doubled ev range less then $2500 no car modifications

great! in the meantime, can you give us more technical info and parts price breakdown? thanks!

 

That's a pretty interesting idea. Assume he's using a _big_ battery (maybe 12V AGM) and an inverter to power a mid-day recharge?

15A@120V = 1800W

Here's a 12V 2000W continuous pure sinewave inverter for $399:
10-00487 - Voltec 2000 Watt Pure Sine Wave Power Inverter - DonRowe.com

3300Wh AC would require at least 3300/12 = 275Ah DC. At 1800W, 12V battery would be supplying 150A so we need to look at ~1.8 hour discharge rates. This 212Ah solar AGM has a 1-2 hr discharge rate capacity of 136-172 Ah, or about 160Ah at 1.8hrs. Two of them would give you an effective 320Ah capacity so you won't have to go all the way to 100% DOD. The downside is they weigh 127 lbs ea
Sun Xtender Solar Batteries - Photovoltaic Battery

Cost for 2 is ~$1200.

To recharge the pack in 12 hours, a charger would need to put out 212Ah * 2 / 12h = ~36A. Really you need considerably more than that to get it under 12 hrs, as an AGM charge cycle will not be full power the whole time. This IOTA 55A charger might get you in the ballpark of 12hrs, but I can't find a charge time table.
Iota DLS-55 12 Volt 55 Amp Battery Charger | ChargingChargers.com

Cost i2 ~$200.

So it does seem conceivable to build such a porta-power pack for under $2k when you factor in wiring and such.

Downsides I can see:
- Weight (close to 300lbs all said and done)
- Size (where to keep those giant batteries)
- Expected lifespan (AGMs might last a year or two in this type of deep cycle application?)
- "Stacked" efficiency penalty (12V charger Ef * Inverter Ef * HV Charger Ef, If all 3 are 90% thats 73% effective to the wall. At 85%, its 61% effective)

Rob

 

3 of these might replace the AGMs for ~$600 more with the benefit of increased lifespan, smaller, and about 165lbs lighter.
Elite Power Solutions

Of course, its uncertain how long the batteries would last without a balancer or BMS, but might be ok at 12V. Li charger might be more expensive too.

To maximize lifespan, you could go with a 36V package like this that includes matched bms and charger, but again at higher cost. Now you're up to about $3k total assuming you can find a 36V inverter at a similar price. Another benefit would be <7 hr claimed charge time.
Elite Power Solutions

Rob

 

Better and cheaper to buy a 900W portable generator. Take it out at work and chain it to the PIP, plug it in and full charge the PIP after work. Cost less than $150.
Weight only 40 lbs.
800 Rated Watts/900 Max Watts Portable Generator

 

Since the generator would use more gas and create more emissions than just using the Prius ICE which is "free", I'm not sure in what sense it would be better or cheaper

 

it will be fascinating if the op ever comes back and gives us a clue!

 

The point is the OP cannot find a charge point, this is the best alternative.

 

but it wouldn't make sense if the alternative is more expensive than running the pip without a wall charge.

 

What we're essentially designing here is the Enginer kit, and approaching a similar cost. 48V 4kW Li battery pack with a charger and a 2kW continuous pure sine inverter in place of the dc:dc converter. If anyone is interested in this approach, it might be worth asking Jack if he could supply such a kit. I'd wager his Chinese suppliers already have an inverter that could be substituted at a similar cost. Then you'd have a complete kit with box and warranty for about the same money. For someone with a 10-20 mi commute and no day time recharge option this might actually make more sense in a PiP then the standard Enginer kit and be cheaper than the PIS kit.

Rob

 

I think the best alternative is to purchase the right vehicle to meet your needs in the first place.

 

Hey! No bringing logic into this!

 

yeah. besides, pip is the only 'right vehicle' for any situation.

 

has anyone figured out how to do a DC fast charge on a PiP?

 

It's not an alternative if such a vehicle doesn't currently exist on the market.

 

Warning: USB should be along any time now to inform everyone that you are now in the SUV weight category (weighing more than a RAV4), reduced the interior size to a compact, and be needlessly lugging around a huge 1.8L engine.

 

Its quite possible the OP is not carrying the batteries. One could setup the battery/charger at work, have them on a dolly/cart, and take it out to your car every day. I have a 1kWh battery + sine wave we use for experiments and have considered using that for charging (but 1kWh is not much range.)

 

if the 230w panels are $1/w thats $1840 to start

I'm not sure what the advantage of having an AC charged battery based fixed charging station might be. It seems like an extension cord would be more cost effective.

The solar charged battery based fixed charging station is a different story, especially if it gets you to/from an off grid destination.

 

This idea of building a portable solar charger for an EV has come up before. And it always comes up to be pretty expensive and not cost effective, as well as impractical. First there's the sheer size of the solar array. Figure that each panel is around 3' x 5'. That's 120 square feet. 10 feet by 12. The panels weigh also weigh a good 40 pounds or more each. The batteries will not last 10 years. 5, maybe.

You are better off simply not charging, or running an extension cord to a nearby outlet.