Taobao is like the Amazon of China and as a hobby, I'm always on the lookout for cool products.
Back in July, I came across a vendor selling custom lithium titanate car batteries. You send the dimensions, they make the battery.
Research from Google:
-Cycle life of more than 20,000 (design life of 60-90 years)
-Can output more than 2000amps of starting current
-At -40°C, lithium titanate battery's capacity retention ratio is over 70%@0.5C discharging; At -20°C, it is up to 99%; At 75°C, it is over 90%
Went ahead and it took about 100 days to arrive via China Post sea mail to Canada.
Cost:
900RMB for the battery (130USD)
300RMB for the battery management system (60USD)
475RMB for China Post with insurance (94USD)
--------
$284USD all in
Link to the product on Taobao (google translate required): https://m.tb.cn/h.Ui8xiR3?tk=WyqRd30x88A
If interested in buying, send PM and I'll explain the process of using a shipping forwarder.
Unfortunately, the shipping forwarder decided to play around with the capacity percentage screen before sending it and left it on. The screen does not have an auto-shut off.
It spent 100 days in the shipping container severely discharged.
The positive side had some corrosion:
Cleaned it off with some vinegar and this is how it looks. Normally 51R terminals are on the ends but here, they placed it in the middle:
Translation of the front label using Google Translate:
I charged it using a basic 1amp charger that doesn't have a desulfation mode and the screen turned on to show the battery percentage.
So far, it doesn't seem like I can get the battery status percentage to go over 67%. I'll have to ask the vendor if it's because it was discharged while in transit.
If there are any battery experts on here, I'd love some insight.
After it was installed in the HR-V, I brought it to the local autoparts store (PartsSource) to have the cold cranking amps tested.
Even though the battery was damaged, it still looks like it might be usable.
The real test will be leaving it out in the cold for a week.
Old battery:
I've got a CTEK battery analyzer on it so as winter progresses, will keep track of the voltage and keep the thread updated.
Back in July, I came across a vendor selling custom lithium titanate car batteries. You send the dimensions, they make the battery.
Research from Google:
-Cycle life of more than 20,000 (design life of 60-90 years)
-Can output more than 2000amps of starting current
-At -40°C, lithium titanate battery's capacity retention ratio is over 70%@0.5C discharging; At -20°C, it is up to 99%; At 75°C, it is over 90%
Went ahead and it took about 100 days to arrive via China Post sea mail to Canada.
Cost:
900RMB for the battery (130USD)
300RMB for the battery management system (60USD)
475RMB for China Post with insurance (94USD)
--------
$284USD all in
Link to the product on Taobao (google translate required): https://m.tb.cn/h.Ui8xiR3?tk=WyqRd30x88A
If interested in buying, send PM and I'll explain the process of using a shipping forwarder.
Unfortunately, the shipping forwarder decided to play around with the capacity percentage screen before sending it and left it on. The screen does not have an auto-shut off.
It spent 100 days in the shipping container severely discharged.
The positive side had some corrosion:
Cleaned it off with some vinegar and this is how it looks. Normally 51R terminals are on the ends but here, they placed it in the middle:
Translation of the front label using Google Translate:
I charged it using a basic 1amp charger that doesn't have a desulfation mode and the screen turned on to show the battery percentage.
So far, it doesn't seem like I can get the battery status percentage to go over 67%. I'll have to ask the vendor if it's because it was discharged while in transit.
If there are any battery experts on here, I'd love some insight.
After it was installed in the HR-V, I brought it to the local autoparts store (PartsSource) to have the cold cranking amps tested.
Even though the battery was damaged, it still looks like it might be usable.
The real test will be leaving it out in the cold for a week.
Old battery:
I've got a CTEK battery analyzer on it so as winter progresses, will keep track of the voltage and keep the thread updated.