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Installed kit from Plug in Supply getting 28 miles!

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by jim335, Oct 6, 2012.

  1. jim335

    jim335 Member

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    Have been driving for several days and ev miles are between 26.8 and 28.1 ev miles, so far. Average mileage after Ev is gone seems better for a while also. The car still gets some extra current from added battery for some time even after EV is off. Install was easy. Plug in supply has this kit ready for sale now and it works great. This product can be found on his diy web site.
    I will post photos soon. By the way, now this car gets almost the range of a Volt, but after Ev is gone, it gets 58 to 69 mpg instead of the 30 or so mpg of the volt. I am really glad I chose the Prius now.
     
    GeoffreyN, miscrms, genetiix and 2 others like this.
  2. innerpri

    innerpri Junior Member

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    Awesome, looking forward for pictures.
     
  3. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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    since you use the existing PIP charger, how long to charge from dead battery at 240 volts? 120?
     
  4. ukr2

    ukr2 Senior Member

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    How much Weight did it add?
    Have you driven on Gas-only for at least 100 miles to double-check the new MPG verses the previous Gas-only MPG without the added weight?

    How hard would it be to Remove the new kit, if you wanted to remove the weight for a long distance trip?
     
  5. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    That is a bit of an exageration concerning the EV range comparison. I am getting 45-50 miles of EV per full charge, and public charging during the day extends my typical EV day to 80 miles.

    The 58-69mpg in CS mode would be interesting though. At the moment I am experiencing 97% EV, because of the EV range, so the CS mode improvement for me would be minimal.

    If you find yourself now achieving 80% EV overall, GREAT JOB!
     
  6. jim335

    jim335 Member

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    I have a separate battery charger for the added battery. Using the prius charger is not as effective. I plug in both at same time and on 120v they both finish in 3 hrs. I can charge just the prius on level 2 in 1.5 hrs if in a hurry for short trip during the day. I am finding that I get enough miles ev from the start of the day that plugging in during the day is less important. 100% of my local driving is now ev, was 50% before.
     
  7. jim335

    jim335 Member

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    Isn't that much better than rated? How do you do that.
     
  8. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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    So.....you must have a 30 amp breaker? At 120 volts the Pip charger draws 11.79 amps, I'm assuming the PIS draws the same?
     
  9. jim335

    jim335 Member

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    Simple to remove. Unplug 2 wires and lift out 2 battery boxes at 43 lbs each. Weight is 86 lbs for batteries and less than 10 lbs for the relay and circuit board, which I will leave in. I drove 160 miles yesterday at 55 to 65 mph and average mpg was 72mpg for entire trip, and 62 mpg for second half of trip with no ev. I used both trip counters to keep track. I let one run for whole trip and reset the other for the way back.
     
    Andyprius # 1 likes this.
  10. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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    Of course you can go to a ChargePoint station and use both 120 volts and 240 volts at the same time
     
  11. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    that could be expensive.
     
  12. jim335

    jim335 Member

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    Since I had already installed a leviton level II charger at my house, I use it for the prius (checked current with amp probe at breaker box, 8 amps at 240 volts) and charges in 1.5 hrs. I plug the other charger into 120v outlet (4.5 amps on the ac side at 120v for 3 hours. Both chargers turn off automatically when each battery is fully charged. At night I set the timer for the prius to be finished shortly before I leave in the morning, as Toyota recommends, and just plug in the add-on charger at night. I have a switch which allows me to choose when I use the add on battery.
     
  13. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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    not for me, Consumers Power over here is free.
     
  14. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    easy on the speed
     
  15. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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    the logic is not making sense, the PIP battery useful capacity I understand is 2.7kw, charging at 11.79 amps at 120 volts, and the PIS batteries is 4kw charging at 4.5 amps? in three hours?
     
    dbcassidy likes this.
  16. jim335

    jim335 Member

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    Prius battery: lets assume about 2.7 kw being charged. 8 amps x 240 volts = 1920 watts x 1.5 hours = 2880 watts 2.88 kw. Add on battery: Let me state more clearly. 4.5 amps 220 volts on DC side to battery. 9 amps x 120 volts = 1980 watts x 3 hours = 3240 watts 3.2 kw. If you factor in the losses in the chargers it works out about right. I hope I explained this clearly. I know how it works better than I can explain it.
     
  17. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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    yeah, that clears it up. 9 amps at 120 volts is more realistic
     
  18. jim335

    jim335 Member

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    What mpg are you getting after ev miles are gone?
     
  19. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    at 96% EV for the last two months, I'm not sure. definitely less than 50 mpg.

    I got some more info together. lifetime CS mileage is 964 and 25 gallons, so 38mpg. considering that those miles rarely exceed 10 miles, not bad. 900 of those 964 miles was with a 21 year old driver home for the summer that would normally get 45mpg in the 07 Prius. :)
     
  20. jim335

    jim335 Member

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    if you get a more accurate figure let me know. Thanks