Salvage Batteries: How old is too old?

[Scrappyjoe]

Hello. I’d like to hear your opinions on what the right age to be looking for salvage batteries is. Because we have no EVs in my country, I’m considering shipping a salvage leaf over from Japan. There are lots of salvage leafs in Japan, and price varies tremendously. But, the older the car, the cheaper the car.

I’d imagine that the older the battery, the less useful life it has. So does anyone have useful rules of thumb? Something like, “10 year old batteries are generally kaput, new ones are quite expensive, but you can get good value out of packs in the 3-5 year old range”. Of course, I made that up, I have no idea what the right numbers are. But hoping you can share your numbers.

[arber333]

Hello. I’d like to hear your opinions on what the right age to be looking for salvage batteries is. Because we have no EVs in my country, I’m considering shipping a salvage leaf over from Japan. There are lots of salvage leafs in Japan, and price varies tremendously. But, the older the car, the cheaper the car.

I’d imagine that the older the battery, the less useful life it has. So does anyone have useful rules of thumb? Something like, “10 year old batteries are generally kaput, new ones are quite expensive, but you can get good value out of packs in the 3-5 year old range”. Of course, I made that up, I have no idea what the right numbers are. But hoping you can share your numbers.

Well that depends how the battery was conditioned during its life. Our Opel Ampera 2012 (Chevy Volt) battery is still giving us a reliable 50km electric range. But that battery was pampered through its life. Liquid cooling and heating to allways keeping it at 15°C and no quick charging ever.
I would say if you can get a 2016 chevy Volt battery or two you can be sure those battery will perform. Even with only one Volt stack your EV will perform adequately.
You can also use its BMS and current sensing directly since its CAN was reverse engineered.

[Scrappyjoe]

Thanks for your feedback arber! I recently discovered your leafdriveblog by the way, thanks for documenting everything!