People Who Have Purchased the Enginer PHEV conversion kit!!

I have installed the Enginer system and have been running it since August 1st.
I have a 4kw system and Jack has been very helpful in understanding the
workings of it. So far, the mileage on the freeway is about 10 to 15% better.
The city driving is where the real difference is. On short 20 mile trips I am getting
around 65mpg. Still running tests on the system. Generally recharging every night
and leaving EV switch on all the time.

 

Thanks for the update but your information would be more useful if you could add more context. You reported that your highway mileage is better by 10-15%. At what speed? What MPG would you normally get at that speed? What MPG did you get at that speed with the 4kw system?

In the city, you reported 65 MPG. What would you normally get without the 4kw kit?

 

Very interesting thread.... EV Components also have 90Ah, 100Ah, 150Ah, etc.. cells. Larger cells would not require two additional BMS. Jack may be able to offer 5.1 kWh (16x100Ah) kit for $3k in the future?

How is the cooling for the Enginer kit done? As I understand this, you can only turn on the PHEV pack or off. Can you explain how this kit works?

 

Actually Jack told me that they will have the 5kwh kit available in 2 months for $3500. It will use the 100ah cells and will fit in the same box used with the 4kwh kit.

A converter is used to boost from 48V to 240V, the LiFePO4 pack is isolated from the NiMH pack. This means that current flow is one way, out only. The max output of the converter is 3000W, or about 60A from the LiFePO4's. A 4 kwh pack is 80Ah, so the max discharge is 0.75CA. At this low discharge rate, the batteries don't heat up and don't require cooling. The only cooling needed is for the Converter, which is exhausted through the vent in the drivers side rear quarter.

 

Joanna,
When you post you have a toolbar accross the top starting with the B, I and U icons. Look for the icon that is yellow and swuare and has a mountain in it. This is the insert image icon. Choose that and browse for the image.

 

Try the paperclip icon which allows you to attach 3 image files.

 

The paperclip icon doesn't work for me. Scroll down below the submit button to the additional options section. Then choose manage attachments. You can attach files there.

 

Did you get 2 or 4 kwh? I only see 2kwh of batteries in the crate.

 

Ok... so the pack would provide 3kW (4hp). Is this addition to the 21kW HV pack? If one were to discharge 75% then the pack would last 1 hour at that rate. My commute is about an hour each way so 4kWh should cover it.

Since the energy flow only one way the regen braking will be captured by the HV pack.

I can use the extra 4hp for longer stealth warp or maintain low speed in EV mode.

Well, a suggestion would be to increase the assist power. I would think 4kWh pack would provide twice more power than the 2kWh due to more cells discharging at the same 0.75CA.

 

Yes, but possibly more if you use 2 converters. This is what I will be testing when I get my kit and extra converter.

Yes

75% of 80Ah is 60Ah which is 3kw. So yes, as long as you can plug in at work. But remember that the converter is 90-95% efficient so you might need to go to 78-82% discharge.

Correct! But they way this system works is to raise you HV pack to 70-75% SOC. There won't be much available capacity for regen unless you switch off the system a few minutes before a long regen event.

Yes, but you also get assist on the highway.

Actually, the 4kwh kit has a 0.75CA, the 2kwh kit has a 1.5CA. So if you run 2 converters with a 4kwh kit, you have the same discharge rate as the 2kwh kit. Jack will sell an extra converter for $400.

 

I have a couple comments regarding the Enginer Kit. 1) The switch used to initiate the EV mode is a on/off switch and not a momentary contact switch like most people have been using for the EV mode. Does this change/help/hinder have no effect on the EV operation? 2) The OEM traction battery consists of 28 subcells producing a nominal output of 201.6 volts @6.5AH or 1310 VA (full charge voltage approximately 235.2 volts to a recomended cutoff voltage of 151 volts). I believe from what I can tell the DC/DC converter puts out a constant 240 volts to charge the OEM Traction battery (until the Enginer batteries are depleted). This 240 volts is about 5 volts over the fully charged OEM traction battery when it is fully charged. If someone starts out with a say 3/4 charged OEM battery, the Enginer kit DC/DC Converter could possibly overcharge the OEM battery because from what I can gather it has no built-in overcharge features to protect the OEM traction battery from overcharge. My guess is that they are relying on the single fact that you will be driving (not idling) the car so that discharge will always be greater than charge. I hope someone will be monitoring this aspect of the DC/DC charger operation. I have a Honda Insight which I grid charge so I look at these areas of concern, in addition I have a 2005 Prius I'm considering adding the extra battery capacity too.

 

Per my discussions with Jack Chen, the OEM battery will be charged to seven bars, 70-75% SOC. But if for some reason the voltage exceeds the capacity of the OEM pack, the Prius Battery ECU will do what it was programmed to do, fire up the ICE and drain the extra charge. No problem.

 

The EV mode is activated on the rising edge of the EV switch. If you want to enter EV mode with Enginer switch, you need to turn it off and on again.

In order to charge the OEM traction battery full, you have to have much higher voltage like regen voltage which can go to 260V. Enginer kit limits the voltage output so that it will never charge OEM battery full.

 

Thanks for posting the pictures. Glad to see the charger inlet is a Marinco, which they also offer in white. As my Prius is white (Blizzard Pearl), I may buy one myself to have it a little less conspicuous.

 

Jack: 1) I'm not sure what you mean by 'rising edge of the EV switch', but I understand now that if you what to re-enter the EV mode after say exceeding 34 MPH you then must turn the switch off and on again just like a momentary contact switch. When you do this you recycle the DC/DC converter also. 2) I agree with you the regen voltage can go to 260V but only does this for a short time (unless going down a large hill). Your DC/DC converter with constant 240V output can put up to 4KW into the OEM traction battery(assuming no discharge). The rating of the OEM battery is only 1.3KW(fully charged OEM battery voltage 235 volts). As mentioned by 'krousdb' in earlier post maybe the Prius has the ability of draining of the excess charge if need be. I don't know this for sure but I'm going to look into it deeper.---Thanks for you response