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Prolong Battery Systems featured in Parts & People Magazine

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by jeff652, Dec 2, 2016.

  1. jeff652

    jeff652 Senior Member

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    (Sharing here for those that don't visit the Gen2 forums often)

    Thought you guys might enjoy this :). We are excited to announce that Prolong Battery Systems are featured in the December 2016 issue of Parts & People Magazine. Grab your local copy today - or view the article in their online edition here:
    Hybrid battery discharge and recharge system goes plug-and-play | Parts & People
    [​IMG]
     
  2. qdllc

    qdllc Senior Member

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    Well since you've posted here....

    Of the three set ups you have, if you have a healthy battery, are you in a bind if it starts to fail but don't have the "correct" type of system?

    My battery seems fine, so I'd get the standard. Does that mean that if/when it starts to fail the other set ups won't matter because it's the battery's time to go or do I then have to buy a higher tier of product to rehab the battery? Why not just let the higher tiers serve as the basic if that's all that's needed?
     
  3. jeff652

    jeff652 Senior Member

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    Thanks for your comments. We have a product recommendation guide that helps decide on which version of our products are recommended:
    What is the difference between the Standard and Discharge Ready Prolong Battery Charger systems?- Hybrid Automotive

    For all cars over 5-6 years old, we recommend the Prolong Battery Reconditioning Package or Discharge Ready Charger system, even if the battery is not showing any signs of degradation. The difference in cost is around $10, and the Discharge Ready charger system is already compatible with all of our battery discharging products. The Discharge Ready system (and battery reconditioning package) can be used for routing preventative maintenance on a healthy battery. If you did happen to purchase the Standard system and then later need to perform battery reconditioning, the car harness can be upgraded for ~$20 and an hours work to open the car and install the new part.
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congrats jeff! don't forget us little people now that you've hit the big time.:p
     
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  5. qdllc

    qdllc Senior Member

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    So, let me simplify. If I were to buy the Prolong Battery Reconditioning Package, it would work find if all I did (for now) was ordinary preventative maintenance but I would also have the extra kit should I need to do more to rehabilitate the battery, correct? It's not as if the unit is not intended for that purpose and could do harm if used in place of the "standard" kit.
     
  6. jeff652

    jeff652 Senior Member

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    The Standard charger supports preventative maintenance charging and balancing.

    The Discharge Ready charger supports preventative maintenance charging and balancing and is forward compatible with discharging (to enable battery reconditioning) with the subsequent purchase of a discharger.

    The Prolong Battery Reconditioning package supports preventative maintenance charging and balancing and battery reconditioning. No additional purchases are required.

    Feel free to give us a call at 800-589-0730 if you would like to discuss :)
     
  7. wirelessjava

    wirelessjava Member

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    Bisco

    I am in Silicon Valley and I am going to try this on my two prius cars. Has anyone used them yet ?

    ---Wire.
     
  8. jeff652

    jeff652 Senior Member

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    All of our manufacturing is in San Jose if you want to save on shipping :)
     
  9. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    You mean instead of free, you pay them? Cool :LOL: :D
     
  10. wirelessjava

    wirelessjava Member

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    Is there a comparison between prolong and the other competition?
     
  11. qdllc

    qdllc Senior Member

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    Okay, this may seem like a silly question, but you talk about charging and balancing the battery pack.

    From what I seem to be getting, it sounds like they system automatically does the "balancing" part, but that you refer to it as two different things to do makes me wonder if the charging process is more involved or if it's just plug-and-play.

    Also, what kind of time and attention is required for doing the manual discharge (light bulbs)? It sounds somewhat involved and not something you could do "overnight" unless the time it takes would allow you to let it run overnight with no concerns. Do you have to check every hour, half-hour, 15 minutes, or can do you only need to check every few hours?
     
  12. Sam Spade

    Sam Spade Senior Member

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    Seems like they have stopped answering but I will try one anyway:

    Does the industry in general or any battery maker in specific really have evidence that manual charging/discharging really helps anything with this type of battery ?
    And I'm a bit skeptical that you can "balance" the individual cells without accessing them one at a time.
     
  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    there are a couple threads iirc, check @edthefox5
     
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    keep in mind, the 'industry', and battery manufacturers, have no self interest in anyone prolonging the life of their products. i.e., see 'apple'.
     
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  15. jeff652

    jeff652 Senior Member

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    The charging and balancing are done by the Prolong Battery charger automatically. It will charge the pack until full and then balance the cells voltage to each other. Battery discharging requires a discharger. We currently offer the light bulb discharger and very soon will be releasing the Prolong Battery Discharger. The Prolong Battery Charger, light bulb discharger, and yet to be release Prolong Battery Discharger all will plug-and-play with the vehicle specific car harness that is installed into the car.

    The light bulb discharge process does require monitoring, which is why we are pushing hard to get the new Prolong Battery Discharger to market. It will fully automate the discharge process. You can read about the light bulb discharge process here:
    Prolong Simple Discharger User Guide - Hybrid Automotive
     
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  16. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    When do you anticipate the Prolong Battery Discharger will be released?
     
  17. jeff652

    jeff652 Senior Member

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    I really want to get the product released before the end of Feb. All the engineering is done. I'm currently negotiating with the sheet metal enclosure suppliers. Onshore supplier's cost is 3x-4x the cost of offshore suppliers. I want to keep the retail cost below $200, but with the onshore suppliers that will be (very) hard. I think I'm going to go with the offshore supplier and have them air freight enough enclosure to launch the product in late Feb. I will make a decision and place the enclosure order before the end of 2016, then it's just waiting for them to get here.
     
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  18. WilDavis

    WilDavis Senior Member

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    …sorry , I've just woken up… …so exactly what is the difference between the Battery Discharger (mentioned by Jeff in post #15 above) and the Intelligent Discharger? (…folks who blew $659 on the Intelligent Discharger back in the summer want to know (…at least this one does! o_O)) ;)
     
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  19. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Excellent question!

    Santa left me a monetary gift under the tree and I wanted to see the cost /benefit and feedback prior to going down the path:).

    Sounds like waiting a couple months might be a prudent move for advanced plug and play capability:).
     
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  20. jeff652

    jeff652 Senior Member

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    The biggest difference is speed. The Intelligent Discharger peaks at 2.5A, which the new discharger will peak at only 1.5A. The Intelligent Discharger has a smooth gradient current slope, while the new discharger will have a stair step reduction in load. Otherwise they are functionally very similar. Internally they are completely different. The Intelligent Discharger was designed by an old school analog EE, the new one is microprocessor controlled and has much simpler circuitry. This is why the cost can be so much lower.

    We are working on new professional 3A universal discharger that will effectively replace the Intelligent Discharger for shops/power users. It will match our new 3A universal charger, be faster than the 2.5A discharger, and work with all battery sizes/cars. It is scheduled to be released in late spring/early summer. Both will cost around $1,200-$1,400 (each).
     
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