Huge BMW Lithium Battery, EV, Less Than $100/kwh

Battery prices keep coming down, and the quality of the cells seem to be going up! Amazing. This is a complete battery pack out of a BMW car. It is sold by Battery Hookup. After the 10% off discount code (DAVIDPOZ) it costs less than $100/kwh.
To buy some of your own please check out batteryhookup.com/
Please use my coupon code: DAVIDPOZ it provides you 10% off your order, and helps out this channel through the affiliate program. batteryhookup.com/products/bm...
The whole case is 1300 pounds. Quite heavy. If you pick this up in PA make sure your vehicle can handle it. I had mine delivered for the $450 fee. What's neat is, if you buy 2 or more, it is still a flat $450 fee. Which means the total cost per kwh comes out even less.
I have asked Battery Hookup to offer just one module because it works out to a perfect 14s, 48v, pack. These should be offered on Battery Hookup website soon, and I will update as things change.
Thank you for your interest in my channel and videos.
Disclaimer:
My videos are in no way intended to be instructional "how-to" lessons. I am simply documenting my project for informational purposes. Property damage, personal injury, or death may result, even when following manufacturer's instructions. I cannot be held liable for such damage or injury. It is YOUR OBLIGATION to ensure that you are complying with any local and federal laws as well as code and permit requirements.

[@gabrielpadilla2583]

just an update to my previous comment 8 months ago I just finished (20) 14s modules 48 volts -- 58.8 --85 amps fully charged, out of the 3 crates of BMWs batteries from BATTERY HOOK UP for a total of 1700 amps capacity or 99,960 watts for $197.00 dollars per kilowatt including the BMSs and all the hardware to put everything together. so far it is being running for about a month so far so good, so thanks for at least show me the partial disassembly of the modules in your video but I managed to figure out the rest

[@LeMarKelly]

So informative! I just found your awesome channel and getting ready to install a ground solar system at my home. Looking into a battery back-up and was quoted $15K for a 2 x 3.4kWh system. WOW!!! Looking forward to the next video and building a backup of my own. Keep up the great work! Thank you

[@diysolarready]

Great work again David! I finally finished reconfiguring my 6kw LG battery kinda like yours. But I did a 7s4p setup using crimpable eyelets to connect the cells. Keep up the good work helping out the DIY Community!

[@DavidPozEnergy]

I'd love to see a video on your connections, if you have a couple minutes with a smartphone.

[@diysolarready]

DavidPoz Sure thing! As soon as I get well from the coronavirus, you got it. Your videos are like therapy.

[@SoupyOatmeal]

Your sharing the adventure of installing and running off grid electric for your house has been very informative. Thank you very much.

[@medienmond]

I saw them being manufactured Here in Germany. The contacts are laser welded.

[@DavidPozEnergy]

Very cool. Thanks for letting us know.

[@harleyme3163]

otherwise know as brazing... not very strong but it works.

[@mikeh6206]

@@harleyme3163 Actually laser welding and brazing are two completely different things, not comparable at all.

[@stevensaxon8888]

@@DavidPozEnergy will this battery bank power a whole house entirely? And connection with a solar panels system. If so do you offer one on one advice/help? Will gladly pay for your service

[@2pi628]

@@stevensaxon8888 This might help.... I'm building a giant tiny house (43' moving van). I bought (4) additional 4S batteries to make a total of 5 separate 48 volt battery banks to run two 9000 BTU A/C's,(750 watts each) (1) fridge, (2) large freezers, washing machine , electric dryer (1 hour per day during the 5 hour sun window), computers, TV, kitchen appliances.... Added all up it works well with 10K of panels. Thats over kill but I want to splurge when the sun is up yet still be able to charge the 30KWh of batteries within the window. My realistic reserve maybe one day. But certainly not three. And that one day would be a no wash clothes day for sure. The dryer eats the electricity like a starving Ape(still thinking about using gas). And hopefully that happens in the winter when the A/C's are not needed. Note: Batteryhookup does not have anymore of these large battery packs. The ones they have today are the 21 KWh packs. If I was trying to power an entire 3 br/2 bath house with five people I would definitely buy TWO of the current BMW packs. at $2500 each. Giving roughly 40KWh(after down grade). They are made up of (8) 12S battery packs at 60Ah(when new).

