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squatch81 · 03-03-2018, 01:08 AM

I have a 2009 Prius that has a blown head gasket - approx. $2200 to repair.
It still runs fine, but it blows gases from a cylinder into the water jacket and blows the coolant out. It goes about 30 miles before it overheats.
Most of our errands are about 5 miles round trip, but with antifreeze costing 4 times as much as gasoline it is expensive to drive.
I understand one can force a Prius into "out of gas" mode by installing a switch in series with the fuel pump fuse, but that will only get me a mile or so at speeds up to about 50 mph. What if I were to put 16 12 volt lead acid batteries in the back and wired the string in parallel (via a contactor) with the factory battery pack? How big of batteries would I need to get 10 - 15 mile range? Would U1 garden tractor batteries do it? Or am I nutz for even considering doing this?

03-03-2018, 01:08 AM	#1 (permalink)
squatch81 EcoModding Lurker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: NW Ohio Posts: 11 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts	Plug in Prius on a shoestring I have a 2009 Prius that has a blown head gasket - approx. $2200 to repair. It still runs fine, but it blows gases from a cylinder into the water jacket and blows the coolant out. It goes about 30 miles before it overheats. Most of our errands are about 5 miles round trip, but with antifreeze costing 4 times as much as gasoline it is expensive to drive. I understand one can force a Prius into "out of gas" mode by installing a switch in series with the fuel pump fuse, but that will only get me a mile or so at speeds up to about 50 mph. What if I were to put 16 12 volt lead acid batteries in the back and wired the string in parallel (via a contactor) with the factory battery pack? How big of batteries would I need to get 10 - 15 mile range? Would U1 garden tractor batteries do it? Or am I nutz for even considering doing this?