The battery box is one of those things that I’ve been working on slowly for many months.
Edit, I’ve had this post in the draft stage for so long I don’t remember my initial idea of what I wanted this post to say, but I thought I’d simply post it as I’ve had many inquiry’s about how I built the box and how much room there is around the transmission.
It started off as a rendering:
Then turned into a real box:
Then a test fit in the car:
Check the clearances:
Test fit the sides:
Add the final panels:
Most of the aluminium panels are covered in a white protective film that will be pealed off as they are being riveted into place.
The box is insulated with 1/2″ rigid foam and has a resistive heater built into the bottom that will let me heat the battery box in the winter. I don’t know if I’ll need it but better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
I currently have a 46S3P pack of A123 20Ah pouches along with a bunch of scrap foam taking up space in what was designed to hold a 96S3P pack.
I have a temporary charger in place while I finish building the EMW 10kW charger. It takes a long time to charge, but it lets me drive the car every day and I couldn’t be happier with the performance which will only improve as I increase the pack voltage.
The box still needs a lid and completion of the batteries and wiring however it’s at a completely usable state and a pleasure to drive.
how much is the A123 battery per pic,thanks
Each cell was around $20Cad landed cost, the pack as shown is 46S3P.