[@jimginnyohio]

You have way too much fun doing all that work! It looks good though! Can't wait to see it hooked up!

[@KJC2025]

Picked up one of these yesterday. Waiting patiently for the next video on hooking up a bms and circuit breaker. Wink, wink.. haha. Thanks Dave!

[@hollywoodj500]

Me too.

[@LithiumSolar]

It's great to see you can use them as-is without any modifying. That's the one big downside to some of these batteries, odd series amounts, like 8s, 12s, etc - but if you can pair them together like this and are lucky enough that it makes a 14s you're set! :D

[@DavidPozEnergy]

Yeah, really cool to find a 14s layout.

[@crypto-jorozu1532]

they will last few months in house use

[@adriaforum]

@@crypto-jorozu1532 they will last years

[@camjones1106]

So 6 of those modules are 5kw ? How many all up and what model bmw

[@ericdirnbeck3497]

I’ve been watching your videos for a very long time. Always very informative, entertaining and upbeat. I was wondering if you could do a video on your total current battery storage capacity and what it is able to do for you. Anyway, thanks for the awesome content.

[@DavidPozEnergy]

Thanks for watching. The LiFePO4 cells are the only ones I use every day, and they are about 24kwh. The other ones I pointed out in the video I take down regularly for different experiments, or demonstrations. Thank you for the good video idea. I'll add it to my list. I keep an excel sheet going of video topics and outlines. Interestingly, it always gets bigger. LOL

[@raydreamer7566]

This was very educational and now I have to watch ALL of your videos pertaining to the battery banks you are building..

[@DavidPozEnergy]

Down the rabbit hole. LOL. Thanks for watching.

[@JoshuaCussins]

2:00. Let's get the lid. Nope, there's always one more, ah! Lol I feel you

[@Chuckcia]

Wow, today I learned more than in the past 5 years! Great!

[@korishan]

Freight shipping is mostly fixed because you are paying for the "space" on the floor. It's not like a USPS/UPS/etc where they can stack product vertically. Everything is on pallets so only 1 item per spot. The other thing that does modify the shipping is the weight, but it's not "as" critical, usually. They will ask for weight so they don't overload their truck.

[@carholic-sz3qv]

it may also be for safety reasons, batteries are very dangerous if they ever have serious problems

[@savageboner]

Just to add to that, Freight carriers use NMFC (National Motor Freight Carrier) numbers which identify what the item and assign it a class. NMFC is also used to determine the class of an item, which in addition to mass of what you're shipping is used to calculate shipping cost. Classes can sometime be flat, such as for an engine or bull seamen (Class 500), or based on a density calculation. Sometimes type of hazmat within an NMFC determine the class as well. On top of this, there are fuel surcharges, and often fees for residential delivery, lift gate etc. there is also an absolute minimum for some routes. If the calculation comes out lower than the minimum the min is applied. If a company has special rates with a carrier, extra fees, and even the class you're charged for could all be removed. Many third party logistics get these special rates. Source: Rate clerk for a trucking company during gap year of college.

[@IsaacMIT]

@@savageboner Great info. Thanks.

[@fredlo6935]

Dave, first thanks for all your insight. I can't wait for your next video of the bms install on these batteries. I just picked up 3 waiting to be delivered. Thanks again and continue what you do best. By the way I saved with your discount code.

[@SolarEngineering]

great video, thanks David.

[@ferencszabo3504]

Appreciate the conversation to metric units.Nice videos.BTW pretty professional packaging,right there!

[@sams5803]

Wow I am so jealous! you are so awesome David! Keep doing what your doing man. I love it!!!!!

[@wim0104]

great work, thank you!

[@mitchellbarnow1709]

It's always impressive to watch and learn from you, David!

