Zapino Li-Ion Conversion: Battery Box
Posted by Max Dunn Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:06:00 GMT
I finally did it – I got Li-Ion batteries for my Zapino and started the conversion! This will reduce the battery weight from 150 lbs to 70 lbs and increase the range from about 20 miles to about 40 miles. While quite a bit more expensive than lead-acid AGM batteries, they will last more than 3 times as long so the lifetime cost will be less.
The first challenge I ran into is that the batteries are slightly taller so the two in front wouldn’t fit. The fix for this was to take the Zapino to my mechanic and have him reweld the battery box to add about 2 inches to it. This worked fine, but does reduce my clearance so I will need to be more careful about speed bumps and going up curbs.
After
Batteries Mounted
