problems, problems

[KazooPaul]

Dear Tim,
Sorry to hear of all your trouble with electronics
and charging systems. It is shameful, but it makes me feel a little
better about the problems I've been having with my batteries. The
Saft NiMH modules have not performed as well as I had hoped. In
particular, I had hoped they would not require a lot of individual
attention, and that they would last for a large number of typical
charge/discharge cycles. This has not proven to be the case. I
haven't written up the details over on my blog yet, but I should come
clean soon. Maybe its because they were old to start with, or maybe
they fundamentally need a more sophisticated battery management
system. With the high cost of the modules, I could not justify the
expense of a BMS, in comparison with the standard lead-acid
solutions. Well, we live and learn, eh?

[Tim Kutscha]

Hi Paul,

  Life is definitely a learning experience.  The irony of really
expensive batteries is that you probably need to spend a lot more
on a BMS to protect your investment over its lifetime.
  Thanks for sharing your experience with NiMH.  With the
falling costs and rising availability of LiIon, how do the prices
compare with NiMH?  One can get LiIon from evcomponents.com
for $1.10 an amp-hour.  Several folks in the local EV organization
are jumping on that opportunity.

Cheers,
Tim

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From: KazooPaul <Paul.P...@WMich.edu>
To: Civic EV Kit <civic-...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 8:11:20 AM
Subject: [CivicEVKit] problems, problems

[KazooPaul]

$1.10/ Ahr is MUCH less than what I paid for these old NiMH modules.
What kind of battery management are people using? Any feedback yet on
reliability, longevity?

[Tim Kutscha]

Hi Paul,

  Since these batteries (and BMS) were only starting to be available at evcomponents.com
last month, there hasn't been much mileage on them.  I've heard of one guy in the UK
using the Belktronix LionMon system for his lithium ion pack, but he's just started using it
as well.

Cheers,
Tim

---

From: KazooPaul <Paul.P...@WMich.edu>
To: Civic EV Kit <civic-...@googlegroups.com>

Sent: Friday, June 26, 2009 6:59:12 AM
Subject: [CivicEVKit] Re: problems, problems