Toyota Prius 2007 parked for more than a year...

My few days is now on its 3rd year. And theres many others on here.

 

AND you still have no way to measure whether or not it really adds any useful life, because you don't know when it would "expire" if it was not used at all.

Things like this have been around since the '50s when claims were made that you could extend the live of lead acid car batteries and dry cell flashlight batteries. For it to work an a lead acid battery, it needs to be in a VERY specific situation which might occur in maybe 10% of the aging battery population. For dry cells......total snake oil.

 

There are metrics to ascertain whether a battery is performing better before a conditioning cycle compared to after, and a very simple one is fuel economy. If it is snake oil, then I'll take it.

It is all good and well harking back to the '50s and what is true for Pb/A and dry cells is not necessarily applicable to NiMH and Li-Ion. It wouldn't hurt to do some study on newer technologies and get into the 21st century.

It is easy to sit on the sidelines and shout all sorts of nonsense, just because you are cynical or lack the knowledge. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, so those who use the equipment and can see and measure the benefit trump the naysayer(s) who has/have never even tried.

 

OMG! What Marty McFly past had you find Hybrid Battery Maintenance machines in the 50's?

I think you are just defensively looking at the Prolong system entirely incorrectly.
It's sold as Battery Maintenance. It never claims to be able to bring Batteries back from the dead.
It's reported benefit is with regular use, to balance the battery. Making it more efficient. More efficient means better gas mileage.

As a result of this thread I did some light Google research. I can't really find a negative review of the product. Doesn't mean they don't exist, just means they aren't particularly easy to find.
If the product was "total snake oil" I'd think there would be some front and center reviews, that said so.
Please Link some if you can find them.

But in any case, I can buy the concept that an external charging system could balance an older battery. Guess what? Batteries hold charge, even aging ones.
If someone buys one, and uses it regularly, the idea that it would help keep the battery better balanced and in a more refreshed state of charge, surely seems possible to me.

Found a youtube video where someone used the Dr. Prius App, to get a state of the Hybrid Battery-49% life. Then used the Prolong system, ran same test, 61% life.
No one claiming this is Frakenstein. A way to keep a dying battery forever.But it would seem to be evidence of some cause and effect, and with regular usage, some benefit could be gained.

Nobody denies deterioration as a Hybrid Battery ages.
The idea that a more efficient state of charge could be maintained through battery MAINTENANCE I think is an acceptable concept.

If I'm wrong, I'm surprised the internet isn't full of this is snake oil claims. I couldn't find em.

 

And yet it is sometimes (often?) suggested to people who obviously have a battery with some nearly dead cells.
Seems like a LOT of trouble and expense just to gain a tiny bit of better fuel efficiency.
And where is the data that shows it will extend the battery life ??

I am tickled pink that you love what you are doing......for whatever reason.
I just don't see that it is worth it; especially for your "average" car owner.

 

Again, I think you miss the point.
From all I have read, there are no direct claims of battery life extension. It's promoted as battery "maintenance" and efficiency. You are suppose to use it repeatedly to maintain benefit. And yes, I think even with usage of the prolong system, eventually your Hybrid Battery will die.

I'm sure most people using the system, are hoping and believing a routinely refreshed and balanced battery will also result in a longer life, than one that is just used until codes are thrown and a decision has to be made. But nobody is really putting a claim out of X number of Extra years.

 

I think that is exactly right.
I wonder WHERE I got the idea that it was supposed to "prolong" the life of the battery ??
Maybe from the NAME ??

And maybe nobody is exactly saying that it will lead to longer battery life......but the implication is strong.

Then.....isn't the "life" of these rechargeable batteries usually stated in the number of full charge/discharge cycles that they will provide ?
So if you are doing an artificial (heavy) cycle on them with an external device, why would that not subtract from the total number of cycles that it will provide for the car ???? So you might be getting some small short term "efficiency" gain at the expense of longevity.

I don't know for sure. Based on science, I think the claims are WAY over done.

 

I'm with Sam on this. Weighing the expense and complexity of installing a Prolong system, vs what it can do, think it's a marginal benefit, at best.

