Initial building of the front box was completed today. Where the fuel tank resides you will see on the corners a round area. This round area actually takes up valuable room but because its a VW I wanted the boxes made without cutting the body. Its not because of this particular VW but for others wanting to do the same. I decided to not have those corners cut so when I talk to others that may want this done would know that if they decided for what ever reason to sell the VW it would still be undamaged and you could put it back to stock with a gas engine. Being that VW's have a cult following and the value of them as an ICE is only going up I decided to do it this way. With things left as is there is room for 17 CALB SE 100ah cells in the fuel tank area. The total box size will be enough for 72 cells. For now we only need room for 60. I will use dummy boxes for the extra space. So the boxes will be both plate and frame for viewing and holding securing. It has been mentioned to use clamping to hold the cells from moving and from spilling in the event of a roll over. I think that would be OK but still think there should be a top edge to hold the cells in the event of a rollover because in an accident the integrity of the clamp could be jeopardized and the cells just fall out. So I have decided the batteries need top clamps to secure them as well as being clamped. Like the small 12 LiFePO4 Cells in the pic.
If we had cut the fuel tank opening corners we would have only gained 2 cells. It it had given me an extra 4 cells I may have gone that route. This vehicle was already so modified it really does not matter but if Im talking to someone they want to see it can be done without destroying the underlying vehicle.
The pics of the 12 volt 30ah Aux battery and holder is exactly what I'd like to do with mine as well. But mine will be 100ah in size. A lithium aux must be connected to a DC DC to keep it charged from the main pack. Otherwise you will need a way to properly monitor the pack like your main pack. Not a good way to go. So just connect your Aux to the DC DC to keep it topped up.
Anyway enjoy the pics.
Pete :)
Looks good. Most cars do not have boring right angles to work with, just curves messing up optimal component layout. I like the idea of not modifying the car for the reason you mentioned and also for not messing with the structural integrity of the vehicle.
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