Zanes of Aten Energy 48 volt 20 AH LiPO4, first test

[mvadventure]

First: Imagine your SLA's as a decent four cylinder. Next imagine same car with a strong V-6. The power difference is incredible.

My cord used to download pics is still on the boat so will post them tomorrow but in the meantime it took very little time to at least get the new batteries hooked up temporarily. I tried the front basket and liked it except for handling so have since moved them back over the rear wheel and handling has improved.

It was almost dark so I got only a 2.2 mile run in and went from 20 to 31 MPH, into and with the wind. 1.27 AH used but only 1/2 of volt from the batteries disappeared. I really like the way ypedal wrapped his with foam and I'll likely follow suit but still cover them with a waterproof cover of some sort. I still have to figure out how to wire a 50 amp fuse in to help protect the controller but the watts up never showed more than about 35 amps coming through. Come hell or high water, except for rain, I will give it at least a fifteen mile test run tomorrow and hopefully a much longer run.

The charger seems to work fine, the bike goes no faster but acceleration is unreal and dead stops mean nothing. Of course after five weeks on the scooters and the SLA's would have seemed fast but these batteries, at first touch, are worth every penny.

Tomorrow will be pics.

Mike

 

[Doctorbass]

Your advanture appear to be exiting!

You will appreciate your x5 with the real juice!

How they weight?

 

[Beagle123]

Hi Mike:

Thanks for the info. I can't wait to see the pics. I'd like to see your whole set-up. What kind of controller are you using? Can you include a link to your battery pack so we can see the specs? Is it exactly the same as ypedals' batteries?

 

[oatnet]

Pics pics pics !!!!!!!!!!

 

[mvadventure]

I posted some pics when I was going over the charger problem but here they are again.

The motor is a Crystalyte 5340 (Phoenix Cruiser) with a Crystalyte 4840 controller. Thanks to the help of several forum members I was able to use my 48 volt SLA charger as the LI ION charger that I'm supposed to be using isn't working. It's possible it won't kick in until I get below 50 volts but I doubt it and Zane of Aten is now aware of the problem. He is in Singapore so communication is slow.

I wound up putting 30 miles on the bike without a charge and it was still strong and am looking forward to a long run one day this week but not tomorrow as my schedule is full already.

One of the pics show my shock absorbers as I was concerned about mounting the batteries on the steel frame. I used a couple of sections of garden hose to help cushion bumps and bounces.

Mike

 

[mvadventure]

Just a little performance update now that I've been running these for about three weeks. It's hard to find the time, being retired and all, to actually put all the miles on one charge it will take to discharge them. I have sent the original charger back to Zane at Aten Energy and have been using my SLA charger which brings the pack to a max of just under 54 volts. Zane has my new charger en route but I don't expect it 'till after Christmas due to heavy UPS traffic.

This morning the batteries were charged and the 'watts up" read 53.7 when I left the house. 8.6 miles and 5.7 AH later I turned it off while I played golf. After golf I ran an additional 20 miles at an average speed of 20 MPH and when I turned it off I was down to 52.7 volts. I don't remember the AH which is more an indication of my failing memory than anything else. 28.6 miles and the battery was not tired, the last 1.5 miles were run wide open at 30 - 31 MPH. There is no doubt in my mind these will exceed 40 miles at 20 MPH and 50 miles would not surprise me and in fact I expect it. Zane told me yesterday they could be taken down to below 40 volts and if the controller didn't cut out they would still operate. Since I was on the 7th hole and in between shots when he called I didn't get an opportunity to go into great detail.

IMHO the difference between these and my previous SLA's is night and day. Todays trip would not have been possible at any speed with them. I'll report again when I get a chance to go at least 35 miles on one charge.

Mike (5304, front wheel, 48 volt 20 AH LIiPO4 on a steel framed beach cruiser)

 

[MajorMagnuM]

Fantastic range, you must be made up with those. Could you tell us the dimensions of the pack?

 

[PJD]

What was the SLA pack it replaced? What was the range on them?

 

[curious]

What is the price for these batteries ?

 

[mvadventure]

The bike is in the garage and I'm not but if my memory serves me correctly they are 7 X 8 X 12" high and while I've never weighed them they are considerably less then my four B&B 12/12 SLA's. When I ordered them last August I paid $832.00 and I think that included shipping.

