Putting the Taylor Dunn on a lithium diet

[izzybird]

Most all of the skin on my cart has been replaced with aluminum, but she’s still a heavy beast. So, I brought these home today. Can’t wait to get a charger, bms, and everything else.

[BBBHC]

Looking forward to seeing how this build goes!

[izzybird]

Originally Posted by BBBHC

Looking forward to seeing how this build goes!

Thanks. I’ve been reading everyone else’s threads, including yours, watching and learning and just stumbled across these modules. I bought him out, lol.

[BBBHC]

Do I count 16 modules there? You planning on using all 16 in the pack?

[izzybird]

No, I’m thinking of using 10. I’m 36v and until I can afford everything it would take to go 48v, I’m staying there. The lithium should push the cart a lot better and it does pretty well on aged fla batts. I just bought them all because I couldn’t pass up the deal.

[ThreeCW]

It sounds like an interesting application with your heavy duty cart.

One of the things that kept me on the sidelines with Lithium (besides the cost) is the maximum amperage rating of a Lithium battery pack vs. the amperage requirement of the cart. I couldn't get satisfied with a large enough Lithium pack rating to accommodate the occasional 400 amp draws that my cart is sometimes subjected to.

What is the maximum sustained amperage rating from your Lithium pack?

Compare that to the maximum amperage requirement of your cart in a loaded situation (I used a clamp on Fluke ammeter and now have a permanently installed Red Sea ammeter installed, so I have a pretty good idea of my amperage requirements).

I am not sure of the ramifications of over amping your lithiums, but I suspect that it is likely a shorter than expected life at the minimum, and perhaps a falure of your pack (or worse) if your batteries are significantly overloaded (due to pulling the guts out of them).

I am certainly not wanting to scare monger, but you may want to consider this, what I consider to be a limiting factor with some of the Lithium batteries out there. There are ways around this, but it usually involves have two or three packs in parallel to acheive the high amperage required for a heavy cart.

[izzybird]

Originally Posted by ThreeCW

It sounds like an interesting application with your heavy duty cart.

One of the things that kept me on the sidelines with Lithium (besides the cost) is the maximum amperage rating of a Lithium battery pack vs. the amperage requirement of the cart. I couldn't get satisfied with a large enough Lithium pack rating to accommodate the occasional 400 amp draws that my cart is sometimes subjected to.

What is the maximum sustained amperage rating from your Lithium pack?

Compare that to the maximum amperage requirement of your cart in a loaded situation (I used a clamp on Fluke ammeter and now have a permanently installed Red Sea ammeter installed, so I have a pretty good idea of my amperage requirements).

I am not sure of the ramifications of over amping your lithiums, but I suspect that it is likely a shorter than expected life at the minimum, and perhaps a falure of your pack (or worse) if your batteries are significantly overloaded (due to pulling the guts out of them).

I am certainly not wanting to scare monger, but you may want to consider this, what I consider to be a limiting factor with some of the Lithium batteries out there. There are ways around this, but it usually involves have two or three packs in parallel to acheive the high amperage required for a heavy cart.

I hear ya and I appreciate your comments. I was thinking of running two sets of 5 in parallel, but I have not crunched any numbers for my particular application. I picked these up for $30 a module, I would have bought them even if I didn’t own a cart.

[BBBHC]

Good points to consider brought up by ThreeCW. Frankly, that's all over my head. I have a very basic understanding of electric. I have read and studied about this, but it just does not really compute for me. So I rely on what others have done and their advice on what components are beefed up enough to handle the loads needed/caused with these systems.

I'm sure some of the others on here who are more versed on this subject will be able to chime in on those points.

At $30 a pop, that is well worth it! What year is that Taylor Dunn?

[izzybird]

Originally Posted by BBBHC

Good points to consider brought up by ThreeCW. Frankly, that's all over my head. I have a very basic understanding of electric. I have read and studied about this, but it just does not really compute for me. So I rely on what others have done and their advice on what components are beefed up enough to handle the loads needed/caused with these systems.

I'm sure some of the others on here who are more versed on this subject will be able to chime in on those points.

At $30 a pop, that is well worth it! What year is that Taylor Dunn?

It’s somewhere between a ‘69 and ‘79, ID plate and serial numbers are long gone. I dated it using manuals and the subtle changes made to them over the years. My cart is old school resistors, so I just hammer it everywhere. I have a line on two more carts, both with the newer 400 amp motor controller setups that I plan to steal parts from to upgrade.

[izzybird]

Some fun stuff I ran across regarding building a BMS, I’ve only glanced through it thus far.

https://github.com/stuartpittaway/diyBMS
https://community.openenergymonitor....ng-bms/5594/10