 

You have a good point about the name....Prolong would suggest it's usage will prolong the life of your battery.

That is an very interesting idea.

I'm going to say, that you've brought me around to a more skeptical POV. Just with this comment. I wish you had led with it.

But I'm also not sure what the Prolong charger is doing, which is IMO more an action of balancing the battery, would shorten the life. However Ii's true it's an aftermarket device, and Toyota's official stance is pretty much you use the battery until it fails. They don't present the battery as a user maintenance component at all.

This has been an interesting debate.
I wish a more definitive conclusion could be reached, in terms of what the Prolong system is actually doing, and exactly what benefits it is providing.

 

The top end balance "levels out" all of the cells in the modules.

The reconditioning cycles exercise them.

Is NiMH technology or recharging battery technology new?

No on both accounts and all Hybrid Automotive did was make big enough equipment to make this process easy.

 

During my working life, one of the things we maintained was battery CELLS that weighed more than you entire CAR.
Yes, that is a huge "battery" made up of individual 2.1 V cells, each of which was about 5 feet tall and 24 inches square.

Every so often, a cell or two would drop a little from it's ideal float voltage and specific gravity. Then that individual cell would get a "boost" charge from a cell charger made specifically for that purpose.
The reason for doing that is the internal resistance would be a bit different than all the others and eventually......over months or years......would drag down the whole string.

I see cell balancing as the ONLY possibly useful function of the "prolong" charger, which might actually add a little bit of useful life to the whole battery. Might. A little. Still probably not worth the time or money.
All the rest of the claimed benefits are highly questionable. Especially the deep discharge thing.
The battery does not NEED to be "exercised" and that process is even likely to age it quicker.

 

But that might be a pretty useful function. And maybe enough to justify purchase and usage.
Basically from what I read at their website, cell balancing is the major claim.

Your own example says:

If there was no benefit...snake oil..then I would assume those individual cells getting the boost charge from a charger, that you mention- wouldn't of happened.

Bottom line for me?
I'm going to admit you've brought me around to a more skeptical viewpoint on the issue than I had before the debate.
But I'm also going to admit, I not a battery chemistry expert.
I think the problems is we are talking about ultimately very hard to prove things, one way or the other. If the ultimate question is, does using this system add overall life to the battery? I don't even know if a scientific blind study experiment would be able to really prove that, one way or the other. The variables are just too uncontrollable.
Untouched Hybrid Batteries in usage, have diverse failure rates, based on a lot of different external variables. Age, Mileage, Usage, Non-Usage.
You hear rare stories of Hybrid Battery failure before warranty end, and then you hear about people going 13, 14 15+ years with the same Hybrid Battery.
I'm willing to now be more skeptical. But I think the problems is, we really can't prove it one way or the other. And for those that HAVE invested into the system and are using it? Well the benefit or perceived benefits are real to them.
I don't have enough battery chemistry knowledge or background to either define the usage of the system as an action of "The Emperors New Clothes"...you perceive benefit, because you want to perceive benefit. Nor do I have enough knowledge to say, you REALLY aren't seeing benefit, this is all just snake oil.

So ultimately I exit the debate saying.....you might be right. It might be 98% snake oil. But you might be wrong, and if people want to balance their batteries as an action of routine battery maintenance, benefit placebo or tangible return? More "power" to them.
I suspect we could continue to debate how much life the action may or may not add to the battery, but I suspect usage isn't tangibly reducing battery life either. Or it would be so minimal as to be insignificant.

So I'm filing it in the same slot I keep my occasional usage of Techron Fuel System Cleaner. I use it. I suspect my perceived benefit is mostly placebo. But it's worth it to me. Just in case it is helping, even a very little bit.

That's a sit on the fence cop out. But I can't really do better.

 

Yes but..............
Those individual cells probably cost about as much as your whole CAR and can easily last 40 years if properly cared for.

Some "enthusiasts" just have trouble with the practical side of things, regardless of the subject matter.

Recommending exotic and expensive and complicated "solutions" to rookies who ask simple questions about batteries (or anything else for that matter) is often NOT the responsible thing to do.