[Oeva-list] Ev Batteries & LifeBatt.com

[Myles Twete]

Great points Don.

Add to the disappointment list: The once promising Evercel Nickel Zinc
battery.

Add to the performance list: Kokam batteries and company

-Myles

 

From: oeva-list-bounces at oeva.org [mailto:oeva-list-bounces at oeva.org] On
Behalf Of Theoldcars at aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 11:56 AM
To: oeva-list at oeva.org
Subject: [Oeva-list] Ev Batteries & LifeBatt.com

 

In my opinion batteries at reasonable prices that can last in an EV are the
holy grail. Everything else about an EV is fairly rock solid when you look
at the failure rate the weak link is the batteries. 

 

So many times new batteries are announced but are either just a concept or
sound as if they are just what we have been waiting for. It is when these
batteries become available that the real world testing starts to happen. I
had high hope for Valence batteries and kept in touch with one of the first
users to install them in an EV. One driver spent over 30,000 dollars for a
170 volt pack in a 2000 pound EV. It was great at first but range dropped
fast and after a couple of years his range has gone from well over a hundred
to almost half of what it was. This is from a battery that was to have
thousands of cycles when not deep discharged. This pack was treated very
kind and still did not perform.

 

This above event was a good thing for me as I was looking for a pack that
would have twice the voltage. 60,000 plus dollars was way beyond my budget
so that was not going to happen but it is sad that a fellow EV driver had to
lose money like this. It also took a couple of years before the real world
testing became known.

 

I know there are a few Thunder Sky buyers on this list that found out real
world information several years back in a group buy. As an EV drivers we are
all testing out batteries and finding out how good they will be. Some times
we far exceed what they were designed for and an early failure should have
not been surprising.

 

I would agree we are expecting a lot from batteries but that is what it is
going to take to power an EV. Right now one of the few batteries I know of
that we can buy and holding up is the A123. They are expensive up front but
if they last as long as the manufacturer claims then in the long run they
would be the most cost effective. These batteries have been tested to the
extremes in the RC hobby. At far higher demanding rates then for normal EV
use. They also are used in drag racing EVs and have shown they can take a
lot of punishment. 

 

I would be very leery of EV batteries sellers now on the market as the
number is really increasing from manufacturers overseas.

 

I inquired on LifeBatt with a well connected long time EV friend it was not
a good review. I decided to do a Google search on LifeBatt and Don Harmon
and found this.

 

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/future-fuels-and-vehicles/message/12529

 

There was a lot of posts by Don Harmon promoting these cells just about
every where. I did not come across anyone saying how great they are but read
several that would stop me from buying their product until I get reports
from known EV drivers. 

 

This is just my point of view. I have no connection with any battery
manufacturer or investments in their stocks. 

 

Don

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