Hi all, Is it possible/will I damage the HV battery using the prolong charger/discharger on the HV battery out of the car? Here in the uk temperatures are pretty low especially in the evening which is when I will most likely due it in a shed. As it's not feasible trailing 2 extension leads from my house to my parking spot. Thanks.
You can discharge out of the car. Just more work to lift and carry the pack I would say. But @SFO has done what you have suggested successfully. And the battery rebuilders who care about quality do it all the time.
I would rig up the fan and duct if you do it out of the car. It will build a lot of heat even if the temp is low.
If the metal cover is removed over the entire pack, heat buildup at 350ma is minimal. So no fan required. With the metal cover in place, fan is needed as a surprising amount of heat is trapped. If you want to be anal, any fan lying atop middle of modules blowing up, will keep entire pack nice and cool. Cool night temps are a bonus...
Whatever you do, do not unbolt the packs. Many a poster has cracked some cells charging them unbolted. When not squeezed together they will expand greatly causing a huge void in your wallet.
Cool, thanks for the advise guys! I will take it on board. Has anyone thought up any cooling solutions for the pack? Eg drilling any large holes in the cover to allow air to escape quicker?
That wouldn't be a good idea. A better idea would be working out a way to get air through the battery. The member mention above in post #3, got the fan and ducting from a wrecked/dismantled car and has that set up on his bench. He connects the ducting to the battery on the bench and then powers the fan to draw air through the battery while it is charged. You might think about "MacGyver-ing" (if you are familiar with that old TV series) something makeshift to do the same.
No that would be like drilling holes in your home ac handler box. The battery is counting on pulling cooler air from the cabin using the battery fan through the air tight battery box and pump it out the rube goldberg vent connection by the 12 volt battery. The fan is controlled by PWM for variable fan speed. Want to make the battery cooler? Keep the cabin cooler.Don't drive around with the windows down sucking in hot moist air. battery likes dry & cool. Besides using the ac everyday makes it last for years. One member has a way using techstream to speed up the fan during normal use increasing air speed.
