Quote:
Originally Posted by 2009Prius
This must be obvious to the experts but I am not afraid of asking stupid questions.  Why not just remove the 12V battery all together and install the deep cycle 14V battery in its place? Then all is left to do is to come up with a charger to charge the 14V at home. No relays, no smart switches. What's wrong with this idea? |
Not stupid at all - thats what I am testing out now - the problem is the expense and whether or not it is worth it.
There are a few big problems:
1. The battery is huge compared to the original and wont fit into the battery compartment.
2. The charger for it is not yet available. (people using this battery in standard ICE cars are using a voltage regulator on their alternator to charge it)
3. 14V from the converter will not charge it - you need 16V
4. You need to disconnect the battery while charging unless you want to risk blowing some electronics in the prius
5. There is still some question as to what the real world impact is - I cant really assess how much of a boost the battery is giving me until I get the charger (due out in the next few weeks)
All of the problems are resolvable if the battery is worth the effort - if I cant get more than a few mpgs out of it then I suspect I will go back to the stock battery since it is far easier.
Edit: BTW Orange4boy already proved this has great potential with his hillbilly battery - and I was wrong on disabling the converter - I thought I had disabled it but turns out it was the battery being a decent SOC preventing it from coming on - so Orange4boy whats the secret to disabling the downconverter for testing this fully?