Some data after a few weeks of running and trip tests

Hi all,

Just a small update on life with the self installed plug in supply kit and battery pack.

Firstly, the current working battery capacity is 5 kwh, it should be 7 kwh but I still have some manual balancing to do to get the best out of it, but I don't mind if 5 is the best I will achieve.
I am charging to 3.5 v and discharging to 2.8v.

Ok, after a charge then a few small trips, have calculated that my prius takes 0.4kwh per mile to run, in my terrain which is currently quite cold and is hilly. This is is ice kill mode so no fuel used.
I have run like this now for 260 miles, and the average worked out to 0.4kwh/mile.

I have had a nissan leaf on a 48 hr test run back last year when it was warmer and in the 2 days I used it I averaged 80 miles per charge and the recharge took 23kwh from the wall socket, and this worked out to 0.29kwh/ mile.

So, I am reasonably happy with my result of 0.4kwh/mile been as the car is a modified hybrid.

I have a 7.5kw solar array on the house and am projecting an electricity production this year of around 6400 kwh.

My home uses around 18 kwh per day, 540kwh per month and the car would use about 120kwh per month, so I will probably be electricity free from 2nd week in March to the 2nd week in October, with the June, July and August months generating in excess of 1000 units per month.

To be honest, without the solar array for the mileage I do an electric vehicle doesn't make much sense in terms of numbers, as a small diesel car would run for about 15 p per mile and the leaf for about 4 p per mile and my prius about 6 p per mile, The savings made is greatly offset by the large outlay for the ev.
However as a hobby and the knowledge gained and am still gaining its priceless.

Out of interest, what kind of numbers or kwh does your car take in terms of kwh per mile?

Thanks, anthony.

 

Hi bisco,

It was 5 Celsius when I did the test, the drive was all local town driving, not more than 40 mph, and not any fancy driving skills, I'm still trying to work those out, especially in ev or ice kill mode, gliding I find tends to be more difficult in these modes.
Also it was wet and rainy so more road resistance too.
I am hoping for better results in warmer dryer conditions.

 

I,m hoping so, another 10% efficiency would be nice

 

Hi bisco,

If you mean ev mode then yes, in the uk the prius has an ev button as standard.

Also, as part of the pis kit,there is an ice kill switch that stops the engine starting at any time, so ensuring that the journey is done completely in electric mode until the phev battery depletes, or the vehicle is cycled off then back on maybe to climb very steep hills or go faster like in freeways or motorways.
I have found that the prius struggles up steep hills in ice kill mode.

The majority of my journeys are very local, within 5 miles max, and all town or local roads, nothing faster than 40mph, so I can run in ice kill mode most of the time. I do run the ice to keep oils lubricating frequently, and do use it to climb some steep long hills in the area.

A fully ev vehicle would suit our needs fully, but it's at least 1 maybe 2 years before I would be able to afford one.

Perhaps when the nissan leaf is approaching 5 years old when here in the uk the warranty runs out is maybe when the values will sink to a point that they now become affordable to us as a family.

We decided to fit the solar array as a major project which drained a lot of our resources, but will recover that investment over time with government feed in subsidies and greatly reduced energy bills, our next project is the ev vehicle, or maybe if bigger lifepo4 cells become available I may upgrade the kit in this prius to extend the range in ev mode and also the higher ah rating would reduce the voltage sag in the pack again increasing the packs working range capacity.

My pack is made up of 33ah cells in series, it was all I could afford to purchase to be honest, I am hopeful that in the near future some 80 or 100 ah cells appear in used form cheaply enough for me to buy then then sell my pack on.

I also have a few friends who have solar pv systems and maybe a possibility if I did get bigger batteries is to use the ones I already have as energy banks to capture excess solar production through the sunnier months for use in the night times, that's also another possibilty.

That would depend though on how cheap the bigger lifepo4 batteries were and if I could afford to keep the ones I have without having to is them as a part fund for bigger batteries.

Lots to think about in the future.

Thanks.

 

Hi bisco,

I,m not too sure on the mg2 spec on the gen3 and pip prius but from what I have read it spins faster creating more hp and the inverter generates more voltage that also equals more power, all pointing to more than 20hp more from the motor than the gen2 that I have.
Hopefully someone can chip in with what the differences are and what it actually means and feels like when driving.

I wouldn't mind a swap to a gen3 if I could find one for small money change, I could then fit this kit into one of those. I do like the interior on the gen3