Why isn't Daimler Chrysler aggressively pursuing hybrid vehicles?

| James C. Reeves wrote:
|
| > Has _anyone_ heard what one should expect to pay for battery replacement
over
| > the life of the vehicle? I haven't. Seems to be BS (Big Secret).
|
| Or not, since the batteries in most modern hybrids are engineered to last
| the typical life of the vehicle. For example, the Toyota Prius' pack is
| rated to last about 150,000 miles before it needs replacement.

Sure they will. I'll let others test it first.

 

I don't have a lot of experience with memory on NiMH but I do with
Nicads, and drawing a NiCad down by 20-30% is the best way there
is to get a really bad memory in it. In fact the healthiest situation with
a NiCad is occassional draws down to zero followed by an immediate
full recharge.

If it is dropped to zero and LEFT at zero for any length of time, it
will kill it almost immediately.

Absolutely! When an engine is designed to run at a set speed you
can do all kinds of energy efficient things, such as tuning the intake
and exhaust ports. But of course, you can't get neck-snapping
accelleration out of such a setup, that's probably why they went
with the design they are using.

Ted

 

(The original post hasn't shown up from my server yet, but I see it in
Ted's response - don't know if it's the whole post or snipped)

The NiMH memory effect is as Joseph says - not nearly as pronounced as
NiCad's - I'd say by an order of magnitude - but not (as the marketing
hype for NiMH claims) non-existent. What we're calling the "memory
effect" in both types is due to different chemistry phenomenon, but
nevertheless, the effects are similar.

The frustrating thing is that the chargers that most manufacturers make
for the AA's that many digicam users use (and that may even come
packaged with the camera) do not have (1) full charge detection with
automatic turn off or switchover to trickle mode, and (2) a discharge
mode that drains most of the charge below which users or automatic
cutoff on most digicams pull the batteries down to in order to
"re-condition" the batteries. Lack of both these features will
drastically cut short the useable life of an NiMH battery (both
per-charge capacity as well as useable life)

This memory effect in NiMH is subtle and comes on gradually - you simply
notice that you just don't get as many photos out of a charge as you
used to. The effect of (almost) completely discharging them about every
tenth typical (i.e., very incomplete) normal use charge/discharge cycle
does wonders to keep them going long after many people assume they have
lost their capacity and throw them away. Very similar to how your
computer gets sluggish and then magically becomes crisp again after a
defrag and anti-spyware scan.

I have used NiMH's for about 8 years now, and have never had one go
bad. The key is using a charger like the MAHA MH-C204F (about $25) that
has a manually initiated discharge mode, and using that mode every once
in a while on the batteries. A good charger like that also has a
temperature sensor and closes the loop on the charge current to get max.
charge rate without damaging the batteries - typical charge time is
1-1/2 to 3 hours).

I wonder if the chargers that are sold for or supplied with these cars
is optimal, or if the consumer would have to "invest" a bunch more money
to get a proper charger with discharge feature? That would be
absolutely essential for good battery life if people are typically going
to use only a portion of the capacity and top them off every night.

Bill Putney
(to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with "x")

 

NiMH work the opposite. This is why they are great for the Prius,
though it's a lot of dead weight, IMO, for that longevity.

NiMH don't suffer from this, though it does hurt them, like any
battery.