[adeyo]

Hi, I'm a noob here, but i have a salvaged Ford escape hybrid and want to know if i can use the battery pack in an ev conversion...a Sanyo 330 volt nickel metal hydride? Is this too weak for an ev conversion? Could i wire 2 together in parallel?

[MN Driver]

Two packs of cylindrical NiMh D cells would need to be two packs, ideally separately charged due to the way that the voltage drops when they are fully charged(one reach a full charge but the other won't get the higher voltage it needs). Then put in parallel via a contactor connection.

Each pack of 250 cells is 300 volt nominal(1.2v per cell) fully charged is higher than that and they need a CC charge. 5.5Ah is what Sanyo rates them at and they sag pretty bad at EV amperages(only really good for short term 100amps at the most for a very short period. The Panasonic NiMhs are 30 amps if you have enough air cooling and its designed properly, they get HOT quickly if you don't cool them actively.

A 11Ah(two in parallel) pack would be 3300wh. Not big enough to do much with and they are relatively large and heavy in comparison to lithium. Keep in mind that since they aren't new you probably won't get 5.5Ah and with 25 sticks you'll have to cycle them all and remove the low capacity ones, the high self-discharge ones, the high IR cells, and any other ones that behave in any different way than the rest. IMHO lots of work for not much energy or power.

FWIW, I have bad Honda sticks(Panasonic 6.5Ah cells) that sag like rocks under 30 amp loads, but are good enough in an electric lawn mower designed for AC that has a universal motor because they seem good enough for 12-15 amps discharge long enough to clear my yard.

I wouldn't put hybrid NiMh back in a car for any other purpose than in a hybrid where that specific hybrid can manage the battery the way that NiMh needs to be handled to operate efficiently and for a decent lifetime, and am really kind of done messing with cylindrical NiMh cells.

Again more IMHO, lithium is where it's at.

[adeyo]

Wow, Thank you for the helpful in depth answer. My friend owns a salvage yard, do you think there are any vehicles that are hybrids that do have batteries you might recommend? What is the best way to go about affordable batteries? This next question should be in another forum, but really I am considering using 2 15 hp motors, And hooking them up to drive the front axle. Would there be any complications in doing this considering batteries and battery life?

[MN Driver]

There aren't any hybrids that I can think of that have a really big battery pack that might be useful in a car other than the Chevy Volt but that one is packed in a shape that will be difficult to put into a different car but if you can manage to use its 16kwh(of which GM uses about 65% of its capacity for max life), then have at it. ...but you probably aren't getting a Chevy Volt for cheap or its batteries for cheap any time soon because that salvage shop is going to try to make bank on them.

[adeyo]

Thanks MN Driver! ...my wife is from MN, btw

[Salty9]

adeyo,

Since you have access to a salvage yard you might want to be on the lookout for GM BAS (Belt driven Alternator-Starter} and the controller. I understand that used as a motor can develop 15-20 HP. I don't know about the battery but it might be worth looking into. If it doesn't meet your needs it is worthwhile as tradebait. Would be good for a motorcycle conversion.

[adeyo]

Thanks! I'll have to look one of those up to see what they look like. But I love to look out for one of those. My dad has a spare motorcycle with a blown engine I might try to convert.... Or I have a go kart that needs a motor as well.

Thanks for the tip salty!

[Salty9]

Sites with info on the BAS:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...ghlight=altern

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/vie...p?f=30&t=31584