Crystalyte 5404 / 5403 UPGRADED! LAST CALL

[Tincan]

My sphincter just quivered...

[Tincan]

Any news / updates?

[Hyena]

I've absconed with the motors to costa rica to build an insane 18 wheeler 5404 powered e-semi trailer

Nah my customs broker is dragging his feet. I thought the goods would be ready last thursday but apparently being "available" means that's when they get unloaded from the ship, adn then because it's a mixed container all the boxes have to get sorted out. Things shut down over easter and I guess they're slow to restart. He emailed 2 days ago asking about the wattage of the motors in order to calculate the duty on them. I told him they were 200w for street use so don't any of you guys get any ideas about running them at higher power! I didn't hear back so emailed him this morning asking for an update but still haven't heard. I'll chase him again tomorrow. I was hoping to have them this weekend so I can get started on shipping them all out to you guys but it's not looking likely at this stage. They still haven't given me the bill yet so I imagine it'll be another day or 2 after I've paid that the gear is actually released. I didn't realise the 6 week shipping time they quote is 3 weeks at sea and then 3 weeks getting through customs at this end!

Don't worry, I'll post an update as soon as I get some firm intel

[oatnet]

One motor delivered, the other in the mail, so I wanted to take a minute and offer some thanks to the folks who volunteered a considerable amount of their time to make this happen. IMO folks like these are real superstars of endless-sphere.

Wojtek, thanks for having the 54xx vision and setting up this group buy. Wojtek, Maxwell, Hyena, (and anyone else I don't have the perspective or recollection to be aware of), thanks for sorting out the best uprades, nuturing the deal from the start and through the dark days of the 40mm alternative Kenny forced on us, putting the 54xx back on track, and getting the motors landed. Thanks for answering all the stupid question asked by myself and others, and keeping a thick skin as people got eager for their motors. As I said before, we pay for these motors with patience as much as dollars.

Many group deals don't make it through to completion, so this achievement is a testament to all of your efforts. This motor is gonna drive the next wave of Super-E-Bikes.

THANK YOU !

[Hobbit]

I'm about as excited as a padewan about to get his first lightsaber.

[megacycle]

Freaky can't stop looking at that.
Making my eyes go googly.

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[Evoforce]

Yes, I second what Oatnet said! I received my motors and am very pleased. Great job to all who made this possible for me and others to get these great motors. Thanks also is given to all of the other e-spherites who would not panick and hung in there too! A panicked group can also have terrible results and lead to overal failure of any deal. I believe, in fact, that most deals fail for that very reason, either at their inception or through the course of time. It also takes some very strong people at the helm to quell a mutiny when the going gets dicey. A toast to all for a sucessful journey and a job well done!

[megacycle]

[quote="Hyena"
Nah my customs broker is dragging his feet.
quote]

Tell him to pull his well lubed finger out
Or the gang will come down and sort it.

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[Hyena]

Thanks guys. This has been a massive saga and one that I'm glad is coming to an end!
I'm still getting the run around from my customs broker but after speaking to another guy at the company it sounds like the goods have been processed and are ready to collect. I should have them by wednesday at the latest, on account of if I don't it goes into storage then and I get slugged a fortune! It'd be nice if the person I've been trying to contact would get back to me and give me the final bill so I can pay it and collect the stuff! The guy I did speak to today confirmed that I'd have to pay GST on the order in addition to customs duty so that kinda sucks (I thought it was one or the other and last time just payed the customs duty) Anyway I've largely allowed for extras like this in the cost so as long as there's no other surprise fees (sometimes they spring random quarantine checks which cost a few hundred) we should come in pretty close to target. Maybe $5 more per motor, $10 at most.
Once I have the weight and dimensions of the boxes the motors are in I'll start organising courier quotes.
Pickup from my place in south east sydney is welcome, as is organising your own courier if you'd prefer.
Free 200w sticker with every motor

Please note: do not affix the sticker to your motor if you plan to power it with a controller. The 200w rating refers to the EMF produced by rolling the wheel along the ground

[methods]

Take the time to read the harmonized tariff schedule....

At first it seems like a 20,000 page nightmare but if you spend some time with it you will be able to zoom in, zoom in, zoom in. Once you are in the category for Motors you can start to investigate the different percentages. You will be quickly outraged when you see obvious corruption:

"All 1hp electric motors" 4%

"1.02hp electric motor 12" in diameter painted blue" 2%
"0.99hp electric motor 3lbs for use grinding meat" 1%
etc

This is the result of assholes sneaking things into the books... but sometimes you can beat them at their own game.

In the US hub motors fall under one of these - something to the tune of:

"750W motor" 4%
"750W motor to be used as the sole source of propulsion for an electric vehicle" 0%

ah ha....

So on my last couple of orders I have customized my deliver to be outfitted with larger phase wires, better connectors, etc in order to reasonably rate my motor at 750W and I import them duty free. 750W is just about right too... that is about 1hp and that is about what it takes to make for a reasonable low power ride.

Do your homework boys
(though in AU you are going to get screwed either way)

A good broker should find this for you - but he can only go by what you tell him.

-methods

[Tincan]

We are used to being screwed here in Aus...

[Hyena]

I did look into some of our local rulings methods - seems the way to get them duty free here would be to import them as mobility aids - for disabled scooters etc in which case they're duty free. Just about anything else attracts duty. They did ask me if they were AC or DC and what the wattage was as this would also affect the duty but I'm not sure to what end. You can't really say "well, you tell me whats cheapest and I'll tell you what sort of motors they are"
Interestingly the laced motors attracted a different tarrif than the bare motors...
As you say, it's rediculous and no doubt stems from people trying to scam stuff in the old days.

