EV owners and smartypants...what do you think of this for a Prius?

[Matt Herring]

For the guys that know way more about batteries and EV's than me...

I came across this Ebay auction and wanted to get your opinion on it...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=200344551230

Looks like it's a 2 kwh kit (with 4 kwh kit available for another $1k).

[SVOboy]

Shipping is only 95 bucks!

[Matt Herring]

Originally Posted by SVOboy

Shipping is only 95 bucks!

I saw that and wondered how it was possible with all that weight with priority mail...maybe they are just recouping some of the cost with the $95 charge.

They also have perfect feedback in over 600 transactions. One of the neutral feedback comments was an auction for just one of the batteries...perhaps a replacement battery...so maybe they have sold some of these?

$2k lithium ion battery system from a reputable seller...not sure what to think.

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

How much larger is this than the stock battery pack? Do they have a provision for cooling it?

[Daox]

A 2kWh pack will take you around 4 miles with conservative driving. If you do a lot of city driving, I can see it being worth while. I'm not sure of the quality of the system or anything though.

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

The stock Gen II battery is 1.3kWh? If so, then the $2K for the 2kWh seems worthwhile as a replacement, but not as a plug in upgrade. The $3K for the 4kWh does seem to be the better deal, by far; especially compared to the 5kWh systems that cost at least $10K.

[Matt Herring]

I'd have to do some more research on this particular item but it appears to be legit. I emailed the seller to see if they can provide more detailed information regarding drivers who have actually installed their system and what results they are reporting. What the range is on the 2kwh and 4 kwh systems and the like.

For those of you that run solely on EV how does this system compare to what you have in your EV's? Do you see any potential problems with the set up on this one?

[Sean T.]

Lol, I can practically walk to Troy. This looks cool and makes me wish I had a Prius.

[stevey_frac]

Originally Posted by Daox

A 2kWh pack will take you around 4 miles with conservative driving. If you do a lot of city driving, I can see it being worth while. I'm not sure of the quality of the system or anything though.

Far be it from me to question... But isn't the standard metric for EV's 250 w*hr/mile? Giving a 2 kwh pack an 8 mile range?

I know the volt is going for a 40 mile range with 8 kwhr of battery or there abouts.

linky: http://www.transportation.anl.gov/pdfs/HV/434.pdf

[Daox]

Yes, you're right. But, you don't want to cycle your batteries below 50% (generally) to retain good battery life.