DIY 48V Lithium Battery - Step by Step Build - Nissan Leaf Cell Modules

[@diyhell8712]

I love your clear explanations and that you're clearly having fun - it's infectious!

[@alext8828]

This is exactly what I'm looking for. A battery back-up for the home. Generators are a giant pain. This has the power to be perfect as a back-up.

[@lawrencejohnson6823]

Great video Ben, I also like the simplicity of these modules. I used a stack of the Leaf Gen 2's on my motorcycle conversion. Love the cutting board idea, necessity is the mother of invention and creativity.

[@alext8828]

I always thought that laziness is the mother of invention. Laziness converts to looking for a better way, which leads to a better way, which leads to an easier life. Your motto sounds better.

[@danielharrington9270]

000⁰000000000000000⁰0⁰⁰⁰000⁰0⁰⁰⁰⁰0⁰

[@Good-Enuff-Garage]

great job Ben, another awesome video, you explain things really really well, really enjoy learning from you, only one tiny request: MORE VIDEOS PLEASE

[@jamesglenn2006]

I need to see if I can find these Leaf batteries locally. Loved seeing you flip the washers. Attention to detail 👌👍

[@ClarenceDold]

LEAF batteries are interesting. I think there are three levels of degraded batteries. I have a 10 year old LEAF that still has 70% of original storage. When that gets down to where the range isn't pleasant, I might swap in a newer pack from a junkyard (the second level). Sourcing that would be in competition with your home storage project. But, my "depleted" pack (thrid level) might still have a good amount of storage for home use. New 24 kWh battery has 48 of these modules, so this 48 volt stack would be 3.5 kWh, new. Degraded to end of vehicle usage would be ~2 kWh.

[@mauinka123]

I really like your demonstration clean and simple.

[@danmantyla3315]

The link to the BMS from Tech Direct is broken, looks like Tech Direct is not doing business any more (??). Do you have another BMS you could suggest?

[@rogertyler3237]

I Dink Around With Stuff Like That All The Time. I Have Been Doing Stuff Like That Since I Was 4 Years Old. I'd Take Battery Operated Toys Apart To See How They Worked. & I Thought It Was Cool To See How Electricity From The Batterys Made The Little Motors In Those Little Cars Worked. & I Also Used Fool Around With Those Battery Powered Car Racing Sets Too. I Dinked Around All Kinds Of Crap Like Transister Radios. You Name It I've Fixed It. Now I Work On Powerchairs & Scooters.

[@marklaffey7972]

I love the cutting board idea

[@albinb.g.gulich9818]

Hey Ben, i Love your DIY projects. Greetings Form Germany.

[@bryanhickman7663]

Love the detail of this video. Looking forward to the follow-up on determining the best, non-solar method of charging. That's where most people stop giving info. It would be helpful for those non-solar equipped who just want a power outage backup.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

I'll probably just buy a Meanwell power supply for this. I'll remind myself to shoot of video on it when I do.

[@bryanhickman7663]

@@BenjaminNelsonX I'm interested in the decision process... like deciding on the charge rate, shut off when charged, and how many amp hours the one you built generates.

[@h7opolo]

thanks for the thorough narration and explaining your thought process.

[@leroywarner7354]

I really enjoy your demonstration on the assembly I am in the project of building a power wall using big batteries packs and so it’s a lot of help for me thank you

[@phillipallan2863]

Great video Ben can't wait to see your log splitter

[@Bigsamtech]

Hi Ben, love your DIY project. This will be really useful for me in Nigeria. Thumbs up

[@dennis1954]

Thank you, a very clear and concise informative presentation. You have a new subscriber.

[@clarkterry7536]

Hey you meant six in series but still I’m learning so much.

[@frankz1125]

I built one about a year ago with a nice case. Im building a 12v version now. Thanks for sharing. I would stay away from them gen 1s

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Is there a reason other than age that you would say to keep away from gen 1 cell modules?

[@frankz1125]

@@BenjaminNelsonX I find the cooling system in the Leaf is not adequate and they are usually around 50% of rated capacity. They gen 2s are a bit better with up to 90%. Have you tested them ones you have?

