Plug-in/Home re-charge sytem

[Robin]

Has anyone developed a home plug-in/re-charge system for the Insight? I think it would be a lot less expensive than a Lithium-ion battery pack.

[IamIan]

Yes...

See threads:

Grid Charging:
http://www.insightcentral.net/commun...php?f=4&t=3996

and also,
HV Battery Charger / Balancer:
http://www.insightcentral.net/commun...php?f=2&t=7957

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In short the ~4Ah of usable capacity in the stock HV 120 cell NiMH battery pack has limits.

[Insightful Trekker]

To expand on Ian's reply:

The IMA battery _capacity_ in the Insight was designed with the thought in mind of providing the equivalent of an "electric" supercharger. A power boost on acceleration. This then allowed that ICE's (Internal Combustion Engine) design to be optimized for economy, without much reguard for power.

It has been estimated that with the Insight's battery power alone you'd only be able to "cruise" a few miles (1-3) before it was empty.

HTH!

[gpsman1]

If you are really interested, I can get complete plug-in charging systems, with an additional 6000 watt-hour lithium battery pack for under $10,000 each. This battery holds about 12 times the power as the stock battery.
( without adding much additional weight )
You'll be able to get 100 to 150 MPG for 50 miles each day.

I need 9 more interested parties, so I can meet the manufacturer's 10 unit minimum order.
PLEASE if you are interested, let me know.
-John

[IamIan]

For less cost than the $10,000 Lithium option some people ( such as uhtrinity )have modified other HEV battery packs like those from wrecked Civics as booster batteries for the Insight.

Details are in this Thread:

2004 Honda Civic Battery:
http://www.insightcentral.net/commun...php?f=4&t=7411

For example the additional ~12Ah ( or ~1,700 Wh ) of batteries I got by buying two civic packs cost me ~$500... Some additional costs for electronics and such... but such a basic system is doable for ~$1k... same concept as the $10k... just requires you to do the work and has a little under 1/3 the range of the lithium $10k option.

If you have money to spend... the lithium option has benefits ... an example of someone doing a Lithium conversion themselves is here:

PHEV Insight:
http://www.insightcentral.net/commun...php?f=4&t=7464

The benefit of what GPSman1 was suggesting is that it has all the complexity done by someone else... so that you do not have to know anything about doing it yourself in order to get it done.

Details about the $10k option are here:
Plug-in Lithium Battery Insights for SALE!
http://www.insightcentral.net/commun...php?f=4&t=7964

[Insightful Trekker]

Originally Posted by gpsman1

You'll be able to get 100 to 150 MPG for 50 miles each day.

* additionaly requires some type of manual IMA control to force additional assist. Read: MIMA