FREE Step By Step 6S Electric Longboard Build Guide

[cawoodm]

Would be interested how you "drilled" open the large pulley to fit the hanger of the trucks through. And also how you then aligned this pulley with the wheel so they were not off-center causing the belt to tighten and loosen on rotation.

 

[torqueboards]

Great tips here for Trying to understand this basic power calculation https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=72095

 

[torqueboards]

Will start posting everyone's info within this thread due to many repeated questions. This will not only be my own info but many other contributors have helped a lot.

Benefit of 6S Battery to 1 motor, 6S to two motors and/or 12S? Parallel or Series?
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=73668&p=1112065#p1112065

Running 6S separately and/or a single 6S for two motors is pretty much the same. IMO there's no benefit running 6S separately for two motors just adds to more wiring and complications.

There is a benefit in running (2) 6S either in parallel (adding capacity):
- adding more cells in parallel increases the maximum amps you can push through the system
- it also means that by running (2) 6S in parallel you are running less amps per battery pack which will prolong it's lifespan = less stress.

Adding (2) 6S in series for 12S (adding voltage):
- adding voltage will give you more power from the start.
- allows your setup to run at lower amps (since you are running at 12S 44.4V vs 6S 22.2V.)
- bigger battery pack my default. measured in watt hours (6S 5ah vs 12S 5ah is double the watt hours).
- price for (1) 6S 22.2v 20c lipo is $20-22 and price for 12S 44.4v 20C 5ah is $40.
- more power allows your setup to run more efficiently and puts less stress on components.

Single 6S Single Motor (6S 5ah)
Pros
- Cheapest setup, lightest build
- Better to use 63mm motor and not 50mm. 50mm higher chances of getting hotter. Have to check more often to see if motors are hot when riding under harsher terrain (uphill/45min riding).
- If correct kv rating for motor can still reach 20mph. 230KV motor, 16/36 gearing, 83mm wheels.
- Not powerful enough for large/steeper hills 15% inclines above.

Cons
- Can cause more heat in the setup due to single motor and lower voltage.
- Lower mileage range about 5-8 miles due to total Wh of pack - 6S 5ah 111Wh

Dual 6S Parallel Dual Motor (6S 10ah)
Pros
- Cheaper setup, semi light (with 50mm).
- Ability to use 50mm motors. Can divide load (rider,terrain) across two motors. Dual 63mm not needed but still beneficial.
- 230-260KV recommend.
- Can climb 15-25% inclines. Possibly, 30% inclines depends on rider. 30% inclines are pretty hard to find and almost non existent in most cities. A steep hill is about 20-25%.
- Better for climbing hills and braking.

Cons
- 220-230lb riders recommended or less.
- Cost - more expensive, more battery, second motor, second motor mount.

Dual 6S Series Dual Motor (12S 5ah 44.4v)
Pros
- Cheaper setup, 14-16 lbs if not more.
- Ability to use 50mm or 63mm. 63mm for more durability and heavier riders 240-260lbs.
- 230-260KV recommended.
- Can climb 15-30% inclines. 30% incline depends on rider weight. Should be doable at about 200lbs.. not sure for 240-260lbs.
- Better for climbing hills and braking.

Cons
- 240-260lb riders recommended or less.
- Cost - more expensive, more battery, second motor, second motor mount.

 

[emotiva]

Will start posting everyone's info within this thread due to many repeated questions. This will not only be my own info but many other contributors have helped a lot.

Benefit of 6S Battery to 1 motor, 6S to two motors and/or 12S?
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=73668&p=1112065#p1112065

...
- bigger battery pack my default. measured in watt hours (6S 5ah vs 12S 5ah is double the watt hours).
...

I think a clearer example than comparing one 6s 5ah battery to two of them in series (for the 12s) would be to consider two 6s 5ah batteries in either configuration, which would yield 6s 10ah vs 12s 5ah. If you have two batteries in parallel, vs the same two in series, you are storing the same amount of energy (wh) in the battery system, regardless of the configuration. If there weren't efficiency issues to consider, it wouldn't matter which configuration you ran, with regards to range. Your prior points about current draw, etc. are important as well.

 

[torqueboards]

The lower kv more torque is better for hills myth. Granted I'm no EE this is just my own experience from testing. If anyone has an actual theory or formula to why this method is valid or not it would be greatly appreciated. *added as it's a repeat question often.

