Trips

Custard Greenway

Leave a comment
CitiCar with a fact sheet on the rear window

Today is Sunday. It’s another beautiful day. We’ve been having brief showers throughout the weekend. The air is fresh, and it felt like a great day to go on another adventure.

I got some tape and put up a little fact sheet on the back window. I also added a QR tag and the URL to this blog so people could learn more about the car, my adventures, and the history behind the car.

Afterwards, we drove over to the Front Royal town square.

Details on the back window of the CitiCar
The Royal Shenandoah Greenway

Teddy and I took a walk along the Royal Shenandoah Greenway. Its a little path that goes around the whole town. It runs along Happy Creek, down to the Bing Crosby stadium. It also goes through a few parks and along various roads. We took our time casually strolling along the trail. I let Teddy sniff around at his own pace. He would often lead me down toward the creek.

Happy Creek Arboretum Sign

We walked through the Happy Creek Arboretum on a side path with more shade. It’s made up of a few trees, various plants, a side path of mulch, a picnic table, and a few plaques. There is a water fountain for both people and dogs, but it was out of service. The bench looking out over the creek was also occupied, so we continued on.

Footbridge across Happy Creek

We made our way towards the footbridge nearby to cross the creek. The two of us often like to watch and listen to the water below. Once we crossed, Teddy made a beeline for another open area leading to the river and startled a group of butterflies.

I let him wade in the creek for a little bit. He was thumping the water with his paw, as if he wanted to swim, but it’s just not deep enough for him. After a few minutes, he came back up the bank and we were off onto the Royal Greenway again.

Teddy and Lewie share some Custard

We made it to our final destination for B & L’s Custard. Teddy got a “Pup Cup”, and I went with a small cup for myself. It was the perfect weather for setting outside in some partial shade along with a light breeze. As always, I had him do a few tricks for a treat beyond his wildest dreams. After he licked his cup clean, I let him lick mine clean as well.

Canadian Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Teddy found something stinky on the way back and had to stop to rub it all over himself. After bringing the side of his face down onto the spot, he rolls onto his back and wiggles around.

We saw the butterflies again on our way back, and I was able to stop and grab some photos before letting Teddy wade in the creek again. They appear to be Canadian tiger swallowtail butterflies.

DC Fast Charger for CCS and CHAdeMO

When we got back to the town square, I took a closer look at the public charger. It offered both CHAdeMO (DC) and CCS Combo (DC). In other words – DC fast charging only. I’ve been starting to take an interest in public charging stations while researching how I can modernize the car.

On the way home, we had a couple people honk their horns and wave at us, and I would honk back. We can’t go far, but it’s been a blast driving through town again.

Charging Time & Voltage

I love making spreadsheets. I measured the voltage and kept a closer eye on the chargers as they topped off the batteries. I now have a few extra metrics to keep track of.

On an 11 hour 41 minute charge back to full, a 7.2 mile trip charged at 1 hour and 37 minutes per mile (0.66 mph). For reference, I can casually walk about 1-2 miles an hour. I suspect this is a low rate of charge for a sealed lead acid battery. It is either due to the batteries themselves, the quality of the chargers I am using, or the fact that I’m using four chargers on separate batteries that are still wired in series.

In addition, the 2.6 voltage drop from my trip comes in at about 0.36v/mile. This gives me a general idea about how much range the car has in its current configuration. Forgetting temperatures, accuracy, resting time, calculating parabolic curves, amps, hills, etc. We are working with ballpark numbers here.

Returning home with a voltage of 48.5 is almost on the nose of a 50% SoC. Ideally, I don’t want to go below a 30% charge at 47.84v. So…

(48.5v SoC – 47.84v minimum)/0.36v per mile = 1.83 miles

From this, it seems the car can go a total of 9 miles (7.2 + 1.8) before the batteries get down to 30%. A dead battery sits at around 46.04v. From the same calculations, I would have 6.81 miles left for a total range of 14 miles. I doubt I would be able to get that far unless it was all downhill.

I’ll continue to monitor the charging time and voltages to see if the total miles has an effect on the average volts per mile and charging duration. For now, I can set a timer to turn the chargers off based on each trips total miles driven.

miles driven * 1 hour 37 min

If the car isn’t charged fully by the next morning, I can simply turn the chargers back on.

