As someone who hasn't got a kit yet and is trying to find the pitfalls before he buys (and don't be afraid to speak g33k w/ me, I'm sorta into DC): if you were to have 4 lifepo batts in the 36v x 15ah denomination, would you be able to easily swap them from a 72v x 30ah to a 36v x 60ah for a long ride, or would you have to swap controllers, etc? I'm speaking specifically about crystalyte's 35a 36-72v 5 series controller.
I guess my question is... with these 36-72v controllers... is changing your voltage really as easy as rewiring your batts? I'd love to make a 3 way switch that had three settings: balls, distance, and charge. The easier this is to make convenient, etc, the more I'll use it instead JEEP.
72v30ah provides the same range as 36v60ah -- total watt-hours of energy is the same in both cases.
So long as you can control yourself as far as the throttle and speed goes, there's no reason to rewire.
As a real-life example: I have an 80volt 33ah pack, 72v35a controller, and a 5304 motor in a 20" wheel. At the normal 80 volts, cruising on level ground at 20mph requires 5 amps of current (400 watts since 80v X 5amps = 400 watts). When I've ridden with half the pack (40volts 33ah), cruising over the same ground at the same speed required 10 amps (again 400 watts since 40v X 10amps = 400watts).
More voltage allows you the option of riding faster. Riding faster will drain the batteries much faster. But just because you can, doesn't mean you have to.
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