Battery Sizing – November 15, 2008
The last step before ordering parts is making sure I can cram enough batteries in to make this work. I like the numbers on Odyssey so I chose one that was a little low on amp-hours but was small. I’d like to keep the batteries out of the interior if at all possible so that limits me to the fuel tank location and within the engine bay.
I decided the best way would be to make a model of a battery out of cardboard for a rough idea of how many would fit. After getting a feel for the areas I thought to measure the maximum space available and determine the largest battery I can fit there while still reaching my voltage goal. As long as the weight penalty isn’t too great the larger batteries should provide for either better range or increased pack life since I would be drawing them down less.
My brother came over and we measured the fuel tank and engine bay, as well as the t-top well in case we have to go interior. The fuel tank location is a trapezoid when viewed from the side and has obstructions on the underside including the rear gear housing, axle and panhard bars. I had removed some suspension pieces and almost included that area in the available space. I also need to allow clearance for the rear axle to move up over bumps and general suspension loading since the car will only get heavier from here.
Attached are some layouts I made of a possible battery box. It looks like I can fit 6 in a 2×3 pattern of larger batteries sitting right-side up. I also think I can fit eight smaller batteries sitting on end. The length is very close to my available height to the rear axle so I need to verify the clearance and movement.
Tags: batteries