Plugin Conversion Options?

It's my understanding that the current is restricted for more than just battery lifespan (DTC codes, heat, etc).

Anyway, more cells does not necessarily mean more current--according to the manufacturers website those cells are only capable of 40A sustained draw (for one 20Ahr module--assume four in parallel and that's barely more than what the Mottcells are rated for) and not the 60A sustained draw per cell mentioned on Enginer's website. Who knows?

I do know that the new cells are pretty blasted cheap (I found a post online quoting somewhere around $0.50 a watt-hour in very small quantities--I assume they buy them by the pallet thus they probably get close to $0.20 a watt-hour, couple that with dirt cheap assembly / parts & labor it suddenly makes sense why the system is able to be sold for such prices).

Maybe someday I'll analyze one...

Andrew

 

I couldn't see any specs or a manufacturer for the battery, where abouts on the site is that?

If nominal voltage is 3.7 and system voltage is now 55.5, that suggests 15 subpacks in series. 74whr a cell then means 4 parallel cells per subpack, total capacity of 4,440whr. 4*40A=160A per subpack,*55.5V=8.8KW

Wish there was a bit more info on the site!

 

Nominal voltage is still going to be 3.2v per cell since we're still dealing with LiFEPO4 here and energy capacity is going to end up being the same. The 55.5v limit referred to is an internal limit they changed with their charger to prevent overcharging the batteries and doesn't tell you anything about the batteries being used (except that they can go up to at least 3.8v at absolute maximum charge). It's really just a different packaging for the same capacity system (similar size and weight from what I can tell)--if I had to guesstimate I would say they switched for quality issues or cost issues. In theory they should be able to squeeze a bit more current out but that's not based on any testing and is simply taking the manufacturers word for it (and I've learned that's never a good idea ).

Oh, and nominal voltage doesn't account for voltage sag due to increased current--thus it wouldn't be appropriate to take 3.2v and multiply by 160 to get total expected system output as that doesn't take into account power loss. The unknown factor is internal resistance (and I have yet to find a single battery manufacturer that gives you the real internal resistance on their specs--it's always exaggerated).

Keep in mind, as current goes up the amount of energy that gets burned off as heat goes up as well thus your total range will decrease. Increased current draw can also reduce battery life as manufacturers will typically calculate total cycle life at 1C discharge.

Andrew

 

I will say that this all went way above my head. So I hope my questions are relevant.

I this something that can be done to any Prius car?

If so, is it some contraption that I can just plug into a standard 110 volt outlet and somehow plug it into my Prius?

It sounds like something to get better MPH. The $2500 or so is one thing. But if I can get another 50% of gas milage without messing up the environment too much, the "bragging" factor might be enough to make me pay the additional money.

Sorry to lower the level of education necessary to understand the thread.

Dumb Mike

 

And if their connections/cabling has been simplified then adding additional packs after installation might be nice and easy, too...

 

Thanks for the info. I'll have to read a lot more about this. It wasn't something I heard about until I read this thread.

Sorry, but (a) I had no idea what all of those acronyms meant in the previous posts and (b) I had to bring it all down to my level (or simply ignore it).

OK, I'm an unfrozen caveman lawyer. I'll take that for now because I (obviously) know very little about my Prius. I didn't want to overstate my knowledge level in my screenname.

Dumb Mike

 

Due to the problem with cost and battery capabilities, at some point the technology will improve to get better mileage with the same amount of battery. That is really the hang up is that the distance does not go far enough and the costs are excessively high.


Again mobile cell phones and televisions have better output and smaller. I don't doubt as times continues this concept will improve.


Also I prefer this type of technology vs. alternate energy. Someone was telling me about natural gas, etc, etc and while there is a massive glut of natural gas in the US, there are infrastructure restrictions, etc, etc.


With the technology solely relying on the vehicle itself, you can drive the thing to any tiny town and still fill up with the same gasoline.

 

Over on the Enginer forum there's been some pics of the new kits, so i think at least some have been delivered.

It is taking an awfully long time, and the communication has been poor. If they want to survive long term they need to look at their customer services just as much as they are the product development. Hearing that jack is at some expo hawking more kits is great, (i want the company to survive long enough to honour their warranty), but they need to keep their waiting customers informed.

 

Andrew

you mentioned: „(though rumor has it that if you start stacking up the converters you start throwing codes while driving)“ .
Are there any more informations on this meanwhile? Does the GenIII-system do any deratings or shut downs? - this would exclude any parallel battery solution ( like calcars/eaa-phev.org) because of the higher currents than the Enginer converter ?

 

Chan has run 2 converters in a Gen3 with no problems. Do a search for posts by Banshee08

Thanks,
Dan