It was a dreadful experience going to the gas station. If you own a large SUV, the experience can be darn right painful.

Will the price of gasoline increase again?

That is for sure, it is only a matter of time.

To cushion the impact of rising fuel prices, many vehicle owners are looking into alternative energy such as electricity. However, a brand new electric car from the dealership is still very expensive. Many people are not ready to make that kind of investment.

A cheaper alternative is to convert their existing vehicle into a pure electric car via a Do It Yourself (DIY) approach. That has lead to the creation of many DIY electric car conversion guides on the web.

One of the most popular EV conversion manual available on the internet is George Christodoulou’s Gas2Electric e-book.

Is the manual any good?

That is the reason I am writing this post, to give you a quick glimpse into the guide.

George Christodoulou is a self-proclaimed environmental activist and DIY car converter. If you didn’t know, you can find his web site at www.gas2electric.net.

The Gas2Electric is basically a step by step guide to convert a conventional gas guzzler to run on only electricity. According to George, by using an EV, you can cut your gasoline bill down to zero.

This is a fact because by using an electric car, the only time you will stop by the gas station is to buy a pack of cigarettes or use the wash room.

Is DIY electric car conversion suitable for everyone?

Sadly, the answer is no.

If you are not good with hand tools or you have no knowledge whatsoever on automobile, doing your own EV conversion project may not be a good idea.

In this case, you can outsource the conversion project to a professional mechanic. The money spent here will save you a lot of time and unnecessary headache.

When you are engaging the service of a professional workshop, the Gas2Electric will come in very handy for you. After you’ve read the e-book, you will have a better understanding on what’s involved in an EV retrofitting process.

With your new found knowledge, you will be able to have a discussion with the mechanic without looking like a dummy. At least you will know when you are being charged for unnecessary parts or work done on your car.

So what’s my verdict on George Christodoulou’s Gas2Electric?

If you are new to the concept of DIY electric vehicle and you want to know how it’s done, go get a copy of the e-book. It’s a good read and you’ll get to expand your car knowledge.

==> Click here to visit Gas2Electric now!

In this article, I thought of doing a quick review on the e-book Gas2Electricity. If you didn’t know, you can find its main web site at www.gas2electricity.com.

I have been doing a lot of research on Do It Yourself (DIY) electric car for more than a year now. I have bought many electric car conversion plans either from the internet or from the book stores.

One of the EV manual I came across on the web is Gas2Electricity. From the web site, the guide was written by 2 professional mechanics, Jarrod and Jerimie.

If you have never bought any information product from the internet before, you may not know this. Jarrod and Jerimie may not be real persons.

A lot of web publishers create fictitious character to promote their product. The reason they do this is to give a human face behind a digital product. I have a feeling this is the case for Gas2Electricity.

However, you have to remember this. When you are buying an e-book, what you want is the “information” inside the manual, not how they market it. Therefore, I wasn’t too concern about this.

There are 2 things I want to highlight in this review. First, it is the EV mileage per charge promised in the web page. Gas2Electricity claims you can get 100 – 200 miles per charge. This is not an impossible figure but you’ll need to have 2 things.

To achieve the mileage claimed, you’ll have to make a very big battery bank and use a very light electric donor car. To build a large battery bank, you may need 30 or more deep cycle batteries!

Carrying so much dead weight on an electric car may not be very feasible. For your information, generally, a Do It Yourself (DIY) electric car has a net driving mileage of about 50 miles only.

The second thing I want to highlight is the cost for the EV conversion. Gas2Electricity claims you can get it done for less than $280. This is outright incorrect!

I doubt this is achievable even if you were to use all old or recycled parts and batteries. That small budget is not even enough to purchase a reasonable electric motor.

If you are planning to build an electric car in your home garage, be prepared to invest upwards of $5000.

So what’s my conclusion on Gas2Electricity?

Personally, I’ll give it a pass. The information that has been claimed on the web site is way off the mark. Nonetheless, if you are looking for some basic knowledge on EV conversion, you may give it a go.

DIY Electric Car Conversion Guide

The best electric vehicle conversion guide I’ve seen so far on the web is Gavin Shoebridge’s Electric Conversion Made Easy. Gavin is from New Zealand and he is known as the EV Guy.