[@DIYSolarEnergy]

Heck yeah man! I’ve been eyeing the set!

[@DavidPozEnergy]

I hope the break-down helps you decide one way or the other.

[@RobertL78]

I’d like to see a 12 or 24v blower hooked up to one of those active cooling ports and see an inlet vs outlet temps to see how effective that could be without extra complexity.

[@Sydneyadventuretours]

I would definitely keep the battery cooling system...all you need is a 5 gal bucket an aquarium water pump & two hoses make sure you have the top for the 5 gal bucket.....you can add ice to the bucket and see if the battery runs cooler or maybe dry ice....also keeping it intake Will make it easier for you to make your own EV car... Cheers ah

[@shoopnooop2952]

I don't think it'd be hard to find a used radiator either if you wanted to just water cool it so they can at least stay cooler than not cooling it.

[@kennethhicks2113]

Agree, however... don't have a clue to his load and thus may not be needed. A better/programable inverter would be best.

[@lesw8798]

You have to realize that these cars are driven in 30below temperatures and you have to heat the battery’s to be able to use them

[@rojerww]

I’ve been subscribed for quite some time now. First time commenting. This is too soon - for me. I’ll be moving to a (currently [no pun intended]) off grid location. This would come in handy. But I’ve got to go way back and start re-learning the ins and outs first. Thank you for sharing.

[@martinamontico8492]

Thank you David from Italy and for your video. I buy 5 cells of BMW battery for only 600 dollars .I put them on my photovoltaic system whithout BMS and it works very very well. Thank's......

[@EXCELCORAL]

Excellen Video David, keep up the good work !

[@TrackGeeks]

Thanks for blazing the trail. Made tearing mine down today a breeze. Took less than an hour to do both. Sunday will be working on the BMS.

[@DavidPozEnergy]

Awesome! Your whole off grid shed project is coming along great.

[@ducmagic]

I love all your videos thanks.

[@briandavis9975]

Thanks David great video and price too.

[@lightdepsolutionssolutions4099]

Hi David. I love your videos. Inspired me to take apart some Nissan Leaf battery packs recently :)

[@theprepperfrog167]

Great job, thank you sir.

[@DGDG0000000]

Very nice to think to translate dimension and weight in meter unit and kilogramms. Perfect, thank you.

[@Trentgreenan]

Excellent video, thanks!

[@Vinreeb]

@Lazerwelds: yes they are! thats how lazerwelded Aluminium looks like. I used to work for a company who build this kind of equipment, Lazer is the perfect chioce because it can weld so fast, that the rest of the metal is kept cool (temperature has no time to migrate)

[@DavidPozEnergy]

Awesome to know. Thanks for sharing.

[@sunn7615]

If you ever did want to hook the active cooling loop back up you could consider making it a pre-heater for your solar hot water system. It'd be tricky since the battery isn't always heating up and you don't always need hot water of course, but if you did you'd be recycling a fair bit of thermal energy.

[@marcschneider7338]

Brilliant Video. Thank you a lot! My next step now, is to figure out how to connect the battery to SMA Storage Boy. The communication part can be tricky with modbus and BMS. But I am glad the battery is clear now for me.

[@DavidPozEnergy]

I'm trying to figure out the same thing. Batrium brand BMS has SMA protocol. I'm currently testing "Tiny BMS". It has CAN, but I don't know yet if it will talk to the SMA.

[@marcschneider7338]

@@DavidPozEnergy REC has a BMS which can communicate with the "old" Sunny Island. But CAN is the way to go. I have seen the CAN Register are available in the download section ofthe SMA Sotrage Boy. Thank you for the hint with Batrium, I did not know that.

[@fisherus]

Hey, looking good! Just wish I didn't have to worry about the cold temps in my absence on my farm. Those look like a very clean and simple build for a massive 48V system as well as a small one for a great price. Can't wait for your next video on them!

[@gregb1714]

The cold temps shouldn't matter, the liquid cooling could just as well be liquid heating/warming. Circulate warmed antifreeze for low temps?

