Florida PHEV-200 10KW UPGRADE

Almost finished and the pack is working great. Got 12 miles on the residual charge. Now charging the depleted pack (244 volts) ... should be fully charged by midnight.

Charging... Note the 4 new cells have not caught up yet. Have pulled the plug and will run them up again.. shouldn't take too long now. The test meter that you can't read is sitting on top of the old perspex cover... (I wouldn't want to get across the pack... it's currently reading 281 volts).

 

Thanks Alexander... That was just the information that I needed. My 4 new cells didn't catch up with the rest and from your information, I can now use a 12v 10a charger to finish the job. I am back in full PIS PHEV operation again and going over to K-mart to pick up a 12 volt charger.... It will come in handy for the small 12v Prius auxiliary battery too.
Pat.

 

Wish I had seen this before I took a nap. Will take a trip tomorrow to run the pack down. The four cells that hadn't caught up are now the first ones to come on and hit a little over 4 volts. They are now the first ones to light the red LEDS now. Will have to drain them. Looks like the 12 volt charger worked too well. The mini BMS boards are all in place.
Pat.

 

Yep... I did that... Nearly had to change my pants when I saw that voltage but the cells were recycled ones. I will get more spare ones during our trip this summer when I don't have to pay the $50 freight cost... (that's almost 2 cells).

 

Well, You may have read in my post to Alexander what happened... and that kind of lack of attention is exactly why it was so necessary for me to upgrade from the old (76 cell in one box) to the new arrangement of 19 cells in 4 high impact polymer boxes. 1. I can handle the cells by myself. 2. It is infinitely safer. (as someone pointed out to me, I was able to reassemble the entire pack in my living room in bare feet without killing myself). 4. Each 19 unit battery pack has a Fuse Link halfway down the pack so that if a short circuit should occur, the shorted pack will be reduced to MUCH safer levels for the ones with the blown fuses. and 5. If you consider (heaven forbid) a rear end impact on the car, the system has been designed to crush and break the center pack (4) fuse links rendering the entire pack (semi) safe.

Joyce and I will be taking our usual test run to Captiva Island today and that is around 40 miles of mostly EV driving. We have a fully charged pack and that usually means we can complete the round trip using minimal gas. (4 miles at 45 mph or less, 3 miles (1 1/2 x 2) at 55 or less and the rest at 35 mph or less).

I want to thank Robb for the Plug-In-Supply new modular pack design and for being available both by eMail and cell phone to answer my questions, even when he was doing an installation in Maui. It's simple to assemble (or reassemble) and relatively safe and truly is a way for the average person with an average set of home tools to convert or re-convert (in my case) a Prius.

Pat.

 

Nice breakfast at R.C. Otter's on Captiva Island. 99.9 mpg for 33 miles, then front battery display went from green to blue... a little early I thought. At the traffic light 4 miles from home, I re-initialized and it went full green once more for the 4 miles left and it's still there indicating that there is still more juice in the 10kw pack than in the Prius pack.... Hummmm need to consult with Robb. Still pretty good though. Back to "Just sipping gas around town".... Yaaaaaay!

 

That is exactly the system that I upgraded from Alexander.... The BMS boards were designed by Dimitri of CleanPowerAuto.com in Tampa (150 miles North of me) and the rest of it is from Robb at PIS in California. The new upgrade is sure a boon to me since I don't have a cherry picker to lift 300+# . My 76 cell pack seems to have settled down now..all cells now within a couple of hundredths of a volt with the pack at rest.
Pat.

 

I needed to raise the packs a little to clear the heads of the bolts holding down the Prius HV pack. Just using a couple of 1x4's finished lumber. That raised the PIV pack just enough.

This is it... just have to put the labels on and it will be finished.

 

Don't know. List time I visited Dimitri here in Florida, he was owner of CleanPowerAuto.com.

Pat.

 

Final wrap up from one happy camper.

To steal an old phrase from RCA, "The quality goes in before the name goes on".

Ready to cover up

Carpet, netting and top cover in place.

Buttoned down, tested and ready to go.

Just as pretty as when we bought her. A totally reliable 2006 Prius at our retirement "Doll House" in Fort Myers, Florida.

Once again, the credits: (Alphabetically)-
Thanks Dimitri of CleanPowerAuto.com for the BMS design. The four new cells that I was worried about completely recovered and balanced with the rest of the pack after the 4th charge.

Thanks Robb of PlugInSupply.com for a 10kw PHEV system that really works... We rarely use gas around town and for local trips. Definitely 100 mpg locally and a total pleasure to upgrade to the new 4 bank system.

Thanks Steve (imwoody) and all at AutoBeYours.com for their absolute mastery of Prius reconstruction. Steve sold me PHEV-200 in March 2011 (which has proven to be totally reliable) complete with the original 10kw PIS PHEV pack which he, Jenny and their crew installed.

I am not new to high energy engineering, having a patent for a high pulse cable breakdown device (affectionately known as "Grandmother Killer") but I really appreciate the "hand holding" from Dimitry, Robb and Steve by emails and phone calls and personal visits, keeping my 10kw system working. I would have been in a mess without them.

Pat. wa4eqw

 

This is the result of approximately 10 charges and discharges. Using "Top Down" balance with all mini BMS signalling leads disconnected. The charger maxed out at 288 volts and switched off. The battery pack was tested at rest and is 266 volts.

Testing Balance

Secretary Joyce (Wife)

Separating the bottom boxes for easy insertion of the top cover.

The proper use of a Pampered Chef pie cutter.

Bank 1 cell readings

Bank 2 cell readings

Bank 3 cell readings

Bank 4 cell readings.

Just about perfect balance.

Pat. wa4eqw

 

Thanks for your concern Alexander... I got lucky and must have caught the high cells and cut them off just before they went into avalanche mode and caused a possible "plasma event"... Dimitri's Mini BMS actually saved the day. All cells are now balanced as you can see from the last posting information. Phew !!!
Pat.