Memorial Students build an electric car
Click here to access Mr. Ron Grosinger's webpage
West New
York's Alternative Fuel Classes showcased on NJN Classroom Close-up
Date: Monday, April 19 at 7:00 pm -
click here for a sneak preview
Click here for more information on NJN Classroom Close-up Show
MHS teacher assists General Motors at the National
Science Teachers Conference
Ron Grosinger the Alternative Fuels teacher at MHS
will be assisting General Motors at the National Science Teachers
Conference In Philadelphia this week in bringing about Alternative
Fuels education in their classrooms.
MHS students build
fully functional electric car
Earlier this
month the students of put the final finishing touches to Memorial's
first built electric car, and debuted it at the NJ Technology
Educators Association. The project, which began in February, was
part of a pilot program taught by Ron Grosinger called the
Alternative Fuel Education program at Memorial High School.
The 18 students
of the Alternative Fuel Education class transformed of a 1990
Volkswagen Cabriolet into an electric car by replacing the gas
engine an electric motor, a speed controller, and 12 lead acid
batteries. In addition, they learned the history of alternative
fuels, and about present day “Going Green” efforts to harness these
alternative forms of energy. The electric car can go up to speeds of
65 MPH, and has a power source that can go for an average of 4 hours
before it needs to be recharged.
Memorial High
School Principal Robert Sanchez had the chance to unveil the
electric car to residents of West New York during Sunday’s Memorial
Day Parade, which ran from 67 Street and Bergenline Avenue to the
Veteran’s Memorial on Boulevard East.
Click here to view article published in Jersey Journal -
6/23/2009
Photo Gallery
|
|
|
|
Out with the old gasoline engine of this 1990 Volkswagen Cabriolet!
The students of MHS’s alternative fuels education class take the first steps in converting this used car into a “Green” electric car. |
|
|
|
Senior Ahmed Awawdeh, 18, working on removing the car’s motor and transmission.
|
|
|
|
Freshmen Freddie Gomez, 15; Jorge Torres, 15; and sophomore Isamara Lozano, 16, working on detaching the radiator.
|
|
|
|
Junior Brenda Torres, 16, (right) and sophomore Isamara Lozano (left) work on labeling the parts being removed from the 1990 Volkswagen Cabriolet.
|
|
|
How do you
build an electric car?
It’s really very
simple:
- Take a class of
18 enthusiastic students –plus one teacher- and one gasoline powered
1990 Volkswagen Cabriolet convertible.
- Next have that
class label and remove the car’s engine and all associated parts.
- Then replace
the gas engine with one electric motor, a speed controller and 12
lead acid batteries.
Lastly,
congratulations! You have your very own electric car with speeds up
to 65 MPH, and a power source that can go for an average of 4 hours
before it needs to be recharged.
“If the average
commute is 35 miles why should you pay for gas when you can ride an
electric car and plug it in at work,” said Technology teacher Ron
Grosinger.
History of the electric car and other
alternative fuel vehicles
Despite the
recent gain in popularity, the electric car has been around for over
100 years.
In 1906 the Baker
Electric Co. made 800 electric cars, making them the largest
electric vehicle maker in the world at the time.
However,
the battery power for those first time electric cars was not yet
well adapted. They had the same amount of power as a regular
Duracell battery.
In addition,
the technology to run a diesel car on renewable vegetable oil has
been in existence for over 100 years as well. The diesel engine
invented by Rudolph Diesel, which he presented at the 1898
World’s
Exhibition Fair in Paris,
was originally
run on peanut oil - the original biodiesel.
Diesel believed
biomass fuel to be a viable alternative to the steam engine,
particularly to run farm equipment. Vegetable oils were used in
diesel engines until the 1920’s when an alteration was made to the
engine, enabling it to use a residue of petroleum—what is now known
as No.2 diesel.
The current
diesel engine uses the same basic design, and with a small
alteration can run on used veggie oil from a deep fryer machine.
More complex alternative fuels like hydrogen powered cars, the
concepts have been proven and practical versions are still in
development. Grosinger is hoping to touch upon this concept with his
students through lab experiments to show proof of the concept.
|
