New Guy - Ping Battery to Ampedbikes Kit

[sierraipa]

Hi Everyone,

I am into my first conversion, and the mechanical work has gone along swimmingly. I am now ready to start connecting the electrical portion. I have a Ping 36V 15 Ah battery and an Amped Bikes 36V kit. I just want to make sure that I connect everything correctly since I have seen several posts where people fried their systems. The documentation from ampedbikes suggests that the battery have one positive terminal and one negative. But, the Ping battery is labeled with one positive terminal and two negatives (one for charging and one for discharging). I apologize if this has already been answered. My search did not show anything. Can anyone shed light on this?

Thanks!
Kevin

 

[www.recumbents.com]

Just email Ping at pingping227@hotmail.com and he will send you a wiring diagram.

-Warren.

 

[el_walto]

My battery came like this also. You need to split the positive wire into two wires (a y connection)

One positive wire goes to the controllers positive
One positive wire goes to the charging connector Pin 1
The discharging negative wire goes to the controllers negative
The charging negative wire goes to the charging connector Pin 3

I think the pins are labeled on the connector, but ping can send you the diagram.

 

[E-Ticket]

el_walto has it 100% correct.

Here's a related thread - with pictures even:
http://www.ampedbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=289&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=0

 

[sierraipa]

Thanks guys!! That is perfect. I am trying to juggle this conversion as well as 3 kids (one newborn) at the moment, so sorry it took so long to get back to you. I will let you know how things turn out.

Thanks again!
Kevin

 

[sierraipa]

Thank you! I have completed the connections. I must say that I simply skipped the more esoteric connections and moved to wire nuts. Simple, but it seems to work terrifically so far. I just took it for a test spin around the block. WoW! I GET it.

Thank you for your help. I'll post more when I try it out for the work commute on Monday (18 miles one way)

 

[E-Ticket]

... I'll post more when I try it out for the work commute on Monday (18 miles one way)

You've probably thought all this through already, but do you plan to recharge at work? If not, you might have a little surprise on your trip home, depending on your specific riding conditions ...

with typical values:
36V x 15 AH = 540 WH (rated capacity, actual V is higher, usable AH may be lower)
18 miles x 2 x 15WH/mile = 540WH
18 miles x 2 x 20WH/mile = 720WH
As they say, YMMV!

As a point of reference, I'm commuting with an AmpedBikes/Ping 36V20AH MTB and my usual "burn rate" is 15-20 WH/mile with steady pedaling (20 miles RT, generally flat, but with a ~500' rise near home).

Good luck & enjoy your new ride!

 

[dogman dan]

18 miles, a little wind and you might have a suprise on the way to work, if you ride full throttle. Crazy range is possible riding slower though.

 

[chvidgov.bc.ca]

You only need the splice technique if you want to leave the discharge leads attached to the controller while you charge. I cut off the Ping charger connection,
and put blue and red Andersons on the charger end by splitting the charger output wire into its positive and negative ends, and a blue Anderson on the charging negative from the battery.

To charge, unconnect red and black discharge (from battery to controller), connect same red, and blue, to red and blue of charger.
To discharge, disconnect red and blue from charger, and reconnect same red and black to red and black of controller.

You only need the original leads supplied by Ping this way, without soldering. Use a multimeter to make sure of the polarities of the various wires

 

[sierraipa]

Thanks, E-Ticket. That is a very helpful point of reference. Yes, I will be charging it at work, so I "think" i'll be okay. I do plan to pedal in addition to the throttle, but I don't know how much range this will gain me. Are your burn rate numbers reflective of throttle with pedal assisting, or with just the throttle?

 

[E-Ticket]

...I do plan to pedal in addition to the throttle, but I don't know how much range this will gain me. Are your burn rate numbers reflective of throttle with pedal assisting, or with just the throttle?

I always pedal, as it feels more natural and I enjoy getting a reasonable workout in my mostly sedentary lifestyle. Otherwise, I would need to get a big fat cushy seat to sit still for such a long time! :lol:

Typically, I commute WOT with moderate to brisk pedaling while maintaining 22-23 mph on the flatter portions. On the grades near my home, I can hit 28-30 mph downhill and work at 13-19 mph while pumping uphill. According to my Watt's Up display, the AmpedBikes controller seems to cut the motor power during "high speed" downhill sessions until the bike speed falls back below about 24 mph.

Human assistance applied when accelerating from standstills surely improves the bike's performance and certainly must aid the motor's electrical efficiency. However, at top cruising speeds, I'm unsure how much difference it actually makes to the electrical "burn rate". Someday, at the risk of looking a bit silly, I may try a "motor only" experiment for the answer. We must sacrifice for science! Also, it may be necessary to pedal on the hills to avoid stalling or overheating the motor.

As you might expect, by slowing down, avoiding stop and go, relying less on the motor and pedaling a lot, significant range can be achieved. I've logged 12WH/mile overall on some joyrides and traveled 50-55 miles on others with some discipline and minor opportunity recharging.

 

[monster]

wow 18miles to work! you must be superman. thats a long time to be in the sadle.

i would want at least twice the battery you have at the moment. your not leaving any reserve for emergencies. as a rule, i like to have enough capasity to get to-and-from work on one charge. what if you turn up and they give you the day off? it might be difficult to fit that much battery on the bike though!

i commute 11miles to work and have 1200wh. takes me 30 minutes.

 

[urace4me2]

.. I may try a "motor only" experiment for the answer.

I just built up a MTB with a Amped bike kit and did a test with no pedaling. 36 v 12 ah SLA pack 15 miles before started "undervolting" the controller. That gives a burn rate of 28.8 WattHr per Mile. I will do some pedaling tests to see if mine falls in the same area as yours 15-20.

 

[sierraipa]

Hi Guys,

Just an update to let you know how things went. Well, I was able to find a route that cut the mileage down to 15.8 miles (and was more bike friendly!). The first day I rode to work, I arrived with juice to spare. The Ampedbikes throttle showed that I was still at max voltage. I was expecting it to drop to half at least. I am sure it is not nearly as informative as a cycle analyst though. I "charged" up the bike while at work. However, on the way home, I started having issues after 8 miles or so. After 3.8 more miles, I was completely out of juice. Got a nice workout for the next four miles home. Come to find out that my charger (which I keep in the battery box) became disconnected. I "thought" it was charging at work, but it really wasn't.

This means that I actually rode over 24 miles without running out of juice on one charge. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about making this trip when I saw some of the comments, but this helped me feel confident that I have plenty of battery power to make the trip, even in windy conditions. I reworked the charger connections, and I have had a few more commutes. So far, I have had an awesome time! I have had plenty of energy to spare both ways. I do pedal leisurely along with the throttle, and the rodes are relatively flat (with a few overpasses), but this bike combo has exceeded my expectations. I am hooked.

I want to thank you guys and this forum for helping me to get up and running. It's been a liberating experience.

Kevin

 

[dogman dan]

15.5 miles is definitely going to help you make it on the days when you have wind in your face compared to 18. If you have few big hills you should be ok most days. Were you riding full throttle all the way? When I give estimates how far to expect to go, I get real conservative and assume full throttle and some signifigant hills. You already experienced my biggest problem, the days when you think you have a full charge, but don't. That one'll getcha every time. I went several weeks with that happening randomly till I found the loose connection on my charger. Of course, riding much slower, you might even stretch your range to both ways on one charge. On the day to day grind, and going 14.5 miles myself, I'll take the full throttle method.