Nissan Leaf powerwall

farmerjohn

Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2018
Messages
52
I just connected up my leaf batteries for the first time and started a charge cycle on them

Gotta say - so far they are awesome!

I am running 42 modules total in 14s6p configuration


image_kxjokc.jpg


Charging at around 110 amps. I let it go for an hour and they don't even warm up!

Now to configure Batrium!

Just thought I would share!
 
A Nissan Leaf by itself 48s1p modules can charge at 120A with just a little heating, so at 6p I imagine those cells will last a long time :) what voltage per cell are you charging to/from? For long life they should be cycled from 4.0-3.5V or so.
 
rev0 said:
A Nissan Leaf by itself 48s1p modules can charge at 120A with just a little heating, so at 6p I imagine those cells will last a long time :) what voltage per cell are you charging to/from? For long life they should be cycled from 4.0-3.5V or so.

So far these batteries are amazing! I had them charging at 180 amps the other day as a test bycombining my solar and my grid charger. Their temp did not rise at all after 2 hours

I am keeping them between 4.1 and 3.5 but most days I only go down to 3.65 before the sun comes up again

My system is grid tied but with these batteries I am now 100% off grid with a 6kw array which is 50% east and 50% west facing

Today I generated 33Kwh which fulfilled all my loads and left me with 100% charge at the end of the day.

My old lead acid battery would only last me a few hours overnight - they were terrible. I should of gone lithium from day 1

I'm looking to fill my rack with 3-4 more car's worth


image_weljpa.jpg
 
farmerjohn said:
rev0 said:
A Nissan Leaf by itself 48s1p modules can charge at 120A with just a little heating, so at 6p I imagine those cells will last a long time :) what voltage per cell are you charging to/from? For long life they should be cycled from 4.0-3.5V or so.

So far these batteries are amazing! I had them charging at 180 amps the other day as a test bycombining my solar and my grid charger. Their temp did not rise at all after 2 hours

I am keeping them between 4.1 and 3.5 but most days I only go down to 3.65 before the sun comes up again

My system is grid tied but with these batteries I am now 100% off grid with a 6kw array which is 50% east and 50% west facing

Today I generated 33Kwh which fulfilled all my loads and left me with 100% charge at the end of the day.

My old lead acid battery would only last me a few hours overnight - they were terrible. I should of gone lithium from day 1

I'm looking to fill my rack with 3-4 more car's worth


image_weljpa.jpg

I shopping for a local wrecking yard that has a car or two, I found these to be a good cost per kWh and ironically I have a Dell server rack like that too, our builds may be brothers. I'd like to follow your progress and any details about prices and harvesting and testing them. Thanks and good luck!
 
I know this is an old thread, but maybe you are still watching it....
What are those black metal plates that you are using to keep the packs compressed? Did you find something premade or did you cut it yourself?
thanks.
 
lnxpro said:
I know this is an old thread, but maybe you are still watching it....
What are those black metal plates that you are using to keep the packs compressed? Did you find something premade or did you cut it yourself?
thanks.

Those are just some metal plates that I ordered from a local metal shop pre-cut to the size I needed

I then drilled holes in them to match the holes on the batteries. Then just spray painted them with some cheap rust paint

They do a very good job. The batteries need to be held in slight compression
 
Oh. ok. Do you happen to know what type of metal did you request? assuming aluminum plates are too flexible.
i am trying to do something similar and want to put light compression on the modules. I was thinking plywood but that adds a lot of thickness to each pack.
 
lnxpro said:
Oh. ok. Do you happen to know what type of metal did you request? assuming aluminum plates are too flexible.
i am trying to do something similar and want to put light compression on the modules. I was thinking plywood but that adds a lot of thickness to each pack.

I used some hot rolled steel sheet

Here is the exact specs from my invoice:

0.188 ST CQ SHEET STEEL-HOT ROLLED SHEET A1011 CQ 11.81 Inches X 7.87 Inches

I bought it here:
https://ecommerce.metalsupermarkets.com/catalog/STEEL-HOT_ROLLED/SHEET/A1011_CQ

I used metal so that there was nothing in there that is combustable (aside from the batteries!)

