Albie's ebike - my 'daily driver' project

[albie]

Ok finally took the bike for a test ride....

the bike now has a top speed of 50km/h (fresh off the charge)...

I was going to do some range tests but the battery i had spare and connected in series was flat so I've got it on the charger now.

I'll hopefully do some range tests later tonight (which will probably involve doing a few laps around the neighbourhood).

the controller voltage cut out off 39v is kinda annoying but i have to live with it for a couple weeks till i get my proper connector

 

[Blacklisted]

Albie and friends, I've learnt more from this thread on the eZip than from anywhere else on the web.

I'm just wondering if you plan to repack the Currie battery compartments when your new super 48 volt Lithium arrives?

I disassembled mine today to measure up to see what size packs could go in there.

I measured two SLAs, each 151 (L) x 65 (D) x 110 (H) mm

There is a central pillar stopping you from getting one big custom pack in there. It doesn't look like a good idea to cut it off as the screw it houses looks pretty important to the overall structure and solidness.





Called Playcorp today, the Australian distributor, to ask about a 36 volt replacement pack but only got an answering machine.

I think they are a good design if only they didn't have woeful batteries in them! And the rack mount/controller box is pretty neat too. Although it must add to the weight as it's quite solid.

I really want to get a 36 volt power source setup to get above 30 Km/h but I don't want to invest too much incase I don't keep it very long.

 

[albie]

I won't be using currie tech battery anymore (its just been sitting in the garage for ages now).

If you want my old 24v battery (only used twice!), I'm going to part with it for $40.00. The old running gear... i'll be selling for around 100.00 (original rack/controller/throttle/brake cut out/motor). Great for spare parts.

Since I've got the new x5304 setup... it uses a new rack etc so really the only original stuff is pretty much the mountain bike bits (except for the handlebars - flatbars rock!). As much as i liked the 36v setup... it just ran to slowly / very noisyly... wasn't slow slow cause i was able to keep up with the lycra riders on Royal Pde in the city but couldn't overtake them (as it died heaps at 36km/h!). Running the original ezip setup... was noisy and everyone will know that you have an electric bike (the motor sticks out like a mofo!). the hub setup on the bike now rocks coz its quiet and has heaps of go!

As for the battery setup... I suggest going for like a 36v 10aH LiFePO4 battery pack setup... probably best bang for buck upgrade you will do on the bike and it will be insanely lighter than the 24v setup that you will have... plus have an insane range! If you do decide for a higher power hub... you will have a good power pack to start off with already!

 

[Blacklisted]

I'll hold off on getting spares until I have a plan for my eZip but thanks for the offer. Thos rack mount rugged cases would be worth more on their own!

I have a few ideas for my own setup which I won't contaminate your thread with, but do you think the power of the Crystalyte 5304 hub is worth the compromise for the extra weight over the 400 lower end range?

 

[albie]

The frame and tyre setup I have now definitely loves the power that comes from the x5304.

Sure it's a heavy mofo but you quickly forget about it once your zipping down the road.

Alot of the other guys who are weight watchers will say to go for a puma. I find having a gearless setup with the extra omph is better for the long term. Besides, your not going to be blasting around at stupid speeds. It's like a car or a motorbike. You know they are capable of doing 200+ km/h but your not going to do speeds that fast cause of the road laws etc.

If you want extra torque, go for the x5... if you want something light then go for a 4 series hub motor (ie a 408 or even a 406) ... it's really up to you on what setup you really want.

 

[albie]

Ok here is some SLA stats.... 48v 17ah SLA pack

Sports tracker is one hell of a handy program!
http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/workoutdetail/index.do?id=54944

You will notice that around 18km into the trip... the SLAs started dying (and hitting the 39v voltage cutout!)

I also had to stop a few times as I had issues with the rear basket and also the battery connectors.

Normally this trip takes me around 50mins but with the holdups / issues i had on the way home... ballooned the time out.

I probably won't ride the bike till I get the LiFePO4 pack so its going to sit in the garage for a couple of weeks

 

[monster]

all the ebike chargers suck imo, which is why i made my own.

 

[davejones]

I won't be using currie tech battery anymore (its just been sitting in the garage for ages now).

If you want my old 24v battery (only used twice!), I'm going to part with it for $40.00. The old running gear... i'll be selling for around 100.00 (original rack/controller/throttle/brake cut out/motor). Great for spare parts.

albie - you have pm re your currie battery.

Lots of great info here.

I picked up my E-Zip from Kmart yesterday for for the huge sum of $265 brand new still in the box. Absolute bargain and it all works too! They are having a %25 off sale.

 

[albie]

hey dude its urs now... i'll have to organise shipping etc on tuesday / wednesday

 

[davejones]

Thanks
I'll pm you with my email address so you can let me know how much etc.

 

[albie]

I took the bike for a spin today with the n95 / Nokia Sports Tracker program to see what it's capable of.

http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/workoutdetail/index.do?id=59564

Basically out of the 5.8km ride... i got 49.2km/h top speed and averaging 30km/h. Not bad for SLAs... although did some hill climbs at the end and saw that the voltage was dropping off heaps.

I think I could've got 50+km/h but i hit a pot hole hence the drop in speed in the graph. One of the SLA batteries are loose and kinda jumped up in the basket so i backed off and took it easy.

So cannot wait for a LiFEPO4 pack... and do this every day!

Probably the two issues i have at the moment is the fact that I have a bit of tyre rubbing (will probably require some filing or use of a dremel tool to remove a stud on the frame) with the 2.5" tyres and also the battery issue.

All in all happy with the setup so I'll just to sort out these two issues before I'm confident to ride the bike daily again.

 

[albie]

Ok massive post time...

