The Way It Works

From the outside, Bangor Hydro's electric truck looks like any other '87 Chevy S-10 pickup. Under the hood; however the changes are extensive.

• An electric motor, which is 9" in diameter, has replaced the gasoline engine.
• In addition to the standard 12-volt battery, there are five larger and more powerful batteries under the hood.
• A 15-unit, self contained battery pack is in the bed of the truck.
• A "step-down" transformer converts 120-volt current stored in the main batteries to 12-volt current that can run the lights and other accessories
• The old automatic transmission is now standard transmission
• The accelerator still looks like the "gas pedal." But, it is a motor controller that works like a dimmer switch.

Electric Motor

In electric motors, the current runs through a coil of wire, or armature, that magnetically charges itself and rotates between the poles of another magnet. The turning coil drives the shaft of the motor.

Lead-Acid Battery

A 6 volt storage battery is made up of 3 sets of cells linked together. Each cell contains lead plates with opposite electrical charges, or electrodes, immersed in a dilute sulfuric acid electrolyte. When the battery terminals are connected to the electric motor, current flows between the electrodes and through the wire, turning the motor's shaft.

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