# [EVDL] questions about Virginia HB 780



## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

Ken,

If you cut the fuel tank open (which will be necessary to
use it as trunk) then it can no longer be used as fuel tank
so my impression is that if you show your tank repurposed as
trunk (with lid) and without fuel or fuel line then that should
be acceptable, since it no longer is a fuel tank.
They appear not concerned about the original fuel tank itself
but about people finding a sneaky way to store fuel and just
claim the vehicle to be converted while it is not.
That is why it has "the fuel tank removed and not replaced"
ie it has not a hidden tank in a different place and also the
original fuel tank cannot be used as fuel tank.

Switch in fuel filler door: since that is often the most
convenient place to put your charging plug, it is relatively
simple to add a switch that is operated by the fuel door and
will avoid the high voltage from being connected to the motor.
This also avoids driving away while plugged in so there is
some sense to this law.
My EV has a separate outlet in the grille, but still it has a
little switch in it that will interrupt the 12V drive to the
main contactor coil, so the controller cannot be engaged as
soon as the flap is lifted. The flap is spring-loaded just like
the fuel filler door.

I do not think that you should worry too much about the locking
of the fuel filler cap - any emergency worker can open a wreck
to get a person out so I think he will be able to open a
locked fuel door also when the need arises. The lock is typically
a piece of plastic that is easily broken in emergency.

My impression is that the less you educate your inspector of your
EV, the fewer problems you will experience - especially if you
already put the things in place to satisfy the spirit of the law
even if it may not comply to every letter of the law, such as
the fuel tank removal.

There remains always a risk of course, but if you are creative
then I am sure you will find a way to get your EV registered,
whether by "shopping around" and going to a different DMV location
if one inspector fails your EV, or by implementing the letter if
the inspector insists, just like the guy welding a short piece of
open pipe to the rear of his EV, because in his state it was 
required to have a place to stick a smog sensor into.

Success,

Cor van de Water
Chief Scientist
Proxim Wireless Corporation http://www.proxim.com
Email: [email protected] Private: http://www.cvandewater.com
Skype: cor_van_de_water XoIP: +31877841130
Tel: +1 408 383 7626 Tel: +91 (040)23117400 x203 

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Ken Overway
Sent: Monday, July 09, 2012 1:31 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [EVDL] questions about Virginia HB 780

Hi all,

I am about to start my first EV conversion (1997 Miata) and I found
Virginia House Bill 780 which includes some requirements for Converted
Electric Vehicles in order to pass inspection (takes effect in Oct
2012). Does anyone in VA have knowledge of this bill? I'm worried about
passing inspection and want to make sure I cross my t's and dot the i's.


Specifically:

Buried in HB 780 it states

"Such certification shall be on a form approved by the Commissioner and
the Superintendent and shall state that the inspector has verified
that..
(ii) the fuel tank has been removed and not replaced;"

I'd like to convert the tank into a storage trunk since it is located
directly behind the passenger seats. It will no longer function as a
tank and will be cleaned and painted, but it is still the same "tank".
Advice?

Also buried in the code is

"3. An externally mounted switch to open the high voltage circuit in
case of an emergency. Such switch must be located where the fuel tank
filler cap was located prior to conversion. Any cover protecting the
switch must be able to be opened from the outside of the vehicle;"

I wonder if any SPST switch will work. The ignition key already serves
to interrupt the contactor for the battery bank. I was going to just add
another switch in the gas tank flap area that interrupts the 12 V of the
key switch. I think that is what they want. Advice?

Also, like most cars, my tank lid locks down and is only accessible when
the switch is pulled from inside the car. Do I have to disable this and
make it spring-loaded?

Can someone with experience in going through a VA state inspection of a
converted electric vehicle let me know how difficult it was? I am just
trying to make sure I don't do the conversion and have a car that is not
street-legal. Does the inspector actually weigh the vehicle to make sure
it is under the GVWR?

Thanks for any advice.

-Ken Overway, Mt. Sidney, VA

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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

> Ken Overway wrote:
> 
> > Hi all,
> > =
> ...


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

I have used a skill saw and a sawsall to cut open tanks including propane
tanks. Flushing with soap and water is good but I then fill the tank with
water and cut it when it is full. Stay on the top side of the tank and be
sure you are plugged into a GFCI. Use air tools if you have them.




Sincerely,
Mark Grasser





> Ken Overway wrote:
> 
> > Hi all,
> >
> ...


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

Multiple rinses were absolutely on my to do list. I like my eyebrows!

Has anyone ever "re-purposed" a gas tank before?

-Ken

> Hi Ken,
> =

> You WILL be sure to rinse out the tank at least 2 times with
> detergent and water before cutting it open WON'T you?
> We don't want you to lose your eyebrows (or anything else
> more important) when, otherwise, the cutter sparks ignite
> the petrol residue in the tank!
> =

> MW
> =



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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

Ken,

In addition to lots of rinsing etc. you also need to keep the air/fuel
mixture in the tank non-flammable when you cut or weld on it. One might
think that the fuel is gone, but there are very small amounts of fuel in
porous or corroded parts of the metal, and along the seams. Some people
use dry ice in the tank which supplies carbon dioxide, non/flammable,
and I have heard of some who route the exhaust from an internal
combustion engine through the tank with the motor on, and then weld or
cut. Be careful, and double check your advice. I have never worked on a
steel gas tank. For cutting I would fill a tank with water and use a
reciprocating saw on it. Welding, be careful, the heat will bring out
any remaining fuel as a vapor and that is bad for risk of explosion or
fire.