WaypointOdometerDistance
Home1,077.0
Front Royal Town Square1,080.63.6
Home1,084.23.6
Total7.2
CitiCar odometer readings for a tip to the town square and back
RechargeEnergyCostDuration
RatekWh$0.09850.62 mph
Total2.08 kWh21.1¢11:41
Per Mile289 Wh2.9¢01:37
Cost to recharge the CitiCar batteries
Trips

Downtown Expedition

Leave a comment
The CitiCar parked in an unusual spot

It’s been a long week. The weekend is upon us. Although it’s mostly cloudy, it’s a beautiful day out with warm weather. After finding my keys buried in the couch, Teddy and I hopped into the cheese and ran off to the park. Our first stop, like always, was to our local park, Gertrude Miller Community Park.

It’s fun being in such a tiny car. We were able to maneuver into a small area that isn’t wide enough for most cars to park. It was also at a convenient spot where we had enough area to do a U-turn and be on our way.

Teddy wading in Happy Creek

Teddy will often find his way to the Happy Creek river that runs in between Lions Park and Gertrude Miller Community Park. I let him wade around in a low spot and watch him drink some of the water to help keep him cool.

Lions Park Observation

On the other side of Happy Creek river, there is a little observation deck that he likes to hop up on as well.

Fantasy Land playground looks like a castle

We walked around Lions Park, sat in the shade, and then walked past Fantasy Land playground on the way back to the car. Just looking at the castle made me want to be a kid again.

As noon approached, it was time to cool down with a nice cup of ice cream. We drove over to the Front Royal town square. Our favorite ice cream man at C & C Frozen Treats across the street was happy as always to see us visit his establishment for “essential supplies”. I purchased a quart of Diary Free Blueberry Cheesecake to bring home, and Teddy got a scoop for himself.

Teddy and I went back over to the town square to find some shade and to do a few tricks. He’ll do anything for a treat, and ice cream is one of his favorites.

SitDownHead Down
NudgeScratchPaws Up
OffPlay DeadRoll Over
BackComeLeave It
WaitBalanceSpeak
LeftRightTouch
Teddy’s tricks
An old caboose from another time

Afterwards we walked around the town square a little bit. The Front Royal visitors center is an old train station, and a Norfolk & Western Cupola Caboose sets in the park. It’s locked off, so you can’t go inside. Usually kids like to play around it, climbing the steps and pretending to ride. It’s been inoperable for a long time, and grass has grown up over the tracks.

The gazebo in Front Royal town square

One of the main attractions in the park is the town center gazebo. Many bands have sat within the gazebo performing for the local community.

The center of the gazebo has a plaque with an inscription about a time capsule buried beneath. Who knows what treasures it contains?

We found a new mural on the side of one of the buildings. I decided it was time to continue our adventure and have a closer look.

@ARTbyAmandaHorn
#ManorLineMarket
#WingsProject

This mural lets you become a part of it. If someone takes your picture standing in front of the wings, you can see what you look like with wings. It’s always a treasure to find these murals around Front Royal. One day we’ll find them all. This one also had bee’s flying around.

Inklings is the newest store in town

As we took a walk down main street, Teddy and I found an interesting little pet friendly shop called “Inklings“. It used to be occupied by an art gallery. We went inside to have a look around. The woman inside offered Teddy a treat. I had him do a little performance for her. I grabbed a bar of soap to remove elbow grease with Rosie the Riveter saying “We Can Wash It!”. In addition, a cup with Lewis Carol on it and quotes from Alice In Wonderland caught my eye.

Teddy at Mountain Trails

Main street was closed to traffic so that establishments could use the area to help keep people spread apart. We crossed over and headed towards a hiking store called Mountain Trails. The Appalachia Trail runs through our little city, and many hikers and locals stop by for supplies. A mural of the Appalachia Trail is painted on the side of the building next to its entrance.

The staff were already familiar with Teddy. We hadn’t been there in such a long time, and they were asking to see him do a few tricks. I mentioned he wasn’t going to do them without a reward. A woman offered a treat, but he would only sit. He wouldn’t do the trick to play dead when she asked. I asked for one of the treats and had him doing a bunch of tricks to everyone’s admiration.

