Can I use a 60v battery and controller with a 48v motor?

[HagridsButtquack]

I'm working on turning an old little motorcycle into an ebike. I'm considering buying this kit from LeafBike. They are telling me to buy the 48v 2000w motor, and pair it with the 60v controller and battery. I'm no expert in electronics, so is this possible/safe and does it risk any damage to the motor? Also what effect will running a higher voltage on the motor have? Will it be faster, more powerful, use more energy? Will the battery drain faster? Just trying to figure out if what they're telling me is true before I drop the money on it. Thanks!

 

[RunForTheHills]

It will work. The motor will spin faster with higher voltage defined by the motors Kv rating (RPM per volt).

 

[HagridsButtquack]

It will work. The motor will spin faster with higher voltage defined by the motors Kv rating (RPM per volt).

Thanks. Will I need to worry about overheating the motor or anything?

 

[RunForTheHills]

You need to worry about overheating any hub motor. You can install a temperature sensor in the motor if it doesn't already have one. If a hill is long and steep enough, it will cook your motor. There are things you can do to help cool it, like put statorade in it. You can use the Grin motor simulator to get an idea of what kind of conditions will cause a motor to overheat and the effects of statorade: Motor Simulator - Web Tools - Resources

 

[HagridsButtquack]

Ok. Is there any benefit to using the 60v battery instead of just using a 48v battery and controller to match the motor?

 

[yooper2001]

Ok. Is there any benefit to using the 60v battery instead of just using a 48v battery and controller to match the motor?

As Run Stated, because the voltage is higher, the motor will spin faster. This makes the bike faster.

 

[E-HP]

Ok. Is there any benefit to using the 60v battery instead of just using a 48v battery and controller to match the motor?

How the performance is affected depends heavily on the actual motor, but in general, if you go with the higher voltage, but keep all else equal (same peak current, etc.), then you will have a no load speed increase of 60/48 = 25%, but the real world increase will depend on other factors, and could be much less, since wind resistance, etc., increase with speed. Peak torque should remain the same, since the controllers both have the same peak current, however, along the rpm range, the higher voltage motor will have higher torque at a particular rpm.

In this example, the 60v system has a small increase in top speed, and 5Nm of torque advantage over most of the rpm range, which equates to an increase in acceleration or hill climbing ability at the same speed.

Motor Simulator - Web Tools - Resources

Our ebike motor simulator allows you to easily simulate the different performance characteristics of different ebike setups - with a wide selection of hub motors modeled, and the ability to add custom batteries and controllers and set a wide variety of vehicle parameters you'll be able to see...

ebikes.ca

If you know what motor you have, you may be able to model it in the Grin Simulator and get very accurate results.

 

[RunForTheHills]

Using a higher voltage battery also reduces the current in the wires for a given power output: watts = amps X volts. So you can use thinner wires to transmit the same power. This is the principle behind high voltage power lines. That said, you can use any voltage and get the power range you want by adjusting the controller and battery current, wire gauge, and kv rating (faster or slower winding) of the motor.

 

[electric_nz]

battery voltage rating is different depending on whether it’s nominal or fully charged. They also round up and down, there isn’t much of a standard.

Is it a 14s battery? With 14 cells in series? If so that is nominally 52V (58.8v fully charged) If so that will be fine.

If it is 16S that will be nominally 59.2 and 67V fully charged, maybe best check with the manufacturer (although they will likely be fine, most controllers use parts rated a bit higher than needed)