Lightweight car batteries

[Kern Dog]

I’m helping out a friend with his car and had to remove the battery for room to install a power steering cooler.

I was shocked when I picked it up.

Seven pounds??
I think I’ve eaten sandwiches that weighed more.
I had no idea these were this light. It feels like a display battery from a repair shop.

 

[DodgeBoy5150]

I have that same battery--it's has been great for over a year now

 

[Don Frelier]

Just don't leave it unattended on a battery charger. My friend just had a fire at home charging a lithium battery in his basement.
Their house is uninhabitable.

 

[dadsbee]

Not in my car or shop !!

 

[Kern Dog]

As stuff like this comes along, I often wait for it to get cheaper. That battery was $450!
Four times the cost of a standard lead-acid battery. If it lasts twice as long, that would soften the sting of the price.
This is a trade off though.
My battery is in the trunk but because of that, I have the added weight of a 1/0 cable running from the back to the front.
I do like how open the engine bay is without a battery there.

I’m not sure what a stock battery weighs… 40 lbs? If so, this lithium one saves 33 lbs. add that to the longer cables and wires I have and this could be 55-60 lbs lighter overall.
I wonder if there is a more compact lithium battery that could be fitted to a smaller battery tray under hood. One could make a tray to fit the smaller battery. This would save overall weight and Not be such an obstacle in the engine bay.

 

[R413]

You could make a tray that sits on the frame rail for that small battery.

why would anyone charge a battery inside their house?

 

[Kern Dog]

Not in my car or shop !!

I understand the concern. Nobody wants the risk of a fire. I’ve seen a lithium battery flame out at work. I punctured one with my nail gun. (Accidentally)
It flamed up with a range of colors and intensity. It fizzled out in 20 seconds. That was with a battery bigger than these:

The owner of this car did research and found that this is the safest type of lithium.

 

[Don Frelier]

My nephew lost a truck as they think an impact driver accidentally turned on and spun up in a sweatshirt.

This was just a few weeks ago as well.

 

[Darter6]

A member over on A Bodies lost his garage, 2 cars, all his parts do to charging a drill battery.
Lucky the garage is detached from the house and they were able to save the house.
He stated that he plugged it in and walked down the drive to the mailbox.When he turned around the place was in flames.

 

[mmissile]

A friend lost his huge-dollar sportbike to a lithium battery. He was having lunch with some other guys....and people were yelling "there's a bike on fire!!!" Apparently, it was quite the little inferno.

 

[Darter6]

This battery **** is making me crazy. Just saw news broadcast about a Dealer loaner EV that caught on fire in the persons garage and burnt the house to the ground. Their EV car was in the shop for electrical problems....

 

[RemCharger]

Spontaneous combustion vehicle.

 

[Kern Dog]

That was a Mercedes, right?

 

[Darter6]

Didn't say, too burnt to tell from what I saw.

 

[Kern Dog]

I saw the video. It was a Mercedes.

 

[JR_Charger]

I wonder if there is a more compact lithium battery that could be fitted to a smaller battery tray under hood. One could make a tray to fit the smaller battery. This would save overall weight and Not be such an obstacle in the engine bay.

If you like living dangerously you can piece one together - Link

By "dangerously" I mean the lithium battery chemistry is inherently dangerous and I wouldn't put one in my car either. But there's nothing wrong with wiring little packs in series or parallel to get what you want. I'm done with it myself, as far as the RC hobby goes. I'll wait until a better battery chemistry comes along. You have to watch those things like a hawk when charging. I've had some puff up and get ready to go. I've had some puff up from use. I don't know how you could have one in a car safely, with an alternator charging it as it goes down the road. I've seen too many stories of lithium batteries lighting up and taking out homes and vehicles. Even if you don't burn down your house, the lithium smoke will just about make it unliveable.

LiFe is supposed to be a safer technology. I don't have any experience with it though.

I've been using Optimas, but those weigh far more than 7 lbs.

 

[6PKRTSE]

I have 3 of these lightweight racing batteries hidden inside my stock resto batteries. Yes, they are light from the like 48 lb weight of the resto battery before they were gutted. They also turn the engine over much faster during cranking.

 

[RemCharger]

why would anyone charge a battery inside their house?

Pertaining to regular batteries.. ( still unsafe)
Some times at -40 ( c/f you pick) , your battery is frozen, you have to bring it into the house to a) thaw it and b) charge it. So you can go to work and not get fired.
Maybe it's regional knowledge. We grew up in the cold belt.

 

[JR_Charger]

Pertaining to regular batteries.. ( still unsafe)
Some times at -40 ( c/f you pick) , your battery is frozen, you have to bring it into the house to a) thaw it and b) charge it. So you can go to work and not get fired.
Maybe it's regional knowledge. We grew up in the cold belt.

Could also mean charging in attached garage.

 

[RemCharger]

Could also mean charging in attached garage.

Despite what some people imagine, you cannot charge a frozen battery. Doesn't matter where you're at.