Look at my battery mount!

With the help of magudaman's work to produce the mounting pieces and my brother, the Mechanical Engineer, who helped with the CAD work and mounting the battery, I able to get this pretty nice mount on my FS mountain bike.

Battery Specs:
8 x 10s5Ah NanoTech 25-50C Lipo Stick (~1.5KWh of battery)
Wired in 2s4p (74V20Ah)
Total Weight of battery with wiring: 22-23lbs.

However since I only charge to 4.1V and discharge to only 3.6V, I get effectively around 16.5Ah or so. Last time I checked, I went 32 miles using 16.5Ah and the battery voltage was all balanced around 3.68V at the end of the ride. However keep in mind, I was using around 1.6KW of power only into the HS3548 Motor and averaging around 33-38mph depending on terrain and wind condition with a body weight of around 200lbs if you take into account the rack, and backpack I had on.
Increase that to around 2KW and my range effectively is reduced to around 25-28miles.

Here is the original bike review. You can see the evolution of the where I put the battery. : )
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=33528

Pictures are worth a thousand words:




Mount pieces. I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the pieces separately


Note it's 2 of the same pieces. I just reverse it on the other side. This kept manufacturing easy for magudaman.


This is the only place I can place the battery mount. Just as long as the screws are tight enough, friction will prevent these baby's from sliding down due to gravity.


here is the wood plates. I chose wood instead of metal because of 2 reasons:
1) Wood does not conduct. i.e. if there were loose wires, I won't have to worry about shorts especially when I am mounting Lipo on these.
2) Wood is easier to work with than metal. i.e. I can cut it to the shape I want with a saw. Metal I would need to use something else and probably a lot harder.


Bottom view. There is another piece of wood on the top and bottom to hold the top and bottom battery, but I did not get those shots.


I only have the shot of the complete battery mount. It is not terribly interesting to show the evolution of the battery. They are held on by velcro to each other and the wooden board.

View attachment 2
Here is the wiring mess if viewed from the rider. The battery wire runs along the frame to back where I have the 18FET Lyen Controller.




How I charge. I use 2 icharger 1010B+ with PRC500 Power Supply. Each icharger will charge the 37V20Ah pack separately.

I have gotten comments on how the battery looks like a bomb strapped to the bike, but so far, it has not cause me too much trouble. I only keep the bike in a lab and at home anyways.

So far I love this bike. With the full suspension and the battery in the triangle section, this bike is very well balanced.

Overall Bike weight now is around 80-90lbs (35lbs from the bike, 15lbs from the HS3548, 10lbs from the rack and bag, 23lbs from the battery, 5lbs misc stuff).

The only thing left to do is to make a bag wrapping that will be water proof so I can take this baby in light rain.

Nice nice work. But waterproof is the least of your worries. You are just as safe as a guy who just duct taped his lipos to the frame.

Maybe I'm being harsh, but you should see the dings in my lipo boxes outer 1/8 aluminum shell. Yeah, I lay it down racing, yeah I ride hard in the dirt till I go over the bars.

But even if you do ride perfect and safe, some dip shit is still going to right cross you someday.

Armor up dummy.

dogman said:

Nice nice work. But waterproof is the least of your worries. You are just as safe as a guy who just duct taped his lipos to the frame.

Maybe I'm being harsh, but you should see the dings in my lipo boxes outer 1/8 aluminum shell. Yeah, I lay it down racing, yeah I ride hard in the dirt till I go over the bars.

But even if you do ride perfect and safe, some dip shit is still going to right cross you someday.

Armor up dummy.

Click to expand...

Yeah I am aware of the danger. Thanks. I don't do racing and I don't go over handlebars like you. I do have "Armor" i.e. motorcycle jacket, boots, and jeans. And I am planning to get a Full Face-helmet one of these day. And Yes I am aware of the lipo danger. The only difference is I am not duck taping it to the frame. These batteries are not moving anywhere. Duck tape will eventually lose its adhesiveness and then fail, so I would not compare this with someone who just duck tape their lipo to their frame.

As for some dip shit crossing me someday, well it can happen if I have any battery on the frame.

But point is taken. If I go down, these batteries are pretty much shot, i.e. Lipo fireworks. : ). Lets just hope they last a couple of years until safer, more capacity, lightweight, and affordable battery comes in to the DIY market.

