Zoomi Life

No, the book isn’t in several parts, but this review is. Why? Because this book isn’t just one book, but a virtual book case of volumes in one set. The Gas2Electric book itself is only 41 pages long, but it’s only one of several that come with the purchase of this electric conversion manual. So I’m going to review the whole set.

• Electric Car Conversion Guide Review: Gas2Electric (Part I)
• Electric Car Conversion Guide Review: Gas2Electric (Part II)
• Electric Car Conversion Guide Review: Gas2Electric (Part III)

Gas2Electric is authored by George Christodoulou and is informative and useful, especially for the first-timer who wants to know all of the basics first. The book is written in plain English with no jargon or complicated schematics. The author is European, but seems to have a grasp of English as a first language—unlike some others I’ve read.

The first couple of pages cover the skills and materials you’ll need: Important information for the do-it-yourselfer, since you might find you don’t have what is required. Getting halfway through and finding out you’re stuck sucks.

He then goes into who does conversions or owns electric vehicles, why they do so, and what types of vehicles are prime candidates for it. He also points out little things I wouldn’t have thought of like why a manual transmission is preferable to an automatic for EV conversion as well as the before and after weight considerations for the vehicle itself.

George then goes into the information you’d expect to see: battery types and preferences, voltages, the tools you’ll need to get the job done, and sources for motors and other parts. In fact, at this point, you’re already halfway through the book. See, told you it was thorough. This is great information that many other EV conversion guides I’ve seen just gloss over.

The author assumes you have the wherewithal to remove the engine/radiator/fuel/exhaust systems yourself and doesn’t dwell on the process. He does mention what to watch for and do while you’re stripping the car, however, such as labeling wires.

The rest of the book is the vehicle’s actual electrical propulsion installation process compressed into just a handful of pages. The information here is not deep, since it’s generalized to be vehicle-nonspecific, but it’s informative nonetheless.

The description of the four basic wiring systems and the simple schematic showing how they function (and can be installed) is probably worth the $49 price of the book all by itself. The glossary of terms at the end is a great tool too. Most of that information is available freely on the Web, but having it all in one spot is extremely handy.

While my review so far has been glowing, I will point out that this book, on its own, won’t get you all the way through an EV conversion. It’s a great start, though, and Gas2Electric also sells kits at various prices for various vehicles and needs. This book is all you’ll need to get one of those kits installed (and comes free with a kit purchase).

The other books in this package, though, will make it possible for you to completely DIY your own electrical conversion. And here’s a little surprise I found: it will give you enough info to DIY your own free electrical sources to charge it too.

But that’s for the next installment of this series.

You can buy the Gas2Electric guide here.