He has personally converted an old Mitsubishi Treadia into a pure electric car. He has also documented the entire conversion process into a step by step instructional video series.

The Electric Conversion Made Easy is Gavin’s EV experience penned down. Everything is based on actual situation with actual EV parts and components. If you want a precise EV retrofitting guide, check out Gavin’s guide.

==> Click here to visit Gavin Shoebrige’s web site!

1) Build Your Own Electric Vehicle by Seth Leitman and Bob Brant

2) Convert It! by Michael Brown

3) Electric Vehicle EV & Conversion: All you need to know about Electric Vehicle & converting to EV. by Dr Y EV

There are a couple more in the list, but these are the few that came highly recommended.

However, there is one electric conversion manual that I have read so far that is pretty good. It’s the Electric Conversion Made Easy by Gavin Shoebridge.

The EV Guy From New Zealand

Now, who’s is Gavin Shoebridge?

Gavin is from New Zealand and he looks like an average Joe. One thing unique about him is he had converted a conventional gasoline driven automobile to an electric vehicle (EV).

A few years back, Gavin was sick and tired of having to pay high gasoline prices to maintain his car. He decided to take action to sever his gasoline addiction by using EV.

Unfortunately, new EV from a dealership is very expensive. The cheapest alternative is to convert a normal car to run purely on electricity.

That’s what Gavin did!

The Mitsubishi Tredia EV

What Gavin did was to purchase a 1987 Mitsubishi Tredia, remove the internal combustion engine (ICE) and put in a DC electric motor.

The process sounds very simple, but it was anything but that.

You see, Gavin is not an automotive engineer and he has never done an EV conversion before. The project was pretty much a trial and error process.

Gavin took almost a year converting the Tredia to EV. But in the end, Gavin managed to complete the project and had the pleasure of enjoying the “EV grin” when he first took his homemade electric car for a spin.

People Start To Notice, Even The TV Channel

After some time, people start to notice Gavin’s EV. Instead of the loud roar of an internal combustion engine, Gavin’s electric car only gives off a soothing “hum”.

A New Zealand local TV station actually did a news segment of his DIY electric car. You can see the news clip above.

Electric Car Design Book

Back in August 2009, Gavin decided to put all his knowledge and experience into a manual. Most of his writings are not really conventional. Many of his ideas are “fly by the pants” because he’s a real DIYer. Creativity is important when you’re working with a limited budget.

What’s different between Gavin’ e-book versus all the EV books from Amazon.com? It’s the videos!

Yes, Gavin e-book comes with 11 High Definition (HD) step-by-step instructional videos on how to get started building your own electric car.

It is pretty cool actually. Seeing what’s involved in converting a normal car into a pure electric vehicle. For more information on Gavin’s Electric Conversion Made Easy e-book, click on the link below.

==> Click here to visit Electric Conversion Made Easy!

Related web pages:
1) Electric Car Conversion Manual

2) Gas 4 Free Review – Is Gas4Free The Real Deal?

Convert It!

In this post, I decided to do a very quick review on Convert It! The following is a list of 14 quick review points of the book.
1) Introducing the electric car – In this chapter, Brown introduces the reader to the concept of electric car as the transportation for the masses going into its history and its future.

2) Facts about electric vehicles – Here, the author debunked some myths about the humble EV. It is expensive? Does it have low driving mileage? The questions are answered in this section.

3) Safety – Even though electric cars are clean and efficiency, you cannot forget about driving safety. Basic driving safety stuff such as seat belt, tire thread, speeding etc are covered in this chapter.

4) What you need to get started – This is the starting point of a DIY electric car conversion project. Some basic things you need to get before you begin are ample work space, the right hand tools, lifting and welding equipment etc.

5) Choosing a chassis – When you are building your own EV, you need to decide on the type of chassis so you can start sourcing for a donor car. In this chapter, Brown goes through the criteria in choosing the ideal donor car.

6) Removing the internal combustion engine (ICE) – This process is like heart surgery. In essence, you are removing the heart of the car (ICE) and replacing it with an electric motor. The proper step to hoist out the engine is covered here.