Took these photos with my camera phone (n95)
Yellow postal packaging!!! (sitting at work on my desk after i picked it up)

Finally in my garage

Opened packaging - Damn stupid styrofoam!!!

Charger and Battery pack out of packaging... notice i was able to hook up the anderson connectors on the charger

Size Comparison with a 12v 17ah SLA Battery Pack

Charge from the unpack... I'm assuming that the cells were fully charged.

Battery in the Topeak Bike Bag (nice and light!!!)... I've got enough space for two packs... mmmm 96v!!!

Pre-ride doc wattson readout...

Post-ride doc wattson readout...

I didn't know how much power I used up because I tripped the BMS (BMS trips and shuts pack off when too much current is drawn)... I must have hit over 40a and it just shut off everything so i have to watch standstill takeoffs! The only way I could turn the pack on was to unplug the pack and plug it back in. Mind you i did the 10km run on full throttle / no pedalling so things are looking good for this pack.

More photos here: http://www.in2events.com/galleries/20080204_lifepo4/index.html

for those who want like GPS data... check out the sports tracker link.
Sports tracker link: http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/workoutdetail/index.do?id=66173

now the problem I have is the charger... not sure whether or not its charging. If its like the yesa packs, it should turn red (indicator on charger). however its stuck on green. I'll see what the charged voltage is after a couple of hours charging.

 

[Dee Jay]

Dude, if I were me, I would trust what the voltmeter says until you can sort things out with the maker. Why risk overcharging and blowing yourself up? I would just drain it and then charge it from there, but only if you keep can an eye on it while charging. If it keeps charging past its rated capacity, that can't be good. Again, that's only if I were me. :?

J

 

[albie]

ok found out what was wrong.

the charger that i got sent was for a 24v 20aH pack!!!

I've sent an email to anna saying that i need the proper charger.

 

[fechter]

It would be nice if the BMS didn't trip all the time. I suspect there might be a way to slow the response so it would only trip if the overload was sustained for a second or more.
Plan B might be to bypass the overcurrent protection altogether and use a properly sized fuse.

 

[albie]

It would be nice if the BMS didn't trip all the time. I suspect there might be a way to slow the response so it would only trip if the overload was sustained for a second or more.
Plan B might be to bypass the overcurrent protection altogether and use a properly sized fuse.

Hey fechter....

how would I bypass the overcurrent protection? I'm really interested in doing this!

 

[albie]

getadirtbike saved my life... well charging issues really...

Got a charger off him tonight (a lithium charger)...

so i've got it charging in the garage... but i've got the timer on to make sure that it charges properly...

As you can see... i've got it as far away from everything as possible... (the car i only drive when i need to... usually the weekends now!)

Oh yeah bike shots... took out the old rack (well 2 week old rack haha)... and put in the new Topeak rack... had to adjust the seat cause the bag was hitting the seat.

Here is the end result... nice and clean... still trying to work out how to hide the wires sticking out of the bag!

The new rack / bag... (no battery in the bag as its on the charger)

The Charger i got of getadirtbike this afternoon... 48v 2aH charger

I'm surprised at the size of the pack... with the extra space i have left... i can easily fit another 48v battery pack

 

[fechter]

Hey fechter....

how would I bypass the overcurrent protection? I'm really interested in doing this!

We would need to reverse engineer the BMS a bit. It would be good if we only disable the high current cutout and retain the charging protection and low voltage safety features.
The main fuse and controller current limit should prevent any overcurrents long enough to cause damage.

On many of these BMS's, there are shunt wires just like the ones in controllers. How about some solder?

Do you have a pic of the BMS circuit (or know where one is posted)?

 

[BiGH]

nice work alberquirkme

thats going to be one FAST bike. The duct tape pack looks like its smaller than the equivlant yesa pack! nice work!

96v 20ah is going to be insane.

 

[albie]

pretty much rode the entire 25km to work on full throttle... I got pulled over by a couple of cyclists going how are you going so fast on a MTB lol.

Explained to them and they were going wow!

I love the setup... can't wait for the 96v now... but that will be possibly april the latest as i have to order in another battery pack and a cycle analyst to monitor my battery levels and put a software cutout on the current, which should stop the bms tripping issues I'm having.

Sportstracker... http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/workoutdetail/index.do?id=67728
The Sportstracker GPS started recieving and tracking around half way on the trip which was stupid and annoying.

 

[albie]

ok had the battery bag come off today when i was coming home from work....

was going 50km/h and along came a stupid crappo pot hole and the bump made the topeak clip decide to unclip the bag....

the bag got dragged around 20m... then decided to rip off the anderson connectors.

thank god the rip was a clean one and i was able to do some emergency wiring and get the bike home normally.

There was no damage on the battery but a few tears on the new bag

moral of the story... don't trust the topeak clip... use the velcro straps especially if you are flying down the road.

 

[Mark_A_W]

What's your range Albie?

 

[recumbent]

What's your range Albie?

I'm curious also, the battery looks too small for the 15 AH rating. Although i wish it is for your sake.

 

[albie]

I haven't done any proper range testing yet cause I keep tripping the BMS on the way to work.

I've gotten the 72v 50a xlyte controlle (v2 one) and I have to start adopting a new throttle control style cause putting full throttle to early is causeing a crap load of issues... hopefully the CA i get will resolve this BMS tripping issue with its current limiting functionality.

At the moment the biggest trip i've had is 30km one way and i only used 9aH (and I had full throttle all the way)

 

[fechter]

Even with the CA, you might need to beef the shunt on the BMS since there tends to be a short peak on takeoff before the CA has a chance to kick in. The peak won't harm the batteries, since it is short, so the CA can still protect the cells.