# whats the cheapest good ev battery route?



## John_G (Jun 6, 2020)

Given those two very specific requirements, take-out Leaf pack, no question.


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

When you're looking for the capacity and voltage of a typical EV of a few years ago, the logical source is a battery salvaged from a wrecked EV a few years old, as John suggested.


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## YumYum (Jul 1, 2020)

Combining 2 Volt packs is also an option but may not be as cheap. A 1st gen leaf is not 30kWh either. If you look around you will find other options


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

YumYum said:


> A 1st gen leaf is not 30kWh either. If you look around you will find other options


No one specified "1st gen", but what do you call "1st gen" anyway? The first generation of the Nissan Leaf ran from 2011 to 2017; during that time most had a 24 kWh battery, while the last ones had a 30 kWh battery.

In the second generation, the Leaf has had a 40 kWh (base) or 62 kWh (optional) battery. 

Yes, of course there are many other options, still in the suggested approach of salvaging from an EV. The Leaf is the most obvious, because it is the most common moderately-priced EV, and the most common EV with a battery in the desired capacity range. The Leaf modules are small (only 2S, although most are bonded in pairs), and have large centre tap terminals, making reconfiguration of both physical packaging and electrical configuration easier than most. It also has a battery which does not use active cooling or heating, which is a technical limitation but also simpler.


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## YumYum (Jul 1, 2020)

By 1st gen, I was referring to the 24kWh early cars. 1st gen is probably not the best word to describe it


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

YumYum said:


> Combining 2 Volt packs is also an option but may not be as cheap.


Combining two plug-in hybrid packs will be heavier (and yes, likely more expensive) than a single pack of the desired capacity. It is also more complex to properly manage two packs in parallel than one.


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## YumYum (Jul 1, 2020)

I was suggesting another possibility in case they weren't aware of other options. It's not ideal in terms of weight or complexity but it is possible to get two Volt batteries for the price of one newer Leaf battery pack. Maybe they prefer a liquid cooled battery for their setup.


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## Tremelune (Dec 8, 2009)

Find a wrecked EV, calculate the cost per kWh, see if it fits your volume/weight constraints, and go from there...

The Leaf was the bang-for-buck champ for a while, but with good condition Chevy Bolts selling for $15k it's not so clear anymore. The cost of all used cars has gone up something like 30% in the last year, though, so it's more or less whatever you can find locally that will be the winner.


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## scdeb98 (Jul 8, 2021)

John_G said:


> Given those two very specific requirements, take-out Leaf pack, no question.


Honestly this is the best choice. Price-wise they are a great option.

Also, the modules are small enough to be configured to fit nicely into whatever you are trying to build but also large enough that you are not dealing with a hundreds of tiny cells.

I bought a single Leaf module on ebay a while ago for ~$45 in order to get a feel for how I would lay out my pack. Then I went ahead and bought a full leaf battery pack and disassembled it.

I watched this video to give me some confidence before pulling the trigger on a leaf battery pack:


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## Duncan (Dec 8, 2008)

A Leaf battery might be OK if you are going to be gentle with it

If you are going to "abuse" the thing I recommend using two Volt batteries


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