Looking at converting to Lithium, battery questions

[eprovenzano]

My 99 DS's 8 volt x 6 batteries are getting up there in age... (just like me) I think I can get one more summer season out of them, but I'd prefer to upgrade before they completely die . The cart is used at our campsite. Usage is mostly weekends, and sits idle during the week. Currently using a MODZ Max48 15 AMP charger, which drops to a trickle / maintain when the charging cycle is complete. Cart is fully charged every evening when in use, and charger maintains voltage when not in use.

Looking at upgrading to Lithium batteries. Was planning on Nissan leaf batteries, but there seems to be a shortage... so looking at other options...

I like the leaf batteries as they are a 14S fully charged would give me around 57 volts, but since they are scarce I'm looking at other battery types. One easily available is from the Chevy Volt. But it's only 12S or a max of just over 49 volts. Both have about the same AH with the volt being the smaller of the two. If I go with a 12S system with lower AH, should I consider two 48 volt batteries in parallel?

What other options are out there? Toyota Prius, Chevy Lumina, etc., yes I prefer a DIY setup. I'm fully aware I'll need to change chargers to a Lithium charger, and I will be running a proper battery maintenance system

Just looking for advise on different battery types I should consider and be searching for.

[Pat911]

Hi eprovenzano,

Why can’t you add 2 more cells to the Volt system to make it 14S?

Cheers
Pat.

[Volt_Ampere]

Originally Posted by Pat911

Hi eprovenzano,

Why can’t you add 2 more cells to the Volt system to make it 14S?

Cheers
Pat.

You have never seen Volt cells I guess. It's not easy to separate them into individual cells and then connect them again. You are sort of stuck with them in 12S groups.

[morvolts2]

Originally Posted by Volt_Ampere

You have never seen Volt cells I guess. It's not easy to separate them into individual cells and then connect them again. You are sort of stuck with them in 12S groups.

My newest DS project is using the 48v and 24v Chevy Volt packs
16s3p for 72v. It fits in the tray that 2 of the 6volt(or 8 volt) flooded batteries did,which means theres room for 3 packs to replace the 6 flooded batteries.

[Pat911]

Originally Posted by Volt_Ampere

You have never seen Volt cells I guess. It's not easy to separate them into individual cells and then connect them again. You are sort of stuck with them in 12S groups.

No I haven't, hence the question. Leaf cells are very easy to reconfigure.

Cheers
Pat.

[eprovenzano]

Originally Posted by Pat911

Hi eprovenzano,

Why can’t you add 2 more cells to the Volt system to make it 14S?

Cheers
Pat.

I'm new to this and trying to separate volt cells (at least to me) seems like a difficult task, beyond my meager capabilities. When I first starting looking into this the leaf batteries were plentiful... I jump in and poof... they're now scarce... figures...

[Pat911]

Hi eprovenzano,

I’m new to the cart thing too, but not to electrical\electronics. I’m using Leaf modules and obviously wrongly assumed that other modules, although different, would be similarly easy to reconfigure. I purchased an entire Leaf pack, disassembled (very carefully) and reassembled in the configuration I required, 6P14S. All I’m waiting on now is for the cart to be delivered.

So where are all the Leaf modules going? Into carts\power walls I assume.

As for 2 packs in parallel you can do this but ideally each cell is placed in parallel with another cell and then they are connected in series to make the pack. Easy with the Leaf modules but probably not an option with the Chevy modules. A single BMS is required in this scenario. You could have 12S2P (2 parallel sets of 12 series connected cells, note 12S comes before the 2P) but 2 BMS’s will be required and it’s not the norm.

Cheers
Pat.

[eprovenzano]

I'd prefer 14S as I want the additional voltage... So I'm still on the hunt for another option for batteries.