Reconditioned Battery/5 year warranty/1500 dollars

And if you are peddling those china cylindrical module conversion kits from inner mongolia rare earth.. bring a battery converted with one of those... I almost bought a bunch of those from Alice at REO battery in china for $900 each.. but we decided to focus on reconditioning proven OEM modules.

 

To sum up, since I know you just joined, I use their plastics which I helped redesign, and battery cells from a completely different factory. Mine are as stated and high quality. The plastic kit part from those lesser quality battery packs is actually really cool. I don't reinvent the wheel when I don't have to. Their kit was everything I wanted except for the batteries. I make custom batteries all day long, some are tested for major auto manufacturers, so to me that's the easy part. Buy plastic from CEBA, buy batteries in a pretty standard form factor from "my guys" and a pack is born.

I never actually took a CEBA pack to my load box. It failed all my earlier / easier tests! Might have to dig that one out of storage...

 

I guess my question is... Do you want to enter you conversion battery into the showdown?. Ill set a date in January. I will invite anyone who wants to come. We will establish a load profile and performance metrics... The winner has bragging rights similar to the good ole boys winning the Saturday night drag races... Anyone could win.. Especially if guys are using new modules..

Additionally... trying to buy one of your gen2 battery kits on your website but there is no path from the product to the cart for checkout... PM me so i can purchase one and do some testing.

 

I'm not so sure that's really a better idea. I'm going to be in GA for an earlier planned obligation for a few days, during which I have some time to kill. Raleigh is about 4 hours northeast of Columbia. I have no current plans to be in the Raleigh area any time soon. So that's not exactly convenient for me. I do have two fellow forum members in Raleigh that have my batteries in their cars. One has 2015 modules and the other is 2013 IIRC. Maybe I'll have to go up there sometime over the next few years if they ever have a problem. I'd certainly be interested in a tour. On another note, there's no need to be defensive. A pro getting into a pissing match with a DIYer/Hobbyist? Come on now....I have no desire for that. You came to us, we didn't come to you. Certainly you expected questions to be thrown your direction. I don't have anything to prove, therefore no call for me to make. Now, on the other hand, if I build a battery, take it up there, you perform your load test on a random selected GB standard gen 2 rebuilt battery you have on the shelf, then perform the same exact load test on mine. If mine is not worse than yours, you buy it from me for 2k and give me yours as a core. I hate cold weather, but I would consider the trip if I could work it into my schedule. If mine tests worse, you can keep it. Something fun to think about, but my interest level is actually pretty low. Or, we can just drop this bs and reread the post. I asked to do it for comparison. I have many load tests from various batteries, various years, various manufacture dates. All using similar methodology. I'm a glutton for knowledge and comparison. I'm a hobbyist, yet I have about a thousand modules on the shelf. Do you think that the batteries I build, or many others build, couldn't pass the same load tests you subject yours to? The majority of mine are built using 2013-2015 modules that test >6000mAh. Some are built using 2010-2012 modules if they test >6000mAh. Some have been built using 2016 modules. How do I get those numbers? Why do I use those numbers? Because when I tested some low mileage (~14k miles IIRC) 2015 modules a while back, they averaged around 6700-6800mAh (using my test methodology) A low mileage 2016 I just tested recently averaged ~6850 using similar methodology. Those tests make a reasonable standard. 100% accuracy isn't always important when identical methodology and comparison can be used against a standard obtained using the same methodology. My mAh results may vary from yours, but if I use an identical test on ten different batteries and compare the results to a known good standard obtained using the same test, the true accuracy of the mAh numbers don't matter much.

Obviously, at a 130 amp load, battery terminal voltage is significantly less than 230, probably under 180? So isn't power dissipated at the load device probably closer to 23kw? Still a nice test, just throwing it out there. What parameters are you monitoring? What indications are you looking for? Do you use it to determine capacity? A potentially exciting way to find high resistance connections? Why did you choose 130? Have you ever had one fail? If so, what was the failure? During post installation testing, I've captured readings of 170+ amps during acceleration testing and somewhere around 105-108 amps regen during braking. The peak is obviously short duration and even 100+ amp draws following the peak are measured in seconds during hard acceleration.

You use a bench test device for high current testing, I use a car. Accomplishes similar objectives. If I desire to get a bit crazy testing modules prior to assembly, I can go up to 60 amps on my programmable load.

Sorry it took so long to post, trying to watch Live PD at the same time. I'm just not that good at multitasking TV and PC.