Anyway, the end result is win, we now have a bunch of motors that were previously unobtainable. It cost a few bucks but not as much as having them air shipped from the US, which would have landed them here around $700!

[Hobbit]

We are used to being screwed here in Aus...

yeah, just ask Aussie jester.

[Handyhappy1]

Parts are coming together nicely. I will be drilling out my Alex Dx32 rims to accept 12 guage spokes and my new Kelly keb 72101 controller should arrive soon. I hope the 5404 can handle the extra amps out of the controller. My previous Kelly controller the Keb72601 easilly overheated and cooked 2 hs 3540 motors. I am hoping that with temperature controlling I will be able to push the 5404 to 190amps continuous and 450 amps max that the new Kelly 72101 is supposed to deliver. Any comments would be appreciated.
Also has anyone else experience spoke breakage? I seem to break spokes very frequently and wonder if it is because they are too hard. Kind of like dry spaghetti. Most of my problems happen as I am towing a trailer. I have a lifepo4 battery in the trailer weighing 68 lbs, I weigh 250 + and I also carry a 10 lb pack of lipos on the back of a full suspension bike.

[Hyena]

I am hoping that with temperature controlling I will be able to push the 5404 to 190amps continuous and 450 amps max...Any comments would be appreciated.

Welcome to ES, nice second post
In short, no.
These are a tough motor, yes. 190 amp bursts - with caution, probably. Continuous ? No.

I have a lifepo4 battery in the trailer weighing 68 lbs, I weigh 250 + and I also carry a 10 lb pack of lipos on the back of a full suspension bike.

Good thing for those weight saving lipos hey ?

[amberwolf]

Also has anyone else experience spoke breakage? I seem to break spokes very frequently and wonder if it is because they are too hard.

If they are not tensioned correctly, too loose, then they will break easier as they are flexed more. If they are too tight, then they can't flex at all, and will break. If the wheel experiences lots of side loads, and tension is wrong, the rim itself will distort and bend, permanently altering the tension, making some too tight and some far too loose, and they'll just start snapping in droves.

[Handyhappy1]

Thank you for the quick response to my questions. Just a thought...I do see other people with 5300 and even hs series motors running high wattage using higher voltage than I am currently using. Is the amperage the breaking point on these motors? I really enjoy high acceleration and although my 75kmh is not quite what others are doing on this forum it is still fast enough for me.
I was thinking that the wider Alex dx32 rim would help as far as spoke breaking. This would distribute some of the side forces over a wider area and help to eliminate or reduce spoke breakage. Comments again are appreciated.

[Hobbit]

So a couple of lads (one named hobbit) from the shire, travel across (middle)earth to retrieve the rings of power.

[methods]

That's a really bromantic picture


-methods

[Tincan]

I was more thinking a scene from "Road Trip"

[Hyena]

T minus 3 hours until Hobbit and I roll into Mordor.
Lets put a lid on this saga!

Now, who wanted large screen CA's to go with these ? I remember a few people asking me a while back and I think I put most of you on hold with a "remind me when the motors come in"

[Tincan]

but i have already wired in my normal ca............

[Hobbit]

Got mine! And everyone else's in Australia for about an hour there. thanks, indescribable gratitude to Hyena, maxwell,wojtek and basically everyone involved. When I ride my own electric vehicle off into the sunset for the first time, I reckon I'll have tears of joy going on. It's going to be a very sacred thing.

[jonescg]

8 months, 637 posts and 22,000 views, you finally got your motors

Don't frock em up

[Hyena]

Got mine! And everyone else's in Australia for about an hour there.

Yes that did occur to me as you drove off with 15 grands worth of stuff...
Speaking of which this is Hobbit's van jammed to the eyeballs with all our gear. Talk about a perfect fit, we couldn't have fitted a single extra box!

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with thanks, indescribable gratitude to Hyena, maxwell,wojtek and basically everyone involved.

And on behalf of all the other Aussies thanks for your time and services today in collecting the gear, that saved everyone a few dollars in local delivery fees from the dock.
For a while there I thought I was going to die of cancer before Kenny made and delivered these motors but we got there in the end!

Pron:

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Now, the slightly bad news.
Costs did go a little over budget for a number of reasons - luck wasn't on our side when the day came to actually pay for the motors, after hoving around 1:1 and slightly better than the USD for quite a while the AUD took a bit of a plunge to around 95c USD. It has since bounced back but that doesn't help us as the transaction was completed when it was lower. That added $15-20 to the cost in AUD, then there was the duty, hefty GST etc etc. I allowed for most of it in my estimate and even a little over and in the end it was only the currency fluctuation that caught me out. So, bottom line is the motors, landed in my lap ended up costing $10 each more than planned. I did say up front that the quoted price (that everyone paid) was only an estimate so hopefully everyone is cool with this. All told I think it actually came extremely close considering we're taking fees and charges in the viscinity of 3 grand.
So yeah, I'll add that $10 in with the postage when everyone is finalising payment.
On that note, as you can see above I have a considerable number of these to shift so if you're in Sydney local pickup would be preferred.
I will be using interparcel.com.au to ship these out, I've used them before and find their rates reasonable. However if you'd like to make your own courier arrangements then I'm more than happy for you to do this. Likewise if you happen to have a commercial account we can get better rates on then let me know! Unfortunately Auspost won't ship boxes this big.
The boxes are is 69x68x26cm and weighs about 15kg (I think that was what others had found, right ? I haven't got a hugely accurate scale here) and are leaving from 2232
As an estimate, postage to Melbourne and Brisbane is around $30, Perth is... better sit down... $70. Ouch

[optimus prime voice] 5404s, roll out! [/voice]