V-Power

[royster74]

Hi
are the V-power batteries on ebay any good
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/48V-15AH-LiFePO4-Battery-Electric-Scooter-E-Bike-Safe-/320561548869?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa2f50e45
Thanks

 

[The Journey Guy]

Sure, why not? I used a Vpower when I first switched from SLA to LifePo4, and that pack powered me all the way thru this last winter, which was really cold some days! I'm talking -32 F , and it performed just fine!

They weigh more than most LifePo4 packs, and sometimes the spot welds come loose, but then for the price, you can't really go wrong.

Just depends on your budget.

TJG

 

[dogman dan]

Pingbattery if you have the money, but if not, throw the dice on a v power one. But first, make sure either of those batteries is suitable for your bike. If you are thinking 50 amp controller, or 5304 motor, then it's a no for either one. But if it's a 1000 watt motor with a 20-25 amp controller, then 15-20 ah of ping or v power should work fine.

 

[dnmun]

i just told a guy who found me through greg at the ebike store here to submit a claim through paypal for a Vpower pack he got on ebay. first two cells appear to have high internal resistance and won't take charge but shut off the BMS within a few blocks. it appears it arrived that way since he has few miles on it. i haven't opened the pack, just measured the voltages on the sense wires during charge and at rest.

but some people have had good experience with them.

 

[dogman dan]

Yup, it's a luck thing. I doubt they do much cell sorting before they spot weld. Sometimes a stinker gets sent out, and you face a very difficult and expensive process to get them to do anything. Too far to ship back. A 20 ah pack that delivers 15 in reality is considered a fairly good one. Base your price comparisons on 20 ah v power vs 15 ah ping.

 

[andycrabb]

I bought a 36v 20ah back in October and so far so good. I haven't had any issues with cells, charger or bms. I did split the capacity down to 10ah and repackaged it, as i found 20ah was an overkill for the commuting i was doing (16km round trip). I have so far clocked up around 2,500km on one half (the other half is in storgare as a back up or cell replacement) and for the price i payed i cannot be dissapointed. For budget reasons I went for the cheaper, but Ping would have been my flavour of choice if I had a more of an understanding wife.

 

[dogman dan]

Goes to show, if the shipping doen't break it, it's a good battery.

 

[Ypedal]

Yep.. it's hit and miss.. if you have the will and skill to do your own repairs they can be a bargain on a dollar per watt standpoint.. but... there are better options out there if you are willing to spend a bit more, and of course, depending on your application.

 

[royster74]

I've come to the conclusion that you get what you pay for so I'm going to get the 50V 15A battery that Ilia sells

 

[Evoforce]

V-Power gets more of a bashing than it deserves by people who read about the few problems but don't own one. You can also find and read about those problems with other brands of battery packs. I have different brands of batteries and v-power battery is a winner because of good quality and best price compared to other brands including ping and headway which are also good batteries that I own but are more expensive. Unless you need to find out for yourself (I did), why buy more expensive batteries like I did. Granted sometimes you might need the ease of headway or thundersky to build easy pack configurations. Luckily I have not yet had any problems with any type or brand that I own. Simply put, V-Power is the best battery for the money when purchased through Ebay auction for under $300 at 48 volts 20ah! I also run my V-Power on a 5303 motor day in and day out and I am thrilled with the performance. This big crystalyte motor runs at 37 mph plus for exceptional distance.

 

[mushymelon]

I have the 48v 20 ah Vpower pack and so far no problems. I had it shipped express from cammcc $308 plus $150 for shipping. The pack has had over 50 charges and the bike has 1200 km. I dont have any other packs to compare it to, but I hit lvc twice once at 17.somthin ah hypermiling, and once at 16.8ah going full out. With any duct tape/welded pack vpower/ping whatever pay the extra for express shipping.

 

[docnjoj]

It is starting to look like a "quantum shift" towards Lipo and Fatpack modular types. Easier to fix/replace and much cheaper than Ping or Vpower when things go wrong ( as they seem to)!
otherDoc

 

[mwkeefer]

Hey all,

I have 2 of these vPower packs here - both given for repairs from customers in the past months, both useless.

one is 36v 20AH but your lucky to get 9AH before cutout voltages at cell level (this pack has 25 cycles but was likely taken way too low by customer leaving it sit) and the other a 48v 20AH which also had BMS issues but this one was compounded by 3 bad cells in the pack series chain - sadly not 3 in a row either, sporatic within the pack so not so easy to just downgrade it to a 36v 20AH.

They are heavy and the solder quality (from the repairs I've attempted) I've seen is crud, which is why "shipping" can break them... I've seen some of these so bad that SMD resistors are coming off the PCB without force.

