Battery Hookup - used Li batteries very affordable

[Daox]

I've come across this website through my surfing the net and own personal interests. I did sign up to make us (ecomodder) an affiliate, but I am very interested in picking up some of their batteries to try them out.

Battery Hookup is a place that buys used batteries, capacity tests them, and then resells them for a fraction of the retail cost. I have not personally ordered from them yet, but I really am considering getting some to convert my battery riding lawn mower to lithium for not too much more than the price of lead acid batteries!

They don't have a gigantic selection. But, they are constantly getting new stuff, so check back in often if you're looking for something more specific.

Have any of you guys used them before? I'm finding myself thinking about what I could use their batteries for just because they are so stinking reasonably priced.

Their 8Ah pouch cells they currently have sound like they'd be an awesome replacement for my 2000 Honda Insight's weak battery pack. The price for the cells would only be $180! Nowhere close to what a replacement pack costs, and it upgrades to lithium. Crazy stuff possible and I really hope to see some cool projects come from this.

[hayden55]

I'm gonna have to try this out. Them being a retailer should get past my school's rule against buying used equipment from individuals.
We are also building a lawn mower! lol
"Autonomous lawn mower"
Still in the prelim designs right now so we will see what the specifics are at the end of this semester.

[oil pan 4]

Maybe they will get a bigger selection.
I have played with 18650 cells before and big prizmatic cells.
I prefer the big ones.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

That's pretty inexpensive, and some pretty impressive specs to boot! One thing though is that they're LiPo versus LiFePO4, so they're at a higher risk of exploding unless properly managed.

Posted the link over on Insight Central to see what the lithium gurus on there think.

[HaroldinCR]

I would suggest you try to get the history of those cells. If they are from hybrid car batteries they usually take a big hit every time they are called on to help the car from stop signs, lights, etc.

I have been buying used Nissan leaf, Chevy Volt, Ford Cmax and a Hyundai hybrid pack to experiment with and then sell what I can so I can keep a few for myself and a buddy down here. All but the Hyundai were from Plug-in cars. All were certified to be under 30,000 miles odometer reading. We have hills/mountains here so, mileage is not something we keep track of.

We are using them for our homemade motorcycles and get great results.

For my house, I use A123 M1 round cells for most of our lighting, computer, tv and any necessary emergency such as when the commercial grid goes down, sometimes as often as 10-15 times a month for 10 minutes to over 2-3 hours. Very soon, I will be putting 10 of the Leaf modules together to power more of our stuff, without an inverter for now. Anything 12V or so will do fine, until I can get more electronic ways to split the pack as I reconfigure to 24V system.

I have a Dewalt "sawzall" type saw, 2 drill drivers, one impact driver, a few LED lights and will use the 12V DC for powering the metal lathe that I am currently working on, besides all the power tools I mentioned. All our lighting is LED, mostly 12V. ALL our flashlights use NiMh or Lithium batteries. The Dewalt drills and saw were all 18V and went bad, so, I built packs from 18650 cells as 5 Series 2 parallel and run the hell out of them for over 3 years, without any failures.

My buddy and I go without using a BMS system, due to the fact we are very vigilant in keeping track of voltages and individual groups of cells in every pack we use. We do NOT advise others to do what we do.

For a car starter battery, my Buddy built a pack of the A123M1 cells and has been using it for nearly 3 years.

There are good deals out there on hardly used cells IF you know how to wheel and deal. Just be VERY careful and get all the info you can before buying.

[Piotrsko]

Have you thought about using salvage UPS equipment from computer places? Most use the hardware until the batteries fail, then buy new. I aquired a 10kw output inverter that runs on 48 volts input for free that way.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Jim made some good points over on the Insight Central thread.

Since those cells aren't LiFePO4 (the most stable lithium chemistry) you would absolutely need some sort of BMS (battery management system) to strictly control the batteries to avoid the risk of explosion.

LiFePO4 lithium cells are much more stable and explosion-resistant, and those who have converted their Insights to LiFePO4 aren't using a BMS.

A BMS is pretty expensive and would eat into the cost of the upgrade as well.

Their LiFePO4 cells aren't really that cheap compared to other sites.

[Daox]

Good analysis!

IMO a BMS is pretty much necessary for any chemistry. For my mower which is currently lead acid, it's a simple monitoring system to make sure I don't over-disharge any specific battery. It's not automated, but it is a BMS.

The lipo chemistry I agree would require a much more robust system for safety and battery life. However, lots of the OEMs are using a similar chemistry in their EVs due to the power and every density advantages over the other chemistries. I agree a BMS would add cost, but I also think (don't quote me on this) that there are more and more off the shelf systems you can get that will do what you need. I haven't looked into that yet to verify.

[Daox]

Originally Posted by hayden55

I'm gonna have to try this out. Them being a retailer should get past my school's rule against buying used equipment from individuals.
We are also building a lawn mower! lol
"Autonomous lawn mower"
Still in the prelim designs right now so we will see what the specifics are at the end of this semester.

That sounds really cool, and also quite scary haha! I'd love to see pics if you get the chance.

[RedDevil]

You will still damage or destroy LiFePO4 cells if you overcharge them. My LiFePO4 packs have BMSs.