My recommendation for an electric longboard is 230-245kv and/or a bit higher but under 300kv. You can always adjust gearing through your gearing ratio. Gear too low at 150kv-170kv for example and your range of gearing ratios is much less. Gearing lower than 230KV IMO wouldn't have that many benefits that would warranty doing so.

I've found there's no benefit to lowest KV rating and highest gearing ratio. You end up with a board that doesn't go anywhere.

Lower KV = More Torque?? Recommended KV Rating? KV for Hill Climbing

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=73668&hilit=lower+230kv#p1112084

6S is perfectly fine. I ran a 6S 5ah on dual 50mm and dual 63mm motors. It was 280KV on about a 15/36 setup. Climbed pretty much anything from 15-25 perhaps 28% inclines.

I rode 6S for about 6 to 8 months and packs eventually had less power in them so upgraded to 12S which was nice since I was so use to 6S power.

230kv would be better for hills. I've tried lower KV and highest gearing 12T/36T 12T/44T. The results are horrible. That's why I recommend a 230kv-260kv motor.

A higher kv motor (200-260kv) allows less resistance and has higher power output than a lower KV motor. Lower KV motor does and should provide more torque but it does no good if you slow down in the middle of a hill if your motors have so much resistance you can't turn the wheels fast enough going uphill.

So IMHO, 230-260kv works great and you can always gear higher 1:3 or 1:4 by adjusting the pulley ratios.

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=73410&p=1108663&hilit=230kv#p1108663

I think 230KV to 260KV is a nice sweet spot but that's IMO. In that range, you can easily gear up or gear down.

I tried my 170KV on 1:3 -> 12T/36T no go. Barely climbs any hills and this is on 8S/10S.. Switch to 16T/36T and I'm climbing hills again about 15-20 degree inclines.

So from it you can see that lowest KV and highest gearing doesn't always play out.

A friend also has a 260KV SK3 with about 12/36T gearing versus a SK3 149KV on 12/36T gearing on 10s... guess which one struggled up a hill and guess which one made it up. Mind you he's about 245 lbs or so.

149KV barely made it up.
260KV flew him up.

SO.. IMO Higher KV is better of course below 300KV (can't reduce that far and motors at this KV don't have much more) maybe even below 260KV. with a gearing from 1:2 to 1:3 and 83/90mm wheels.

So I would prefer a 230KV 16/36 setup on 10S/12S... Sure your top speed is pretty high and you don't need it.. but that lower torque does no benefit so you might as well have it so your top end is higher.

You'll also fly up 20 degree inclines like it's flat ground.

It makes perfect sense since
- lower KV motors have more resistance.
- higher KV motors have less resistance and have a quicker RPM.
- it's always easier going up a hill with more RPMs versus slower RPMs and more torque.

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=73943&p=1115758&hilit=150kv#p1115758

fully agree with torques on that..going lower on the KV is not an effective method of gaining more torque..
I also always gear my boards for a 25-30mph top speed even if if i'm never at that speed at allows you to run in the middle 'sweet spot' 90% of the time..
I've tried special wound 150KV 5065 motors and they just didn't want to move.. better to get the motor spinning up and reduce the speed with gearing.. as just like a small 2 stroke engine all the power is really developed from the high RPM..
my 2 pence - for what its worth..

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=73943&p=1115758&hilit=150kv#p1115758

I would go with higher KV rating. The KV rating for a 168kv and 1:2.25 would be a bit slow.

IMO more torque does absolutely nothing except lower top speed and no power.

I would like others to try it themselves as I and a few others whom tested it have come to the same conclusion.

Low KV and High Gearing + any battery pack does no good and no benefit even on 12s. If motors can't spin with the current load = heat.

You'll end up noticing your setup running harder because it has no momentum or RPMs to push you quicker.

IMO for any setup. 230-260KV a little lower, higher isn't too bad either 200-280KV. I wouldn't go higher than 280KV. Then adjust as needed through your gearing ratio.

It's much more effective to adjust higher gearing through your gearing ratio versus changing to a lower KV motor. Lower KV motor will add to drag and RPMs will be much lower for the exchange of what people say "more torque" but in actuality you don't get any benefit from it.

Your motors will struggle to make a revolution/rotation due to "torque" and very low RPMs.