[@frankz1125]

@@BenjaminNelsonX If you are interested in some of the cells I have for sale I believe I can ship now. Never tried to the US yet. I have 2019 Honda NMC 12s packs and LiFePo4 12s packs. Very cheap and in CAD

[@frankz1125]

@@BenjaminNelsonX 8 of my NMC packs will run your leaf motor at 355vdc . Give you a 96s bank

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

@@frankz1125 I haven't tested this particular pack yet, but I've had good luck with other ones. One of the Nissan Leaf battery packs where I bought the whole thing and took it apart, the car only had 20,000 miles on it before it was in a collision.

[@fastbike9845]

Very interesting. Unfortunately the link to the BMS board is broken but there will be other products around. I'd be interested in building a modular system so they could be stacked to get additional capacity. Also I would have added the original bus bars back on top of the PCB to get a better DC connection. But otherwise thanks for the clear video. P.S. when will you 'mericans just get with the metric system instead of having to retap holes.

[@dyllos7]

Link to buy the BMS doesn't work any more - where are others getting a good BMS from please?

[@startcherif]

very nice video, thanks for your time

[@neliosamch3195]

Very neat Ben. I give you another idea. Connect it to a lgti at night and your electric bill will come down even more. I have two of these and three of lifepo4 conected together to my solar panels with makeskyblue solar charger and my January bill come down to $18.00 dollars. I have to climb to the roof to clean the snow off the panels but I save between 60 to 80 dollars compared to last year.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

What's an "LGTI"?

[@neliosamch3195]

@@BenjaminNelsonX grid tie inverter with limiter. Do you have snow last night? I have to clean over 4 inches in the morning and now have to go up and clean 3 more. I removed the Enphase M215 Micro Inverter because they are controlled by the utility and they turn them off if they are producing too much energy.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Got snow here last night, but it was so windy that there was very little accumulation on the panels. Can you recommend an inverter or two that would fall into the Grid-Tie with Limiter category? I'd love to hook an entire 360VDC electric car battery to an inverter for a full household power backup!

[@neliosamch3195]

@@BenjaminNelsonX check Jack Richard evtv store, he has one or two. Sandi 30kw 300-400vdc Input After batteries are full it has a bypass to send energy to the grid.

[@chrislewis441]

Ben! You are an inspiration. Because of you I have delved into the world of EV conversions. But since I am a newbie, I decided the best way to learn would be to take over someone else’s abandoned conversion. I have found an excellent project (an older truck with all components assembled and installed correctly). It is basically just in need of batteries. And of course I am looking for a reliable, but more cost effective diy solution. I have a good lead on up to 48 Nissan Leaf battery modules. I’d like to end up with 144v and 120Ah for around 17kWh, for a range of around 50-60 miles). Could I create four batteries like the ones in this video, but at 36V using 5 modules each, and run two parallel pairs in series…? Does that make sense? Given the cells I the modules are already 2p2s and then the modules would be 5s…to then combine them as 2p2s…seems like a lot of p’s and s’s!

[@chrisjones6351]

I've had problems trying to find cheap batteries in Japan, maybe this is my answer! But I'm aware of the capacity problems but if they are cheap enough it could be a good option.

[@1dh11]

For me it would be nice to have 2 of them, 36volts or so to use on my GE Electrak tractors. Setup so you could use 1 pack or 2 packs in parallel but I would need more than 100amp max output. Keep em coming Ben

[@One.--]

BMS, Nice for small loads not recommended for running 4 ton A/C unit

[@Ruleof2plus1]

I am working on a battery pack using 14 leaf Gen1 batteries in series. Do you know what would work for a BMS and charger for this setup? End voltage is 104 volt

[@harimadhavan1712]

Great work 😎👍

[@ehsoule]

Excellent video! How many amp hours is this configuration and what is the maximum discharge rate of the batteries themselves in 14s (not BMS limited)?

[@PhG1961]

Nice video, I really enjoyed it !

