While the Nissan LEAF cells are great, and could be put to good use in just about any DIY electric vehicle project, here's what, how, and why I plan to use them:
At the beginning of this winter,
I purchased a used Vectrix brand electric super-scooter, with a dead battery pack. The reason why is that it was cheap, and I felt I had the skills to get it back up into running condition.
So, I spent some time tinkering on it and got it back up and running, although the battery pack is bad enough that the furthest I have travelled on a full charge is 9 miles.
On further research, I found that folks were doing upgrades of the Vectrix from bad NiMH packs to Nissan LEAF cell modules. Not only that, but it is
as though the LEAF cells are MADE for the Vectrix! The fit couldn't be any better, and the voltage range matches right up. It creates a freeway-speed all-electric cycle with a 90 mile range.
And then that's also when I got tipped off by a friend that there was a crashed Nissan LEAF at a salvage yard not too far from me…
So, hooking up a dead Vectrix with a crashed LEAF makes perfect sense from a certain budget-minded Franken-Modder point of view.
I also found pretty much the only OTHER Vectrix owner within driving range of me. He came over to visit last night to take a look at my cycle and the LEAF cells. Turns out that HIS Vectrix is the same make/model/year and even COLOR as mine. His also is in completely non-operational condition, EXACTLY like when I got mine.
So, the plan is for him to buy 18 modules off me, and then we can BOTH do the exact same upgrade, help each other out, and learn as we go.
The LEAF pack has 48 cell modules in it. So, I have 18 earmarked for me, 18 for the other Vectrix guy, Nick, and that leaves 12 still up for grabs.
Another electric motorcycle friend of mine, Tony, is interested in 11 for his project. That would then leave just a single LEAF module, which would be nice to have for showing off at clean car events OR make one of the Vectrix's a 19 module conversion instead of 18, for just a little more voltage and capacity.
The only place I could find online that sells LEAF modules is:
Lithium Batteries and Packs
They sell single modules for $129 each.
I figure that if I sell them at a deal price of $100 each, that's $2900 for the 29 of them I would sell, which pays for buying the battery in the first place.
(Of course it's not really free. I needed the time and transportation for the battery, the space/time/skills for disassembly, and the connections for selling the cells.)
On the other hand, it's also a lot of fun, and I will be getting three electric vehicles on to the road!
