From 156V to 144V

My new controller will be a 144V 500 amp, Open Revolt controller.  My battery pack was 156V, then I killed two of them (overcharge incident, see previous post) and it just seemed to make sense to take out two more and go with 144V since I'm saving a boatload of money on the controller.

Rather than just rewiring the existing set up and skipping over two more batteries, I decided to actually remove three of the batteries.  This meant I had to bust open three of the packs.  The screws that hold the straps are hard to get off and I found that using a grinder made it a whole lot easier.  Besides, unless you have the right compression tools, trying to put these straps back on are a pain in the butt!  After the straps were off I was able to step a 6 pack down to a 4 pack and a 5 pack down to a 4 pack and replace a battery in a 5 pack.  I used Gorilla duct tape to bind then together with the end plates and then placed those packs in the middle of each bank.  Last, I bound each bank together with a cargo tie.  This created some neat, organized looking blocks.

Instead of busting open a fourth pack, a 6 pack, I found it easier to tape off one battery and just add it to the pack in the rear.  So, I ended up with 15 in front (3X5) and 29 in back (6X4+1X6 (-1)).  Wow, that's looks like a complicated math formula.

Anytime I get into tearing apart a battery bank, I always let my wife know so she can check on me.  I use tools that are wrapped in electrical tape, remove any metal on my body, wear gloves and always think about where both hands are placed.  I take my time and double check the polarity of any connection.  Sparks are bad and there shouldn't be any at all.