With the new charger they will accept a nominal charge of 58 volts but in just a mile or so they are down to a realistic >53.6 which lasts for a long time, a really long time. Even when they drop to 51 in just a moment or two they are back to 52. Due to circumstances beyond my control (had to rebuild the TV cabinet for a new flat screen which took several days, a couple of cold days and then a couple of days catching up with routine chores) I haven't had much opportunity to ride. Tomorrow however I will hopefully have time to put about thirty miles or so on it, a trip impossible before.

Mike

 

[knightmb]

So very nice, I can see a nice replacement for my 48 volt 12AH NiMH battery packs. Less weight, twice the power density, you can't go wrong with that.

 

[mvadventure]

It was/is a beautiful day today and despite the chores at hand I had signed up for a creative writing course so I made the journey to class and afterwards had to pick up a valve to replace one leaking on the hot water heater. Since the hardware store is about six miles away I was never able to explore any of the new bike paths the county has put in in that neighborhood unless I was willing to pedal and I'm not.

When I left the house the watts up showed 58 volts which dropped to 53 within a few hundred yards. Nine miles later, after a trip to class and one way to the hardware store, it read 53.6. Coming home I explored the new paths and took a different, much longer route home putting a total of 26 miles on the bike and the watts up read 53.2 after a moments rest. It was a toss up, longer ride or a nap, and I chose the nap. I still had a couple hours of work at the house and the nap seemed important. I plan on taking a couple of hours and just testing the limit of the battery either this week or next but for the moment I believe I can get at least fifty miles out of it. I've noticed, in normal conditions without a strong wind in my face, that at 20 MPH the motor pulls about 8 - 9 amps and that I can get about three miles out of what the watts up meter calls two AH. (I forgot to check after my ride today but the meter had been turned on and off a couple of times anyway). If I keep the speed to about 20 my normal AH usage for a 8.6 mile ride to one of the golf courses is generally around 5.5 AH including one big bridge and a couple of smaller ones and I know I've used more than 14 AH according to the watts up and still had 53 volts. I don't know if it will suddenly decide to go from 52 or 53 to 38 or not, hopefully it will gradually decline and I'm going to do my best to find out shortly.

Mike

 

[Ypedal]

I don't recommend taking the pack to cut-off while on the bike, keep it fully charged when ever possible .

When bench testing at low amps this can be done with more precision, but if you do hit the cut-off point 5 miles from home and decide to " get home " on motor power you could damage a cell. Not worth the risk imo, unless you are destruction testing

Good to hear they are working out tho.. keep the ride reports comming ! ( Are you keeping a rough cycle count ? )

 

[mvadventure]

You bring forth a good point Ypedal, one I've talked with Zane about. He claims the controller will likely cut out before the batteries and that you can't damage them taking them down. He is the one that mentioned the likely non functional operation at around 38 volts. Unfortunately he called while I was on the golf course and had NO time to discuss further ramifications with him as not only are cell phones considered poor taste on the course but I was in the middle of a hole and simply couldn't take any time.

There is a delightful 21 mile loop around Flagler Beach and up to Palm Coast and weather and schedule permitting I'll run that loop and then simply run the island I live on until it looks like the range has been taken to the max. This trip may be a fantasy as today I've already been involved in a minor plumbing situation and am waiting on the DirecTV guy. Assuming he actually shows up and the work goes well I hope to be free most of tomorrow.

Mike

 

[PJD]

Mike,

I may be buying a 35 or 40 aH 48 volt pack from Zane for a motor scooter in the next month or so.

Any new reports?

Paul D.

 

[mvadventure]

Paul,
Nothing new, just routine operations with plenty of power. Zane did call me last Saturday however just to check on how satisfied I was with the product and to apologize for taking so long on the delivery. He then went on to tell me a little about the new types of clients using the batteries and some warehousing he has accomplished.
I remain a satisfied customer. Oh, he did explain the voltage drop from 58 to 54 so that it made sense but I don't have a clue today as to what he actually said on Saturday. Something about the charger. New ones will be coming out, faster. I'd buy from him again.
Mike

 

[PJD]

Well, an update...

I was going to get a 48 volt 40AH pack form Zane, who seemed quite enthusiastic about selling me a pack, but after a promise to send a statement/invoice, and one week, nothing came. A reminder has him once again a week had him promising again to send something (regular mail, e-mail, I don't care) one week later still nothing.

His unresponsiveness is starting to get annoying...

 

[mvadventure]

I wish I could say that your experience is unique however it's happened to me albeit not re invoicing. In Zane's defense he is trying to coordinate operations and sales, travel back and forth to China and still have a life. I have two email address for him and even when he was in China he corresponded that way. You might try zanehcb@gmail.com or zane@atenergy.biz.

