Eric Hanson

Just an addendum to what I just posted, if a local vendor opened up in my hometown or nearby (driving distance) and had their prices set at 50% over the cheapest competitor, I would consider it a bargain--no shipping, and a local vendor to rely on if things don't go right.



Eric

Allen--OOOOOHHH, you are so right about the local vendor--even if that local vendor is on Amazon!

At least there is a shipping process that is easily tracked and Amazon has a return and complaint process.  

I will at the very least be buying these from Amazon in the future.




Eric

Those terminals are nice, and I have thought about putting them in various designs for battery boxes, including this one.  The short story is that These have always been about longevity, not high power.  But that might not always be the case.

Eric

Just to reiterate, this was originally going to be an 80 AH build, but the 80 AH cells became unavailable.  The 100 AH cells fit, though it gets a little tight.

A note on ordering cells:  From now on, I will just buy the Amazon ones.  I thought I was going to save some money by purchasing direct overseas.  Bad choice.  Shipping was outrageous, and this was not clearly indicated until the item was in transit which tool weeks.  I thought they lost the cells so I bought another set of cells and they did not show up so I broke down and bought some from Amazon.  And all three sets showed up on the same day!

I guess I have a 100A, 24v, 2400Ah system in my future!


Eric

I am using those 30/45 amp connectors.  When I get them in right, they are great.  But I am still learning and I put them in upside down more often than I would like to admit.

Allen,

Nice job with those Anderson connectors!  I am using much smaller ones, but if I go to higher current, you be that those or similar will be on my parts list.

And I like that rolling case--my first build was similar.  I used a smaller rolling case (a Craftsman case I bought at Lowes).  But my desire was to go smaller and not bigger.

About the battery cells, I will have to do a little bit of testing once I get everything finished.  At the moment, those 100 AH cells are circuit broken to 30 amps--and I doubt it will draw even close to that much.  This build is all about longevity, not intense power output.


Eric

Allen, John,

How did I miss this whole conversation?!  I know that I have been a touch overwhelmed at school, but I have popped in and out but somehow missed all of this!!

So, wow!  Great work on your projects.


As for mine—at the moment I do not have any nonconducting sheets in between the cells.  And here is where I start getting conflicting information.  Some sources say I need plastic sheets between cells.  Some say I need that and and compression on both sides to prevent the cells from swelling.  And other sites just say secure them together.

AAAAARRRGGHH!!


Ok, so for the moment, I am just going to put the battery pack (4 cells) in the housing, wrapped with painters tape.  The painters tape will provide basic structural integrity. Now if I decide later, maybe I will add plastic and compression via two boards (plywood) bolted together, with the bolts set such that I can fine tune the compression.

As it is, it is very close to being done which is usually when I get dragged away to do something else.  

And to answer a question, the case is plastic—an ammo can designated as being as a 5.56 mag case.

Thanks for the feedback guys!!


Eric

Riona, Carla, thanks,


After I left, I was feeling pretty good.  It looked like it was all going to be covered under an extended warranty.  But it had to fit one of four diagnostic codes.

So of course it didn’t.

They replaced the part and then asked about air filters, oil change, and a transmission fluid change, which I knew was coming as I could feel the effects of the old fluid—not the first time down this road

The good news—it was only $2700.  That’s all.


Life

If you just want to just contain the bamboo, you could mow a path right up to the bamboo patch--going as close to as to the "forest" as you can.  The idea is to snap off the shoots as they come up.  

This probably needs to be a wide row--I would say 8 feet wide at the minimum.  Hopefully, you can outrun the Bamboo's ability to to spread it runners.


Just my 2 cents.


Eric

Judith,

They are definitely in the wild, but not native to North America.  They came from Germany(?).  For decades, centuries, they did not spread far, but recently there has been an upswelling in interest in mushrooms and fungi.  I have certainly done my part.  But this is why they have suddenly been found so much more often.


Feel free to fact check me.


Eric