I meant armor up the batteries. At least, put some coroplast political signs on the sides before you wrap em up for the rain.

You don't have to be on the bike for the disaster to happen, just some dufus in your lab for 2 minuites knocks the bike over, and whammo. It's true, lipo doesn't explode every time it's punctured. A bigger risk is actually the rats nest of wires. Bike falls over, wire gets nicked and shorts, then anything nearby gets ignited. That sort of thing can happen easy with any chemistry.

I'm being pretty preachy here, but really, this is the kind of pics that make me puke to see more and more. You just know there are 100's of Morph types out there gonna imitate it.

All batteries need a hard shell, or at least a semi puncture resistant shell. It's not cost prohibitive, coroplast or thin wood panel is cheap.

Okay first impressions is that's a pretty decent battery mounting idea. Took quite a bit of work to make those beautiful machined clamps from Magudaman. It's a shame that they're covered up. I do see some issues:

-Dogman is right about adding some protective armor to your batteries. It only takes one puncture in the right place for thermal runaway to occur and before you know it your whole pack could be lost in a spectacular blaze.

-The clamps you've made are mechanically just "pinching" on the bottom tube and as you mentioned the whole pack could slide up and down the tube. I'm pretty sure it will slide not just from gravity alone but from all the vibration it will encounter when you ride. You can add some hose clamps butt up against your "pinching"clamps to prevent it from sliding. The hose clamps have a better mechanical grip and less likely to slide since it "chokes" around the whole surface of the tube.

Speaking of hose clamps... here's a quick and dirty way I mounted LiPo batteries to my chopper bike frame. BTW the LiPos are protected by flat pieces of HDPE plastic I cut up from an old garbage can then I wrapped it all neatly with lots of electrical tape.

Bad battery protection aside..... How's the peddling situation with this setup? I can only imagine your leggy running into the battery's every time you go to pedal. Then you'd have a real problem when the battery's go dead and you NEED to pedal.

Nice placement of batteries, I agree however, it's cheap insurance to put some coroplast around it. Most sign shops will sell it pretty reasonable, and if you ask them about scratch and dent stuff, you might be surprised how cheap it is!

I have had some wide batteries in the triangle of a bike too, but I'd also be curious to hear how wide yours are and how good your crank clearance is.

you might also consider a stretch fit neoprene bag (something that just wraps over the top in the shape of your triangle, has some velcro along it to hold it together at the bottom) to cover everything up.

Thank for all the replies! This is why I put it in ebike general as oppose to the reviews. I get more feedback on how to improve it. : )

Trackman417 said:

Bad battery protection aside..... How's the peddling situation with this setup? I can only imagine your leggy running into the battery's every time you go to pedal. Then you'd have a real problem when the battery's go dead and you NEED to pedal.

Click to expand...

Pedaling is surprisingly easy. Again this is thanks to my brother's ingenuity. The battery sticks out exactly same length as the crank. However, it sits just above the crank. Moreover, the pedals are totally clear of the battery, so when you pedal, your foot never hit the battery. I can pedal the bike as it was a regular bike. There is no clearance problem. I might take some more picture to illustrate what I mean.

As for the hardcase around the Lipo. Yes I might get it, but then it would interfere with the pedaling. I might have to think of some other way of doing it properly once I have more time. But as of now, I will ride the way it is. Most people's response is: Is that a bomb strapped to your bike??!!. But once they see me taking off super fast, they know it's just batteries. : )

Moreover, just know there is not much room left. I cannot add any width to the sides as it will interfere with pedaling. I cannot add any to the bottom as it might hit the wheel when I bottom the shocks on some pothole/bumps. The only place I can safely put some width is the top. As for the rear, I cannot put much since it will start hitting the rear moving piece of the bike during rear shocking. Basically there is limited thing I can do to it. This is why I suggested the bag since it will not take too much extra space.

Sacman said:

Okay first impressions is that's a pretty decent battery mounting idea. Took quite a bit of work to make those beautiful machined clamps from Magudaman. It's a shame that they're covered up. I do see some issues:

Click to expand...

Yes it's quality work, but again I am going for purpose not to show it off. : )

Sacman said:

-Dogman is right about adding some protective armor to your batteries. It only takes one puncture in the right place for thermal runaway to occur and before you know it your whole pack could be lost in a spectacular blaze.

