously used ones. What would be interesting to know: If using the new Li-Ion packs, will the original plastic shelf be ok for the Li-Ion cells? Greetings Stefan ecocarforum.com - Green Car Network Community for sustainable transport
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Written on: 15. 02. 08 [16:40]
childress Topic creator registered since: 14.08.2007 Posts: 81	Ahhh, that makes sense then. From doing my own work/maintenance on my 10-year-old Twike here in the US, I've no love lost for the plastic shelf It is very hard to get out of the back, requireing removal of at least one (but most times both) of the shoulder harnesses for the seat belt. I needed/wanted to replace some of the existing brake/turn/tail lights with more round european-style LED lights which are behind the verticle section of the panel, and so had to remove the whole thing. This design looks like it would be both easier to get out, and perhaps allow for removing just part of the shelf. I am constantly amazed at what the Twike engineers at FINE Mobile as well as the Twike community come up with for fixes/enhancements to the vehicle... > I was told that the new Li-Ion batteries do not require cooling from a > blower. That makes me thinking that the new defogging system developed > by FineMobile uses another source of warm air. The photos of the defogging system I looked at submitted by a Twike owner were pulling warmed air off the electric motor, much as is done in a traditionally-powered vehicle. Any translation you could provide would be much appreciated as it is probably something I'll be doing to my Twike... One of the questions I get asked a lot is if I'm ever scared/intimidated when I'm in the Twike (usually because it looks so small, especially next to an SUV/MiniVan). As a bicyclist, I feel much safer in the Twike than on a bike with respect to other vehicles, but there are only two times I'm scared when I'm driving my Twike in town: When the wind is very high and gusty (since the front of the vehicle is so lightweight, and it is steered by the front, the wind pushes the nose around causing you to swerve a lot), and when the humidity (rain) is high causing the canopy to fog up quite badly. Unfortunately those two things happen together a lot On saftey in the Twike: This morning on the way to drop off my 6-year old daughter for school testing (I was running late) I took a left-hand turn a little too fast (I need to check the air pressure in the tyres which I'm sure are low, as it is winter). It didn't even phase me when I felt the back wheels start to slide out as I had practiced this before and felt I was in complete control. With the low center of gravity and the closeness of The Twike to the ground, it does not roll/flip. It should of course be noted that it was a LEFT-hand turn, which uses the driver's weight (as well as the weight of the batteries) to hold the vehicle down. Right-hand turns in the US (since we drive on the right) tend to be much sharper turns, so we're moving slower... which is good since that turn the driver's weight is working against staying flat. Commute suck? Twike it; You'll like it! http://www.uiuc.edu/goto/twike
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Written on: 17. 02. 08 [20:31]
ecoadmin Administrator registered since: 20.07.2007 Posts: 387	Hi M@ I am working on a translation on the modified heater/blower system and hope to have it online soon. If only my day would have 48 hours! Twike 838 was recently delivered to Norway and I've found a picture of what the shelf looks like in the new Twikes. Looks solid and well designed to me: More on the topic of defogging hopefully soon. Until then, here is the link to the wiki page: Defogging solutions Defogging using waste heat from engine Stefan ecocarforum.com - Green Car Network Community for sustainable transport
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