 

Apparently I missed a lot writing my last post while watching Live PD. Geez this is getting crazy. 2k1, a respected member, Peddling???? That's a bit on the insulting side.

 

I wasn't being rude or purposely going off topic. I was giving my honest opinion about the available options. I have 2 Prii with high mileage and the thought of installing used or reconditioned battery packs scares me. I would prefer new cells, but Toyota wants too much and in some cases won't sell to the public.When our packs go bad, it's usually 1 to 3 cells that fail and we give up the rest as core for someone else's pack that failed and had the bad cells removed and replaced with good used ones. Yes, they recondition and balance the pack. But, as I stated, the kits sold by 2k1toaster are in a test phase currently. We shall see if the Chinese cells fail prematurely or not. I truly apologize if I appeared rude or out of order.

 

Yes, at this point you have my support. I've been trying to follow ericbecky's road test on your pack. He seems to be positive about the performance. Time will tell. Contrary to popular belief, China doesn't always manufacture junk. If your supplier makes inferior cells, it will ruin their reputation. Why would they risk it?

 

Slightly OT since I've got a Gen 4 and I shouldn't need an HV battery soon.

I've been following the discussion avidly, since this is something many members will face if they want to keep their Prii.
It seems there are a few established members (Texas Hybrid Batteries, Tampa Prius - hope I didn't get your name too wrong - ericbecky, 2k1toaster, TMR-JWAP) and some newer members, like Green Bean Battery, who have expertise in this area.

For the most part, the discussion has been thoughtful, insightful, civil, and informative - all great things!

It seems to me that, unlike some others I've read about, you all are trying to do right by the Prius Chat community.

Perhaps @TidelandPrius should start a Battery forum to make things easier for people like me who have dumb battery questions and would like honest answers from reliable sources.

Any thoughts?

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Todd from Tampa Hybrids has a username here as @TampaPrius.com just to be confusing .
Right @jerrymildred ?

Smart battery questions should be welcomed too. One issue is that some battery information is generation-specific.

You meant to ping @Tideland Prius .

 

The secret to a good reliable rebuild......use a newer gen3 or gen4 pack and put it into a gen2 case.

Wow I'm glad that was worth $1500. No real knowledge required. You're welcome! Lol

 

If using a Gen 4 pack in the US, be sure it is from Trim One or Two (not Two ECO) to get a NiMH battery
The other Gen 4 trims have Li-Ion packs.

 

I don't know because I've never seen them apart, but is it even possible to put lithium parts in a Gen 2 case? I'd be surprised if they were dimensionally the same. A wise engineer would make it impossible to install the wrong kind of cells.

 

Todd probably knows.
It is less expensive for Toyota for both packs to have the same footprint & mounting.

 

Less expensive, and easier. But they almost lost a space shuttle & crew one time because it was possible to install parts in the rudder in the wrong position. And I wiped out about $38,000 worth of tooling once because I didn't look closely enough at the part the store room clerk gave me to notice it was the wrong one for that place in the die set, even though it fit perfectly.

 

Fred, If you are a confident DIYer, and enjoy building your own, there are options out here. 2K1's kit is certainly a reasonably priced option, and even allows you to make some $$ back by selling off your old parts. There are also plenty of low mileage late model Gen 3 wrecks that get parted out where you could purchase the battery at a reasonable price and use the internals to refresh your battery. It would be like buying a brand new D cell flashlight and using those D cells to put in your favorite ten year old flashlight.

 

Thanks for all of the info everyone. The number of options out there to deal with a dead hybrid battery is really great - as well as daunting! I really appreciate everyone's input.

 

i think i like it. from your lips to tide's ears.

 

After much pouring over this forum (including this thread), I made the decision to go with a Green Bean battery this year. Then last night I emailed Tim with the news: the dreaded red triangle reappeared, shortly confirmed by Torque. Less than 24 hours later, the battery has been replaced and the car fully operational again. I have seen some unfounded grousing by some in recent posts, but with a warranty and lightning service like this (with no hemming or hawing), I have found that Green Bean stands behind it's battery. I'll follow up again in 6 months or so to keep this thread abreast.

 

This is quite normal for rebuilt batteries to fail over time. Glad the repair warranty service worked out.

Most companies would not be able to offer a 5 year warranty because it's so labor intensive to come and replace failed batteries over a 5 year period. They would end up not making money

 

How long ago was the original rebuilt battery installed?