Full electric conversion

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mcgraw

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Joined
Oct 17, 2018
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4
Does anyone know if I can remove the petrol engine and install batteries in my 2013 phev?
Petrol prices creeping up now $NZ2.30 per litre.

Will this work with the existing electric system?
Can a fast charge plug be installed for all batteries (new and existing)?
Could the old system be separate (eg for heating or other electrics / lights only)?
Any idea of costs of a conversion kit if available?

Cheers, Paul, NZ
 
This is a joke :mrgreen: , right?

Petrol costs 1.98 Euro over here (= 3.30 NZD)
It is more productive to adapt you driving pattern.
 
mcgraw said:
Does anyone know if I can remove the petrol engine and install batteries in my 2013 phev?
Petrol prices creeping up now $NZ2.30 per litre.

Will this work with the existing electric system?
Can a fast charge plug be installed for all batteries (new and existing)?
Could the old system be separate (eg for heating or other electrics / lights only)?
Any idea of costs of a conversion kit if available?

Cheers, Paul, NZ

I have now read of 2 people extending the battery range of their PHEV, no-one totally eliminating the ICE however anything is possible (however most do not make financial sense).

1. A guy in Netherlands put higher capacity cells replacing existing cells in the PHEV pack for 10-20% more range.
2. A guy in Australia has just added a bank of used Nissan LEAF cells to his PHEV to approximately double his range.

Neither have pursued making a kit, and if they did, it would require expert installation. They would cost US $20k+, why bother when you can simply swap to a Model Y or MG EV etc.
 
No, not a joke, a long term plan. I do 30,000 km p.a. so difficult to alter my driving patterns.

With petrol prices increasing more incrementally than electricity, it makes sense to think about removing the ICE. To sell the phev would lose $5k to $10k, so better to use this money to convert it. And most electricity in New Zealand is renewable so less pollution as well.

Thanks for your examples of either replacement batteries or more batteries, which apparently work. As you say “neither has pursued making a kit” so I’m guessing it’s pretty simple.

If I remove the ICE and put in batteries, I'm thinking that the electrical system in the phev won’t need to be modified much (if at all).

I guess the questions are compatibility and finance.

Will new batteries be compatible – same amps/volts, charge / discharge rates...? Or could I either run the old batteries as a separate system (for heating, other electrics) or just remove them when they die and add new ones the same as the replacement ones for the ICE?
If compatible, then by the time my old 10 Kw batteries expire I can replace them with some that will give me more range (from the current 30 km to 50 km?).
Not sure how much an ICE weighs (400 kg?) so if the batteries weight the same (or less) for the space and power produced, then happy days. If less weight = more km / kW.

Finance - my phev does 15 km per $2 per litre, so 13 cents per km. To plug in I use 8 cents per km. So a saving of 5 cents per km, for 30,000 km = $1,500 p.a. (less initial battery and installation costs). Tesla are in talks with their battery supplier to produce one that will be US$100 / kW, so for 40 kW (a decent range) that’s NZ$8,000.
$2,100 saved p.a., is a 4 year pay back period required (not including installation).

Maybe a worthwhile project, with savings for the environment in not making another vehicle and not trashing the old one, but maybe better to wait till the battery prices come down a lot more.

Thanks for your thoughts.
 
mcgraw said:
As you say “neither has pursued making a kit” so I’m guessing it’s pretty simple.
Everthing is relative, however simple would not be how I describe the addition of the Leaf batteries -

Read about it here -
https://forums.aeva.asn.au/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=7191


mcgraw said:
$2,100 saved p.a., is a 4 year pay back period required (not including installation).

Installation would be very expensive due to the trial and error involved, especially if the ICE is removed as many system checks would need to be disabled. Also sealing the drive train would involve manufacturing "plugs" of some kind. I doubt you'd get much change from $10k installation costs if done professionally, plus batteries on top of that (cheap if they are ex-Leaf etc).
 
And earlier Leaf batteries have degraded faster than most because they don't have climate control system.
 
Why are you saying trashing the old vehicle or loosing 5 to 10K. You sell used vehicle and buy an used full electric.
Those conversions were done in the past when electric vehicles were not available at all.
BTW what you suggest is exactly trashing an engine and generator... you won't be able to remove the trans-axle cause it incorporate the front differential.

Regarding trial and error involved, especially if the ICE is removed as many system checks would need to be disabled as zzcoopej suggest it is not an issue. I am driving all winter with ICE disabled just by removing the main engine relay. Not an problem, just few errors on the dash.
 
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