[@Thereminator101]

Nice...I wonder if a c shaped spring-clip would hold the part in more securely? Looks like a marketable part! 🤔

[@raysoucie489]

Good Video--- What is the Amperage Output and or the total Wattage, after this build??

[@chandlermorrison8412]

If I wanted to do a 48v lithium conversion on a golf cart, would you suggest the heavier buss bars? I love this build. I am thinking I would have room for two of those. What do you suppose the amp hour rating would be, comparing them to a golf cart flooded battery set up?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Generally, those gen 1 Leaf cell modules are considered 60AH. (Keep in mind that these are old and there will be some degradation..) Each cell module faceplate value should be about 500 Watt-hours. So, 7 in series is a theoretical 3.5kWh. Doubling that up would be 7 kWh. Lithium is more energy-dense, lighter, more compact than lead acid. The other big advantage is that you can discharge it further (use more of the total capacity.) With lead-acid, you really always want to stay in the top half of the charge to be able to give your pack any longevity.

[@herenow2895]

That's a neat job. Could you have used the bus bars from the old connector and just bolted through them with longer screws onto the new circuit board. If you wanted increase the possible load ?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Yes, I suppose I could. One thing to keep in mind though is that it's not just the cabling or bus bars that limits how much current can be drawn from batteries - it's also the chemistry and internal resistance of the batteries. Any battery has a natural limit as to how much current can be drawn, and just using thicker cables doesn't increase that.

[@GreenMasterMike]

I was thinking of using some of these to make a custom e-scooter

[@johnschoenstein860]

I bought the 48v kit from Tech direct. It came with threaded rod, but not end caps. With a few full discharge cycles, the cells on the end expanded. I think it's still safe, but don't like the look.

[@joeblacksr.2391]

I love the video, but early on you said this setup wasn't for a heavy load or demand. I'm looking at converting a 48V 6-seat CC golf cart. What different would I need and what is the total amperage available? I have a 500 Amp Controler and 8-6V flooded cell batteries now.

[@SirTragain]

28:02 Very subtle Ben.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

With the eye roll and everything.

[@neilgallie3306]

Excellent video, very well explained, I tried to look on the site you said you bought the bms and pcb from, they had the pcb but not the bms, I have also tried to find the cable with the two female ends but have only found ones with the connector for the bms but the other end doesn't have the female on it. were you able to order this unit the way it is or did you have to modify it? Once again great video.

[@thomasalbert6634]

Ben Awesome Video! I'm researching options on converting my lawn tractor to electric. Personally I think the Nissan Leaf batteries have some advantages over the Chevy Volt batteries. I'm curious what are the dimensions of the pack you created in this video. I would need to build two of these to approach the 100Ah I'm anticipating to need for the application and want to see if I have the volume for the two packs. Did you ever get a chance to test the capacity of this build?

[@SOLDbyYOU]

Ok the minesooooootta accent totally makes this … No…. What makes this is…. This guy sounds like a human… not a nyerd . Thank you… great video….. except for the part where Nissan leafs are getting stolen for the battery packs by end of the world prepares. Great vid

[@buixote]

Techdirect doesn't seem to be selling the 48v units anymore. If you become aware of another vendor, could you give us an update? Thanks. Great STuff!

[@TheMacroSlacker]

They do sell it. The link just doesn't bring it up for some reason. You can find it on the site pretty easily though.

[@robertmyers4155]

Where can I find a circuit board like yours in this video for the BMS you placed on the front of your leaf cells?

[@johnward5890]

Good bit of info but i was wondering why at 7:00 on the video with polarity you wouldn't have just taken the top cel off and place it on the bottom to line up the polarity to match the PC board?

[@ClarenceDold]

Seven modules, odd number. The top and the bottom are the same orientation.

[@themiddleground5263]

is there an off the shelf BMS, like this one, but for Nissan's 8-cell modules from 2016-2017?

[@bobw2942]

As you installed the cutting board, it occurred to me that you might want to use two of them -- you have a built-in handle that way.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

I got the cutting board at Ikea a few years ago. It was very inexpensive ($1?) I wish I would have bought a STACK of them. They are really handy as just material!

[@SolgerLemp]

Hello perhaps i missed it but what's the capacity of the battery pack you built ?

