How much load can the Crystalyte Journey Controller handle??

[Sacman]

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to find out if the Crystalyte Journey controller can handle the 406 motor with 48-volts going thru it. Can it handle it or will it blow up? Does anybody know?

This is what I've got right now:

Right now I only have the basic Journey kit with the 20amp controller and a 408 motor running on the 36v/10ah NiMH battery. This setup works but is kinda slow for me. It only tops out at 18-19mph on the flats. Oh well, I didn't know much about ebikes back when I bought it so I find it lacking in speed and range.

Well now I'm trying to "soup up" the system now and I bought a 48v/15Ah LiFePO4 battery that is on the way. I'm expecting it to bump the speed up to about 24mph. I was also told that by changing the 408 motor to a 406 motor I can get an even higher top speed of about 30mph. There's only one catch tho.... can the controller handle it?

I'm told by Justin at ebikes.ca that the Journey controller should be able to handle the 408 motor at 48 volts, but it might not be able to handle the 406 motor at 48 volts since the 406 pulls a lot more amps.

I also read somewhere here in this forum that the 20amp Journey controller has the same guts as the regular 20amp Crystalyte controller, only difference is that the 20amp Crystalyte controller is placed in the same aluminum housing as the 35amp Crystalyte controller and that the Journey controller was placed in a new plastic box that is mountable to the tube frames of most bikes. Can anyone verify this?

I'd really appreciate any help or info anyone can give me on this. Thanks

 

[Sacman]

Wow! Nobody can help me with this?
I thought this board was international.

 

[docnjoj]

I have an older Crystalyte 36-72 volt controller at 20Amp.I know this will handle higer voltage. Dont know about Phoenix names, but there is a ton of material on older and newer controllers on this website. Just type in crystalyte controller in the search. As a guess, yes it will handle 48 volts, and U will have maybe 3-4 mph speed increase, perhaps more. IMHO
otherDoc

 

[justin_le]

Wow! Nobody can help me with this?
I thought this board was international.

Hi Sacman, it will work just fine, but you'll want to be careful about running full throttle when the motor is at or near a stall, since that is when the motor current can get high enough to blow a mosfet if you are unlucky. Over time we have seen numerous people run 48V 406 20A controller setups, most held up OK but enough of them blew a fet sooner or later that it wasn't something we would generally recommend or warranty. So just ease on the throttle until you are up to ~10-15 kph or so (and don't loan the ebike to fat guys who won't listen.)

-Justin

 

[D-Man]

Yeah, watch out for the "Fat Guy" with no brains. :lol:

 

[Dee Jay]

Hi, Sacman. I was following this thread since I'm a proud owner of a Journey Controller with a whopping 20 amps. 8) I wanted to chime in just for GP, but I didn't because I have no experience with (nor even thought about a) 406/20 amp combo. Although, I'm glad you brought it up as I learned something out of it.

Wow! Nobody can help me with this?
I thought this board was international.

Justin pretty much answered your question the first time and I thought you'd figure out the risks by now... but if you're looking on the forum for someone to over-ride a very sensible advice . . . there are quite a few haters here who would gladly mislead you into destroying your ebike just for kicks.

Personally, I am curious. So I will say... IF you go ahead and take a chance, at least look into upping the amps by adding solder over the shunt as many here have done.

I've done this once, but not using my A123 packs, but my 36v NiMH. I don't have numbers but I did feel a slight difference in throttle response, which didn't last long due to voltage sag with cheap batteries. I removed the solder because I realized I wanted longer distance with the NiMH. With my A123 packs, I'm getting much better response and don't even feel the need for this shunt mod as A123 cells will give me all it's got at 20 amps, and that's good enough for me.

BTW, I'm running my controller at 52+volts in the summer heat and it's holding up so far. I also ventilated it by removing the PAS switch and the rubber grommet.

I'm happy.

I can only wish you my kind of luck.

J

 

[Sacman]

Hi guys,

I really appreciate your answers on this one. Yes I did get the BIG CAUTION from Justin about running the Journey 20amp controller with the 406 motor at 48-volts the first time. I think I'm pretty careful guy when pushing the limits of my electronic equipment and so at that time, with that answer Justin, I was settling for just staying with my 408 motor at 48v. It wasn't until I saw 2 other things on this forum that made me rethink that it might still be possible to still run the Journey controller with 406 motor/48v safely:

1) Somewhere on this forum I saw Mike Brown's (KnightMB) test video running his C'lyte 20amp controller with 406 motor at 72volts. He ran it for a good while at wide open throttle and max'd out at an impressive 41mph before he hit a hill with a steep grade. He was just testing and the controller did overheat in the 110-degree fareheit day when he was riding. Yes it overheated but did not blow. He let it cool down and it came to life again, then he feathered the throttle and made it back home. I have PM'd Mike Brown and asked him more about his test but he just has not replied back yet.

2) I also read somewhere in this forum that the 20A Journey controller is the same "electronic guts" as the 20A C'lyte controller only placed in a different plastic housing.

So this is why I opened this thread... to confirm whether or not the Journey and C'lyte controller are indeed the same "electronic guts" and to ask if anyone else had experience running the Journey controller with the 406 motor at higher than 36 volts.

Justin, your more complete explanation this time, especially about how the the 406 motor (or any motor) draws it's peak current at or near stalling (or dead stop) completes more of the picture for me now. I do remember seeing the graphs of current vs. speed on these motors and it makes more sense. Thank you. I do plan to eventually run the 406 motor but I will just have to remember not to "gun" the throttle when I'm moving slower than 5mph.