"Improved" battery chemistry; Is it real?

[davidcary]

I have heard of people putting little portable fans under their cars when they charge on hot days. Any data on effectiveness of same? or just wishful thinking or "it oughta help a bit?"

Wishful thinking.

The bottom of the vehicle is covered with a shield to reduce air drag. This also blocks the airflow to the battery.

Well..... It still helps. I did one better and put an a/c output under the car. Battery temp hit 63 by leafspy in July in NC. Ambient was 94. Rest of the garage was 75. I had blocked airflow around the car so that under the car was really cold. I don't block the airflow on a regular basis and I don't check leafspy lately but I get 5 bars pretty often. It is at least as good as parking outside in July/August. The battery temp is below garage temp in the morning even with charging.

Obviously what I did is more than a fan but dissipating heat with a fan still helps even if the airflow doesn't get right next to the battery.

Too bad we don't know the future because building cool garages would not be hard - especially if there were no ICE fumes to worry about.

My budget is $10 a month for garage cooling for 3-4 months a year.

 

[roperld]

The chart in the Dahn movie that shows the inefficiency of charging divided by the cycle time, a universal curve, for four battery chemistries is very revealing. Nissan needs to show a similar chart for the lizard battery. It is interesting that one of the Dalhousie researchers now works for Tesla and that the Tesla batteries perform better than the other batteries.

 

[TickTock]

I have heard of people putting little portable fans under their cars when they charge on hot days. Any data on effectiveness of same? or just wishful thinking or "it oughta help a bit?"

I use two floor fans that go under the car from 7pm to 7am During warmer months and/or warm battery temperatues. I also park outside. It cools my bettery down a lot more with the fans than without. Does it help, maybe. I work in The Dalles, Oregon where summer temps. Are warm/hot. I'm just some things doing what I can to make it to 5 years of ownership before I buy the Lizard battery. I QC & drive hills at 65 (with strong headwinds) which probably doesn't help.

I installed a swamp cooler in my garage last summer. It is nice to come home to a cool garage instead of stepping out into a hothouse, but my data does not suggest it has provided any benefit to the battery. Rate of decay remained fairly steady. Below is my plot of the charge required to charge from dead to 100% over time (I extrapolate to dead from based on the charge level when I plugged it in).

 

[sendler2112]

Below is my plot of the charge required to charge from dead to 100% over time (I extrapolate to dead from based on the charge level when I plugged it in).

21.5 kWh to 16.5 in 2.5 years. How many miles was that? Did you end up getting a new battery?

 

[RockyNv]

On this board there is a thread on how some have cooled the battery by leaving the blower inside the car going to circulate cabin air through it. Those involved appear to have done some study and have data to support that cabin air does go through the battery and aid in keeping it cooler even while driving. They do not appear to have done a smoke test yet but do have temperature measurements to support the claim.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=22276

Myself I have a 2014 with the newer 24K battery and its still showing 12 bars here in the Deep South.