-The clamps you've made are mechanically just "pinching" on the bottom tube and as you mentioned the whole pack could slide up and down the tube. I'm pretty sure it will slide not just from gravity alone but from all the vibration it will encounter when you ride. You can add some hose clamps butt up against your "pinching"clamps to prevent it from sliding. The hose clamps have a better mechanical grip and less likely to slide since it "chokes" around the whole surface of the tube.

Click to expand...

I am pretty sure it will not slide. Keep in mind I have 3 spots where it clamps. And each clamp is about 80% coverage of the tube. Moreover, this battery mount is stuck on a FS frame which will dampen most if not all the vibration of the roads. I can see a problem with vibration if this was a Hardtail. So far, with the right pressure on the rear shocks, this bike is like riding on air. : )

Sacman said:

Speaking of hose clamps... here's a quick and dirty way I mounted LiPo batteries to my chopper bike frame. BTW the LiPos are protected by flat pieces of HDPE plastic I cut up from an old garbage can then I wrapped it all neatly with lots of electrical tape.

Click to expand...

Not to diss your setup, but I am confident this solution is better than the hose clamp solution. Also know, I have 8 of these sticks! I doubt some hose clamps can keep it on without siding around or slipping.

dogman said:

I meant armor up the batteries. At least, put some coroplast political signs on the sides before you wrap em up for the rain.

You don't have to be on the bike for the disaster to happen, just some dufus in your lab for 2 minuites knocks the bike over, and whammo. It's true, lipo doesn't explode every time it's punctured. A bigger risk is actually the rats nest of wires. Bike falls over, wire gets nicked and shorts, then anything nearby gets ignited. That sort of thing can happen easy with any chemistry.

I'm being pretty preachy here, but really, this is the kind of pics that make me puke to see more and more. You just know there are 100's of Morph types out there gonna imitate it.

All batteries need a hard shell, or at least a semi puncture resistant shell. It's not cost prohibitive, coroplast or thin wood panel is cheap.

Click to expand...

Yeah, this is a raw deal for now. I don't have enough time to cover it up. Yeah I know if it tips over, it will be a fire hazards. However I do keep it right beside a table and the kickstand is pretty good at holding it. There is significant weight to hold up the bike. I doubt a small earthquake and tip it over. Maybe a big one, but then everything would be shit anyways. : ) As for the shorts, I have taken precaution. I electrical tape everything and the wires are pretty covered up. So unless the rating of those electrical tape cannot hold up 74V, I say I am pretty safe for now.

However, that being said, I would eventually put some fireproof bag over it and clean up the wiring a bit. The hard case, might be a long term project. I don't see it easily happening anytime soon.

Keep the comments coming though.

I like your clamps. They appear to be the right diameter and they are in contact with the tube. A material that can scuff but will not break and is easy to work with is starboard. Used a lot in marine applications, it is waterproof. It is easy to cut, route and will hold a screw with the right pilot hole. It will not glue, paint or sand. It comes in various thicknesses. A sliver off the saw about a 1/16" will not be broken or torn by human hands. Very tough. Good luck.

Fool. I can pedal around this big pack with ease, but an additional 1/8 inch of aluminum plate would be too wide.

Better have your cam ready when it happens, we want pics of the smoking plastic at least.

We tried to tell ya. Now go be Morph.

Nice mounts...but Oh my god..you must put something on the outside of those packs.

If the bike falls over..or someone else parks a bike next to yours and their pedals are metal edged or hard plastic, and they scrape or bash those cells, a fire ball could be seconds away.

I had some loose cells on the workbench the other day, from the very same type of Nano Tech 10s packs. I pushed a box on to the bench, this pushed the cells backwards, scraping the edge of one cell down the side of a piece of 5mm sheet aluminium that had been drilled and cut for other purposes. Luckily I had to reach over the box to pick up a knife to cut the packing tape sealing the box.
Within the time it took to push the box and lean over it, I could already see where the edge of the ally had ripped the side of the pack and it had started to burn.

If you lean that bike against a wall and just drag those cells across a sharp bit, you risk them burning. When you handle them ..treat them like a live bomb


You gotta put something over them or you risk burning $800 of batteries plus the bike.

Even if you have to turn each pack 90 degrees, so make it taller and narrower, that will then give you the room for a 1/4 inch ally plate on the sides.

