1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

New Idea from Leaf Battery module

Discussion in 'Prius PHEV Plug-In Modifications' started by menardsy, Dec 12, 2013.

  1. menardsy

    menardsy Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 11, 2011
    63
    11
    0
    Location:
    canada
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Hello,
    I am waiting for my MD-TECH kit right now. Meanwhile, I found this battery module for the Leaf on ebay ( Prismatic Phev EV HV Battery LIMN2O4 LiFePO4 20 30 60 AH A123 7 6V New | eBay ). The price is great and they have a good energy density. I was thinking about buying this to create an expansion battery for the MD-tech kit.
    I have a couple of idea:
    use the Leaf battery to recharge the MD-Tech battery at work
    use the Leaf battery to supply power to the block heater and heat the cabin with a heater from a power inverter
    use the battery for going back home from work instead of using the MD-Tech LiFePO4 battery and charge both of them when back home.
    I am a bit worry about safety of these battery. I don't know either how to charge them...
     
    #1 menardsy, Dec 12, 2013
    NortTexSalv04Prius likes this.
  2. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2005
    3,686
    699
    2
    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    Vehicle:
    Other Electric Vehicle
    It is ALL a science.......... a lot to read and comprehend about
     
    #2 mrbigh, Dec 12, 2013
  3. menardsy

    menardsy Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 11, 2011
    63
    11
    0
    Location:
    canada
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    The seller told me thatI could use a ICharger 3010 for pack under 42v...didn't told me if it will explode.. ;-)
     
    #3 menardsy, Dec 13, 2013
  4. NortTexSalv04Prius

    NortTexSalv04Prius Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 14, 2009
    915
    114
    0
    Location:
    Texas
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Did you every aquire you md tech kit......??
    I like those leaf battery modules too. .... I have seen some here and there but these are real high price compared to other lifepo4 cells. and no so easy to get........
     
    #4 NortTexSalv04Prius, Apr 4, 2014
  5. glyndwr

    glyndwr Member

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2012
    219
    42
    0
    Location:
    South Wales, UK
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    One
    I have been looking at the leaf modules too.

    They seem easy to configure in a string, but not sure how to monitor the voltages of them, as they are 7.6v per module and most of the battery bms systems only go to around 5v.

    If they came around cheap I would consider purchasing enough modules to get to my target of 240vdc, they would be more compact in the back of the prius too.
    If anyone has any ideas how to monitor individual modules please advise.

    Thanks
     
    #5 glyndwr, Apr 5, 2014
  6. menardsy

    menardsy Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 11, 2011
    63
    11
    0
    Location:
    canada
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Hello NorTexSalv04Prius,

    Yes I got my kit and installed it. So far it is working great. The bms seems to do a great job at balancing the battery modules. My best mileage was 2.5l/100km (94mpg) for 25km. But outside temp was -5 degree Celsius.

    When I am jammed in traffic is when I do the best mpg...

    The battery modules has ended on Ebay and I have yet to see deals like that since then. ..

    SGH-I317M ?
     
    #6 menardsy, Apr 6, 2014
    NortTexSalv04Prius likes this.
  7. glyndwr

    glyndwr Member

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2012
    219
    42
    0
    Location:
    South Wales, UK
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    One
    Hi menardsy,

    One word of caution with the mdtech bms, and you may want to check it with shushil.

    If you are not going to use the vehicle for a while, then you must switch off the bms, as it will drain your battery, and worse than that, it will not stop draining until the battery is dead, not so good if you are not aware of it.
    I know shushil was waiting on a fix for this with mdtech, but not sure if that has happened.
    So, as a caution, check with shushil that this slight issue has been sorted.
    A scenario is that if you used the car to go to an airport for holiday, and run to battery to low whilst driving to the airport you may find that on your return the bms may have drained one of your cells to a point where it is well below 2v, and even lower.

    Just a cautionary word of advice that's all.

    I have seen the newer mdtech kit working is shushils prius and it does seem a marked improvement on the old enginer kit, especially the bms, but it did have this glitch.

    Anthony.



     
    #7 glyndwr, Apr 8, 2014
  8. menardsy

    menardsy Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 11, 2011
    63
    11
    0
    Location:
    canada
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Hello Anthony,
    This is indeed written in the documentation. This is not a problem for me since I use my car almost everyday.

    Thanks for the advice.

    Sylvain

    SGH-I317M ?
     
    #8 menardsy, Apr 9, 2014
  9. glyndwr

    glyndwr Member

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2012
    219
    42
    0
    Location:
    South Wales, UK
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    One
    Good news,

    I have personally met with shushil and would trust him to honour any problems, not that you have any.

    The new kit is a vast improvement on the previous ones, alot more R&D, traceability of improvements and components, trying to dag up the chinese manufacturing to standard, but the kit is much better, i used to have the old enginer kit.
    I whitnessed the new kit working in shushils prius at my home, mnitoring the improved bms and converter running.

    Happy driving.

    Best regars, Anthony.
     
    #9 glyndwr, Apr 10, 2014
  10. menardsy

    menardsy Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 11, 2011
    63
    11
    0
    Location:
    canada
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    In the whole process of getting my kit Sushil was great in his support. It was a great experience and he is quite dedicated.

    I will probably post more details about the kit in a couple of months...

    SGH-I317M ?
     
    #10 menardsy, Apr 10, 2014
    glyndwr likes this.
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)