[@burns_]

Does anyone know where I can find the Bus bars and BMS? It looks like tech direct no longer stock this item

[@jerrybunch2892]

What is the run time for a 48v golf cart with that set up

[@justinchisholm9563]

Have always looked at this idea but in new Zealand we pay about $120each cell so not worth it yet for 35ah ish

[@jeffs7267]

Thank you

[@goocherrific6634]

I have a 2kw motor in a little electric car could I use this or multiples of this for that?

[@ericdirnbeck3497]

Very cool project. What is the total kWh capacity of this build?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Theoretical capacity is 3.5kWh, but that doesn't account for the fact that these are older batteries. I haven't yet done a full test measuring while discharging for finding the true capacity.

[@Mercmad]

I wish our car scrap yards had leafs (leaves?) or teslas in them ... i might have to look at importing parts from Japan .

[@caffeine9334]

bms.. what amperage are you charging you batteries at? just looking at bms.. my cells are 2.3Kw (chevy volt) 48 volt.. I am looking at a 20amp, well they're chinese so maybe 10amp average 20amp max. thanks

[@sr4087]

at what voltage do you start bringing out the insulated work gloves?

[@SethLunchquest]

Up to 48v nominal is considered "safe" because that's low enough that human skin won't conduct a current. Just make sure your hands are clean!

[@nishandesilva1844]

just move the top battery to the bottom. Then the polarity will match what you wanted it to be.

[@darrenslater1913]

The 48v kit seems to have gone???? Does anyone have a current link?

[@offgridwanabe]

Easy but nice

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

That's the thing that's so great about working with these cell modules. It IS easy! No spot welding. No fancy custom stuff. Just bolts, threaded rods, and DONE!

[@offgridlivingstlucia8865]

Nice video

[@jwilkinson341]

is it unsuitable for Ebike because it would be heavy and bulky? question unscrewed 70 lbs it would have to be a 3-wheeler, how many amp ur is the battery?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

This would definitely be too heavy and bulky for a bicycle. This style of cells is great for something like an electric motorcycle, ATV, lawn tractor, etc.

[@yurij8582]

cool

[@unclejerm7692]

Newbie question here, is it necessary to let it sit over night to load balance if the BMS will be doing the same thing since it looks at each connection on the pack?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

These cells were already balanced to each other. The BMS should take care of any issues. If you started with cells that weren't all the exact same state of charge, I would connect them in parallel and let them sit. Then disconnect them, reconnect in series, and attach the BMS and power cables.

[@KiraSlith]

What I'm wondering is where to get the compression hardware and spacers without buying and dismantling an original car module. I'm probably not using the right search terms and I'm not sure what the RIGHT terms would be.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

It's pretty easy to make you own end plates. Trace the cell modules, draw on some tabs, and cut it out of metal. Drill some holes in the corners and run some threaded rod through them. If you are buying used cell modules, you can usually get some of the associated hardware to go with them as well.

[@Aaron-hx4ey]

Where do i buy a bms, any idea?

[@wally1957]

what size threaded rod width and length? your techdirect links are no longer valid.

[@user-wf2ek8hz8g]

Where can i get these cheapish

[@maliknasir2968]

This battery i want to use for solar system. I have batteries only i need fitting and complete bma please send me price. Thanks

[@tdub5731]

Ben- this is awesome! May I ask what one would expect to pay to build this? I'm thinking I want to build a pack for a golf cart.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

It mostly depends on what your cost of the cells would be. There are a lot of them available on eBay. The best way to get them is as a full Leaf battery pack from a junk yard. For a golf cart, you will probably want more than just a single set of these. A couple of them paralleled up would be great for a golf cart. There's even a few places building battery packs specifically for golf carts from these types of cells. Here's an example: www.ebay.com/itm/143542056327?hash=item216bc5f587:g:ltwAAOSwkmVgQXrd

[@maliknasir2968]

Hi sir i need bms compleat with fitting d without only batterys. Can you send me price

[@kayak_1]

It looks like the BMS is out of stock.. Any other locations? It seems that one would need 9 of them to build 80KW from two old 40KW Nissan leafs. I currently have 24KW of panels. My lead-acid batteries have a few more years of life in them but I am thinking about the future.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

There are a LOT of different BMSs out there. I just thought it was slick that with this one, you simply put the circuit board over the end of the pack. 24kW of solar panels?!!? WOW! You probably want to join a group such as "DIY Powerwalls" on Facebook. There's plenty of people building home power backups with these cell modules. They would help you with BMS advice as well.

