Plug-In Supply DIY

When my Enginer converter failed, I shipped it back. The battery pack was fully charged but had been sitting for 3 months. When I got the converter back, I charge the pack again and was able to charge 1.5kw into the pack. The pack dropped from 4.85kw down to 4.35kw. 2 months later, the converter failed again. The converter was sent in. The pack was fully charged again. This time, it took 2 months to get the converter back. This time around the pack capacity dropped down to 4kw. I thought was balancing issue so I rebalanced the pack but was only able to get the pack up to 4.15kw from full depletion.

 

What kind of batteries? Did you leave your BMS hooked up? Have you ever investigated current draw from it?

 

The first time, MiniBMS and charger were hooked up for about 3 weeks then I disconnected everything. The second time, right after the converter failed I charged the battery packs then battery packs were pulled out of the enclosure. Nothing is hooked up to the batteries.

 

I use CellLogs to watch 24 T-Sky 100AH cells in a motorcycle. Pin 1 is switched to minimize power drain. I left them off but connected last winter (~3 months) and they drew about 25AH out of each battery. I've had a 90 AH T-Sky cell sitting on the shelf for the past 2 years with nothing connected and it hasn't changed at all. (I'm going to do a charge/discharge cycle on it within the next week or so to quantify this.) Jack Rickard (EVTV) had some T-Sky cells sitting for over 2 years with no changes (they're typically shipped at ~50% SOC.) Maybe different cells act differently?

 

I might said different types of chemistries

 

Use a credit card buying stuff from small vendors!

When dealing with any small vendor, use a credit card or at least PayPal. That way if you ever have a dispute there is at least a chance you'll get your money back. In the Honda Hybrid community a lot of people got screwed pre-paying for new NiMH battery packs from HybridBatteryRepair.com then the company went out of business. Read up on how long you have to file a dispute, it may only be 45 or 60 days.

 

Maybe your promise of a refund was rescinded after Robb saw this ripoff report on the Internet.

Ripoff Report | Plug In Supply Inc | Complaint Review: 874100

In your research did you read this post from the thread - Plugin supply or Plugin Solutions ...Scam?

The above post is definitely a red flag. Maybe buying the PIS kit from Paul from 3Prongpower would have been a better option. Paul seems to have a good reputation. In my few communications with Paul on the Enginer forum I agree that he seems to have a good reputation and not just for being honest. Maybe if you had spoken to Paul he may have warned you.

I was offered a PIS kit without the battery pack by Dimitri who sells the miniBMS who also told me that he is a authorised installer and dealer for PIS. Because I was already invested in BMSplus it was not an option. My dealings with Dimitri in relation to my purchases of many miniBMS units and two EV display units were very satisfactory all were paid through Paypal. Just about everything I have bought for my Prius was paid through Paypal including my Enginer kit. On one occasion with Paypal I opened up a dispute and got a full refund for an item not sent as the seller claimed it was lost in the mail. My advice is to buy a PIS kit from a installer like Paul or Dimitri who have a good reputation. Because they are installers it is not compulsory that they also install the kit. Maybe they will charge extra but if you pay with Paypal you have a good chance of getting a refund.

I hope that future DIY customers of the PIS kit are not put off by your experience and try going through an installer and pay with Paypal. From what I understand when a Paypal dispute is opened the payment made to the seller is withheld from the sellers linked account until the dispute is resolved which could take up to 45 days.

 

Re: Use a credit card buying stuff from small vendors!

Hi Paul,

As a PHEV kit installer for 3ProngPower do you accept payments by Visa, MasterCard or Paypal?

 

Re: Use a credit card buying stuff from small vendors!

Yes we do...and Discover/Amex also.

And so does our affiliated company in Boulder, Colorado.
Boulder Hybrid Conversions

 

lopezjm, usnavystgc clearly states that refund promise was rescinded on 4/24/2012. The Ripoff report was made 4/26/2012, so it couldn't have been the trigger to rescind the refund promise.

The post by Jungle Girl is extremely suspicious. Even now, "she" has only 1 post to her credit.

I looked at the Ripoff Report site (from your link) and noted that there are exactly TWO reports posted on Plug In Supply...your link is to the newest; the other was posted in April 2011. The report authors are not clearly identified, but your report link APPEARS to have been posted by usnavystgc. I would not assume it was him until he affirms or denys it.

I am still 'cautiously optimistic' regarding my 4KWH kit order from PIS. I received email from him just today promising to investigate why battery holders were not included with the shipment from China. He sent pictures as well of parts (yet to be delivered) that show how the battery pack needs to be assembled.

Based on the pics supplied, I now know that assembling the battery pack is gong to take significantly longer than I thought originally. There are BMS mini-boards that need to be connected to each battery cell (76 of them). There are 4 solder connections that need to be made on each board. This will be a lot more labor intensive for me, but I believe I can still get it done.

Now for pics (supplied by Robb. As of today I have not received any more parts, but I still expect them to be delivered.).

Pic 1 shows BMS modules with terminal leads soldered on. Note red/black leads are different lengths on alternating BMS modules. You'll see why in Pics 3 & 4.

Pic 2 shows BMS modules installed on batteries and jumper wires being soldered in place to connect them together. Robb has covered the terminal ends with tape to insulate them and prevent accidental shorts...safety first!!!

Pic 3 shows BMS connections to battery terminals.