7) Installing the motor and adapter – How do you install the electric motor on your donor car? In this chapter, the author covers the delicate process of connecting the motor to the existing transmission unit. Here, you will be introduced to the metal adapter plate.

8) Batteries and containment – The next section is the batteries or the power unit of the EV. How many batteries do you need? Where do you store them and how to link them together? All the questions are covered in this chapter.

9) Installing EV components – The is where you will learn the multiple EV components such as the controller, throttle box, volt meter, amp meter, inertia switch, main cut off switch etc.

10) Wiring – Understanding the veins of the electric car system. Readers without any wiring or electrical science experience will find this chapter a bit challenging. Not to worry, Brown did a good job explaining the EV wiring concept.

11) Final hookup and bench testing – You need to test all the system in your DIY electric car before you drive it on the road. There’s a useful check list included.

12) Suspension and tires – When you remove the internal combustion engine, the weight distribution on the car is different. You are also adding a lot of dead weight because of the batteries. To carry all the weight safely, the author delved into the suspension and tires of the electric car.

13) Road testing, driving and paperwork – Now that your EV is built, you have to get it tested by the authority to be certified as road worthy. Brown explains the type of approval and paperwork you have to go through for this to happen.

14) Charging and maintenance – The EV has no need to fuel up. It does have to be charged though. In this chapter, you learn about the science of battery charging, care and maintenance. This chapter is very important; missing it will reduce the life of the deep cycle battery on the electric car.

==> Click here to get your copy of Convert It! from Amazon.com now!

Related web pages:

1) Golf Cart Battery Maintenance Guide To Extend The Life Of Electric Golf Cart Batteries

2) Samuel Watson Premium Electric Car Guide Review

Who Are The Authors?

I did a quick Goolge on the name “Seth Leitman” and I found his personal web site at www.sethleitman.com. From his profile, Leitman is also known as “The Green Living Guy”. He is the Editor for the Green Guru Guides, which is a publication on eco friendly technologies.

Leitman is also a blogger for the Planet Green website and Greenopia.com. He also worked on GEM and TH!NK Neighbor low speed vehicles for New York State.

For some reason, I tried Googling the name “Bob Brant” but I could not find any of his personal information.

The Humble Electric Car

This EV conversion book starts off by explaining why the electric car is still right for today transportation needs. The world is choked by the smog of the internal combustion engines. The EV has a great potential to replace all the gas guzzling automobile in the world.

If you are new to the concept of electric vehicle, the Build Your Own Electric Vehicle book will expose you to the idea of electric motor, batteries, controller etc.

In the book, the authors also delved into some of the electric car myths. These myths are:

The book also covers a good list of advantages and disadvantages of owning a pure plug-in electric car.

DIY Electric Car Conversion Project

As I was reading the manual, I came across the chapter where the authors explained “The Best Electric Car For You”. Here, you will get the information related to starting your own DIY electric car conversion project.

Should you buy a ready-to-run EV? Build your own electric car or get the service from a custom shop? Where to find electric vehicle built kits? You will find all the answers to the question above in this EV manual.

Get Your Calculator Out!

If you are a math geek and you like to prove complex formulas, then you will love Build Your Own Electric Vehicle book. This book has a whole chapter dedicated to EV “Chassis and Design”.

You will get complex formulas relating to weight, acceleration, speed, range, aerodynamics, balance, rolling resistance, horsepower, torque etc. This is a good time to bring out your scientific calculator.

In Conclusion

If you are planning to make your own electric car from your home garage, the Build Your Own Electric Vehicle book will be a good reference guide for you.

However, this book is written to target the intermediate and advance individuals. If you are totally new to the science of electric car, the information in the book may be overkill.

If you are looking of an easy to read EV conversion manual, you can check out Les Oke’s Convert 2 EV guide. The manual is available on the internet and you can download it immediately.

All in all, the Build Your Own Electric Vehicle paperback book by Seth Leitman and Bob Brant is a great EV conversion manual. I’ll give it 8 out of 10 stars.

==> Click here to get your copy of Build Your Own Electric Vehicle from Amazon.com now!

Related web pages:

1) Magniwork Review – Is Magniwork Generator System A Scam?

2) DIY Electric Car Conversion – How Practical Is It