[@kayak_1]

@@BenjaminNelsonX We are heating the house as much as possible with heat pumps and have two electric cars (including a 40KW Leaf). Thanks for the pointer to the "DIY Powerwalls group" but I avoid Facebook but look at other forums. I really like the idea of using an old Tesla Model with a 100KW pack. The nice part with the Nisan packs (and thus the bad part as to why they degrade faster) is that they are air-cooled and not water-cooled. The circuit board BMS you showed is very slick. It doesn't require spot welding new tabs or tons of little wires. Having 9 Anderson connectors to hook into a breaker/combiner box. Thanks again for the great video!

[@XER239]

which model is that mean well street light power supply?

[@XER239]

the bms and charger link aren't whats shown here

[@flitsies]

So Ben what happened to the Vectrix is it still running?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Yes. The Vectrix is just sitting in my garage. I used the battery on it for experimenting running a Nissan Leaf motor. (With the battery still in the Vextrix, just running a cable over to the Leaf motor.) I haven't ridden the Vectrix since I was severely injured on (somebody else's) motorcycle 3 years ago. I really just need to clean it up and sell it. It's a great cycle. Comfortable, easy to ride, and it even has reverse!

[@Nomi-k4p]

How can i bying this batrry any one help me please

[@TACOMASRT5]

How many amps hours? Did I miss that?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

3.5 kWh.

[@TACOMASRT5]

How many amps hours is that?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Originally rated at 66 AH each.

[@TACOMASRT5]

I'm building a hybrid motorcycle. I'm having trouble with figuring out what battery to use. I don't want lead acid because of weight. But I need 48v and I'd like a minimum of 100AH more if possible. So I'm not sure if I should run something like this? Or a bunch of 18650's. Or just 4 group 31 lithium iron phosphate trolling motor batteries from LiTime.

[@jasonglisson1690]

I wonder how hard it would be to use something like this for a car.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

If it was a 48V car, very easy. These cell modules originally came out of a car - a Nissan Leaf electric vehicle. I've used these same cells in an electric motorcycle, and they worked great!

[@jec00702]

The strap would last longer with a riveted grommet

[@JeremyAkersInAustin]

Can you not just flip them over if the positive/negative are on the wrong side? Seems like you should be able to... Looks like you took my advice and found an electric powered hydraulic pump? ;) How's the tractor coming along?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

No, you can’t simply flip one cell module compared to the others. The top and bottom are different. Think of it like stacking cans of tuna - there’s a curve on the bottom and a lip on the top. I’ll be messing around with electric hydraulic pumps in an upcoming video.

[@CollinBaillie]

But you could have flipped the PCB.

[@michaelcastro5339]

Could've just put the negative on the left cell as the first one in the bottom and all the issues would've been resolved...

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

There's an ODD number of cell modules. I had 3 of the type with negative on the left and and 4 of the type with the positive on the left. If I started with one with the positive on the left, my LAST battery would have been the wrong type, putting a NEGATIVE connection at BOTH ENDS of the pack! NOT what we are looking for!

[@scout4locations]

What was the cost of the batteries? You said they could be gotten from a junkyard. That's what I want. To repurpose some EV batts

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Twice, I bought an entire Nissan Leaf battery from junkyards. I paid about $2600 both times. (And this was a few years ago now, too...) Each pack has 48 of the cell modules inside, along with some other components. That put the price of each cell module around $50 or so each. On the one battery pack, I took it apart, used 18 modules for my electric motorcycle, and sold the rest of them to friends, covering my cost of buying the battery in the first place. Essentially, that battery was free - just the sweat equity of making it happen!

