Buying A Battery

[mmarlin]

I'm planning a new e-bike. My current one has a 50v, 16.5ah, 825watt Panasonic battery. I want to purchase a new battery equal or better in a shark configuration. My motor is a Bafang BBS02. It's been years since I shopped for supplies, so I'm asking what is a good battery to match my motor (and supplier). I only want to purchase Samsung, Panasonic, LG (known names) batteries and prefer to buy in USA if possible. I'm looking at this 52V 17.5 Ah Jumbo Shark Ebike Battery (Samsung 35E 18650 Cells) at BafangUSA. Does anyone have a review for BafangUSADirect? and the Samsung battery I'm looking at? Thanks

 

[calab]

Luna Cycle, dont know what cells they use.

 

[eMark]

Does anyone have a review for BafangUSADirect? and the Samsung battery I'm looking at? Thanks

According to BafangUSADirect this 52v 17.5Ah battery is currently out of stock with next shipment expected in 4-6 weeks. Take that to mean this battery is shipped from China. BafangUSADirect doesn't say if there is even a 1yr warranty on this battery (starting as $675 wo charger).

UnitPackPower has improved quality control and customer care since early years. Still lingering reason to buy by some. UPP has a 1yr warranty on their 52v 19.2Ah battery ... Amazon.com (14s4p - LG 4800Ah 21700 cells) - $432 ...

Another possibility ... EMP Shark 3 | Lithium Ion Battery ...

Made in USA using Grade-A cells from LG Chem(MJ1) or Samsung(30Q) with a 1-year manufacturer warranty - $680 (52v 17.5Ah) ... not sure if battery is actually fabricated in USA or China.

 

[mmarlin]

I'm now comparing Electrify's battery with California ebikes battery . How do think these compare?
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[mmarlin]

Luna Cycle, dont know what cells they use.

Luna doesn't have batteries in stock.

 

[eMark]

I'm now comparing Electrify's battery with California ebikes battery . How do think these compare?

52v 50-AMP 20 Ah Jumbo Shark E-bike Battery ... 13s4p 50G. Datasheet says 9.800amps MCD x 4 = 39.2amps (NOT 50amps of MaximumContrinuousDischarge). 52v. Is it really 5p (65 21700 cells instead of 52 cells)?

"Jumbo Shark 21700 cell e-bike battery. The Shark style is popular because it is sleek and looks great. 52V 20AH e-bike down-tube battery with high capacity Samsung 21700 50G cells and 50 amps continuous output. ... With 50 amps, you can pull over 2500 watts."

50 amps is marketing BS. I'd give them a call how they justify 50 amps of continuous output. By continuous for how long ... 5 seconds or 5 minutes? You don't need more than a 40amp Controller. Even then i'd pull only 39.4 amps for a peak burst of just a few seconds (5-8) if you expect to get 500 cycles. IMO 25mph is fast enuf. Pulling even 35amps continuous will shorten the batteries cycle life.
Isn't a 13S Li-ion battery actually 54.6v instead of 52v (54.6v divided by 13s = 4.2v).

The California ebikes battery ... 52v 19.2ah Jumbo Shark Pack Battery ... is rated at 58.8v (58.8v divided by 14s = 4.2v

Depends on which one can convince you they have a 1yr warranty or at least 60 day warranty. Most would probably prefer a 14s over a 13s if that was the only variable (same cell, workmanship, warranty)/

 

[tomjasz]

Well Bafang finally won and Bafang U.S.A. is no longer bluffing the market pretending to be an arm of Bafang and has changed their name to Electify.

I worked for Doug founder of California eBike for 7 years. An ambitious youngster bought the company and has always stood behind her sales and products. Just as we did. And lost many dollars fooling with UPP.

 

[ColinB]

What do you mean by "better?" Higher quality? More power? More range?
The main thing is to ensure your battery is rated for a higher power draw than your motor. What's the wattage of the motor / controller?

You don't want to lug around an un-necessarily large battery, but upsizing has some benefits.
- You can still get your needed range when charging the battery to 80/90%.
- Larger batteries, in general, can supply more power, so should run cooler / better.
- Allows for range decline as it ages.

Have a look at EM3ev. I don't have any direct experience, but I like some of the things they are doing. The batteries seem to be made well, cells are fused, smart bms, etc.

You are right to look for a reputable seller. Some can be "creative" when advertising their specifications.

Some batteries come with a BMS that has bluetooth, so you can see the voltage of each cell group. In my view, it is very useful to monitor the health of your battery. ie: If one cell group drops a lot more voltage than the others while riding, you know it is weak.

Perhaps budget for a charger that can charge to 80/90/100% as well, to increase the service life of your battery.