We are better off aiming for a decent 25-30mph range even if you only go 15mph. IMO since higher torque + higher gearing = no benefit.

 

[made_in_the_alps_legacy]

power being torque time speed, a motor of lower kv will have more torque than a motor of same power and higher kv :
as u noticed, it does not matter since you can always compensiate with appropriate gearing.
But since most ride standard e-skate, with relatively small wheels, with limited pulley sizes,
you end up believing that kv does not require to be too low, that's fine.

This being said, i agree on beetbocks analogy, higher kv is like a 2stroke ice engine offering a wide rpm range that a low kv motor can't compete with, like a good old twin cylinder chopper :-D and i agree with you that low kv motor struggles to developp power at low rpm

 

[makithepaki]

Hi, i recently started making one and im almost done i just have to make enclosure using vacuum forming. I figured it would be very anoyying to have to keep taking the enclosure off and unplugging batterys just too charge it. Is there any way to make onboard charging. So just balance port and discharge. I plug it into my charger and thats it. i have 2 3s lipo

 

[WeeChumlee]

Aaaagghh
Going round in circles here and do not know what motor is best for my circumstance.
What I want is the best hill climbing ability motor on 8S.
From what I have read so far a 63mm with higher KV would probably be better, but then motor physical length comes into it as well, correct?
So my options as I see them are:
Rspec. 6355 190KV
SK3 6374 192KV
SK3 6364 245KV
SK3 6355 260KV

I am tending toward the 192KV probably just down to physical size now - ''bigger is better?"
May be totally wrong though and the 260KV 55mm long is a better choice down to the higher rpm.

OK confused...

 

[makithepaki]

im no expert but lower kv means higher torque but also the gearing ratio matters.

 

[torqueboards]

@WeeChumLee - You can go 190/192kv but IMO for better hill climbing 245/260 is better. I've had someone switch from 192kv to 245/260kv because 192kv wasn't cutting it but this is single motor 230-240lb rider weight.

@makithepaki - Lower KV means higher torque but as mentioned above.. I find higher torque does not do anything for faster start-up speed and for climbing hills. I'll take the 245/260kv anyday.

 

[bandaro]

Hi, i recently started making one and im almost done i just have to make enclosure using vacuum forming. I figured it would be very anoyying to have to keep taking the enclosure off and unplugging batterys just too charge it. Is there any way to make onboard charging. So just balance port and discharge. I plug it into my charger and thats it. i have 2 3s lipo

This is very possible and a great option (one I use) is with standard AV plugs for TV's or similar. I wired mine as 6s so used a single 15 pin plug, as in image. The seven in a row are the balance wires, and the eight in a row are the +ve and -ve leads, split 4 each. Wiring is pretty easy, just do one at a time and make sure you keep them in the same order. You could wire your packs as a single 6s or two 3s, depending on your charger. You can get the plugs cheaply at your local electronics store no problem.

Aaaagghh
Going round in circles here and do not know what motor is best for my circumstance.
What I want is the best hill climbing ability motor on 8S.
From what I have read so far a 63mm with higher KV would probably be better, but then motor physical length comes into it as well, correct?
So my options as I see them are:
Rspec. 6355 190KV
SK3 6374 192KV
SK3 6364 245KV
SK3 6355 260KV

I am tending toward the 192KV probably just down to physical size now - ''bigger is better?"
May be totally wrong though and the 260KV 55mm long is a better choice down to the higher rpm.

OK confused...

Bigger and higher Kv is more powerful. I wouldn't go a 55, but the 64 and 74 will both do it. The 74mm motors have more power so will handle hills better for the same speed setup. If you look at the specs page for each motor they will give you a rated amps and power. Obviously the highest one will climb better, assuming both are geared for the same speed. I would suggest choosing the motor based off your gearing options.

The voltage and wheel size don't vary, neither does the speed you want. That means you can use the variation in motor Kv and gearing to get the best option. Tweak your calculations to give you the speed you want.

So in practice (in metric because miles are silly):

(Motor RPM) x (gearing reduction) x (Wheel circumference) x (rpm and km conversions) = About max speed on flat

(192Kv x 29.6V) x (2:1) x (2 x 3.14847 x (83mm wheel / 2)) x (60 / 1000000) = 44.55 km/h

Plug that with your actual motor kv, wheel size and gearing, so fiddling with the red numbers.