[@scout4locations]

@@BenjaminNelsonX I want to use them for off-the-grid power at my spot where I relax. Will those work well for that purpose?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

@@scout4locations Yes. Just slap a 48V inverter on there.

[@Валодимир]

Який контролел до того мотора

[@SwapSupra]

8x7 = 56 not 48 ? im a bit confuse

[@CollinBaillie]

So, a 12v lead acid battery actually charges to about 14.4v. We call the 12v rating it's "nominal" voltage. So a 48v battery made from lead acid batteries can charge as high as 57.6v. Also when the batteries are almost flat, you'll see about 42v, not 0v. So a 48v pack can range from 42v - 57v, depending on the state of charge. It's all about the "nominal" value. It's 48v in name only.

[@محمدبنيهاني-ه5م]

مرحبا كيف اوصل 21 خليه نضام 48 فولت

[@NuViss]

Instead just could have moved one single module from beginning over to the end, thus effectively starting the pack on B instead of A, or vice versa.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

No, unfortunately, I couldn't do that. The BMS uses a rigid PCB and the polarity would have been backwards if I did that.

[@joachimschreiber7835]

this very thin pbs can never tansfer as much as the busbars.,,,i bet it starts fuming and stinking at 50amps alread

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

I do agree that heavy copper bus bars would be better, but I've never had any issues with this setup. No fuming or stinking at all. I've charged an electric car off of this setup.

[@suburbansolarhomeandpreppi9936]

I made a battery off these same modules, but used a 1/4” thick 1” wide by 8” long copper slab to make a busbar. The hardest part was drilling holes through the copper .

[@herenow2895]

Hey Ben, you've put on some weight since I last checked in.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Well, I have had some health issues since the lumber truck tried killing me. It also doesn't help that my tripod is about a foot short, so the camera view always has me looking down a bit. I've been on KZbin for about 13 years, so depending on which videos you watch in a row, you can watch me age fast and see my hairline recede.

[@herenow2895]

@@BenjaminNelsonX - I didnt mean to sound rude with my comment. I didnt know about the lumber truck incident. We all experience the ravages of the relentless march of time. Keep up the good work.

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

@@herenow2895 I'm probably just a little touchy about it. A similar comment has come up several times. I'm working to stay healthy, but I still have a lot of challenges.

[@herenow2895]

@@BenjaminNelsonX - Can I recommend Dr Eric Berg's channel hear on KZbin and all he has to teach us about Ketosis and other health related matters. All the best.

[@thunguyenxuan7207]

Mấy thang chế pin vào mà sem họ làm cẩn thận chưa

[@thewaygokid3135]

Why don’t I get the math? You want 48 volts. Isn 8 volts times 7 plates 56 volts?

[@loddy210]

They equal just under 8v per pack. A 48v battery fully charged is just over 52v

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Keep in mind that we typically use the "nominal" voltage of a battery pack. That's just the NAME of what we call it. A battery pack has a higher voltage when fully charged, and lower voltage when discharged. It's a range that we are describing with a simple name like "48V".

[@jameseb63]

Did I miss the part where you are using 7 8 volt batteries to get to 48 volts, instead of 6? Is it that they are slightly less than 8 volts?

[@BenjaminNelsonX]

Yes, you have the right idea. Lithium batteries have an odd voltage compared to the old "12V" lead-acid batteries, so it doesn't always add up to nice round numbers. When we talk about a 12V car battery, we really want the voltage ABOVE 12V. With the alternator charging the batty, it's voltage might actually be something in 13-14V. All batteries have a RANGE of voltage that varies based on their state of charge. These cell modules can charge to a maximum of 8.4V, but drop down to as low as 6V when the maximum capacity has been drawn out of them. 6V x 6 modules is 36V, which is WAY too low for a 48V system. 7 of them in series is a bit more than needed, but better more energy than less. 7 in series, fully discharged should be about 42V. 42/48 is the same as 10.5/12. On a 12V system, 10.5V is dead dead dead. So, for something like a 48V UPS which would have been running 4 x 12V batteries, 7 of these Nissan Leaf modules is the correct number.