Armor them up. My lipos are covered in fire resistant foam with aluminum backing and then placed in an aluminum shell. I also have an aluminum plate in between the batteries and the rear shock. The wiring goes over that plate so i have padding to prevent cuts on the wire. I know it looks like hell but I don't have many tools at home.

awesome mount! wish they sold universal mounts like those

boppinbob said:

Armor them up. My lipos a covered in fire resistant foam with aluminum backing and then placed in an aluminum shell. I also have an aluminum plate in between the batteries and the rear shock. The wiring goes over that plate so i have padding to prevent cuts on the wire. I know it looks like hell but I don't have many tools at home.
View attachment 2
View attachment 1

Click to expand...

How do you charge the battery setup? I was thinking about a set up like that but I could not get the balance leads into a conveniant place to get the balance plugs easily to balance charge the packs.

thedarlington said:

awesome mount! wish they sold universal mounts like those

Click to expand...

They actually do. The ones I use are for large antenna element mounting and are made for various sizes of tubing. I got mine from DX Engineering. I used them on my mountain bike commuter, you can see them in the thread linked in my signature below.

There are others made for other purposes.

A mount made like this is far stronger than hose clamps and if the curvature matches the tube gets a very good grip. They do need to fit properly to work right.

Trackman417 said:

boppinbob said:

Armor them up. My lipos a covered in fire resistant foam with aluminum backing and then placed in an aluminum shell. I also have an aluminum plate in between the batteries and the rear shock. The wiring goes over that plate so i have padding to prevent cuts on the wire. I know it looks like hell but I don't have many tools at home.
View attachment 2
View attachment 1

Click to expand...

How do you charge the battery setup? I was thinking about a set up like that but I could not get the balance leads into a conveniant place to get the balance plugs easily to balance charge the packs.

Click to expand...

If you look at one of the picture, you will see how i charge these bad boys.

As for the clamps, they do have them, but i doubt they willwork well for any bike. The custom work wasnt cheap, but i think it is well worth it. I dont know if my clamp is universal, but you can ask magudaman about my design. But know it was measured for my bike's tube so if you tube is smaller or larger, it might not work.

Best of luck!

How do you charge the battery setup? I was thinking about a set up like that but I could not get the balance leads into a conveniant place to get the balance plugs easily to balance charge the packs.

Click to expand...

EPbuddy.com sells balance tap extensions.
Being lipo I check all cells before and after charging with a battery medic.

Here is the clearance picture for those who are curious of how I can pedal with all this battery mounted.


As you can see, there is just enough clearance. This is because the crank is short.

mvly said:

Here is the clearance picture for those who are curious of how I can pedal with all this battery mounted.

Click to expand...

I think the question as to how you can pedal was more related to the width of the pack in the frame and clearance of your knees and legs, as opposed to pedal clearance.
You are running on a time bomb there if you don't protect those packs though.

What Neil says, all it takes is your foot to slip on the pedal and for you to give that pack a bit of a kick and you are looking at a serious fire that could endanger others.

When I've told people about LiPo I tell them to treat LiPo packs like bags of petrol. They are just as unstable and volatile if not more so require armour and protection just as you would a fuel tank. PVC trunking is a good start for making your packs puncture proof, or getting some 1mm acrylic sheet and using a heat gun to bend it into shape.

Also, be careful leaning it against walls / desks. One slip and again, run away fire you really don't want.

Be safe dude.

He's a perfect person. It won't happen to him. :lol:

Yeah I know all about the lipo risk. Like I said before, I am working on some fireproof hardshell solution. As of now, I don't have the time do so. Maybe in a few months or so. As for the kicking of the pack during pedaling. I try not to pedal too much at 40mph. : )

I'll post some pictures of the fireproof/hardshell once I get it done.

Thanks for the all the warnings.

Of course you will. But meanwhile we'll just have to sport with you a bit.

Falling off at 40mph absolutely sucks. Falling off at 40mph and then catching fire really really sucks. Just sayin'

nonlineartom said:

Falling off at 40mph absolutely sucks. Falling off at 40mph and then catching fire really really sucks. Just sayin'

Click to expand...

+1
the only good thing about this setup right now... You can spot puffy cells.... haha got to look at the bright side! There's a silver lining to everything