# Will a 120V DC system be enough?



## joseph3354 (Apr 2, 2008)

120v would be plenty to accomplish your goals,but 105 amp hours is going to fall way short of the range requirements.80% dod is not advisable with lead acid(ask me how i know this!).you will need a larger capacity like 250 amp hours to acheive your range because of the weight and aerodynamics of the vehicle you have chosen.don't take my word for it though,get some other opinions on it first.did you check out the s-10's on the evalbum.com site?good luck with your project!


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## Qer (May 7, 2008)

joseph3354 said:


> (ask me how i know this!)


Ok, I'll bite. How do you know this?


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## Caps18 (Jun 8, 2008)

Are there any calculators to determine how many amp hours I would need? Does anybody know what the best batteries are for the cheapest price? I would be ok with a 10 mile range (to 50%) actually. 95% of the places I go are within 5 miles of me.


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## favguy (May 2, 2008)

Check out the wiki, it has all the calculations to establish range and battery capacity needs


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## ronin4sale (Jan 29, 2008)

http://www.evconvert.com/tools/evcalc/


A lot of people swear by this. I think you are shooting way low. Most trucks have a huge battery bank, they choose the truck because it has the weight capacity already built in. I also wouldn't aim for a 10 mile range if the places you frequent is 5 miles away. I don't think its worth building if you dont get at least 20+ miles out of it because it will become more of an annoying than a blessing. What if you get 5 miles out and decide you need to stop at another store? or run to get some food, you will be nervous about running out of juice every trip.

Maybe something like this setup. 

http://evconvert.com/tools/evcalc/?vals=veh=12:mot=12:bat=13:ctl=1:vlt=144:nst=1:dod=100:cwt=20:wtr=600:mwt=500:inc=1:wnd=0:sec=195:asp=60:rim=14:rr=0.015:bs=0.003:


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## favguy (May 2, 2008)

That tool has to be way off, I've just run a VW rabbit through it using a 144 volt system with 18x8v Trojan T175's (170Ah) an ADC 9" motor with curtis controller, and at 80% dod it's giving a range of about 12 miles at 60 mph! 

This set up should give around 40 to 50 mile range from real world examples in the ev album?


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## VDubber (Jun 2, 2008)

Ok - it's giving my 96V/140Ah Wombat conversion a 38mile range at 30 MPH, but a 7.5 mile range at 60MPH.

Meh, I haven't driven on the freeway for almost a year now.


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## joseph3354 (Apr 2, 2008)

Qer said:


> Ok, I'll bite. How do you know this?


owned a cleaning company with 10 active advance automatic floor scrubbers.bought batteries constantly til i figured out my people weren't charging them properly and draining them too much.i was in the business for 20 years,ask any battery distributor and they will tell you 50% dod is best for lead acid if you want your batteries to last.


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## Caps18 (Jun 8, 2008)

Does that calculator only give out readings for 50% DOD? Or should I halve the mileage it came up with?


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## ddoyel (Jun 30, 2008)

joseph3354 said:


> owned a cleaning company with 10 active advance automatic floor scrubbers.bought batteries constantly til i figured out my people weren't charging them properly and draining them too much.i was in the business for 20 years,ask any battery distributor and they will tell you 50% dod is best for lead acid if you want your batteries to last.


If this is true then we need to use something more like the US145's with 251AH to get any range with 50% DOD than the typical t-105's!


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## CPLTECH (Sep 14, 2007)

My experiences:
94 S10 converted when new, 120V, 9”AdvancedDC. I have had it since Feb ’07. Put over 5k miles. I used the biggest, practical 6V (US145 – 251AH) and am not sorry in the least. To prevent battery damage and wiring meltdown, I try to not exceed 250A except for very brief unavoidable moments. For the past yr, had to attend school (I’m in my 2nd childhood) some 14 miles away. That 27-28 trip used 80-100AH (you WILL appreciate large capacity batts in cold weather). Because I never exceeded 50% DOD, I certainly hope for a long, long battery life.

I am not shy to tell you, I wish it had 144V or more. Yes, it does halfway decent keeping with stop & go traffic (up to 40 mph), but for grades/hills, I would like more. It easily does 60+ on the interstate… until the slight grades (you learn where they are real quick). However, to get the extra oomph that more voltage would provide means a new controller, charger, and a few extra batteries. For now I will leave it as it is, but you on the other hand can, for the mere expense of 4 more batteries (~$500) have a more pleasant driving experience and greater range that 4 more batts provide.

Enjoy


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## Caps18 (Jun 8, 2008)

So would it be better to get cheaper batteries and be able to do 144V (faster acceleration, but half the range)

Or buy the better 6V batteries, but only get 120V?

Or should I save my money and do it right? (I'm going to be making a lot of money the next two months from traveling, but won't be able to work on things).

Maybe I should just talk to my buddies at Los Alamos and get a test nuclear waste battery. No charging, lots of power, and a solution to the nuclear waste storage problem...
http://technology.newscientist.com/...urns-radiation-directly-into-electricity.html


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## ddoyel (Jun 30, 2008)

I've been wondering the same thing! You would think that there would be some cut and dry answers with Lead! Its been around long enough that there should be answers somewhere.


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## lazzer408 (May 18, 2008)

The easiest answer is when you cant physically fit any more batteries in the truck, you have enough.  Don't cut yourself short. 120v string might suit your needs but the higher the better. You have nothing to loose (but money) and range and efficiency to gain. I would recomend starting with a good battery rather then buy el-cheapos and have to buy the whole pack again in 6 months.


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