But, I hate to stand in line or beg someone to take my money. Unfortunately the product is unique and with limited suppliers, especially for a quality product and he has that product at a very reasonable cost to the consumer. I ordered in August, received in November and now that I've been using it for a couple of months have decided it was well worth the wait. I have yet to find the limits of range the battery provides but feel very confident in that I could get at least 40 and probably 50 miles on a single charge.

Mike

 

[fechter]

I was going to get a 48 volt 40AH pack form Zane, ....
His unresponsiveness is starting to get annoying...

If you want a 40Ah pack, you might consider the Thundersky prismatic cells from Electric Motorsport. They do not come with a BMS however, so that would be a consideration.

 

[PJD]

Zanes prices are a bit better than the Thunderskys, which I understand have gotten mixed reviews?

He also claims his cells are the c-type LiFePO4's. Slightly better dimensions for my purposes too. The odd thing is that Zane is very good are replying to e-mails and phone inquires. But he is responsive as to actually closing the sale. I also feel awkward about begging him to take a big chunk of my money.

 

[PJD]

Well, now he isn't answering e-mails.

And, the four month delay in delivery from closing the sale is certainly bad news. When I add the time for work that will be needed reconfiguring the pack for the scooters battery compartments, there goes most of the of the usable riding season.

Time to consider those Thundersky's.

 

[mvadventure]

The last time I talked with Zane I seem to remember his stating he now had a stock of these batteries available for immediate delivery. As per normal when I get, rather than make, telephone calls I was busy and failed to give him sufficient attention to be able to remember what kind.

In the past when I've really needed to get home of him the girl who answers the phone at the LA office either has him return the call within 24 hours or calls me back herself within that time frame.

My battery experience is limited to the SLA's that came with my Crystalyte kit, the SLA's I use in my scooters and these LiPO4's. So far I continue to be a major fan of these and believe they were worth the wait but I was the FIRST bicycle customer (I think) and was told there would be a wait up front. I wasn't told the wait would be almost 4 months but Zane did keep me informed of progress throughout. Were I using my scooters more, which in my case would entail using my boat more, I would purchase a couple 24 volt 12 AH packs for them. With the SLA's, being careful, I can get nine miles out of a charge. The LiPO4's would more than double that range and not suffer the Puke effect which means the range wouldn't have to be a slow speeds.

I'll email this thread to Zane and see if that gets you any better action.

Mike

 

[PJD]

Thanks Mike,

One thing for sure, with the high lead-acid battery prices, I will cost me $600 just to replace the pack with good quality (BB) lead acid batteries. So, the favorable economics of LFePO4's is not even arguable anymore, even if they only get half the advertised cycle life.

Good-bye lead - and good riddance!

 

[PJD]

Well, an update...

Last Monday, I got a call from Zane explaining that he was having difficulties at customs but promising that I am in the front of the line for service.

Because of the specific arrangement of cells in the scooters battery boxes, all I really want is bare cells - I will get one of Greg and Bob's BMU's kits and build my own system. But Zane seems to be "resisting" this request. Apparently, he receives finished packs with "battery balancing" chargers from the Chinese factory.

I wish he would be more transparent. If there are bureaucratic or legal reasons for not being able to provide just bare cells, he should explain them. Also, (for some reason I feel embarrassed reporting this) Zane originally called the Foxx cells "US made", of course, they are Chinese made, like practically every other finished good in the US. Why should anyone feel the need to lie about something like this? Honesty is the best policy.

So then, I e-mail electric motorsport about Thundersky cells. No response in a week now.

This is getting aggravating, and reveals something wrong with our economy. I don't want an I-Pod; I don't want a cell phone that gives me the latest news on Paris Hilton. I don't want an SUV, I don't want stock-trading services, I don't want a Coors Lite (but I will be heading out soon for an East End Big-Hop India Pale Ale)... I want sixteen or twenty electrochemical cells utilizing the LiFePO4 chemistry, constructed to appropriate dimensions. Is such a consumer wish so hard to fill?

 

[D-Man]

Thanks Mike,

One thing for sure, with the high lead-acid battery prices, I will cost me $600 just to replace the pack with good quality (BB) lead acid batteries. So, the favorable economics of LFePO4's is not even arguable anymore, even if they only get half the advertised cycle life.

Good-bye lead - and good riddance!

Which size sla batteries were you planning on buying for the $600.00?