Sandy Munro Tearing Down Rivian R1T Battery Pack

[ads75]

Here is a noob question. Is swapping out your battery pack a viable solution at say 300,000 miles/ X years, If you wanted to keep your original Truck? In my head, I’m thinking I could pay whatever to swap the battery pack out instead of dropping another 100k.

If you are willing to pay "whatever" to swap a battery in a truck with 300k miles, someone has to be willing to do that swap for that amount also. How much are you willing to pay? So far, I don't think many manufacturers or private garages are willing to do it outside of warranty, at a price that a customer would consider cost effective, based on the fact that it isn't common. During a vehicles life, other components wear down also, that will also need replacing or service. Todays "cutting edge tech" quickly can quickly get outdated and feels old. Can you do a battery swap, sure, is it worth it, probably not.

Sponsored

 

[AdamsFan1983]

Here is a noob question. Is swapping out your battery pack a viable solution at say 300,000 miles/ X years, If you wanted to keep your original Truck? In my head, I’m thinking I could pay whatever to swap the battery pack out instead of dropping another 100k.

Nobody really knows, but probably not.

 

[IGranite]

The answer would be it depends on what you think sucks. It does mean that after 300,000 miles you should still have 80% capacity. You will probably have more because you didn't fully drain and then recharge the battery to 100% every time.

Don’t forget that every time you brake with regenerative breaking you are adding to the cycles.

 

[lucent]

Well, that absolutely confirms that the door flashlight doesn’t contain the “7777th identical cell” - as my flashlight contains a 3.2V, 2Ah cell:

This is actually a good thing. Based on the voltage that is a LiFePO4 battery which will last much longer being constantly sitting at full charge in a hot vehicle door than the 21700s in the battery pack.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Don’t forget that every time you brake with regenerative breaking you are adding to the cycles.

No, you aren’t. That isn’t how ‘cycles’ work.

 

[lucent]

No, you aren’t. That isn’t how ‘cycles’ work.

For standardization of tests they consider a "cycle" a discharge down to a defined percentage and a recharge.

If you want to talk purely of full cycles it would be discharging a battery completely and charging it back up. But very few people do that.

In the case of regen it is definitely adding (albeit a tiny amount per regen event) partial cycles.

You wouldn't consider driving through elevation from 100 to 50% only half a cycle if you went from 100 to 30% then regained 20% from regen.

 

[miasm]

For standardization of tests they consider a "cycle" a discharge down to a defined percentage and a recharge.

If you want to talk purely of full cycles it would be discharging a battery completely and charging it back up. But very few people do that.

In the case of regen it is definitely adding (albeit a tiny amount per regen event) partial cycles.

You wouldn't consider driving through elevation from 100 to 50% only half a cycle if you went from 100 to 30% then regained 20% from regen.

20% from regen?!? That'd be nuts. I've gotten nowhere near that coming down from multiple mountain passes.

Face it, Regen doesn't really "cycle" the battery in any meaningful way.

 

[lucent]

There may be differences in degradation between strategies, but a cycle is 100% of the capacity, however you arrive to it. I'm not sure whether that test specified how they were discharged for those results, but they were discharged the equivalent of 300k miles.

I mean that was clearly an over exaggeration to demonstrate it since I mentioned earlier it's a "tiny amount per regen event." Cycles add up. We're not even mentioning the 23 years of shelf life degradation 300,000 miles would get from the average number of miles people drive a year.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

For standardization of tests they consider a "cycle" a discharge down to a defined percentage and a recharge.

If you want to talk purely of full cycles it would be discharging a battery completely and charging it back up. But very few people do that.

In the case of regen it is definitely adding (albeit a tiny amount per regen event) partial cycles.

You wouldn't consider driving through elevation from 100 to 50% only half a cycle if you went from 100 to 30% then regained 20% from regen.

thats my point…. Regen doesn’t add ANY cycles. If you had zero regen, you’d charge more. Regen reduces the amount you charge from the wall. The total “cycles” is exactly the same,

 

[lucent]

thats my point…. Regen doesn’t add ANY cycles. If you had zero regen, you’d charge more. Regen reduces the amount you charge from the wall. The total “cycles” is exactly the same,

I still don't understand. If somehow you were able to regen full battery and never had to charge from the wall, does that mean you never had a cycle? Regen adds cycles you wouldn't count or be aware of because no one is tracking it.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

I still don't understand. If somehow you were able to regen full battery and never had to charge from the wall, does that mean you never had a cycle? Regen adds cycles you wouldn't count or be aware of because no one is tracking it.

The point is regen doesn’t add an extra cycles. it doesn’t matter if you “regen” or plug in and charge. A cumulative gain from 0-to-100% is one cycle. So it is false and fear mongering to say regen is adding cycles. Anything regen adds is power you don’t have to pull from the wall (and would have to pull from the wall without regen).

 

[zipzag]

Don’t forget that every time you brake with regenerative breaking you are adding to the cycles.

Cycling in the range of 20-80% capacity is minimal wear. The typical large battery, moderate range EV is doing the equivalent of 1-2 cycles per week. Although EVs only charged on DCFC will lose capacity faster.

 

[HimuraMOdo]

Well, that absolutely confirms that the door flashlight doesn’t contain the “7777th identical cell” - as my flashlight contains a 3.2V, 2Ah cell:

Wait, 3.2V nom ? Does it mean it's LiFePO4 cell instead? Which kinda make sense because that flash light is always charged up to 100% so LiFePO4 cell would not degrade much comparing to the cells in the truck.

 

[Blur1t]

If you are willing to pay "whatever" to swap a battery in a truck with 300k miles, someone has to be willing to do that swap for that amount also. How much are you willing to pay? So far, I don't think many manufacturers or private garages are willing to do it outside of warranty, at a price that a customer would consider cost effective, based on the fact that it isn't common. During a vehicles life, other components wear down also, that will also need replacing or service. Todays "cutting edge tech" quickly can quickly get outdated and feels old. Can you do a battery swap, sure, is it worth it, probably not.

I think that’s a good reason I’m waiting out the maxpack, a little more usable life, I had a LE . Could of had it in June, still a thorn in my side after three years waiting but I do think it will be worth it. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

 

[RivianBowerbird]

A pity. The 7777th cell would have been a very cool engineering detail instead of a marketing half-truth. Presumably a well-intentioned idea diluted by the practical limits of manufacturing the flashlight itself. Which reminds me, anyone actually used that flashlight purposefully? : )
I can't recall the last time I thought to use it (I have work lights and the phone light …)

I used it when the power went out in my house last week. It basically lit up my entire living room. Fantastic light.

Sponsored