Lithium Upgrade

[Hypersprint]

I've been talking about it for a couple years now but I finally pulled the trigger and upgraded my 8 6v Trojans with 14 modules of Nissan Leaf Lithium batteries.

I ordered the DIY pack from EV Battery Center .com an offshoot of Hybrid Auto.

I choose not to get there 17 amp charger thinking that the 25 amp charger from Quick Charge would charge even quicker but it didn't, at no point did it put out more than 12 amps and would drop from there as the pack charged and took about 9.5 hours to go from 54.6 volts to 58.4 volts, Ray at Quick Charge said that sounds like it was working right so he offered to take it back for a refund, very nice.

So, I have an 18 amp charger coming from EV Battery Center that they do not have listed on there web site yet, this should be here tomorrow. I can't wait to try it out.

As far as powering 12 volt accessories I'm going to go with a battery since I do have a winch. I would rather not go with a full size deep cycle if I can avoid it because of the weight so I am trying to find something smaller that will give me at least 2 or 3 runs of the winch. I borrowed the battery out of my mower for now and was thinking about something like This One if anyone thinks it may do the trick or if anyone has any thoughts on a good option let me know.

Here are a before and after pic, several pics of the upgrade will follow later

[Hypersprint]

Since I still need to get the charging straightened out I have not been able to do any run time tests yet but I can say one thing about performance "WOW".

I don't know if it is just a mater of saving weight or these batteries deliver more or a combination of both, the top speed has not changed but I sure get there a lot faster now, and the pic shows a wheel stand with the lead acid batteries and the video "Click Here" was taken a couple days ago with the lithium. The grinding noise you may hear in the video is a 2" square tube that I have in my receiver hitting the pavement to keep me from flipping all the way over.

[Gregorio]

Very nice! Raising the voltage 20% might have something to do with it

[gornoman]

Great job! You've created a monster!

[Rickochet]

Originally Posted by gornoman

Great job! You've created a monster!

I have the small 36v pack from EVBatteryCenter. It was at 39.7v when I got it. I hauled it to the lake two months ago and used it three weekends at the marina. It was still at 38.4v when I parked it today. I haven't even tried the charger yet. 38.4v is higher than my Trojan pack ever got at full charge. Performance is so much better with 400lbs. of weight gone. I am really pleased with this conversion.

[scottyb]

I guess turn-about is fair play. You guys are gonna cost me a bunch of money. Now I just have to figure out what cart and motor gets the Lithium upgrade

[Rickochet]

Originally Posted by scottyb

I guess turn-about is fair play. You guys are gonna cost me a bunch of money. Now I just have to figure out what cart and motor gets the Lithium upgrade

Scotty, I only posted this to tell how well the lith conversion is working in my particular situation. Voltage is voltage and the motor doesn't care about the battery chemistry. The biggie for me is a battery pack that can sit for months without self discharge. Better performance because less weight is a plus.

[Gregorio]

Originally Posted by scottyb

I guess turn-about is fair play. You guys are gonna cost me a bunch of money. Now I just have to figure out what cart and motor gets the Lithium upgrade

Haha! I just contributed to the scottyb lithium conversion fund!

[cgtech]

Originally Posted by scottyb

I guess turn-about is fair play. You guys are gonna cost me a bunch of money. Now I just have to figure out what cart and motor gets the Lithium upgrade

Go big, or go home! Don't mess around with no 37ah pack. Aim for around a hundred (or more). You are gonna love how little the voltage sags at full load .

[Alex Faught]

Not only is Li-Ion the way to go because of weight savings and shelf charge life, it also has a much higher energy density than lead acid batteries. Lower internal resistance also means they can dissipate energy (give more current) much faster than their lead acid counterparts.