Hmmm... 10 kW / 144v = 69 A. Ouch, I feel dumb. I should have done that arithmetic.
That's
way heavier current than any of the batteries here:
NiMh Battery Shoot Out.
{link deleted}
You'd need a 10C or better current rating. The RC (radio-controlled hobbiest) crowd uses batteries like that, but mostly lithium cells, and the Ni-MH batteries which they sometimes use are mostly sub-C size (rather than D or AA), and they're expensive.
Thank you for educating me!
Well, on to plan B, then. Two Chinese vendors on Alibaba list replacement Honda/Insight 7.2V battery sticks at $47-$65, with a minimum order of just 20 sticks. That would be about $940-1300 for a complete set of fresh batteries:
1.
KingKong {link deleted} (cheaper, rated 10C & 10A-hr, 1 year warranty)
2.
Yabo {link deleted} (cost more, rated 15C & 8A-hr, 5 year warranty)
Has anyone here ever bought from a Chinese vendor on Alibaba? Used their escrow service? Got any advice for doing that?
Also, some of the listings show particular model years; e.g., "
2006" or "
2003-2005."
{links deleted} Is there really any difference (as long as they're in the 1999-2006 range)?
Also, the "KingKong" listing, above, says,
"Single 10000mah D cells are also available, you can assemble the stick with our D cells by yourself." My guess is that'd be a lot of extra trouble for little or no savings. Does anyone disagree?
Note: this system wouldn't let me post links, so if you want to see the deleted links go here:
www[dot]burtonsys[dot]com/ecomodder13610.html#2