[@fisherus]

@@gregb1714 how would you build a heating and a pumping system to handle it? It would require a way to heat and circulate the antifreeze in a closed system. I assume that it would cost $$$ to build a system that would work and a lot of watts of power to run when it is-25F during the winter months I am gone. If it quit working during my absence then the batteries would be shot.

[@rds0009]

I knew it that whats inside the box you posted on facebook is Smart Car batteries.😁 Lucky for you David that all of the cells inside are in good condition.👍

[@ronmoz5815]

thank you sir for the information

[@1981dasimpson]

shipping tends to be a fixed rate as it is by pallet space not wight

[@gasturman]

Nice job on this one! Wow!

[@MikeMcDonough-ki4rbc]

Already sold out but great site! I'm bookmarking the address.

[@ajith24pj430]

Really exciting....U give good information...tnx

[@yankey4]

Tho's are SICK!! Thanks for sharing with us!! God Bless Brother..

[@DavidPozEnergy]

Thanks for watching Bobby.

[@perunut4656]

Like to see a tear down of the computer modules. How are they configured, can they be reused?

[@CuriousEarthMan]

thank you!

[@onegreenev]

Love those huge spade connectors.

[@pizzahaulic2536]

Dude you truly ROCK! Please do put out a prequel saying get these now and video to follow, so that we have a chance. Excellent work and thank you!!!

[@DavidPozEnergy]

I did that a couple times, but wound up getting negative comments telling me to stop "advertising".

[@pizzahaulic2536]

@@DavidPozEnergy That is ridiculous! You are just giving your followers a quick heads up on a badass deal! I would totally appreciate it and am thoroughly bummed I missed the BMW offer as it was perfect for my application.

[@circuitdotlt]

hey, did you try energus BMS? Should be perfect for this application.

[@joepah51]

nice video, once again... like to see how you solder the bms on this ..

[@gamerpaddy]

dang i wish we had a store selling packs for those prices over in germany, over here everyones greedy af, i need to order my stuff from netherlands/poland everytime.

[@alerx94]

man i totally feel you, at this time there's no site as batteryhookup here in europe, such a shame..

[@trevortrevortsr2]

What you call a cooler David, I suspect is also a heater for sub-freezing temperatures - lithium can provide power down to about -20c but they don't like being charged below freezing - you will permanently damage them if you give them a hefty charge at -5c

[@Telencephelon]

Actually you don't know jack shit either. Of course they are mostly for heating if not entirely for heating. It's a pad design and not a heat exchanger. Cars don't use LiFePo4. Who would be stupid enough to add weight when you want less cars? google: "nmc battery maximum operating temperature"

[@5j5estes]

Great video. Share cable connection end. I have a battery hookup battery with similar cable connect, but unsure how to secure. THANKS

[@loucinci3922]

So amazing, I had to watch it again. It seems we have abandon the funky chemistry batteries for LiFePo4 (safe) cells. Again. Thanks for the tear down. So informative. Cheers

[@MrElectron]

I am not sure if they can ship it to INDIA but i really want those.... And ye i forgot ( Great Video BTW :) )

[@uncontrollabledogs3791]

I want those! Getting lifepo's when my gc2's quit.

[@jerzywilk7788]

Wow, first time, learning lots of information

[@SchmidtintheWorkshop]

Hi David. Very good videos. Learning lots. My question to you is about the circuit breakers you spoke about. It sounded like you were counting on them to limit the current somehow but the charge controller determines this correct? The breakers are just there for protection in case the current goes higher than the rating of the breaker. So they should be there but their only purpose is to protect overcurrent when outputting.

[@mark_osborne]

Are the cell voltages the same as your other batteries ? - so you can parallel them ?

[@DavidPozEnergy]

They are the same as the LG (silver color) pack on the wall. But different than the black "Tower of Power", which is LiFePO4.

[@david4w]

Great to know possibility of using EV battery for Energy storage system. Thanks for your video.

