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laknox's avatar
laknox
Nomad
Mar 05, 2018

Thinking of "building" a Lithium battery

So, my cousin and her husband are converting a bus into a MH and have chosen to go virtually all-electric, with massive solar and a Nissan Leaf battery to power everything. (See www.beginningfromthismorning.com for details.) I'm wanting to be much less ambitious and only use a few Leaf modules for a more modest battery. Simplest would be to use 2 modules to build a 14.8v battery, then connect several together to give me the amp-hours I want. This means that I'd need a higher-voltage charger than what's stock; say 15v. Are there any RV-style chargers that will charge this high that aren't a 3-stage? Or, would a 3-stage work and be able to sustain a 15v charge for more than a few minutes? Just beginning to research this, so am looking for info, lots and lots of info. :B

Lyle

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  • GordonThree's avatar
    GordonThree
    Explorer
    Mar 05, 2018
    I'd like to take a whack at building a pack, but finding a donor pack proves difficult in Michigan. Talking to a few scrap yards, they report companies in California buy totaled electric vehicles almost as fast as they come in, for the batteries and electric motors.
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Mar 05, 2018
    Li's don't usually have an Absorb phase. I use a golf cart charger specially modified (free of charge by the manu) to do just bulk and float.

    You'll (obviously) need to know the charging characteristics of your modules. And you'll need to do your own BMS. For all-electric I'd consider going to 24, 36 or 48v. Much easier on batteries and cables and inverters.

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