Since I had lost quite a bit of weight, I picked up a lightweight Charcoal El Mono T-Shirt by the Howler Brothers. It has a better fit and is ideal for the late summer heat. They threw in a free coffee flavored cliff bar with my purchase.

Time was moving fast. Even though we parked in the shade, I felt that our ice cream back in the car was going to melt if we took too long. We returned home and I got to unpack all of my loot for the day.

The Local Loot

View a map of Front Royal, Virginia

WaypointOdometerDistance
Home1,069.3
Gertrude E Miller Community Park1,072.22.9
Front Royal Town Square1,073.31.1
Home1,077.03.7
Total7.7
CitiCar odometer readings for a trip to the park and ice cream store
RechargeEnergyCost
RatekWh$0.0985
Total2.37 kWh24.1¢
Per Mile308 Wh3.1¢
Cost to recharge the CitiCar batteries

Battery, Motor, Parts

The Egg Before The Chicken

Leave a comment

I’ve had quite a bit of fun driving the CitiCar. I want to go further, and a little faster up hills. The main drawback on range is that the battery capacity in my car is very low. I could upgrade to a proper set of batteries to match the manufacturers recommendation, but I would be shelling out one to two thousand dollars based on quality and composition. However, if I am going to upgrade the motor as well, I should wait on the batteries until I’ve chosen a motor, as it may need a different voltage. Both options are costly, and doing both doesn’t seem to make sense. If I go for the batteries, there is a chance I will not upgrade the motor unless it fails, and then the battery voltage of what I already have will heavily dictate what motor I will get.

Trips

Royal Excursion

Leave a comment

The sun is out in the middle of a hot July summer day. Lazily getting up, it took my time enjoying the weekend morning. I had plans to pickup an office desk. I got into my 2004 Ford Explorer SUV and found that I couldn’t get the vehicle to recognize that the gear had shifted out of park. Unfortunately, my hybrid 2010 Honda Insight car is also inoperable. Due to the pandemic, I haven’t driven it for a few months and the battery has died. The only operational vehicle at the moment is… the CitiCar. Really? This?!? At least I’m within range of a couple auto-parts stores.

After calling around and making a few arrangements due to my predicament, it was time to enjoy the rest of the day. Teddy and I hopped into our little electric car and started driving. The right rear brake had a sound that concerned me, so I made a few adjustments back in the driveway and continued on again.

We visited both Gertrude E. Miller Community Park and walked over a little bridge to Lions park across river. Teddy waded in the Happy Creek river a little bit and started laying down when he realized we were about to leave. I’ll admit, if it were cooler, we would have stayed longer. I was getting hot, thirsty, and wasn’t inclined to drink and wade in the river.

1976 CitiCar at Front Royal Town Square

We drove over to pick up Ice Cream. Just like last week, Main street was blocked off. It probably put on an extra mile on the odometer, but the car seemed fine on battery charge, setting on the third tick of five, when we parked. Teddy had some dairy-free strawberry mint ice cream as a reward for doing a few of his tricks in some shade at the town square. We could see the ice cream man and his wife, while dressed as pirates, had stopped by the car to check it out.

On the way home, I had some concerns regarding how much load I was putting on the battery as we were on one of the last inclines. We stopped on a side street just before continuing home. Teddy and I had a bit of a serious discussion regarding the batteries and how much power the motor was drawing. After a minute or two, with clear traffic, we pulled out and continued on our way.

As I held down the breaks for a couple minutes going down hill, I was thinking of how much power was being wasted. Ideally, I could just let off the brakes and coast all the way home, but I wouldn’t even attempt that in my hybrid car with regenerative breaking. As we coasted into the garage, I could hear the motors fan blowing and wondered if I should leave the power on to help it cool off. I also considered if I should wait before charging the car.

In all, we go just under nine miles on our trip from a full battery. The fuel gauge read at 50%, half way between the red dot and the next tick. The owners manual states that the red dot indicates a ¼ charge. We could have probably gone an extra mile or two before fully depleting the battery.

