Which terms do you prefer?

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IssacZachary

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 13, 2017
Messages
881
Location
Gunnison, CO, USA
There are several little componentes that make up one major unit in an EV. What do you prefer to call the small components and the main unit?

  • Piles/Battery
  • Cells/Traction Battery
  • Batteries/Battery Pack

Personally I'm a stickler for archaic terminology. I don't like it when I go to the store and see "AAA batteries". To me they are piles or cells, not batteries. The 9V variety are true "batteries" to me. Then I hear everyone calling that large 600lb thing under their EV a "pack". To me the term "battery" already implies the idea of a pack of several smaller components. So "the battery pack" is like saying "the pack pack" or "the battery battery" to me.

Still, I know I'm the wierd one and I do respect what others call things. (This is my only rant, I promise). With all due respect, what do you call them and why?
 
Reminds me of 'Table Mesa' here in Boulder. Or 'Table table' as we call it.

'piles' to me conjures up images of Volta in his laboratory with beakers of acid and wires all over. I prefer 'battery' since that is the word in common usage and that is what I first learned to call them.

From there, it is an easy jump to 'battery pack' since it is a pack of well.....'batteries'.

I would call the traction battery the battery pack for the same reason. The only other 'battery' in the car to my way of thinking is the '12V battery' that runs all the low voltage stuff. I suppose you could separate it into high voltage battery and low voltage battery but since the 12V battery is just called a battery, battery pack is unambiguous to my mind. 'traction battery' is a reasonable name but it does more than provide traction as it also runs the heater. Plus it's easier for me to pronounce 'battery pack' than 'traction battery'.

Very OT....I was recently in Gunnison and saw a Leaf with what looked like the name of a ranch on the license plate. Was that you?
 
goldbrick said:
Reminds me of 'Table Mesa' here in Boulder. Or 'Table table' as we call it.
Hey! I've been there! Have you ever been to the big Rio Grande river too?

goldbrick said:
Very OT....I was recently in Gunnison and saw a Leaf with what looked like the name of a ranch on the license plate. Was that you?
No, no ranch on my plates. I haven't seen that Leaf either. Mine's pretty plane Jane.
 
goldbrick said:
'piles' to me conjures up images of Volta in his laboratory with beakers of acid and wires all over. I prefer 'battery' since that is the word in common usage and that is what I first learned to call them.

I agree with this. And I don't know why we need a separate name for a different type of battery, just because you car has more than one type. If you have a car with a remote keyfob (something that started to become common over 20 years ago) you already have a different type of battery in the key fob itself.

I think from context we can figure out which type of battery one is talking about, but if necessary you can always specify "accessory battery" (the 12 volt one) vs. "traction" battery or "motive power" battery if you really need to specify for some reason.
 
If you have a car with a remote keyfob (something that started to become common over 20 years ago) you already have a different type of battery in the key fob itself.

No, no, that's a "pile!" ;-) Which terms reminds me of both nuclear power plants and hemorrhoids, so I think I too will stick with "battery," and with "pack" and "cell."
 
LeftieBiker said:
If you have a car with a remote keyfob (something that started to become common over 20 years ago) you already have a different type of battery in the key fob itself.

No, no, that's a "pile!" ;-) Which terms reminds me of both nuclear power plants and hemorrhoids, so I think I too will stick with "battery," and with "pack" and "cell."

Naw, that's a "cell". Multiple cells in series are a "battery" (battery of cells). Those are the only two terms we need. "Pile" seems archaic. And there's no need to graft on the term "pack" as there's no real informational distinction between "battery" and "battery pack". Although it is fun to hear Elon say "Batry pack".

One might add descriptors ("traction battery" or "12V battery") if needed but usually context makes it clear.
 
What do we call those flat rectangular things in the Leaf traction battery? Units? Or batteries because they consist of cells built together? That would make a battery of batteries.
 
IssacZachary said:
What do we call those flat rectangular things in the Leaf traction battery? Units? Or batteries because they consist of cells built together? That would make a battery of batteries.

They are called "modules."

I agree that there is little point in using the term "battery pack" other than to be extra clear we aren't talking about the 12 volt battery. I think that "pack" is useful, though, because it's short and never gets mistaken for anything else.
 
I like the term battery pack to describe things like a '2S4P battery pack', eg made of 18650 cells. Even though I guess technically this would be just a 'battery' since each cell cannot be divided and a battery is technically a bunch of cells in series or in parallel? or both?

In summary, a pack to me implies multiple units, whether those units are cells, batteries, modules, etc.
 
I get the point of "pack" meaning several units, parts, products, etc. in one package. But I just can't stomach listening to "experts" on the TV and news using the term "battery packs." Even when any news reporter talks about "battery pack this" and "battery pack that" I just have to turn off the TV or change channel.

I mean, it could be a term that educates the naive and ignorant. But it could be confusing to. It even confuses me. Does this mean that a 12V leaf acid battery is a six pack?


:ugeek: Hey dude! How's your battery?
:mrgreen: Which one? The main pack or the six pack?
 
goldbrick said:
I like the term battery pack to describe things like a '2S4P battery pack', eg made of 18650 cells. Even though I guess technically this would be just a 'battery' since each cell cannot be divided and a battery is technically a bunch of cells in series or in parallel? or both?

In summary, a pack to me implies multiple units, whether those units are cells, batteries, modules, etc.

The electric bicycle/motorcycle folks use the term "pack" where you used "battery pack" and "battery."
 
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