Planning a build...

[Tweety]

I took the whole bunch down to a local shop to have them tested... Turns out if you tell people you have 36 batteries you need tested they think you are a bit daft... But then you tell them it's for building an EV and you get all kinds of good service... It's very wierd... It cost me $10 to have them all tested... It was hovewer a big PITA to get them all in the truck bed and of... Now my arms hurt...

I'm actually considering the offer the guy there gave me... These are GEL cell batteries, good for not needing to check them... They are also supposedly dual purpose ie both start and utility battery, but not really deep cycle... Altough GEL batteries doesn't really die from that as fast as others... Or so I have been told...

He offered to swap them all for 8 105Ah deep cycle AGM batteries... Brand new, never used but stored a while... According to the guy they should be a lot better for an EV, but need more maintainance... I'm kind of on the fence... These would new cost me about $130 each... So apparently I'm sitting on ~$1000 of batteries...

Of the 36 tested, 5 of them was "as new", another 8 was "decent" and 9 where dead or on their deathbed... The rest was "usable"...

So I could have 13 good one's and 14 usable... vs 8 new deep cycle with a lot more Ah for about the same weight... Any advice, I'm confused...

[thatguitarguy]

If it were me, I'd jump on a trade for new deep cycle batteries. Probably better for what you're using them for. Make sure they take and hold a charge. My understanding is that it's bad for a LA battery to be stored without a charge, though deep cycle batteries aren't as vulnerable as starting batteries.

[Tweety]

It's a battery store, so they have been stored charged... And I get full warranty on them...

I'm just unsure if I'm the one winning on the deal or him... I suppose it doesn't matter... I'd say deep cycle AGM batteries are ideal for an EV and brand new with a warranty beats used... Plus they have higher Ah rating and less weight... So I guess it's a win-win...

The vibe I got was that he was genuinely trying to give me a decent deal, so...

[Tweety]

Well... I'm lazy... So I ended up getting the 8 new batteries and a small (ie normal sized!) Gel battery for running the 12V stuff of in trade for the other ones... Much easier to carry... Lets just hope I don't short any of them out now...

Altough I have a few other unmatched ones for some testing...

Tomorrow I'm gonna go stick my head in a old forklift and see that engine...

[MetroMPG]

Wow - nice to get 8 new batteries!

We also certainly lucked out with some very generous donations of used batteries.

Originally Posted by Tweety

I was thinking the LED stacks from Forkenswift would be good, along with an Amperemeter for the batterypack and one for the engine... Would it be redundant to have a voltmeter on the total battery voltage as well?

I don't use a pack voltmeter. Not really necessary since the LED array essentially shows you more valuable voltage information. I'd recommend it even with new batteries, because they will not be perfectly balanced even in the beginning, and will drift further apart over time. You need to know which one is the weakest under load to keep from murdering it.

Originally Posted by Tweety

So for around town driving in the summer when I need to carry stuff around and for the winter daily drives I'm thinking a EV will do the job quite nicely...

Same thing as the ForkenSwift. Lots of fun to drive too, even if it is the one of the lowest powered vehicles in your fleet!