Pic 4 shows that adjacent cells should be covered while connections are being made...safety first!!! Note that short red wire is connected to close-by positive terminal while longer black wire is connected to negative terminal further away. Assembly of the opposite side reverses the leads: red=long; black=short. Note also that in Pic 3, bus bars were installed (staggered) horizontally while bus bars in Pic 4 are installed vertically. This makes all the cells connected in series.

 

I can't believe that a posting from "Jungle Girl" is still being quoted on this forum. Luckily MJFrog clearly sees it is suspicious. I've said almost a year ago, (if I can quote myself)

"I would agree with mrbigh, those are some sharp statements, which if false could be considered libelous in a courtroom.

I have no idea if the statements are true or false, but I do have an idea about the "new poster," Jungle Girl. Would Jungle Girl be one in the same as the previous poster on this same topic, queenandra? Both have just one post, queenandra's location was "sjc," while the "new poster" Jungle Girl's location is San Juan Capistrano (which shortened would be "sjc"). Both own a 2005 Prius, although one lists it as package 3, and the other lists it as package 5. The dates of joining the forum are different too, yet in both cases, years went by without any posting, then one post on this topic. And, IF I'm correct, what would be the reason for using a different name? I wonder."

I also said,
"OK, here is something else that's very interesting.

The place that "Jungle Girl" (a.k.a. queenandra???) recommends, 3ProngPower, advertises "Plug-In Supply 10kWh" for $12,699.00 Buy In Now. What is interesting is that the apparently identical kit is available straight from Plug-In Supply for $10,995. Also, it appears that this price from 3ProngPower is just the kit, as it is from Plug-In Supply, without installation, since the other kits mention "Price includes installation." So listening to "Jungle Girl" (a.k.a. queenandra???) might end up costing you $1,704?"

And also,
"There had been a judgement issued against Robb Protheroe, but apparently that has been overturned and the case dismissed. I was never able to find any details about the case because it is not possible to access the court papers online."

Remember, I said this almost a year ago, so I don't know about the current situation. Maybe the current complaint is valid concerning shipping deadlines and such, but I don't think somebody can go back and say the previous complaint was 100% correct without doing a lot of research.

But I can say, while "Jungle Girl" was saying the authorities were looking for Robb for sales tax evasion, I found him with one email. And I haven't seen where he was charged or convicted for any such crimes. I don't know anything about 3ProngPower or any people affiliated with that company, so my opinion here might not be worth much, but I would definitely be suspicious of anybody that "Jungle Girl" or anybody from Plug-In-Solutions was recommending. It might be guilt by association, and therefore unjustified, but I would say it is suspicion by maybe not association but at merely being mentioned.

 

Happy Plug-in Supply Customer

I am new to this forum. I came here for the purposes of researching the best DIY PHEV solution for the Prius. For what it is worth, I wanted to post my experience. I realize I am a data point of one but every data point helps.

My journey started by test driving a Leaf and deciding the cost didn’t justify the price being charged for my use case. I then started looking at used Prii and finally found a bargain on a 2007, which I promptly purchased.

For the DIY kit, PIS had exactly what I was looking for in their 10KW kit. I called the number on their website talked to a gentlemen name Robb. He was very friendly, knowledgeable and answered all my questions. I inquired about how long it would take to get the 10KW kit. He indicated he could ship the 10KW kit the fastest.

I placed a credit card order on 4/18. The batteries arrived the following week (shipped out of Utah, I believe and originally sourced from China). The charger also arrived the same week as the batteries. The remainder of the kit arrived on 4/25. I did call and pay extra for expedited shipping because my son was in town (on break from college) for the week and wanted to help install the kit.

The installation took us about three total days, mostly because I had to teach him everything . If I were to do it over again it would only take about 1.5 days. Building the battery banks took the longest. Once complete the system fired up and worked as advertised.

You will want to make sure you are capable of doing a DIY install. It requires very fine soldering and knowledge of basic electronics so you can configure the battery bank in series. All parts needed are included in the kit.

I found Plug-in Supply very responsive to work with. I made several calls during my installation and Robb ALWAYS answered the phone and returned every email sent. I am very satisfied with this project.

 

Navy
I wanted to reach out to you. I am glad and appreciate that you have shared your experience with an attempt on PHEV experience.What is obvious to myself is that some forum poster's never carefully read the complete thread or do any dilengence before making thread statements. I contemplated PISupply but realize that you could also go a complete DIY direction which is more to my mindset.
I hope your status improves

 

Re: Happy Plug-in Supply Customer

@Kruz Robb has Gen II kits around for a while. The problem is the Gen III kits. He doesn't have any. The person making the complaint is a Gen III DIY beta tester.

 

Re: Happy Plug-in Supply Customer

Hello, Kruz.

Could you post some pictures of your 10 kWh kit, please ?

 

It would be interesting to know whether it was Navy who made the scam report or someone else, maybe another example of slander by someone making out to be Navy. If it was I cannot blame him after the bad experience he had and losing the refund.

 

@MJFrog: Are the cells in the photos the same as those you've ordered? Who makes them? It looks like the connecting straps are stainless steel? And smallish machine screws to make the connections? Anyone have experience with this setup?

thanks,
Frank

 

Re: Happy Plug-in Supply Customer

Sure, I have attached a few various shots.

 

Re: Happy Plug-in Supply Customer

Is that true? I didn't see any mention of Gen III, just the first 4kw beta tester. And is the person on Ripoff Report actually usnavystgc, or somebody different? usnavystgc seems to imply it is somebody else, by referencing the Ripoff Report entry as a separate incident, not saying that he posted it there too.