Enginer PHEV Test Pilots: Mpg reports and important data

[MJFrog]

09/03/09 morning commute:
OAT: 52-61 F
mpg per MFD: 70.3
SOC at start: 6 bars
SOC at end: 5 bars

Left balancer:
High cell: 3.305
Dif b/t High/low cell: .019
Voltage: 26.38

Right balancer:
High cell: 3.288
Dif b/t High/low cell: .091
Voltage: 26.12

Comments: nothing special...learning to use the kit more efficiently I suppose.

[miscrms]

Originally Posted by MJFrog

Yeah, that's ironic isn't it. The better your mpg and the more you want to check it, the longer it is before you need to refill.

TheForce was one of the first guys on here to get a Hymotion and start reporting his statistics. It was killing us, as he was going about 3 months between fill ups

[TheForce]

Sometimes I just feel like going to the gas station just to top it off for the month just so I can see what my mpg is. I just don't think my credit card company and the gas station would want me to make a $5 purchase every month. I hate going to the gas station. Nothing but a waste of time. I try to avoid it as long as possible.

[dlbowman01]

First impressions with the Enginer on my 2001 Prius:

I got my 2KWH this weekend with two converters; my 4KW is in the mail. So far, I have had two trips. One was yesterday, where I went 60 miles with one converter providing assist -- average speed of 50 mph. Even after one hour, the pack was still providing assist. Starting pack voltage - 54.23, ending voltage 51.45. Interpolated mileage calculated at 62.7, ambient temperature at 64.

Today, I heard the balancer warning for the first time as I charged the pack this morning - one of the cells had gone up to 3.85. I went 29 miles in two separate trips - utilized electric as much as feasible, also combined it with some hypermiling. This time I used a combination of both converters - sometimes using one, sometimes two. Starting voltage 54.11, ending at 52.02. By the time I took my trip, the cells were balanced to within specs. I made the mistake of putting both converters on right away after I had a ready light. I got a DTC code of P3120. Not sure what that means yet. Tried to clear it with my ecros scanguage but it said something about the clear mode being disabled. Does that mean I have to have a dealer free me? Next time, I think I'll wait until I get a load on the battery before kicking in the second converter.

Calculated mileage for this segment was 91.5.

The trip started with good battery support. It was nice to see my mileage go up despite going against a 25-30 mph wind. My first 5 minute bar showed 75mpg. Toward the end of the trip, support was down to about 5 amps using both converters- not adequate for sustained electric mode.

My two converters are mounted on top of each other with a strap holding them down to the case. Not exactly an ideal position for them - I need to figure out a way of getting more air around them and between them. I do have a fan mounted on the exterior of the box with a temperature sensor mounted on the charger, but I am sure it is defective because the fan just doesn't want to shut off after a charging cycle. Any ideas?

[Fibb222]

Originally Posted by dlbowman01

First impressions with the Enginer on my 2001 Prius:

I got my 2KWH this weekend with two converters; my 4KW is in the mail. So far, I have had two trips. One was yesterday, where I went 60 miles with one converter providing assist -- average speed of 50 mph. Even after one hour, the pack was still providing assist. Starting pack voltage - 54.23, ending voltage 51.45. Interpolated mileage calculated at 62.7, ambient temperature at 64.

Today, I heard the balancer warning for the first time as I charged the pack this morning - one of the cells had gone up to 3.85. I went 29 miles in two separate trips - utilized electric as much as feasible, also combined it with some hypermiling. This time I used a combination of both converters - sometimes using one, sometimes two. Starting voltage 54.11, ending at 52.02. By the time I took my trip, the cells were balanced to within specs. I made the mistake of putting both converters on right away after I had a ready light. I got a DTC code of P3120. Not sure what that means yet. Tried to clear it with my ecros scanguage but it said something about the clear mode being disabled. Does that mean I have to have a dealer free me? Next time, I think I'll wait until I get a load on the battery before kicking in the second converter.

Calculated mileage for this segment was 91.5.

The trip started with good battery support. It was nice to see my mileage go up despite going against a 25-30 mph wind. My first 5 minute bar showed 75mpg. Toward the end of the trip, support was down to about 5 amps using both converters- not adequate for sustained electric mode.

My two converters are mounted on top of each other with a strap holding them down to the case. Not exactly an ideal position for them - I need to figure out a way of getting more air around them and between them. I do have a fan mounted on the exterior of the box with a temperature sensor mounted on the charger, but I am sure it is defective because the fan just doesn't want to shut off after a charging cycle. Any ideas?

You have two converters why?

[MJFrog]

Originally Posted by Fibb222

You have two converters why?

Possibly, he might want to supply double the amps to the Prius pack. I've thought about getting a second converter as well.

My experience has been that a single converter doesn't recharge the Prius pack fast enough to avoid SOME charging from the ICE. Putting a second converter online just might cut down on that behavior.

Hypermiling with the Enginer pack is an entirely different animal than without it. I tend to use my glides to extend the time when the Enginer pack is recharging the Prius pack. If I'm not careful I can come home at the end of the day with more than 50% of usable charge left on my 2 kwh pack after a ~40 mile round-trip commute. That's a lot of potential mpg increase that's left sitting in the pack.

