Can I borrow your battery charger/balancer/reconditioner?

That’s good information, but are you sure that the sulfation doesn’t form and stay on the plates themselves? I’ve heard about it collecting at the bottom and eventually shorting out a cell, but the big question is does it actually stick to the plates? If it does stick to the plates then I can see how high voltage charging could clean them off better than hitting it with a hammer. And to my original point, that we do have control over battery life through charging methods.

 

I’ve been looking on eBay for adjustable power supplies and this is what I found: adjustable power supply 300vdc | eBay

On many of these models the voltage is adjustable from 0 to 300VDC and the amperage is adjustable from about 0 to 4A. Sometimes they require 240VAC input, which could be tough in my situation, living off the grid.

I was hoping to find adjustable power supplies that go to a higher voltage so that it can be used with other hybrid batteries. There are some that go up to 400VDC, but they pretty much all require at least 240VAC input.

I tried finding specs on Prolong, Maxx Volts and the “Venice hybrid tech high speed charger“ and it was difficult to get information about the output voltage and amperage on some of them.

Prolong- output is 0.350amps, output voltage unknown. Input voltage 120VAC for second generation Prius. If I knew the charger SKU for the second generation Prius I think this information can be found in the FAQ area.
Maxx Volts- output amps and volts unknown, but I emailed them. Input is 120VAC.
“Venice hybrid tech high speed charger“ – output is 286VDC, 1.4Amps for second generation Prius setting. Input is 120VAC.

I noticed that the Maxx Volts and the Venice hybrid tech high speed charger don’t have a feature to turn on the Prius’ cooling fan. Do you think that the batteries will get hot when charging at 1.4amps for an example? I know the batteries get hot when using regenerative braking, but regenerative braking charges at up to 60amps according to my observations. My guess is that 1.4amps won’t create much heat. What do you think?

The wiring looks insanely easy when connecting the power supply to the battery bank. It’s just two wires (positive and negative) from the power supply to the battery bank’s output terminals (2004 – 2009 Toyota Prius Plug-and-Play Car Harness Installation Instructions | Hybrid Automotive) but connecting to the car’s cooling fan might be tricky. It looks like the fan just takes two wires, probably 12VDC positive and negative. The goal is to keep the fan hooked up to the factory wiring so that it can turn on during normal use of the car, but splicing into the line and adding 12VDC might push power backwards into the system, which could be problematic. I noticed that the prolong system splices into the lines by using a special box with a cooling fan. At first I figured it’s just a matter of using diodes to prevent electricity from feeding backwards, but what’s with the cooling fan in their special box? Diodes don’t produce heat do they? Since the prolong system uses that fancy box that makes me think there is some kind of risk when feeding electricity backwards, so maybe the simplest solution is to just add a toggle switch to one of the wires upstream of where I splice into the wiring to turn off that connection while feeding power to the car’s cooling fan. Would that work? I apologize for being redundant, but I just want to be clear.

This seems super easy (unless I’m about to blow up my car’s cooling fan circuitry!) Now I just need to pick out a power supply! Any input on this crazy idea so far?

 

Haha you’re an interesting character SamSpade! First of all where did you/do you live that you need elephant repellent? Second of all, that’s HUGE that you’re saying that I might benefit “a little“ from a battery charger!! I’m sure everybody’s going to jump on you for saying that, but anyway, I appreciate the encouragement!

 

I talked with Maxx Volts about their charger specs and from my perspective the guy was very unprofessional and down right insulting. He seemed more interested in selling his charger than answering my questions or informing me. I still don’t think that I have enough information to find out if their charger is safe because he never stated the voltage output of the charger. Isn’t that important to know? He makes it sound like I’m an idiot, but I’m pretty sure I need to know both the voltage and the amperage of the charger output to know how fast it’ll charge the batteries and to what voltage. He said the amperage is a little less than one amp and it’s a constant amperage, but without knowing the voltage how am I supposed to know if it’s going to damage the batteries? For example, even if it puts out low amperage, if the voltage is super high that it could overwhelm the batteries by charging them too fast AND overcharge them, which could damage them, correct? I’m definitely no expert, but it seems like knowing both are necessary.

The bottom line: did he give enough information to figure out if his charger is safe for the batteries?

Note: The attached file is a PDF of our email exchange and the emails start at the bottom of the page.

 

I don’t know, I guess it depends on if the batteries are designed to have space for that sediment to accumulate. Maybe the plates start a certain distance from the bottom? If so, there is less chance of for the plates to short out. And if that’s true then it IS advantageous to get the junk off the plates and have it go to the bottom. I guess I should probably look at an image of a battery to see how it’s designed.

 

Only 33 to 36 miles per gallon. Right before my battery problem it was about 42.

Also, just as a reminder I have no codes anymore since I replaced a module, but the battery bank is out of balance, so I think that’s the source of my low gas mileage.

 

I understand what are you are saying, but if the output voltage of his charger is super high, for an example 1000 volts, even though that’s unrealistic, wouldn’t that increase both how fast the bank charges and the final voltage?

Since we don’t know the voltage output of his charger, we would have to monitor the voltage of the battery bank as it’s charging and turn it off before it gets too high, correct?

 

I wish I could edit older posts, anyway I just want to update some specs on the Maxx Volts charger. It DOES turn on the Prius fan to cool the batteries while it is charging.

 

Everything you’re saying sounds very rational.

Unfortunately, his is probably the most inexpensive version, even if I buy a universal power supply that is infinitely adjustable, since his charger also comes with the wiring to turn on the Prius cooling fan.

If you or anybody else knows of another charger/balancer for around $289, then please let me know! I’d rather give my money to a NICE person.