[@MartyRothbard]

David, Thanks for showing me your tear down of this battery. Since I'm interested in using the whole battery, instead of taking it apart, I'd like to take a good look at it before it is disassembled. So, could you Poz for a moment, and give me a good view after the steel pans are removed?

[@cooltrkin]

Sure wish I could see you delve into grid tie systems.

[@SuperWhizy]

Outstanding!

[@jean-denislamarre1560]

Hi David, are you planning to connect all your 48v battery on your Network? If so, is there any issue regarding the battery management of your network? Load between all the packs, charging? Thanks

[@howardiko7156]

Nice job/video. Can you recommend a book to build a solar 12 volt system to run a remote radio site?

[@Electronzap]

Cool modules!

[@chamandeepgulati4797]

Nicely detailed ...

[@Grandassets]

I can drive upwards of 3000 lbs (two of those boxes) almost anywhere in the Northeast for $250 "+ tolls if any" or if you find something on FB marketplace that needs, personal handling, I have delivered as much as 2800 lbs as far as Denver, CO (not for $250 LOL) from upstate NY so I will pickup/deliver, anything/anywhere (Safe, bond-able, security clearances)

[@jmr]

Just as he was about to lift the battery I got an ad for Muscle Milk!

[@bichoph1]

Great video very interresting thank's

[@DrJak1ll]

Cool, you were reading my mind about a 4 level shelf. 😆

[@DavidPozEnergy]

Right! That would be awesome. It should test out to 8kwh or more. Factory was 9.3kwh, but they are used.

[@DrJak1ll]

@@DavidPozEnergy That means more shelves, some 2"×2" steel angle welded and insulated with wood all the way to the back😆

[@LordGryllwotth]

4:37 these nuts! Hah!

[@ientu242]

Nice video mr Davidpoz

[@rongray4118]

I see your new heat exchanger! LOL!! NICE!!

[@ayyadew]

I wish those battery packs are available in here (MALDIVES) also🙁🙁🙁

[@the_farmer1258]

Will you be tearing down the other modules? Would love to see what’s inside. Would like to get some of these battery modules for an off grid travel trailer power system.

[@fazlejanonline]

What cells are they using?

[@NoelBarlau]

Great stuff, David. Do you think you could parallel these with a Lifepo4 48v bank using those LV5048 charger/inverters? Our local electric company bases their billing cycle on a one-day period for net metering purposes and I need a way to time shift some load capacity over from sunny days to cloudy days.

[@DavidPozEnergy]

14s Li-ion pack will overlap a 16s LiFePO4 pack for the voltage you use. So, yes, they can be paralleled. Make sure you program your high-voltage and low-voltage cutoffs based on the more conservative of the two. I go into more detail on this in another video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZOrcnWoidWGgbc This topic is one I want to explore and test more, once I get the time for it.

[@joelcrocker1094]

does it come with the battery connector to connect to 2ups

[@JohnCookNet]

Unless I missed something, 13% loss over 3 years use seems high for li batteries.

[@tonyduran9539]

Tha is very good ting thank you for your video

[@whosonfirst1309]

Could you pump the active cooling into your crawl space water heater? Or as added heat for the garage?

[@DavidPozEnergy]

Physically you could move water around, but practically, it won't heat. In order to heat the crawlspace with hydronic radiators you need 140°F water. If the batteries are running at 140 (or more) they have a problem. My batteries run at room temperature or perhaps one degree warmer.

[@JackRussell021]

If I had the garage space, and if I had a big enough truck, I would drive up to PA and get one of these things. Oh, and time - having a day job really cramps my style for projects like this. I think I would invest in something like an engine hoist however - lifting those heavy packs is a good way to mess up your back.

[@bnk28zfp]

david - what BMS would you recommend? for this 48v configuration bmw battery? thank you!