Alan

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Ken Overway
Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2012 9:22 AM
To: Electric Vehicle Discussion List
Subject: Re: [EVDL] questions about Virginia HB 780

Multiple rinses were absolutely on my to do list. I like my eyebrows!

Has anyone ever "re-purposed" a gas tank before?

-Ken

> Hi Ken,
> 
> You WILL be sure to rinse out the tank at least 2 times with detergent

> and water before cutting it open WON'T you?
> We don't want you to lose your eyebrows (or anything else more 
> important) when, otherwise, the cutter sparks ignite the petrol 
> residue in the tank!
> 
> MW
> 


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

I let air from a compressor blow into the tank to dry it as well as I could=
, washed it out with soap, filled the tank with argon, and used a nibbler (=
less likely to spark than a cut-off wheel).



________________________________
From: Alan Brinkman <[email protected]>
To: Electric Vehicle Discussion List <[email protected]> =

Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2012 11:14 AM
Subject: Re: [EVDL] questions about Virginia HB 780
=

Ken,

In addition to lots of rinsing etc. you also need to keep the air/fuel
mixture in the tank non-flammable when you cut or weld on it. One might
think that the fuel is gone, but there are very small amounts of fuel in
porous or corroded parts of the metal, and along the seams. Some people
use dry ice in the tank which supplies carbon dioxide, non/flammable,
and I have heard of some who route the exhaust from an internal
combustion engine through the tank with the motor on, and then weld or
cut. Be careful, and double check your advice. I have never worked on a
steel gas tank. For cutting I would fill a tank with water and use a
reciprocating saw on it. Welding, be careful, the heat will bring out
any remaining fuel as a vapor and that is bad for risk of explosion or
fire.

Alan

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Ken Overway
Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2012 9:22 AM
To: Electric Vehicle Discussion List
Subject: Re: [EVDL] questions about Virginia HB 780

Multiple rinses were absolutely on my to do list. I like my eyebrows!

Has anyone ever "re-purposed" a gas tank before?

-Ken

> Hi Ken,
> =

> You WILL be sure to rinse out the tank at least 2 times with detergent

> and water before cutting it open WON'T you?
> We don't want you to lose your eyebrows (or anything else more =

> important) when, otherwise, the cutter sparks ignite the petrol =

> residue in the tank!
> =

> MW
> =



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| Please take those discussions elsewhere. Thanks.
|
| REPLYING: address your message to [email protected] only.
| Multiple-address or CCed messages may be rejected.
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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

Yes, my first attempt at a battery box used the lower half of a fuel tank. I simply washed, dried, sniffed, and cut with a sawzall. 
It turned out to be easier and better use of space to build a new box than adapt to the many curves and bumps on the bottom of a Karmann Ghia gas tank...
Here's the final assembly..
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5407/1617/1600/Oct%2015%20photo%20dump%20036.jpg
Jay
www.karmanneclectric.blogspot.com


-----Original Message-----
rom: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
ehalf Of Ken Overway
ent: Wednesday, July 11, 2012 9:22 AM
o: Electric Vehicle Discussion List
ubject:
Multiple rinses were absolutely on my to do list. I like my eyebrows!
Has anyone ever "re-purposed" a gas tank before?
-Ken
> Hi Ken,

You WILL be sure to rinse out the tank at least 2 times with detergent
> and water before cutting it open WON'T you?
We don't want you to lose your eyebrows (or anything else more 
important) when, otherwise, the cutter sparks ignite the petrol 
residue in the tank!

MW



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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

It is a <steel> tank, isn't it? I ask as a lot of modern ones are plastic which would make cutting them a lot safer... Just a thought! MW




> Alan Brinkman wrote:
> 
> > Ken,
> >
> ...


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

Hi Ken and all,
In February I had my 98 converted Golf EV licensed and inspected.
Now it is street-legal. I had let the donor vehicle registration
expire during the conversion, and I contacted DMV by phone to learn
what steps to take to register again. (I'm writing this from the top
of my head, and I'll post again shortly with specifics.) The process
involved obtaining a new title and a visit from a state agent to see
the finished work. Once I had the title, then I could drive in to the
inspection station for a regular inspection. I did not not need any
special waiver for the emissions part of the inspection. The Virginia
code made that part simple.
At the time, the registration and inspection loomed large, but that
part was actually much easier than getting a reliable controller

Charlie




> Ken Overway <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Hi all,
> >
> > I am about to start my first EV conversion (1997 Miata) and I found Virgi=
> ...


----------



## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

Here are a couple of the 'specifics':

DMV phone: 1-804-497-7100



1. submit VSA 22 (application for assigned Vehicle ID Number)
to DMV (at an office, or mail to Richmond);

include the following:

1a. (old) title
1b. (old) bill of sale
1c. (??) bill of sale for conversion work
1d. notarized statement of construction (signed by person who did
conversion,
in my case another party, and notarized)
1e. picture of completed vehicle

$125 inspection fee for an investigator comes out to see vehicle

2. submit VSA 17A to DMV (go to an office) -- application for title and
registration. take your signed (by inspector) VSA 22

3. safety inspection -- performed in my neighborhood


Charlie




> Ken Overway <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Hi all,
> >
> > I am about to start my first EV conversion (1997 Miata) and I found Virgi=
> ...


----------

