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Barberton entrepreneur converts light vehicles to the tune of $10,000
By Jim Mackinnon
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Tuesday, Aug 26, 2008
Jim Weirick says you can have an electric-powered car now that will carry you as far as 40 miles — perhaps longer — before needing to be recharged.
He's willing to build one for you, too, as a matter of fact.
The 45-year-old Barberton resident, a trained electrician and self-professed troubleshooter, says there's no real need to use fancy high-tech batteries and electronics. Off-the-shelf lead-acid golf cart batteries from Sam's Club, a large electric motor and a few custom-made parts will do just fine, he said.
He can transform a normal gasoline-powered car or truck into an electric one for $10,000 as part of a new small business, Real EV All Electric Cars, started up at his Fairmount Avenue home.
You supply the vehicle and the funds and he'll do the rest in about 100 hours' time, Weirick said. He said he prefers a simple approach to complexity.
He's already converted a small, two-seat Honda del Sol to electric and sold it to a New Jersey resident.
The proceeds from that sale allowed Weirick to pursue other small vehicle projects, including a Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck and a Ford Festiva.
''I'm pretty much doing everything myself,'' Weirick
said.
Weirick hopes he can grow what is essentially now a shade-tree mechanic business into full-time work.
''I started with robotics years ago,'' he said. ''I have a bachelor's degree in electronic technology from the University of Akron.''
He's been experimenting with all-electric vehicles for about five years.
What he's learned can be put into practical use now, Weirick said.
Lightweight gasoline vehicles are the best candidates to be converted to all-electric power, he said. The light weight helps extend the range of an electric car, for one.
There are tradeoffs involved, Weirick said. Don't expect to have power steering or power brakes — two other reasons it makes sense to have a light car or truck, he said. Air conditioners won't operate either, he said. And no automatic transmissions — manual only.
Other than that, though, the electric vehicles he can make will go faster than posted highway speed limits and take about seven hours to recharge, he said.
There's definitely growing interest nationally in electric vehicles, said Will Beckett, an officer with the nonprofit Electric Auto Association in San Jose, Calif.
It's hard to get a handle on how many people now own an electric-powered car or truck in the U.S., Beckett said. But membership in the educational association, founded in 1967 by NASA engineers, has been growing by 10 percent a month recently and is now at an all-time high of more than 1,700 people, he said.
''More and more mechanics are interested in breaking into this business because they see it as a new trend,'' said Beckett, a self-employed computer troubleshooter who owns an electric bike and electric car.
Interest is increasing not only because of the higher gasoline prices but also because people want more environmentally friendly vehicles, Beckett said.
''Frankly, it's not so much you'll save big money by going this way,'' Beckett said of converting a gas-powered vehicle to electric. He estimates that it typically costs between $8,000 and $15,000 to convert to electricity.
''$15,000 will pay for a lot of gas,'' Beckett said. ''I think the vast majority of people who are doing this are interested in reducing their [global warming carbon] footprint.''
It probably makes the best economic sense for someone to buy a used electric vehicle and have it upgraded, Beckett said.
As for Weirick, all someone has to do is bring him a standard transmission vehicle, ideally with a missing or blown engine, that he can make run on batteries. The $1,500 battery pack he adds should last two to three years under normal use, he said. Weirick estimated the annual cost for that power at $288 for the typical user.
''Ideally, I'm shooting for the guy who goes to work,'' Weirick said.
Because of the added expense of the conversion, ''you are not going to save big buckets of money'' over a gas car or truck, he said.
But people who want to drive a more environmentally friendly vehicle should look seriously into something powered only by electricity, he said.
''I'm trying to figure out if I can sell these at a good price,'' he said. ''I'm willing to get things done. I'm creative.''
He's trying to find an auto or machine shop that he can partner with as well, including getting the use of service bays to do the conversions.
''I think there's some kind of future here,'' Weirick said.
Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com.
Jim Weirick says you can have an electric-powered car now that will carry you as far as 40 miles — perhaps longer — before needing to be recharged.
Get the full article here.
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