Thundersky Batteries

We've received a lot of questions about the Thundersky LiFePo4 batteries we used in the 1957 Speedster conversion. I've done an hour and a half video on the topic of battery chemistry where I stumble through an attempted explanation of how they work. And we bandsaw a Thundersky battery into pieces and take it apart so you can see what's inside it. It's long. It's tedious. And I didn't spend a lot of time editing it. But here it is: http://evtv.me/movies/thunderskybat-desktop.m4v

There is a Yahoo discussion group specifically devoted to these batteries at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ThunderSky. I follow this discussion somewhat religiously. They basically compare notes on how to struggle through the battery management issues. I made the video in response to a discussion about what was inside the battery.

We're perhaps unique in that most people converting cars are trying desperately to do anything possible to protect the batteries - they are of course quite expensive. On the other hand, I am more or less in it for the knowledge and so we bring them to the point of failure, and often that means failure, more or less on purpose. At these prices, it still hurts when I blow one, but unlike most, I can be relatively casual about it and learn from the experience. So we sawed a blown cell up and disassembled it.

Enjoy

Jack Rickard