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ICE Free: Electric vehicle technology for builders and converters (Paperback)

[review]

I'd suggest reading the title closely for an idea if what the book is and isn't. It isn't a "how to" guide on conversion but rather it provides technical information that is useful for EV builders and converters. While a lot of this information is freely available online it is handy to have the info in book form too, and I don't think the price of this title is that expensive. Despite being an avid reader of this topic online I'd still say that I learn a lot from the book, especially about the pitfalls of various components. For example, this book firm up my understanding of how battery management systems work and provided some insight on the debate about whether the current systems are effective or not.

Essentially it covers all of the components needed to build/ convert an EV which is great but a subsequent that details the conversion process would be a welcome addition. Example topics are: types of motors (AC/ DC), battery types (eg lead acid and lithium ion), battery management systems, charging/ discharging.

The reason I chose this book over the others is that it seemed to jump into the juicy details without too much of the superfluous background info that other books of a similar nature have. It isn't really necessary to have a detail history of EV, nor is it necessary to have a list of political arguments as to why EVs are so great. It seems a little pointless to have that in such a technical book. Besides anyone that gets this far almost undoubtedly knows it. This is also broadly confirmed by the author's Amazon review of similar books. While I expect the other titles to be good I just wanted to jump into the technical information and arguments which this book seems to do.

There are several citations and links quoted in the book that provide a way of verifying the information too. The quality of this publication is somewhat close to the amateur end of the spectrum, formatting of the text is a little bit strange as it is in columns like a newspaper rather that using the full page width. Some of the diagrams look like they were made in MS paint but they serve the necessary functionality, besides book is littered with pictures and diagrams which I like.

I believe that anyone of a vaguely technical background should have no problem understanding this book. It assumes only modest knowledge of physics (high school level) such as voltage, current, power. All said, a solid effort from the author and worthwhile purchase for anyone that is interested in EV building/conversion.