36 volt 12ah Replacement Battery Only for Switch Electric Bi

[PHC]

I was looking around on Amazon for a deal on a Lifep04 pack and I found this 36 volt 10ah "Replacement Battery Only for Switch Electric Bike" for $299.99. It seem to include a built in charger making it a amazing deal if it is a lifep04 pack. I was wondering what you all thought,

http://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Battery-Switch-Electric-Bikes/dp/B003L96KJM/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1301865842&sr=8-10

It may be cheaper because its a replacement part for an eBike they sell. Also being target you could just return it to customer service if it was not as advertised.

Paul

 

[Recumbent Bicycle Source]

When Amazon has 3rd party products I would think before I bought.

These are just people who buy closeout crap then try and dump it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html?ie=UTF8&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&me=A1B51ORJYFHWJ1

How much could they know about Batteries? What happens when it fails a month from now? Seems like they sell anything and everything.

 

[PHC]

Target is a huge retail company here in the USA. They are owned by the Dayton-Hudson Corp. with thousands of retail stores like Wal-Mart. They seem to be selling through Amazon like many other retailers. The only thing I am unsure of is the Switch electric bike company. I searched for their web page, but I have been unable to find it. The battery pack seems like a good deal and could be returned to Target online if it is garbage. I have some RC lipo packs from Hobby King now but they look like they will be a hassle to charge. The Switch battery pack has a built in charger and is designed for electric bike use so it may be a better choice.

Paul

 

[PHC]

OK I found them here is a link to the web page,

http://www.switchelectricbikes.com

Paul

 

[theRealFury]

I was looking around on Amazon for a deal on a Lifep04 pack and I found this 36 volt 10ah "Replacement Battery Only for Switch Electric Bike" for $299.99. It seem to include a built in charger making it a amazing deal if it is a lifep04 pack. I was wondering what you all thought,

http://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Battery-Switch-Electric-Bikes/dp/B003L96KJM/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1301865842&sr=8-10

It may be cheaper because its a replacement part for an eBike they sell. Also being target you could just return it to customer service if it was not as advertised.

Paul

2 things to be aware of....

1) this battery does not have a built in charger, it appears to not come with any charger (i believe i have same battery on my bike) If you zoom in you can see the small charg port just below the handle, this will most likely take the same ~15mm 2 prong charge connector as mine.

Product Description
This lightweight 36v/10Ah lithium ion battery comes equipped with a locking mechanism and handle. Plug the battery into a standard 110V for recharging. It will take approximately 6 hours for a full recharge and the battery will last the rider approximately 22 miles using 100% battery power

2) this is not LIFEPO4 - it does not state LiFePo4 anywhere on the page and i doubt you would get one for that price. This is Li-ion as stated above in the product description and not a very good one at that. manufacturer advised cycle life is ~300 @ 100% DOD and ~500 @ 80% (if its the same as mine which i beleive it to be) ... and lats face it, with only 10AH you will be deep cycling it often like i do.

 

[TylerDurden]

It would be interesting to get one and open it up.

Too bad they won't let you return it to the store, just Target.com.

I doubt it will be LFP. Prolly LMn.

 

[PHC]

You can download the manuals from their web page. I was wondering what the difference is between "LFP. Prolly LMn." and Lifep04 is? The manual says "If the battery is regularly discharged and re-charged its life is about three years or 800- 1000 cycles or recharges (after which the storage capacity of the battery gradually declines)." They also say they get 20 miles per charge so that would be 1600 to 2000 miles from one $300 battery = .1875 to 15 cents per mile due to the cost of the battery.

Paul

 

[dogman dan]

Either way, I would recomend this only for a pretty weak bike, like a 300 watts or less controller. Sure enough, those bikes at switch are all 250 watt.

If you have one of the many direct drive kits out there, this battery may not last so long since they can draw 800 watts easy.

It costs about half as much as a pingbattery twice it's size. It's a bargain because it's small.

 

[theRealFury]

You can download the manuals from their web page. I was wondering what the difference is between "LFP. Prolly LMn." and Lifep04 is? The manual says "If the battery is regularly discharged and re-charged its life is about three years or 800- 1000 cycles or recharges (after which the storage capacity of the battery gradually declines)." They also say they get 20 miles per charge so that would be 1600 to 2000 miles from one $300 battery = .1875 to 15 cents per mile due to the cost of the battery.

Paul

I think what TD was saying is that "I doubt it will be LFP. it will probably be LMn"

LFP is short for LiFePo4
LMn is short for Lithium Magneese i beleive.

as for cycle life, it all depends on what exact chemistry is under the hood so to speak but id put money on this.... 800-1000 cycles will be quoted on a 10amp or less discharge(<1C), 500 cycles on 1-2C discharge and 300 on a 2c+.

also your math is off on the Cost per mile calc.

its 16,000-20,000 miles so a CPM on the battery alone at 800 cycles of 1.9 cents per mile not counting electricity cost to recharge. even if you only got 300 cycles out of it (what im expecting out of mine~) your looking at 5 cents per mile which is still quite cheap as a mode of transport.

 

[PHC]

I think the way to go with these is to plan on buying 2 and run them in parallel. That way you would not put too much stress on one pack. It would also give you a failsafe in case one pack failed you could keep going. I read several reviews for the bikes they sell and it looks like most customers were happy. No way to tell long term what would happen. I wish Consumer Reports would do an issue for all available electric bikes.

Paul