My "Tactical" eBike Ammo Battery Case! A first?

[Alan2000]

I received today my 16AH Tesla pack from @okashira. I wanted to get it ready for a ride tomorrow. Unfortunately, the battery case I had would not fit the pack. (My bad in calculating pack size.) With no time to get a new case, I decided to search the house to find a suitable enclosure. I have a few Army surplus ammo cans. I dumped my ammo out from one, grabbed an angle grinder and welder, and went to work to fabricate a custom case. About an hour later here are the results! Now I have a tactical Tesla powered eBike!

 

[dogman dan]

Still cool the way you cut it down to custom size. I like it! You've got me thinking now about cutting my 50 cal boxes down to just the right size for 14s 10 ah lipo. I'm thinking more like cutting it to a shorter height, rather than shorter length. Hmm.

 

[Lurkin]

Neat. Might want to consider more bracing (Im assuming you have used the bidon mounts only) as I have found they will pull out of the frame with lateral force over time.

 

[Alan2000]

Neat. Might want to consider more bracing (Im assuming you have used the bidon mounts only) as I have found they will pull out of the frame with lateral force over time.

I was not aware that bidon bolts will pull out of frames. Yikes! Makes sense as they were not designed to hold a lot of weight. I'm not concerned about the ammo cam pack pulling the bolts out. I'm using 3M velcrow like on the box that connects to a plate bolted onto the bidon bolts. It will not allow the can to slide around. I wanted to retain the original top and keep its functionality. Due to clearance issues, I had to slot the top of the case lid so it would slide up high enough on the frame to clear the shock. As a result of the slot, the can is "locked" in place so it can't wiggle laterally at all. It's also wedged in so there are is no vertical play. But to be on the safe side, what I will do is move my straps so that the straps go under the frame vs under the plate that is bolted to the frame. That should relieve much of the load on the bidon bolts. Don't think it's needed for this ammo can application but good idea for my other pack that does not have the vertical or horizontal stability this one has.

@amberwolf. Sigh. Yes, I failed at Googling. LOL. I did search but I only searched for ebike battery case ideas and didn't see any ammo cans.

@Dogman - The only downside I see to ammo cans is weight. Mine is cut down to an exact fit and it's about a pound heavier than my real plastic battery case that didn't fit. In the scope of things, and my less than stellar riding style, I'll never notice the extra pound. I could have lightened it up by removing the latching mechanism but wanted it to keep the original look.

 

[USAEBIKECO]

Does the battery have a BMS?

 

[Alan2000]

Does the battery have a BMS?

I opted not to use a BMS for now. I have one I can install, but for now not using it. I have a couple decades experience with RC gear using LiPo packs. My charger will not over charge and the controlled on my bike will not over discharge. I have balance leads so I can balance pack when needed. I realize the BMS adds extra security. I have yet to burn my house down with countless thousands of charges with my RC stuff. But I have not ruled out putting the BMS on the ammo can pack. I've seen a few eBike fire videos and when they light up, those big packs sure light up.

Will the Panasonic 18650 cells ignite? I thought they just smoked and vented when abused.

@Amverwolf - I have intentionally overcharged and poked many LiPo packs to ignite them. It's my favorite means of disposing of old packs!

 

[Lurkin]

To the contrary, you want it to have some give. I.e. have foam in between frame and mount plate. Why? So if you nudge it with your knee or it gets knocked by either falling off or the bike popping over, the foam takes up the hit rather than the mount. I've had less damage since mounting my dolphin pack this way.