Shipping batteries, or cheap alternative for benchtop testing?

Hi all! I'm building the control system for a joystick controlled electric trike for a friend in another state, and I need to come up with a 48V power source for debugging. It looks like if we buy the ebike battery that he'll eventually be using and have it shipped to me, it will be a royal pain in the ass to ship it to him. Is there a way? It can go ground, and I'm thinking of getting a Luna 48V battery, or similar.

Alternatively, does anybody have a better idea than getting ~50 pounds of lead acid batteries on my bench? I'm more of a mechanical guy, but I seem to recall that a power supply that can do any kind of regen is very pricey.

Where are you located? And what is the capacity of the battery you are looking for? Richard

I’m in Oakland California, and I’m looking to imitate a 48V pack with at least 10AH capacity. This is for a recumbent trike with steer-by-wire, so for the final build more capacity is better... but for now I think that’s a good starting point.

Just a few updates:

-Luna Cycle was not willing to provide me with a UN safety certificate, so I wouldn't really be able to re-ship one of their packs.

-An unnamed vendor was willing to provide the UN safety certificate, but for a much smaller battery than what I was asking for. They said that when I re-ship they would provide the shipping label, I'd print it, and I'd just drop off the package at UPS saying only "I'm dropping off a package". I checked with UPS, and this is definitely not OK, and I'm not really comfortable with this. If something went wrong with their battery it would have been me that didn't disclose the cargo I was dropping off. It's too bad, because their batteries seem decent for the price.

-AA Portable Power Corp is willing to ship the batteries wherever, and will let me pick them up in person (they are local), but if the batteries leave their building they won't re-ship them.

This is pretty frustrating. I wonder what people do when they buy a battery online and are dissatisfied- no returns? They're just out of luck?

I'm not advocating breaking the law, nor exposing yourself to crippling liability, but, many people do take such risks all the time, when there is no reasonable alternative.

Doing so as part of a regular commercial operation would I think be foolhardy.

joec said:

Just a few updates:

-Luna Cycle was not willing to provide me with a UN safety certificate, so I wouldn't really be able to re-ship one of their packs.

-An unnamed vendor was willing to provide the UN safety certificate, but for a much smaller battery than what I was asking for. They said that when I re-ship they would provide the shipping label, I'd print it, and I'd just drop off the package at UPS saying only "I'm dropping off a package". I checked with UPS, and this is definitely not OK, and I'm not really comfortable with this. If something went wrong with their battery it would have been me that didn't disclose the cargo I was dropping off. It's too bad, because their batteries seem decent for the price.

This is pretty frustrating. I wonder what people do when they buy a battery online and are dissatisfied- no returns? They're just out of luck?

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Yes, battery shipping is a nightmare.. but for good reason. I'm surprised that Luna couldn't provide a UN certificate. Starting in 2020, battery manufacturers wiill have to have their UN test cert available on their website.
But, the person shipping the battery needs to be trained and certified as well, so having their cert alone won't help. If you were closer, I could loan a 48v pack or ship a certified battery for you.
Edit: and I'd steer clear of the vendor asking you to ship the batteries illegally.

For what it’s worth, I do have somebody certified who is willing to help me locally, but they want to see the UN certificate, and they want to know that the battery and packaging (everything relevant) is exactly as the vendor would ship it.

At the moment I think that four of these in series would be cheap and capable enough, then I can get a reputable pack shipped direct to my friend after I have troubleshot the controls.

https://m.sears.com/powerstar-12v-18ah-diehard-platinum-1150-portable-power/p-SPM8481604602

why not get 4 of the cheapest small motorbike SLA batteries and be done with it?

I think that’s going to be it; just need to make sure that short bursts of ~60A are doable.

joec said:

I think that’s going to be it; just need to make sure that short bursts of ~60A are doable.

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that is not a problem for 15Ah lead acids. just keep the bursts under 10 sec and let it rest for a minute or so.

1. Look into Ligo bricks from Grin.

2. SFAIK, batteries installed in a sealed, rigid enclosure are somewhat easier to comply with shipping regulations.

3. My battery was in such an enclosure, enclosed in a bag, then placed in a box full of what appears to be Vermiculite, an inexpensive horticultural item. It had the requisite tags, and while I have not looked into the law, in detail, like you, a reasonable person could certainly conclude that re-using the original shipping container and packaging material, while enclosing it in a second, additional, slightly larger box with new address labels, would be perfectly acceptable. Meaning quite within the law, even though it may not specifically comply, my contention would be that the law was functionally obeyed. I do not think it takes a whole lot of training to fill a box with Vermiculite.

AngryBob said:

I do not think it takes a whole lot of training to fill a box with Vermiculite.

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you never worked in goverment have you?

AngryBob said:

1. Look into Ligo bricks from Grin.

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Ligo bricks are 36V. He needs 48V.

AngryBob said:

2. SFAIK, batteries installed in a sealed, rigid enclosure are somewhat easier to comply with shipping regulations.
3. My battery was in such an enclosure, enclosed in a bag, then placed in a box full of what appears to be Vermiculite, an inexpensive horticultural item.

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Yes, if you are shipping non-UN certified batteries, they have to be shipped in a rigid (metal or plastic) UN compliant container filled with vermiculite. Manufacturers can do this if they are making less than 100 units. These UN containers are not that cheap, and proper hazmat shipping usually adds an extra $50 or so via UPS or Fedex, so it's a rather expensive way to ship... If you are shipping certified batteries, you can use a UN compliant fiberboard box (4G box) which saves a bit of $$, but you still have the hazmat fee.

the batteries i make i never ship, i personally deliver them in my van all over europe. usually with only a very low profit over the transporting cost but i dont want UPS or whomever trying to drop-kick a lipo over a fence.