Re purposing a hybrid battery

Submitted by harland on Wed, 07/24/2019 - 17:50

Battery from Buick LaCross hybrid 2014.

Advanced 0.5 kWh 115 V lithium-ion battery, air cooled. The complete battery has a 3 phase inverter. So it changes 115 VDC to 3 phase to run a 15 hp motor for power assistance. There are 2 battery units (cells) in one hybrid battery. Each unit is around 55 volts (measured).

This is the 5th hybrid battery I have removed from “junked” cars. It is nice and compact and much easier to remove from the car. The whole unit is around 65 lbs.

More info is on each picture. Might be very nice for a 48 volt solar system or a higher voltage robotic platform.

 

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GroG's picture

Great idea Harland. How much

Submitted by GroG on Thu, 07/25/2019 - 17:34.

Great idea Harland.
How much did it cost ?
That certainly packs a whallop of power, do you have plans for it ? 
Why a 48 volt solar system ? you mean as storage ?  Does your solar farm need it?
How about a solar robot ! :D

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harland's picture

I have 4.7 kw of solar panels

Submitted by harland on Thu, 07/25/2019 - 19:02.

I have 4.7 kw of solar panels running my shop on a sunny day. The panels are on 3 arrays and each array feeds into an Outback solar inverter (MX60 PV MPPT). The 3 solar inverters can change a 24 vdc or a 48 vdc battery bank. I have been using 6 volt lead acid solar batteries (Trojan L16RE-B) which last 5 to 7 years for me. The batteries cost around $320/each US. My first array I installed in 2007 and have been through several sets of expensive batteries. Usually I have a battery bank of 8 or 12 batteries.

The 5 sets of hybrid batteries I have gotten (all from different cars) and mentioned in this and previous posts have cost me just time.  The salvage yard that I get them from cannot crush a car with a gas tank or hybrid battery in it. It has taken me 2 to 4 hours to remove the battery pack. The owner of the yard would prefer not to deal with them as they could be lethal due to the high voltage, plus they are heavy. The latest Buick battery car was hit hard on the passenger side, making it difficult to get the back seat out and get to the battery. There is always some problem, like coding or building legs for Inmoovs.

If I can find enough 48 volt hybrid cells, I might change my battery system from 24 volts to 48 volts. Then I wouldn’t have to buy any more lead acid batteries. I would have to buy 2 new Outback inverters for the 48 volt system. Currently I have GVFX3524 inverters which work on 24 volts.

So not sure what I will use these for…

 

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