 

[makithepaki]

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/JST-XH-6S-TO-2-3S-BALANCE-SERIES-SERIAL-ADAPTER-CHARGE-2x-3S-AS-6S-/281826763808?hash=item419e2f2420:g:XCkAAOSwYHxWHMky
bandaro do i get something like this. then cut of 6s balance and connector to that connector you have. how do i connect my battery 4mm bullet connector to it

 

[bandaro]

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/JST-XH-6S-TO-2-3S-BALANCE-SERIES-SERIAL-ADAPTER-CHARGE-2x-3S-AS-6S-/281826763808?hash=item419e2f2420:g:XCkAAOSwYHxWHMky
bandaro do i get something like this. then cut of 6s balance and connector to that connector you have. how do i connect my battery 4mm bullet connector to it

If you are wiring for a single 6s, yes. As for the primary leads, I soldered some wire onto the battery end of the connector (4mm bullets). The esc does not get it's power from the charge plug, their is smaller leads running from the battery for this. Make sure you use the right size heat shrink and solder carefully.

 

[torqueboards]

Charging RC Lipo Batteries

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=74216&p=1119839#p1119839

One thing you need to remember is never to create a short circuit on accident. A short circuit and instantly create a fire and/or burn whatever is connected to it.

Here's a video I made in the past how to parallel charge - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydhyWHsc9rg

It can be a bit difficult in the beginning but once you learn how to charge your RC packs, your golden. It's a walk in the park.

I recommend and suggest to watch a few videos online on how to charge RC packs that way you are more experienced. It doesn't hurt to spend 10-15 minutes as it doesn't take that long.

Anyhow, I plug my packs in this order; (my items)
1. Plug in power supply to outlet. (HobbyKing 350w/550w)
2. Verify power supply is in the off position. (HobbyKing 350w/550w)
3. Connect charger to power supply. (iCharger 208B)
4. Connect parallel charging board or parallel charging wires to iCharger.
5. Plug in battery packs to parallel charging board or wires. Making sure to be careful about the orientation of the wires and not creating a short circuit.
6. Turn on power to the power supply to the on position. (HobbyKing 350w/550w)
7. Make sure the battery setting is correct to your battery chemistry and the amps you charge at are at the recommendation for your battery pack. When charging in parallel, you can charge at a higher amp rating which is a reason why I recommend charging in parallel. I can charge 3 sets (6 batteries) in about 30-60 minutes.

 

[torqueboards]

My recommended RC Lipo Charger & Power Supply

https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=74216&p=1119909#p1119909

I do recommend getting at least an iCharger 208B at the bare minimum. If you get a higher quality charger I'd recommend PowerLab 6 but that's way more expensive and isn't really needed.

iCharger 208B $120 + HobbyKing 350W $40 = $160 USD.

Parallel Charging is the way to go IMO. You can charge faster (without ruining the facts) and charging multiple packs is easier since most of us end up wiring packs in series.

Discharging batteries - I typically don't do when charging or on the charger just because it takes forever. I think if you want to discharge packs your better running around the block. If you are storing 3.6-3.8v should be fine when storing lipo. If you store at 4.2v it won't do much immediate damage but it will damage the pack sooner than normal and the true mAh/ah capacity will be much less. Also charging up to 4.10v-4.15v will sustain the pack for much longer.

 

[torqueboards]

Downside to Cheap RC Lipo Chargers
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=74216#p1119931

The only downside is with an Imax B6/Accucell 6 charger you charge at max 6Amps. 6 Amps is pretty slow if you are going to charge a 6x 6S 5ah packs which is 6S 30ah about 5+ hours or so.

Typically, it's not advisable to let Lipo packs charge unattended due to the bad chargers which may not stop the pack at it's correct 100% level. If it fails it will overcharge the pack and the LiPo pack will pop/catch on fire.

For this reason, due to using Lipo packs. I like charging faster (8 to 15 amps with iCharger 208B) so I only need to watch the pack for 1 hour or less.

With that said, it's not too often an RC charger will fail but at chances if it did.. If you were watching it, you could put out a fire.

But that's just the risk we take. Although, IMO if you watch the charging it's no risk at all.

 

[stuxtruth]

Did you ever get those polycase enclosures?

 

[torqueboards]

Did you ever get those polycase enclosures?

I didn't like them.. They didn't fit properly.