Good luck with your build!
 
Farmerjohn:

Any idea how many miles where on your batteries when purchased or given a second chance? And did you happen to capacity check them? I'm currently going through mine 1 at a time. I suppose to simply ensure they function and cycle correctly being re-purposed and all. Mine apparently had 63000 miles when harvested (didn't know this at time of purchase). I seem to be getting between 307 and 318 WH per Module, from 4.15v to 3.25v. Only 4 of 48 tested so far. Needless to say i am slightly disappointed at the results, however as long as they are relatively consistent i will proceed and use.

I suppose i jumped into this and now that i have started the lengthy time grueling process and reading so much on Leaf battery Degradation i'm getting concerned. Any input or advise would be greatly appreciated. Building will not start for awhile still in planning stages, hence the reason for advise.

Thank you: I hope to have success as you have shown.
 
My batteries had approx the same milage on them

I have since bought 3 more car's worth of batteries.

I bought them from someone who specializes in recycling EV batteries. He provided me 4 matching sets that each tested out to ~58AH. He had a large supply and was able to pick out sets that matched up pretty evenly. He sold them to me pre-tested and guaranteed

They have been performing extremely well - I am very happy with them. So far I have not seen any appreciable sign of degradation. Compared to their life in the car - they are hardly breaking a sweat.

They do not even heat up when charging / discharging. I have not been getting much solar this winter so I have been buying power from the grid at night when the price is cheaper, then using it the rest of the day from the batteries. I use about 15 Kwh/d and they charge at about 140 amps for a couple hours or so

I keep my cell voltages between 3.5 and 4.1

Let me know if you have further questions! Good luck!
 
farmerjohn said:
Hi Farmer John,

Would you please let me know which specialist you bought your EV batteries from?


Hi Farmer John,

Would you please let me know which specialist you bought your batteries from?
 
Sure - here is his ebay profile:

https://www.ebay.ca/usr/bern101

He lives in Quebec - very good guy to work with

If you buy in bulk he will give a good discount. He regularly has batteries from a variety of different vehicles - not just the leaf. Not all are listed for sale on Ebay.. Send him a private message and he will send you a list of what he has available.
 
farmerjohn said:
Sure - here is his ebay profile:

https://www.ebay.ca/usr/bern101

He lives in Quebec - very good guy to work with

If you buy in bulk he will give a good discount. He regularly has batteries from a variety of different vehicles - not just the leaf. Not all are listed for sale on Ebay.. Send him a private message and he will send you a list of what he has available.

TY Farmer. i too got mine on Ebay but different vendor. Next time i will be much more careful. If your going to spend that kind of money i believe a sample test wouldn't be too much to ask for from the seller.
 
Edster said:
farmerjohn said:
Sure - here is his ebay profile:

https://www.ebay.ca/usr/bern101

He lives in Quebec - very good guy to work with

If you buy in bulk he will give a good discount. He regularly has batteries from a variety of different vehicles - not just the leaf. Not all are listed for sale on Ebay.. Send him a private message and he will send you a list of what he has available.

TY Farmer. i too got mine on Ebay but different vendor. Next time i will be much more careful. If your going to spend that kind of money i believe a sample test wouldn't be too much to ask for from the seller.

Hi Edster, just wondering when you charged your cells for the capacity tests, did you do the CC/CV + current tail off method to fully top the cells up?
 
Just a little update

I finally finished off the battery pack

There are168 total modules that each tested to about 50-53 ah each

I have them configured as 4 banks of 14s6p. All 4 banks are connected in parallel with circuit breakers

It took a while to make all of the custom bus bars and mounting brackets

Total of 28 Batrium leafmons

The rack in the photo is full on both sides (2 packs on each side)

Having this much capacity is amazing!

John

image_btueea.jpgimage_ytglrr.jpg
 
nice. what kind of shelves did you use in your rack to hold the leaf modules in place?
 
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