Quote:
Originally Posted by elhigh
I wired up two 100w bulbs in series to load Pack 1. The car is benched while I discharge the pack, even though I could probably run it safely on Pack 2. It makes my gut clench a little every time I see the 12v light come on, so I'm doing without my sweet sweet economy goodness for the time being.
In other news I'm using Torque to chase my Forester into the 27.x MPG range, which is crazy great for that thing.
I will stop by a store this evening and pick up a couple of larger wattage bulbs. I may die of old age and/or boredom waiting for the 100's to get the job done. I pull it down to 143.x and in the morning it's at 144.x again, and I can only do a couple of hours of draining per evening, and the voltage rebound between drains is mocking me.
I was going to have Son #2 screw in the smaller bulbs and just let it be going while I'm at work, but he appears to have left for class already, so that's an opportunity lost.
If I'm still at this on Thanksgiving Day, I'll be able to give it a lot more time and attention while helping in the kitchen. The rig is set up on the kitchen floor (though if I'm still at it on Thanksgiving I'll move it to the sitting room).
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That's the downside to dual bulbs in series. They keep bulbs from popping, but 2X 100W are like a single 50W. Since you're already at nominal and not terribly higher than 120V, you're mostly out of the bulb popping danger zone. You could switch to a single 100W, which would be like 2X 200W down to 135V. Then switch to 60W to 120V, then dual 60W to 60V.
Don't fret the voltage bounce. It's not an indication of lost progress. It's the robust NiMH chemistry getting back to the nominal 1.2V/cell after the load is removed. Voltage bounce peels away pretty quickly once you resume discharging, and it adds a minimal amount of total time to the overall discharge. Note that when you switch bulbs to lighter loads, you will see a notable voltage bounce even after the load is applied.
Good luck!
Steve