2nd Gen Prius PHEV Conversion (Enginer plug-in lithium ion battery kit)

[Daox]

I monitored the charging and the voltages while high, didn't seem to exceed the max I've been said shouldn't be exceeded. I think the highest cell hit 4.10V and I've been told the max is 4.20V.

[GeneralAnarchy]

I just got my 4kWh batteries. There are two large metal boxes, one labeled "Left" the other labled "Right". They say RFE Battery by RealForce Enterprises. Does anybody else have this design? It does not look like the pictures of previous installations. Each box has a heavy gauge connector, and a couple small gauge connectors.

[bennelson]

GeneralAnarchy,

Is it an Enginer kit you got?

I helped out on an install of one with Eric in Madison (the guy who runs Hybridfest.)

When we opened the case, the first thing he noticed was that it was different than the last one he did.

I think the upside is that they are trying to constantly improve, but the downside it it's different every time!

On Doax's kit, there were only a few odd little things, like what direction or which side a mounting bracket went on that weren't real obvious.

[Daox]

Got any pictures? I know the kit is constantly being updated it seems...

[mrbigh]

Originally Posted by GeneralAnarchy

I just got my 4kWh batteries. There are two large metal boxes, one labeled "Left" the other labled "Right". They say RFE Battery by RealForce Enterprises. Does anybody else have this design? It does not look like the pictures of previous installations. Each box has a heavy gauge connector, and a couple small gauge connectors.

Are you talking about the Enginer Kit?
Post pictures of the equipment. I wonder why there isn't an instruction sheet.

[GeneralAnarchy]

Originally Posted by mrbigh

Are you talking about the Enginer Kit?
Post pictures of the equipment. I wonder why there isn't an instruction sheet.

Yes, it's the Enginer Kit LiFePO4 batteries. I'll post a picture when I can. There is not much to look at, it's just two metal boxes each 50 pounds and about the size of a RV battery. There is what's possibly a service door but it's taped over. I did not yet get the converter, etc. or any instruction sheet, the battery was shipped separately. There is a website on the case "www.realforce.com.cn" and on that site there is a link that says "english" but at first glance I did not see this exact product on the website.

[Ryland]

Originally Posted by bennelson

Charger, balancer, and 48V of batteries.

You wouldn't want to loan those out for an EV motorcycle would you?

My thoughts exactly! if it turns out that this system is bug free then I'm tempted to buy the 8KWH pack for my motorcycle.

[GeneralAnarchy]

Here it is

[Daox]

Yeah, that is completely different than the kit I have.

[GeneralAnarchy]

I found on Enginer's site: Technologies from Enginer.us | Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) Conversion Kit
"Two assembled battery packs replacing previous 32 individual cells, with quick connections to other components"

There is also a post on Priuschat that suggests this new design is aimed at eventually accomodating 6kWh in the enclosure. The specification sheet I got with the batteries says capacity is 80aH, which sounds about right for 4kWh. I am mostly going to use this on the highway to assist the ICE, so I might just wire the EV and PHEV together as Enginer designed it. Considering primarily highway use, is there any problem or annoyances with EV "switched on" all the time or any reason I really would want a separate EV switch? Maybe I can try EV mode just for fun, but mainly I just want the kit to assist highway drives as long as possible because I'm going to deplete it daily anyway and might as well do that as efficiently as possible.

In a way I am regreting not buying another 2kWh to make 6kWh, then again it's more weight. I was expecting 120 lb. batteries not a mere 94 lb., so maybe these are a bit lighter?