I think I'm getting better at it though. I arrived at work yesterday with a 70 mpg reading on the MFD...city driving. I got home with a 65.4 mpg reading...~50% hwy driving. Without the Enginer pack I struggle to reach 60 mpg on the morning commute.

[dlbowman01]

The reason for the two converters is to enable me to do a lot more driving on strictly battery -- especially on short trips. With double the amperage, I have a lot better chance. One converter produces about 12 amps when the battery is fully charged. But with half charge, the amps go down fast. A lot of my driving is at hypermiling speeds. Mjfrog had it right.

[Preacher]

Originally Posted by dlbowman01

The reason for the two converters is to enable me to do a lot more driving on strictly battery -- especially on short trips. With double the amperage, I have a lot better chance. One converter produces about 12 amps when the battery is fully charged. But with half charge, the amps go down fast. A lot of my driving is at hypermiling speeds. Mjfrog had it right.

You might want to consider pulling out the spare tire and mounting the converters down in the wheel well, there's enough room for 2 of them and their associate wiring. That's what I did and it made a big difference, there's lots more air flow down there. I still ended up with a few fans and some ductwork (I'll post pic's in a later post once I have a bit more data) to circulate the air and get it out of the car but that area definately worked for me.

[kiettyyyy]

Originally Posted by Preacher

You might want to consider pulling out the spare tire and mounting the converters down in the wheel well, there's enough room for 2 of them and their associate wiring. That's what I did and it made a big difference, there's lots more air flow down there. I still ended up with a few fans and some ductwork (I'll post pic's in a later post once I have a bit more data) to circulate the air and get it out of the car but that area definately worked for me.

Post them photos

I've been trying to figure out in my head how to put them down there with ducting that won't get smashed by the Enginer PHEV box.

[kiettyyyy]

Thought this would be cool to add...



This is the data for a 4 mile trip around La Jolla, CA. It's kinda hilly. I've devised a way that I could get around 100 mpg during the warmup of the car. I'd try to ease my way around the town while the engine is warming up, while doing that, I'd keep trying to re-enter into EV mode. I don't have a Scangauge yet, so I can't really tell when I can and can't enter EV mode. Brute force method always works

So, as you can see, I've averaged over 99.9 MPG over a distance of 31 miles. During my commute to work and around town driving, I used to average around 44 MPG(This was when I'd turn off my older Plug-in Supply kit AND with my defective Enginer kit). After replacing all the parts, it seems to be in tip top shape! It's absolutely great!

More data: Before I had the Enginer kit and I was running the Plug-in Supply kit with the Sealed Lead Acid batteries, I would drive a route probabbly once every two weeks. It would be about 22 miles with a few hills here and there. The second I rolled into the parking lot with the Plug-in Supply kit, I would have run out of juice. I would have averaged greater than 99.9 MPG during the trip.

I ran that same route again Sunday night. I was suprised! Oh my! I rolled into the parking lot after doing 22 miles.. I still had PLENTY of juice. I averaged 99.9 MPG. I then turned around and drove home. The entire trip?? 99.9 MPG. Oh, and I did run out of batteries on the Enginer kit about a few miles before I hit home.

As you all know, there was a few users on PC that doubted the Enginer kit when it first popped up sometime early June or late May. I was also a skeptic at one point until I was convinced otherwise by looking at technical data that Jack sent me. I've driven around enough to put my self behind the kit. To be honest, the guys at Enginer and AutomationTech are MUCH friendlier AND technically inclined than the guys at Plug-in Supply. Sorry to bash, but, I felt as if I were ripped off for what I got. Support was absolute ****. I had a few cases where my kit's BMS+ decided to do a few funky things. I would try calling someone over at Plug-in Supply, no answer. I'd then call my installer, no answer. I'd then shoot an email to Rob over at Plug-in Supply, I'd get an answer probabbly in a day or two. By then, who knows what could have happened with the kit? I could always give Jack a call if anything went wrong or if I had any concerns or comments on the Enginer kit. If you guys haven't heard, I had TWO faulty DC/DC converters, one missing balancer, and one faulty balancer. These were replaced pretty darn fast. Oh, and Jack is VERY open to comments or concerns about the kit/installation. He's also really interested in custom installations of the Enginer kit!

Once I get my Scangauge, expect some more data out of me.

Later on this week, I'll be fabricating my own switch panel mount for the Enginer kit. My main dislike about the panel is that.. it uses an ugly metal switch

The new switch panel will be a sleek plastic insert(The OEM panel inserts) with 2 mini SPST switches to control my two converters(I'm just running one for now until my second arrives ) This panel will also incorporate two brighter LEDs either driven by a 12v rail being controlled by a NPN transistor OR two LEDs that are 1.7v OR use the existing LEDs, but just mount them differently.

I may make more of these if PC users like it It's a simple milling operation that I'll use.. I can CNC the operation if I feel like it.. Those plastic inserts are cheap!