WaypointOdometerDistance
Home1,060.5
Back to Driveway1,060.70.2
Gertrude E Miller Community Park1,063.73.0
Front Royal Town Square with detour1,065.61.9
Side Street1,068.22.6
Home1,069.31.1
Total8.8
CitiCar odometer readings for a trip to the park and ice cream store
RechargeEnergyCost
RatekWh$0.0985
Total2.71 kWh27.5¢
Per Mile308 Wh3.1¢
Cost to recharge the CitiCar batteries
Parts, Trips

Radial Tire Upgrade

1 Comment

Four new radial tires were thrown in with the sale of the CitiCar. After having my fun with the old tires, I decided it was time to take the car into a tire shop and have the new tires installed. I found a local shop nearby and called ahead to verify that they would install third party tires. They had a few questions, but the best way I could explain was – it’s a weird little car with trailer tires, along with the code of the new tires.

CitiCar jacked up by its front axle for tire installation.

There was only enough room in the back for two of the tires. The other two went into the passenger foot-well. While it was lifted on jacks, a few people waiting to be serviced came over to talk about the car, the manufacturers history, and current condition.

I got to see the drum brakes on the back of the car for the first time. They were dirtier and different than the front brakes. The adjustment access point faces out toward the tire, instead of being accessed from behind. The axle caps protruding from the center of the front rims were missing on the back two tires.

Once the tires were installed, the mechanic and I were able to put all four of the older tires into the back of the car. I took a look at the new tires on the car. Because they were a bit larger, I rotated them in both directions to verify that they didn’t rub against the cars body.

The bill came out to $60.90.

WaypointOdometerDistance
Home1,055.8
Advanced New & Used Tires1,058.22.4
Home1,060.52.3
Total4.7
CitiCar odometer readings for a round-trip to Advanced New & Used Tires from home
RechargeEnergyCost
RatekWh$0.0985
Total1.51 kWh15.3¢
Per Mile321 Wh3.3¢
Cost to recharge the CitiCar batteries

Trips

Gertrude Miller Park

Leave a comment
Teddy sits in the shade in front of “The Chez” CitiCar

It was a wonderful day out. Teddy and I hopped into our little electric CitiCar and started to take off toward the community park, only to hear a strange sound while backing out of the garage. I evaluated the situation and found that the front tire was locked up and sliding on the floor. After repairing the brakes and attaching the hub caps, we were on our way.

I could immediately feel the difference in driving. I could go further coasting. I was able to break past my max speed of 32mph and got up to 33! Driving felt almost normal, as being in any other car.

Dedication of the community park to Gertrude E. Miller

We arrived at the community park and found a nice spot in the shade for the CitiCar. The voltage meter was at the fourth notch, reading at about a 78% charge. Teddy was happy to be back in the park. He got to bark at a dog, walk around, smell grass, wade in Happy Creek, and talk to strangers from a distance. We also took a look at the dedication plaque next to the entrance to the park.

The trip home was pretty fun. At one point going down hill I noticed the speedometer was at a record breaking speed of 37 mph. A passenger in another car stuck there head out and said that they loved the car. Taking the slow lane up a hill, we let most of the cars pass until we ran out of road. We were down to about 25 mph at full throttle and pulled off onto a small road to let traffic pass before we were on our way again.

Teddy and I made it home. As I pulled into the garage, the volt meter was just above the third notch at about 61% charge. Hooking up the battery chargers, the batteries were at 12.3 volts.

WaypointOdometerDistance
Home1,049.3
Gertrude E. Miller Community Park1,052.53.2
Home1,055.83.3
Total6.5
Odometer readings for a round-trip to the Gertrude E. Miller Community Park from home
RechargeEnergyCost
RatekWh$0.0985
Total1.97 kWh20.0¢
Per Mile303 Wh3.1¢
Cost to recharge the CitiCar batteries

At the end of the day, a pair of scissor jacks had arrived on my door step to add to my emergency equipment.

Notes

The turn signal has an impact on the motors battery. When the turn signal is engaged, each click moves the voltage reading of the main batteries. The same behavior is seen when flashing the high beam lights. My original understanding was that these lights were powered by the accessory battery.

I’m starting to understand the sounds that the car makes as I drive, specifically with the brakes.

