A123 Systems batteries now available for purchase online! - Page 3 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

ev99saturn · 11-02-2012, 07:49 AM

NEDRA drag racers abuse their packs at much higher discharge rates and they continue to perform at top levels after many hundreds of runs. Few cell choices can even reach this level of performance. I am more than willing to find out how they do after a years of operation with occasional abuse. I don't plan on daily 19C discharge rates, but ask again in a few years and I will let you know how mine hold up.....

Quote:

Originally Posted by sendler

What does a daily 19C discharge do to the cycle life?

sendler · 11-02-2012, 08:00 AM

What are you planning on building? My interest is plug in EV's where we are looking for the magic 10,000 deep cycles.

Daox · 11-02-2012, 08:27 AM

When I was looking into using A123 cells it was going to be for a PHEV. This would provide me with enough EV range and power for ~10 miles of driving, enough for a daily commute. So, the pack was pretty small. The high power output of the A123s was nice because I didn't have to sacrifice power output or push the cells horribly hard like I would if I went with a prismatic type cell.

sendler · 11-02-2012, 09:13 AM

They would be great for race vehicles, r/c helicopters and hand held power tools. An ev is better off spending the same money to get a comparable high discharge rate and 5 times the range from a bigger, more useful pack.

ev99saturn · 11-02-2012, 10:12 AM

A nice feature of the A123 cells is their longevity. According to the manufacturer, at a 1C discharge rate, cycling cells to 100% DOD, after 3,000 cycles they still have over 90% of the initial capacity.

Once all of my batteries are finished and installed, normal driving at 50 mph will pull less than 1C per cell.

I built a 1956 AC Cobra replica with electric instead of gas. It's now on the road, but with minimal battery packs, only 3 out of 8 planned. I have 3 more packs in construction and currently working to finish them and add them into the car's pack.

The primary goal for the car is to have fun. A slightly secondary goal is to make at least as much power as a 427 V8. When all of the battery packs are completed and installed it will be slightly above that level.

Details about the car build are at evalbum.com/3567.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sendler

What are you planning on building? My interest is plug in EV's where we are looking for the magic 10,000 deep cycles.

sendler · 11-02-2012, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ev99saturn

I built a 1956 AC Cobra replica with electric instead of gas.

Cool!

oil pan 4 · 11-03-2012, 02:37 PM

MSRP for full factory spec AMP20 cells from a123 is from $70 up to $100 per cell.
I say get factory rejects, build twice the battery for about half the cost and pocket the difference.
And be happy a123 went bankrupt and hope johnson controls can straighten them out.

Daox · 06-20-2014, 01:55 PM

It looks like NEC has now bought A123. It also appears you can buy AMP20 cells online now. I wasn't aware of this until today. They are very pricey at $70 each though.

A123 Systems Cells and Battery Modules

They also have some B-grade cells for sale that look like they'd be fun to play with. They're cylindrical 3.3V / 2.2Ah for $4.50 each (min order qty 10). These little suckers can handle a CONTINUOUS 70A DISCHARGE! and 120A burst! WOW. These would make a nice small starting battery for something (just make sure your car doesn't sap em dry between driving). They weigh .15 lbs each! Of course they are B grade, so they probably don't fully live up to those specs, but that is still a nice battery.

I'm tempted to try these out on my motorcycle... Say I did a 2p (2 cells in parallel) pack, the starting battery would weigh in at 1.5 lbs haha, silly light.