Nissan Leaf Modules from Tech Direct

[Volt_Ampere]

I have had my Leaf cells in my cart for over 4 years and they are going strong - no noticeable loss of capacity or performance. However, when I got mine, they supposedly came out of a Leaf with very low miles - under 1000. Chances are that most cells available in the salvage market have many years and miles on them now.

[morvolts2]

keep in mind that a totally electric vehicle like the Leaf will have more use out of the packs,than a hybrid of the same miles.

[Sergio]

Anyone surprised to find that Leaf cells from used cars are not full capacity should really reconsider their ability to put together a pack from individual components.

I would be interested if anyone has a source or a link for new lithium ion cells or even LiFePO4 cells at the same price point as the leaf cells.

There is a lot of empirical data available for leaf cells (not just new company projections) due to their longevity in the market but unfortunately Nissan is doing a better job of reclaiming the packs for the secondary market (solar, RVs, etc.) as they claim the cells can outlive the cars by 10-12 years.

There is a member brad2388, that last year was parting and selling cells from a full pack but I don't know if he still has access to other full packs or it was a one time deal.

[Volt_Ampere]

Originally Posted by morvolts2

keep in mind that a totally electric vehicle like the Leaf will have more use out of the packs,than a hybrid of the same miles.

Many hybrids do not have packs that we could even use in a golf cart. Prius for example. Standard Prius packs are NiMh with very little capacity.

[Murby]

Originally Posted by Sergio

Anyone surprised to find that Leaf cells from used cars are not full capacity should really reconsider their ability to put together a pack from individual components.

I would be interested if anyone has a source or a link for new lithium ion cells or even LiFePO4 cells at the same price point as the leaf cells.

There is a lot of empirical data available for leaf cells (not just new company projections) due to their longevity in the market but unfortunately Nissan is doing a better job of reclaiming the packs for the secondary market (solar, RVs, etc.) as they claim the cells can outlive the cars by 10-12 years.

There is a member brad2388, that last year was parting and selling cells from a full pack but I don't know if he still has access to other full packs or it was a one time deal.

There are a lot of Leaf cells available and I can see them being repurposed for various reasons. They are a quality battery when new.. very high quality. The problem is they are all severely degraded, and that gives me pause.

When lithium ion cells degrade, they degrade faster and faster as the degradation progresses. 80% is acceptable for the right price, but at 60% to 65%, I wouldn't bother wasting my time doing the work to hook them up. My own policy is >90% or I walk away.

But there are other deals out there, they're just far more rare and not a "buy it now gotta have it today" option.

I bought my cells brand new. LG Chem N2.1 destined to be installed in the Chevy BOLT EV's but were rejected due to a mounting hole. They were never cycled..

I paid $88 per kWh for them shipped to my door via LTL trucking on a pallet. They are probably the highest quality finest lithium cells on the planet, and they were brand new.

Before I bought them, my off-grid system used an entire 2013 Chevy VOLT pack that I bought from a local guy. The car had 30k miles on it and I paid $800 for the pack. 16.5kWh worked out to $50 per kilowatt and they retained 100% of their capacity.

Thing is, you have to hunt hard for these kinds of deals. It took me 8 months to find my first pack, and after realizing my system wasn't playing nice with the Chevy Volt's 12s setup, it took me another 6 months to find the BOLT cells.. and now I'm kicking myself because I bought 70 of them and should have bought 200 to 300.

Now I'm on the hunt again, not for my off-grid system, but for my 2013 Precedent.
I should be able to land a 14s configuration with >200Ah of capacity and do it within ~140 lbs, but I don't expect it to happen tomorrow, and I don't anticipate the cells will have the "screw and play" type terminals of the convenient leaf packs.

I'm just saying.. leaf cells aren't that great.. expectations should be tempered to knowing the exact remaining capacity and understanding the remaining cycle life.. Probably still better than Lead Acid though..

[Murby]

Originally Posted by molfpedal

Where are you finding those prices? Most people that used the Leaf cells paid between $85 and $100 each for them. My 14s2p G2 pack cells were 70% and I paid $1035 for the lot. I get between 25 and 40 miles per charge, depending on how I have my Navitas settings. (I raise the acceleration and the speed for street driving.) I believe there is a user that has been using a similar leaf battery (G1) for 4 years and still going strong. If you are getting cells for $200 kwh or less please share you source.
The tech direct club price for that lot is ~$80 per cell, includes 65 Bms's and they are probably 65-70% usable. In a golf cart that will still produce a long lived battery!
If I had the room and the time to mess with them I would buy the lot and sell them in pack size lots for a small profit. Sadly, I have neither.

TechDirect is probably one of the top 3 most expensive places you can go to get cells.
When I first got into lithium for my off-grid system, it became very apparent that they had some kind of personal connection to someone that hooked them into the recycling chain.. and they made a lot of money on that deal..

Then, as EV's became more popular and more cells started to become available, other sources started popping up with better prices.. and dare I say: more upfront disclosure.

I think they are still riding the "our special connections" train and haven't realized that the market is flooded with leaf cells because the engineers at Nissan screwed up.

Shop around your local craigslist, put up a want ad.. keep it up and refresh it frequently. Call your local scrap yards every week until they get so sick of hearing from you they call you one day with the pack you want. That's how I found my first Chevy Volt pack.. 16.5kWh for $800.

Check ebay, don't be afraid to low-ball a seller if you buy quantity.

I would say there is a difference between a guy like me buying several thousands of dollars worth of cells for a giant solar storage system and someone wanting to shove a few into their golf cart. Quantity brings good pricing in that regard..

BMW, Chevy Bolt, Volt, Jaguar, and even Volkswagen.. all have excellent cells.

Be prepared to have to do some custom fabrication.. most EV cells do not have the easy screw-on terminals like the Leaf cells.. its one of the features that make those Leaf cells so popular.

[keepinitreal538]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Nissan-Leaf...MAAOSw9IpXxSwA

these are on ebay now.

[Murby]

Originally Posted by keepinitreal538

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Nissan-Leaf...MAAOSw9IpXxSwA

these are on ebay now.

Read down.. "Rated Capacity 33.1ah"

Those cells are absolute toast at only 50% remaining.. unless I read something wrong or there's a typo in the listing.

[Volt_Ampere]

These are old, worn out and way over priced.

[Pat911]

That is the rated capacity of one cell when NEW. It also states the average voltage is 3.8v, again, one cell. Looks to be taken from the manufacturer’s spec sheet. Remember, each Leaf module is 2P2S, so 7.6v @ 66.2Ah. Nowhere does it state it’s current useable capacity so they could be great, or they could be toast.

Cheers
Pat.