The price of the 3400 farad supercapacitors have dropped again on
Mouser. You can now buy a quantity of 5 for $68 each ($340 total).
Maxwell has provided tons more literature on the technology with topics such as sizing the system, estimating usable lifetime, and cell balancing.
I'm getting pretty close to purchasing 5 and seeing how they do combined with a 1.5 watt solar maintainer in my truck. I have confidence I could eliminate the 2 huge batteries and run just this supercapacitor "boostpack".
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2000mc
looking at $209 for just the capacitors, what are the advantages against just running a big lifepo4 battery?
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I'm coming around to your way of thinking.
These 20Ah LiFePO4 cells go for $35 each, and you only need 4 of them to get 12.8v. That's a total cost of $140, and maybe $10 more for the various straps to connect them together. The total weight is only 6.6 pounds.
There is also a
ready made 20Ah battery for $189
The main drawback is that they get damaged if charged below 32 degrees F. If the battery could be relocated to the passenger cabin, then that probably isn't a concern.
What I'd really like to do is purchase 4 of the
60Ah cells for about $400, and then install an alternator disable switch. I would grid charge the battery using a proper LiFePO4 charger, and have the option to turn on the alternator on longer trips. By grid charging, I could eliminate charging in sub-freezing environments.
The reason I'm still interested in capacitors for the truck is because it requires upwards of 400 cranking amps, and it has very low parasitic draw. Perfect for a supercapacitor.
I still think running a bank of 650 farad supercapacitors in parallel with a battery is a good idea. It will prolong the life of the battery, and provide extra cranking amps even after the battery becomes weak. It's not a bad deal at $70.