Add-on battery pack plus 3.3 charger for 6.6 kWh total

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TonyWilliams

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 19, 2011
Messages
10,107
Location
Vista, California USA
I'm posting a poll to find out interest in a rear mounted battery pack for the LEAF with integrated 3.3kW charger. When you plug into the charger, your existing 3.3kW charger would get full power, and the auxiliary charger and battery pack will get the remainder (close to 3.3kW).

An option might be to have a second, dedicated J1772 for the aux battery so you can quick charge the main battery whilst 3.3kW charging the aux battery. It should be OK for lease cars to be refitted back to stock.

So, not really looking for snarky comments of why somebody might want this, or it's not good for you, etc.

If this is a modification you'd consider, here's the ballpark pricing:

6kWh - $8000
8kWh - $10,500
10kWh-$13,000
 
Interested
But this seems kind of steep.

6kWh - $8000
8kWh - $10,500
10kWh-$13,000

It may depend on the cells. But I could use a bit more range..
 
weylan said:
Interested
But this seems kind of steep.

6kWh - $8000
8kWh - $10,500
10kWh-$13,000

It may depend on the cells. But I could use a bit more range..
+1
The price does temper my enthusiasm. perhaps at the point my batteries need replacing, I'd do the whole thing...
 
I would be intersted in this add-on, but the price is steep. Not looking forward to severly reduced range in cold winter months ahead.
 
I will just drive my Prius ™

You asked for it so dont complain :) , and no, I'm not participating in this poll since I am notoriously cheap.
 
i think battery pricing is set to drop when the supply loosens up. although i expect Nissan to use the extra packs for warranty purposes since their "appears" to be a need but I am sure someone will find a way to snark some for the aftermarket mods that are bound to be abundant
 
charlestonleafer said:
Does seem a little steep, an 8kwh pack from Enginer for a Plug in Prius conversion is only $5500.

That really isn't a fair comparison. It's similar to saying both a '65 VW Beetle and a 2012 Buick are cars, so why is the Buick more expensive?

First, as having researched the Enginer kit from almost the beginning, but having no firsthand knowledge, I can still safely say that the Enginer kit's components are not stellar. The inverter is questionable, (I don't know if the proposed Leaf kit has one or not), and obviously it won't have a high quality 3.3kw charger as the proposed Leaf add-on kit. The kit adds a minimum amount of electrical energy to the Prius, so it doesn't throw the parameters for the Prius out of range. It is far from being as sophisticated as a Hymotion kit or others, which also have additional electronics to allow more battery energy from the kit. I would expect the proposed Leaf add-on kit would be more than just sticking two wires from the kit to the original Leaf battery. Also, the Enginer BMS, at least from back when I was researching, was dubious. I would suspect the BMS for the proposed kit would be of much higher quality.

I would have really thought that the each additional 2kw for the higher power kits would not have added $2500, but I don't have any information about the proposed battery for the Leaf kit.

So maybe a bit more information about the proposed components and the complexity needed for the add-on kit would be helpful.

As has been seen before, range extenders for electric vehicles can be very complex. I remember the "Long Ranger" proposal for the Rav4EV. http://www.evnut.com/rav_longranger.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
ztanos said:
TonyWilliams said:
If this is a modification you'd consider, here's the ballpark pricing:

6kWh - $8000
8kWh - $10,500
10kWh-$13,000


Does this cost include installation?


Those prices estimates (subject to change without notice) are complete, installed, tested, warranteed, FOB San Diego, California. The point of the poll is not to provide a cheap price, but to judge interest in the modification.

This would be manufactured by an existing company that specializes and has a lot of experience in this market. Obviously, prices are cheaper for everything in volume, but if only one or three could be sold, the price would have to be much higher. Engineering, fabrication, etc isn't cheap, and must be amortized over the proposed sales.
 
Hey, sorry for the late reply... but as I was LOOKING for range extension, so I feel honor bound to say "hell yeah".

The issue is the sad state of DC charging in the SF bay area... or rather the LACK thereof. If there were 5 strategically placed DC chargers I suddenly don't need the extra range. With something like this I fill the relatively useless and unused trunk space with something that allows me to make the trip to San Jose and back without doing 25MPH on back roads. :p
 
It would depend on the components. For example if you are using A123 cells then yes I am interested. If on the other hand you are using Thundersky cells then I think I would pass.

Need more details Tony.

Do the cells have a better warranty than my Nissan cells ?
 
I would be interested in this if it were from Nissan.

An aftermarket install I would not be as interested in.

Right now I would not desire it, but in a few years when the battery has degraded a bit it would be worth my time and money.
 
Also, what are the added weights for the various options? And if one has to retrofit it back to original condition, what is the cost of retrofitting? Thanks.
 
KJD said:
?..using Thundersky cells then I think I would pass.

Need more details Tony.

Do the cells have a better warranty than my Nissan cells ?

The bottom line is that I am not trying to develop a market for an ongoing project. I may build one or two for me, and as many others that are serious enough to pony up the cash. But, I see a one shot deal.

Since Nissan doesn't offer any real warranty, other than outright failure and "power", sure, that's easy to match. Haven't really discussed any of the peripheral issues. The original post was to gauge the interest level at those price points, INSTALLED F.O.B. San Diego.

The original plan was for my car, hence I can guarantee it won't have some cheap junk in it. I just don't do things that way. I also don't want to keep around a spare Prius just in case it's a few pennies cheaper to operate on a particular trip.

So, with a spare battery pack, I get a quick charge capable car with an over 100 mile real world range. Still cheaper than Rav4 or Tesla S 40kWh, neither of which will have any quick charge capability.

I think that at sites with J1772 and QC, I should be able to charge both at once.
 
Volusiano said:
Also, what are the added weights for the various options? And if one has to retrofit it back to original condition, what is the cost of retrofitting? Thanks.

Well, I don't have a specific weight, since it's not built, but the Nissan 24kWh pack is 660 pounds complete. So, in round numbers, I expect:

220 pounds for 6kWh
330 pounds for 12 kWh

For a lease turn in, I haven't given it any thought. If you have a lease, you can have the dealer do it. I can't do a prepay option to remove it, because again, this isn't a long term sales option. Believe me, it won't be that hard to remove for a competent EV mechanic.
 
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