Trips

Ice Cream Run

Leave a comment

Another day of fun on the road. At the moment, my “normal” car has a dead battery, and the SUV has a problem with the gear shift stuck in park. I had some diary-free coffee ice cream waiting for me at the local ice cream shop with only one way to get there…

The prior trip downtown enlightened me as to the shortest route, traffic, hills, breaking, speed of various gears, and how to compensate for the terrain. I decided to go the route that took me 3.5 miles to get home (according to google map directions). The total trip would be estimated at under 7 miles, with a mile of range left for extra cushion.

Teddy and I hopped into the car and we were on our way. There were a few things I did to help us go further listed in the extending range page.

Keeping an eye on the speedometer, second gear tended to top out at 18 mph, and third brought the speed up to 32 mph. Ideally, I would like the car to go faster, but not until I make more adjustments to the breaks and change over to radial tires.

The late summer heat tends to build up, and the windows don’t give much ventilation. It would be preferable to have later models where the window can slide down into the door. I may get a little fan with a 12v adapter.

I arrived at the town center gazebo and parked across from the Front Royal visitors center. The trip downtown felt pretty comfortable and I knew what to expect with the drive compared to the maiden voyage. I had more than half of my battery capacity left, and was at ease knowing I wouldn’t have problems going back home.

Teddy and I got our ice cream, and there was plenty of room behind the seats to put our coveted ice cream. We walked around the park area a little before we headed back home. The ride back was better as well. Rather than hearing the motor struggle and losing speed as the battery lost its voltage, the car operated just fine given the new strategy of driving.

Arriving home, we pulled in and voltage meter in the instrument cluster on the dashboard was showing the fuel at two thirds capacity. I hooked up the battery chargers which reported three batteries at 12v, one at 12.1v, and the accessory battery at 12.6v. The chargers combined registered as using 313 watts on the KILL A WATT meter. The batteries were fully recharged the next day, within 18 hours after the trip.

WaypointOdometerDistance
Home1,041.5
C&C Frozen Treats1,045.43.9
Home1,049.33.9
Total7.8
Odometer readings for a round-trip to the local ice cream store
RechargeEnergyCost
RatekWh$0.0985
Total2.62 kWh26.6¢
Per Mile336 Wh3.4¢
Cost to recharge the CitiCar batteries
Parts

Brake Repair

1 Comment

Today I started breaking out the individual steps and evaluation of the brakes. I improved the rotation of the front driver-side tire, and gained some insight of how things are put together, and why. Specifically, the front tire was on backwards and had a contributing impact to the problem.

I have setup a page under the maintenance section for brakes.

Trips

Maiden Voyage

3 Comments

The owner of a local ice cream shop invited me to bring my car down to an auto show this weekend along main street. I’ve been on the fence about it, but I decided I’m going to give it a go.

My mind is already thinking ahead on the logistics. It’s just over 2 miles. A steep hill to exit my little subdivision. The first mile on the road is 35mph. Once the limit goes down to 25, it’s a gradual uphill incline.

I haven’t tested out the max speed or range yet. I got it going up a large hill at 25mph. I’m 88 pounds lighter now, so I’m hoping that has a significant impact. When new, the car was advertised with a range of 30 miles at 38 mph. A 5 mile round trip shouldn’t be a problem. This is my first trip out on the open roads.

I have concerns about being stranded, having things break down, and how I would be able to tow the car back home.

The back of a CitiCar with five battery chargers below it lighted up in red.
The Chez charges for its maiden voyage

I’m charging the batteries overnight. I haven’t charged them fully since the initial time when I purchased the car. Once I got the voltage meter working, it’s been reporting a good charge. I felt no need to top it off when I’m not driving it regularly. When I plugged in the battery chargers to each of the five batteries, I was glad to see they hadn’t discharged much. The batteries were very low when I purchased the vehicle.

On The Road

Side by side photos before and after losing 80 pounds.
Before and After losing 80 pounds

Teddy and I piled into the car. I have been on a diet to increase the range, with a total of 90 pounds today and still going. I am now able to use the seat belt comfortably, and it’s a bit loose. I actually had trouble trying to tighten it up. Going up a fairly long hill to get out of the subdivision lowered the speed down to 20 mph as I neared the top. I pulled off into a cul-de-sac on the way up to lessen the load on the batteries & motor before continuing up.

