Used Prius packs

[dnix71]

There is an eBay salvage dealer with well over 100k transactions and a very good rating. He has several used Prius packs for $500 including shipping (if you have it sent to a place with a truck dock). The original capacity of the packs is about 1.2 or 1.3 KWH and 28 or 38 cells.

Does anyone here have personal experience with used packs like the ones listed here?:
http://stores.ebay.com/LKQonline/Power-Drive-Parts-/_i.html?LH_TitleDesc=1&_nkw=Prius&_fsub=17&_sid=16275394&_trksid=p4634.c0.m409

The only disadvantage I see to rebuilding a pack is that I've read the cells must be tightly bolted together or they will swell and fail if charged. I don't understand why charging them alone would cause swelling and failure.

If the packs are supposed to be good for 150k miles, the packs listed above may be short timers and the seller knows this and is just trying to get rid of them.

A couple of those cells would make a nice electric bike battery if the size and weight is right. If I did the math correctly 38 cells is 4.75 AH per brick at 7.2v

If someone wants to split a pack to experiment, send me a PM. Where I work we have truck docks so I can take a freight delivery.

[independent]

Hi. I suppose you probably know but the best thread I have seen is on the endless-sphere forums. Prius packs and how to make them work or something like that. Modules in strings of 6 cells, 7.2v nominal. Some need clamping to stop swelling esp when capacity testing. People seem to use a thinkpad 16v adapter to charge 2x strings in series. The different generations have different types of cells, the first gen anyway. Look really interesting.

[zap]

I'm not sure if it was endless-sphere where I found a ton of info on the battery a few years ago but I'd second independent's suggestion.

Before you jump on the ebay deal, have a good long search on craigslist... even searching towns further away than you normally would.

I think there's a guy in Denver who'll sell you a refurbished pack for somewhere around $800 but IIRC he wants your old core?  You could probably find the same deal or better in your area in FL.
I've seen a few full cars (wrecked/salvaged) ones go for under $1K with supposedly perfectly working ICE/battery systems when I was looking a few years ago.

[joestue]

I'm interested in a working motor controler.

about the batteries, if they are only 1.2KWH packs, 800$ for a refurbished one ($300 labor, $500 for the batteries) sounds about right.
50 cents a watt hour or so. perhaps a little expensive, considering you can buy D cell ni-mh for 70 cents a watt hour off amazon
I would not pay 500$ for a used battery.

[zap]

about the batteries, if they are only 1.2KWH packs, 800$ for a refurbished one ($300 labor, $500 for the batteries) sounds about right.
50 cents a watt hour or so. perhaps a little expensive, considering you can buy D cell ni-mh for 70 cents a watt hour off amazon
I would not pay 500$ for a used battery.

Back when I was studying the Prius packs lithium was the big buzz and already had a bit of a track record with laptops and such, and prices were falling fast.  I figured both nimh and lithium required special charging routines and the lithium easily packed in more energy... that's why I skipped on the nimh.

Woody's used pack was around 60¢/Wh and came with a free ebike
The used pack on my Currie was around 39¢/Wh.

One thing to keep in mind would be the shelf life compared to cycle life.  I'm pretty sure nimh would lose to lithium in cycle life but most likely trounce lithium when it comes to shelf life.
On the Prius packs you'll see many folks voicing caution about how long a used pack has been "sitting" on the shelf or out of the car.
I'm not sure if that's because the controls in the pack keep draining the cells or if the particular chemistry of the Prius' battery has a high self discharge rate.

[jarrod9155]

I had one hooked up to my wind mill high voltage cut in was around 215 volts .I had it taken apart a couple times , please remember one of theses charged will kill you . Now with that said they are very complex they even have there own PCM built in to battery pack to control temp and charge . I had to bypass the relay that is built in but other than that they are plug and play . The PCM has no function outside of the car so they are easily overcharged and to charge them it will take some type of high er voltage like grid tie mill or panel array the storage wasn't that great plus the used ones available out there are out of higher mile cars and I think after 100 thousand miles they loose quite a lot of there capacity try to stay around 50,000 miles .
    Also you can  take one apart and change the voltage around to lower it , I did that also. 
The Lexus rx and highlander have a lot more capacity and the escape from ford . I read some where that the volt by chevy has like 4 kw storage and the cars computer never let's it get lower than half capacity before needing recharge so that would be a perfect find !!

[dnix71]

Jarrod here's an almost new Escape pack  http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/08-FORD-ESCAPE-HYBRID-330-VOLT-BATTERY-05-09-OEM-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2a0c79b8beQQitemZ180597930174QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

$850 shipped. There's an eBay list for $250 but pickup only. I would happily pay truck fees for that one.

330volts   That would kill you quick. But yes the idea is to disassemble a pack to make a 12-14 or 24v pack.

Ford's batteries have a 8.5KWH nominal rating. Put that in an electric motorcycle and you would have a real EV.

http://www.hybridcars.com/gallery/22070/photo?page=2   50 modules of 5 D-cells (6.5v nominal).