Lifetime Capacitor, battery combo

Hah, bet that gets lots of attention. Hey all, first post, first Taco, first Toyota. 2017 V6 2wd SR5 Short.

Experimenting with replacing the battery with capacitors and Ni-cd batteries. I've run it just on the capacitor for a couple weeks now. Only issue is after 2 days of no use, drains down to 10volts. Surpisingly still starts right up. Charges back to 14v after a few seconds. (black and white battery looking thing is a capacitor, no lead, no acid, weighs like 14 lbs) Capacitor beats a battery in every way except one. It drains when not in use since its not producing power like a battery is. So I just need enough juice to make up for the parasitic power drain when it sits for several days. So I've added 12 C-sized nicd batteries. Thought about just a duel battery setup with the stock battery and the capacitor. But I'm trying to get rid of all cable corrosion before it starts. Capacitor will basically last longer than the truck and NiCds can be fully drained and charged around 1000 cycles. Beats lead acid's cycle life of around 400 cycles. Packaged properly, (just experimenting right now)this should last 10yrs+ for the daily commuter that it is, and no hydrogen sulfide to cause corrosion.

I don't need a duel 1000amp/hr setup like all you guys use for camping, which we all know is mainly for charging your wife's toys. LoL. Plus the look on your buddy's face when you jump start his dead Cummings with a group 51 sized "battery", priceless.

 

Someone else complained about OE battery being dead after 2 yrs, so Thought I'd update this.

Updated from Nicd to LiFePo4 battery to maintain capacitor. I Still need to package it better.
Black/white is the capacitor ($450)(14lbs), starts truck on a little as 8 volts. Last 20,000+ cycles, One time expense as it can be removed and put in any other vehicle. If ever dead, can be charged in a couple of minutes. Since photo I have put a resister between batt and capacitor to limit charging to about 10 amps on the small batt.

Red/blue is Dakota lithium battery ($54)(2 lbs). Plenty of juice to keep capacitor charged for months at a time of sitting unused. Can fit 8 of these in those useless bed cubbies if more amp/hrs are needed. LiFePo4 can handle 2000+ discharges/charges. Lead acid life is severely reduced if below 12 volts for any length of time with ~400 cycles max.

 

Interesting. You mention starts, but how about winches, lights, etc. I take it the capacitor doesn't maintain an excess of juice?

 

Engine off, yes lights will drain it in about 30 minutes. But running, It will maintain whatever your alternator can put out. Yes there is less "reserve" with the small battery. So for heavy loads, winching, camper fridge running for days, or any load with the key off, you could opt for bigger or more LiFePo4 batts. Can get 8 of these in the bed cubbies holes. But the same goes for lead acid. if your winch is pulling more than 130amps, the alternator isnt keeping up. Just a matter of timing/ reserve capacity you require. I dont do any off road, So I'm mainly concerned with reliability in starting. But scaling up reserve amps/hrs is no different than adding another batt. or 8.

 

Don’t know if you’ve ever thought about installing one of those tiny (12” x 3”) solar panels that can be mounted on the back of a sun visor to charge the battery when not in use? I’m not sure of the amp rating but I used one on an enclosed trailer to charge the winch battery when it sat for weeks or months at a time. They’re cheap and it worked really well....

 

Actually something like that was my initial plan. Have solar panel top up capacitor. But figured if cloudy/raining for a week at a time, which does happen here, that it would not keep up. So opted for small battery instead to keep cap topped up.

 

Some low volts testing. Starting with only 9 volts.

 

Got a link to the capacitor manufacturer? I'm curious.

 

https://4xspower.com/shop/product-category/super-banks/

 

I smell smoke...

Are you keeping that smaller battery attached all the time? I imagine those small gauge leads probably are getting hot when being charged.

 

Modern electronics really dislike large voltage swings.

 

Hmm that is interesting indeed. I can't decide how I feel about it. I feel the need to make a spreadsheet.

 

Why not just use an AGM battery, no terminal corrosion with them.

 

This is an interesting experiment but what happens when you are running down the highway and your alternator craps out. The reserve capacity of a battery is to allow the engine to continue running so you can safely get off the highway and hopefully to a repair facility. The capacitor might just leave you in a very dangerous position stuck in the middle of the highway.

 

Not sure how this truck work, most modern vehicles I've owned (including a motorcycle) will not operate on a dead battery.

Edit. Never mind - you said alternator. My bad

 

If you can get the truck started, the alternator will keep it running. But a dead battery is very hard on the alternator. It should be properly charged before use.

Another issue is low voltage starting is also a great way to destroy starters. It reduces the impedance and increases amperage causing it to overheat and fail.

 

A Lithium-Iron-Phosphate battery is a much better choice than some C-cells and a capacitor.

Edit: Your battery "tie-down" leaves something to be desired.

 

Starters are cheep compared to ECM's.

 

Very true!

 

I’m still running the OEM battery and I got my truck April 2016. I have a winch, cube ditch lights, bumper lights, rear lights, etc and the voltage still reads at 12.15-12.4 volts...guess I got lucky