Once out of the development, I was able to get the car up to 32mph. I felt closer to the road, and smaller. Gradual inclines became steep hills. Gasline and manhole covers felt like potholes to avoid. Turns made the vehicle feel top-heavy. Breaking tended to pull to the left a little. I believe that’s due to my adjustment to the breaks on the front drivers tire. I felt like I needed to give myself a lot more room to slow down to avoid breaking too hard. Once I entered a 25mph zone, I felt more comfortable in the cars capability to keep up with traffic.

I circled the area trying to find a way into the auto show, but everything was blocked off. I eventually parked at the Front Royal Town Square close to the EV charger. I looked over the charger and saw that it only offered charging for J1772 combo and CHADEMO connections. I would have to wait until I got back home to recharge.

With the detour, the trip downtown was 4½ miles, and the battery was setting around half capacity. With my experience with batteries I had for a small off-grid system, I knew that “half” was less than half based on the load, and had concerns getting back home. I was a little relieved knowing it would be a shorter path home without the detour.

The S10 Conversion

I met up with someone who contacted me via a social media platform who was interested in seeing a CitiCar close up. I stuck the front driver hub cap on so that he could take a few photographs of the complete set. He looked inside, and we had quite a chat about CitiCars in general and his interest in acquiring one and potential for upgrading the motor.

We migrated over to his S10 pickup truck. He made quite a few modifications, where the most significant one was changing to Chevy Volt batteries. The weight reduction alone increased the range to 60 miles. He had batteries stored both under the hood and in a large box half the size of a saddle box in the back. I also noticed his dc-to-dc converter, Curtis controller, and how large the electric motor was.

It’s impressive to see how simple an electric conversion is put together, and… physically clean. No dust and oil residue or stinky smells from under the hood. He had what appeared to be a flat piece of plywood with enough empty space that two people could use it as a stand-up picnic table.

The high beams were on when he arrived and I turned them off. They came back on again during our talk. It’s something I need to look at since the handle is so finicky.

There & Back Again

As time passed, I was getting more concerned about making the journey back home. The voltage meter showed it was around half after the batteries recovered a little bit.

I could tell immediately that the trek home was going to be tough with the reduced amount of torque I felt. I was pretty much swearing as a car in front of me was going below the 25 mph speed limit up a hill. The fan on the motor was blowing pretty hot. The door windows only let a limited amount of air in the cabin, and it was still too hot.

During the final stretch, I had to pull over to let a few cars pass before continuing on. As I entered the sub division, the car at full throttle was going 10 mph. The fan was blowing, the cabin felt hot, and I pulled over to let the batteries recover. I figured if I had to, I could push it up the hill a few feet before going down the large hill towards the house.

Teddy and I waited for a few minutes. I flipped the switch and it was fairly noticeable the speed had improved, but not fully. We went down the hill, took a turn, and as the batteries were draining, I gradually got the car into the driveway.

As I got out of the car and closed the door, the front drivers hubcap fell off. I was kicking myself for not taking it back off, and relieved it didn’t fall off during the drive. By time I got the garage door opened and back into the car, I had enough battery power to drive into the garage.

The trip back home was 3½ miles.

Recharging

As I was unable to get the onboard charger working yet, I hooked up all five external battery chargers via quick connect cables I had installed. The four batteries for the motor were all drained to 11.9 volts, while the accessory battery was down to 12.4 volts.

A KILL A WATT meter reporting 3.62 KWH
A full charge overnight consumed 3.62 kilowatt hours

The KILL A WATT meter was reporting the chargers together using just under 400 watts. I reset the meter and let the car charge overnight. All chargers were green on Sunday at a full charge.

Teddy and I made it home. As I pulled into the garage, the volt meter was just above the third notch at about 61% charge. Hooking up the battery chargers, the batteries were at 12.3 volts.

WaypointOdometerDistance
Home
Front Royal Visitors Center*4.5
Home1,041.5**3.9
Total8.4
Odometer readings for a round-trip to the Front Royal Visitors Center
  • * Estimated distance based to destination on following trip, along with an estimation of circling around the general area.
  • ** Odometer distance along the same route on a following trip
RechargeEnergyCost
RatekWh$0.0985
Total3.51 kWh35.6¢
Per Mile417 Wh4.2¢
Cost to recharge the CitiCar batteries

Performance

  • Max Speed: 32 mph
  • Fun: Lots
Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started