[GaryBS]

Hi everyone,
First of all thanks to all the posters that helped me decide to recently buy an Insight. I bought one with a dead battery of which the warranty had expired a week before I bought it (my conversation with Honda about trying to extend that warranty is on its way). So I bought a used battery, as well as a grid charger from hybridautomotive (this is not an endorsement).

Because of where I house my car and other convenience issues I decided I want to charge the battey indoors. The fan did not come attached to the second battery I bought, neither did the connections on the hook up side of the battery. I'm considering hookin up an exhaust fan comparable to thr FBL12g12h and rigging a manifold, then running the fan the whole time I charge or discharge thr battery indoors. Has anyone already attempted somrthing like this? I'm not very tech savvy so any technical advice in favor or not is warmly welcomed.

Any thoughts?

 

[retepsnikrep]

Be careful

The battery is very dangerous like that. Wear rubber gloves and make a cover to keep prying fingers away from the connections and bolts on the ends. Use insulated tools when working on it.

Search on here for info on the connections you need for the grid charger.
Include a fuse in the bridging point to join the two halves of the pack together for charging.

You must fit a fan to stop it overheating.

As you are charging indoors (not recommended imo) make sure you use a domestic smoke alarm either sitting over the battery or in the air outlet in case something goes wrong.

I strongly suggest you wait until your enquiry with Honda is resolved, then fit the battery and charger to the car, then charge it as per the instructions from hybrid automotive.

 

[S Keith]

At indoor temps, I have successfully setup a simple box fan blowing through my HCH2 pack. It successfully dissipated the heat generated at the 20-22 hour mark of a 350mA grid charge. I would not recommend leaving it unattended for long periods when approaching expected cut-off time.

Additionally, in a more detailed effort, I setup 120mm computer fans blowing directly through the pack. They moved far less air, but it was targeted, and they nearly perfectly fit the openings.

Steve

 

[ericbecky]

Look over the pictures part way down this page of Mike Dabrowski's
http://99mpg.com/blog/batterypacksexpose/

It shows
- Positive connection (at stick #1)
- where you need to put a jumper (100 amp fuse between stick #8 and stick #9)
- Negative connection (at stick #20)

And I will reiterate, that, with the battery exposed like this, it is easy to get seriously injured or be killed.

 

[TopFuelTim]

I remember seeing a converted shoebox with a muffin fan mounted on top used to cool a HCH IMA battery outside of the car on Mike's site. I made my own, and it works well.

Side note: Just make sure that if you do the charge/discharge on an IMA battery outside of the car that you do not use sticks with the shrink wrap removed and then re-assembled inside your case. I was lucky mine didn't catch on fire that way. See "Burning Battery - Yikes!"

My 0.02 worth,
Tim

 

[GaryBS]

I haven't decided if I'm going to get a comparable replacement from digikey, use 4 120mm computer blowing fans, or get a box fan, or do what Tim suggested, or look in salvage yards for fan and hook ups on the side of the battery. In large part because I'm not sure if the 120mm fans that Steve mentioned are blowing fans or sucking fans (I'm assuming blowing) and if the muffin fan Tim mentioned was a blowing fan or sucking fan (I'm assuming sucking).

Thanks for the warning on sticks that aren't insulated properly, and the warnings on the dangerous nature of the battery terminals exposed like they are. I was aware of the risk but it was sobering since everyone mentioned it. It's a good thing that Eric mentioned the fuse between the two sticks because I would have left that incomplete not knowing.

 

[jime]

You can buy 120V computer fans on eBay at reasonable prices-sometimes used. The airflow direction will be noted on the fan. Just turn it the direction you want. I made a "sucking box" with two fans and of thin plywood. Tape it around the edges.

You will have to install some sort of charger terminal on sticks 1 and 20, in addition to the fuse jumper that Eric mentioned. After trying several things, I like the insulated crocodile clips.

AGAIN, these are deadly voltage levels. Practice keeping one hand in your pocket and always repeat this phrase, "I could die right here." You are considerable safer if the mid-pack fuse is out, but there are still risks.

Go to "User CP" above and edit your location so folks know your general location.

 

[S Keith]

I got a spare pack with the '06 HCH2 I just bought. It was 126V as-removed from the trunk. The relative safety of the HCH2 pack let's me be pretty sloppy... Attached is my setup.

EDIT: 21 hours into it, and I'm peaked at 192V and the cells at the exit are 99°F with ambient at 78°F. I'll call them good