[@DavidPozEnergy]

There are several options, but I ended up buying 8x 100 Amp BMS's. batteryhookup.com/products/12v-lifepo4-smart-bms-w-low-temp-cutoff?variant=36287975522466 Select "14s Li-ion" from the drop-down list if you are arranging them as 14 cells in series. My discount code is DAVIDPOZ

[@craigmiller8719]

I assume they are long gone, as all the other BMW related batteries are gone. How do I get on the short list to hear when something like this comes back into stock? P.S. Just found your videos today and LOVE them! You do a fantastic job. Keep up the great work and Happy New Year!

[@DelawareBeachComber]

Hi Dave - great Videos! (And Kudos for having your daughter help you with the work! A future engineer perhaps?). I am following your teardowns due to interest in using LiPO batteries in a sailboat to replace a diesel engine with a high torque brushless DC motor. The boating community is interested in power capacity (kwh) and weight density - lbs/kw output or similar - as the boat cannot get too heavy once filled with the batteries! A typical large cruising sailboat has a 40 hp diesel engine, so about 30 kw, though we actually only get maybe 25kw of power after 10 or 20 years.... We will also have about 40 gallons of diesel on board, for maybe 60 hours of usage to get past storms and calms and nights ... So I'm looking for about a 40 kwh battery ..... If you can keep the need to discuss power density in your videos, it'd be great! Thanks again - very informative.... (also btw, there may be a lot of people interested in home-built solar installs.... if that is your target audience, thanks also!)

[@davidelliott5843]

You might not want to use active cooling but you never know. Some thermal transfer grease would be a good idea on those heat exchanger surfaces.

[@Good-Enuff-Garage]

love these videos, but you are too nice DavidPoz: special thanks to the driver for a super delivery of the product also David Poz: and a shout out to the guy who built this amazing wooden box, the simplicity of it is astonishing ha ha

[@ZubairKhan-vs8fe]

I am sooooooo jealous. You get to play with all the best toys

[@skaviouz]

I am convinced, double gloves are the way to go. Don't play any games with batteries with no clear cut confirmation (instructions/etc).

[@KJC2025]

I Just emailed bh about picking up 2 of these. Currently There’s no way to select pickup locally. The only option is to pay for shipping. Hopefully I’ll pick them up Monday/Tuesday. Thanks for making this video. Looking forward to the bms video!

[@DavidPozEnergy]

Great, that will save you some cash on delivery. The guys at Battery Hookup are great, but it sounds like they need to provide a local option on the website.

[@jaydee3046]

At 11:42, you show the heat sink system. Computer motherboards use a thermal paste to conduct heat from components to the heat sinks. With the german penchant for overengineering, I think they would have used it. It would have made it a bit of a chore to pull the cases out though.

[@besearchingforwisdom6267]

A man with bigger balls than I, I'm on board and looking forward to seeing more

[@Alan_Hans__]

If you mount the big module horizontal so that the 2 cooling lines are vertical of each other then you could just mount it directly into a radiator and convection cooling would naturally cool it. If there was too much heat to get rid of through natural convection cooling a small pump could circulate the coolant.

[@DavidPozEnergy]

That would be fun.

[@karljakobsen4256]

Wow that's great...again Great viewing...big fan

[@rollandelliott]

so what is the best battery chemistry for a Solar DIY power wall? LiFePo or Lion or Lead Acid or something else? It seems to me that used Lion batteries are the cheapest best way to have a back up energy supply.

[@DavidPozEnergy]

I like using the li-NMC cells from EV. But all can work if you treat them well. Use what you can get

[@holyscience3763]

@ 4:36 "so I'm going to start by taking off DEEZ NUTZ"

[@McCuneWindandSolar]

cool. now that would make setting up solar easy

[@harvdown]

Love the box

[@mitju7]

Thank you for using metric measurements!

[@dannypope1860]

Boooo!

[@teekay1785]

You need a chain hoist or engine hot trolley I beam or something at least in one spot in your shop to lift these heavy things . I use an engine hoist. A friend had a roll around hoist like a U shape about 5 feet wide to roll over object by putting it in the open end of U and hoisting straight up with boat winch to snatch block pulley and could effortlessly lift 2,000 lbs and roll it around etc.