Has anyone installed the enginer PHEV?

What is this about new batteries? I already had mine delivered. Am I supposed to exchange the old ones for new?

I know Jack is at the conference so I'm not sure if I will be able to contact him?

JOANNA

 

It depends on what version of the kit that you have.

In the original version, the battery carrier box was too tall and you could not put your cargo area cover back on. In this taller original version, the converter could be mounted on it's side and 4kwh of yellow thundersky batteries would fit just fine.

In the new version, the battery carrier box is shorter so you can install the cargo area cover over it. But now the box is too short to mount the converter on its side. It needs to be mounted flat. Now, 4kwh of yellow thundersky batteries won't fit. The grey Mottcell batteries are shorter, but wider and thicker. They fit just fine in the shorter box.

So if you ordered a 4kwh kit, and the converter is mounted on it's side, you can use the yellow thundersky batteries. If your kit has the converter mounted flat, then you will need to swap the Thundersky for the Mottcells. Personally, I asked Jack to send me all Thundersky because I will be using a custom configuration that will stick up out of the box and into the cargo compartment anyway. I will build a custom lid for the box.

Jack,
Please correct me if I mis-interpreted our email conversation about this.

 

It's the flux capacitor

 

On a more serious note;
I'm a bit leery of the Enginer Kit and do not have a comfortable feeling about the company being I cannot get to the web site due to bandwidth limitations (they must be on dial up).

I am considering the PICC kit which is a produce of the good ole US of A and will have local support. I like the idea of being able to travel high way speeds in EV mode even though its another 10k.

 

My delivery date for my 4kw kit is Aug 20. I am also in the process of sizing PV solar for my home.
Does anyone have a Kill-a-Watt device to measure what it takes to fully charge a 4kw module?
thanks
Pete

 

I have been to that site at least 20 times and it popped up very quickly. My guess why the bandwidth has been exceeded is that they are currently at a show in Long Beach and they are generating a lot of interest in thier product. The site is probably being hit hard because of that.

The Enginer.us kit is produced in China but is supported stateside in by Jack Chen and Team in Troy Michigan. I don't mind if the kit is made in China obviously because my car was made in Japan.

I don't think it is worth another 10k to drive EV at highway speeds. But thats just me. I think it's good to see some low priced competition inthe plug-in conversion market. I expect that the price of a PICC or Hymotion conversion will start heading south. That is a win/win for all of us.

 

I have a Kill a Watt device, but my unit is scheduled for aug. 18.

When I get it installed, I'll check out what it takes to charge my 2 kw unit.

 

Yes,
I have a kill-a-watt that I will be tracking my useage with. But why not assume that it takes about 4kwh to recharge?

 

It's probably about 85-90% efficient to charge the pack. But since you probably won't be fully discharging or charging the pack to improve cell life, 4kWh is probably a good estimate. I'd say 4.5kWh worst case.

 

I have the 4KW kit, it take 940 watts, the first min takes 960 watts

 

I vented the converter to the outside. It was probably not necessary to add the duct, just adding some foam to direct the hot air out would have probably worked fine.

 

I bought one of their 4kw kits and have it in my 07 prius. I would be happy to share my experience with whoever wishes to know more about it. So far, I am not impressed. The mileage increase has been less than 20%. Jack has offered to drive down and take a look at things and I will report back after that time. If anyone has specific questions, fire away.

 

hybriddriveguy - What are your driving habits? how many miles per day (micx of city/highway) and when do you charge?

 

I wish to hear more about it. Please provide the details.

 

For highway driving over 65 mph, 20% improvement sounds ballpark. Let us know what the driving context is.

By way of explanation -- the Enginer kit dribbles in 2.5 kW to the car's power demands until the extra battery's capacity is exhausted. If you are driving slowly in the city and using 5 kw, mpg will double; if the car requires 12.5 kW on the highway, a 25% mpg improvement will be noted ...

 

What would the Kwh be to fully charge a depleted battery?
Kwh x Rate x #of charges per month = cost of electricity per month
correct?

 

I just bought one, but haven't got my PIHV conversion running yet.

 

Thought this might be cool to note:

I used to be a user of the Plug-in Supply kit, which included a switch that kills the engine by either killing the fuel line or resetting the ECU, throwing a DTU... I kept the controller installed in the car to reset errors and stuff like that(and force the car into EV for short distances).

When killing the engine, the MFD shows the enginer pack pumping in current into the battery while staying still! That's pretty awesome

Thought that was cool..

 

Just bought the kit tonight off Ebay after speaking with Jack at Plug in 2009 in the Long Beach convention center. (Some interesting characters there) It's going to be installed tomorrow in Santa Ana at 1 PM I think if anyone wants to watch.

I bought my 04 Prius on Thursday just so I could have the enginer kit installed. This will be the cheapest closest thing to having an electric car plus it's range will be incredible IMO

The way I found Priuschat.com was doing a search for if anyone's installed the kit on google. Took me a few days to read the whole thread and that's when I figured I'd jump in buy the used Prius and join Priuschat. Looking forward to chatting to you all.

This is my first early adoption, but I've learned opportunity doesn't always knock twice. It's as my brother would call it "a game changer" Take care.

 

Here's another figure.

Since my 4Kwh battery set hasn't arrived yet, I've been using the 2Kwh set.

(3.2v * 16) * 40A = 2048wh(2.048Kwh)

Kil-A-Watt meter: 2.05Kwh

Charger's efficiency: Pretty damn high.