As docnj puts it - the shift is now to LiPo and LiMn (toolpacks), easier to manage, repair and seems to last longer.

-Mike

 

[mwkeefer]

Please dont' get me wrong -
1.) if your cool with the weight
2.) About 80% of advertised capacity (20Ah is really 16AH)
3.) You are comfortable and able to inspect all the solder joints on the BMS and the cells themselves before putting the pack into use
4.) All cells (when measured directly) are above the minimum low voltage for these cells

Then go for it!

And honestly on both of these batteries which are dead trash now - had worked and when received by the customer were tested with a volt meter to have proper resting voltage (charged but resting) which indicates had they been as diligent (as I am each time I get a lipo pack I can see the PCB on through the end) as you can be in ensuring all is done properly and securely... Well as long as the cells are okay - you will be fine and again, if the weight isn't an issue they may serve you quite well (I hope they do).

-Mike

 

[kentlim26]

Vpower to whom has interests.

i have Own One vpower battery pack 48v 20hr, for a long time, i don't know what is the total watts, until i got my turnigy meter ( 1 year later )
the total watts is 710.3watts, so Please don't expect this to contain more then that. My end volts is 46v... Very low.

to compare 48v 20hr , vpower battery, it should be corectly compare with a Ping 48v 15hr. = they will have the same density. 710.3watts ~ 720watts.
I bought this battery+ charger + shipping to home, it cost me USD503. i think it is very expensive in my calculation. My bms battery cells 38140s , 48v 12hr seem a much better choice. i will never buy from vpower anymore. i feel it's betting game, no gurantee a good card. my this 48v 12hr (battery pack cells 38140s) has a true power of 500watts it contains. it cost USD461.00 . Both of them can easily give me a range of 40km per charged.. i got no complain

i prefer lighter weight, 6.7kg. , vpower 48v 20hr 13.2kg.
if your range you need to run a day only 43km PLus, i will say the best choice.. 48v 12hr, cells 38140s. the best thing, about those larger cells it is 10C
so consider your reqirement needs 1st, how far do you like to travel. if you going for vpower 48v 12hr lifepo4, it cannot do for 1000watts motor. my friend had one of these, it is weight 8KG. this vpower 48v 12hr is suppose to support 500watts or lesser.

cheers
kentlim

 

[dogman dan]

One thing I think has to happen soon is a shift to a more modular construction of both pings and vpower batteries. It may have to happen because of shipping issues, forcing shipping of a large battery in several smaller packages. But even without shipping issues, it would sure be nice if you could seperate out a 12v block of a pingbattery, and replace it with only a few wires to connect rather than a complicated desoldering job to do. Sometimes a weak cell gets in there, and drags down a whole paralell string.

The one really nice thing about the lipo batteries is their modular 5 ah size, and variety of capacities and voltages. You can build a pack of any size and voltage you want. The 12s 10 ah size is a great one for shorter rides. Halfway between 36v and 48v, and just 4 blocks of 6s lipo. Not even very hard to break down to charge. And of course, 30c is pretty nice too

 

[kentlim26]

BMSbattery the cells price drop so fast, just 1month ago i bought it.. My lost SGD50.00 i should have buy them later.. eariler price is USD19.8+ Now is USD17.5 for cells 38140s. i think those lifepo4 cells are dropping each month ? BMSbattery selling them. they will send, " Just slight later. Lipos? later in my future.

cheers
kentlim

 

[mihai_atanasiu]

My story with v-power battery was very short; it came very unbalanced and after 3 sessions of charge - discharge I lost one cell;
I opened the pack and talked with the v-power guy to send me a "new" string of 3.2 V; this talking was two weeks ago; he send me on 26 august and I saw that the package arrived in customs and I think the day after tomorrow I will have the cells; mean while I bought a RC charger to charge the remaining cells; first I made discharges of all the eleven cells; and I saw that all the cells had different discharge values: a few had 18 AH, another group only 15AH, and so on; after that I started to charge each cell; the average capacity charged for seven cells is about 18.5 AH; also I bought another BMS; the v-power BMS hasn't LEDS;
The next issue is to repack the cells; it is very difficult to handle these tab welded cells;
next days I will finalize charging all the cells and start to repack and put all together;
I think the cells are second hand; a new A123 cell is about 7$; I bought this pack of 216 cells with 202$ without shipping from a ebay auction;
it is less than 1$ per cell; and that with charger and BMS included;

 

[kentlim26]

wu... cool my dear friend.
216cells so many. the Job is not easy to build one pack. i feel is abit too complicated+ risky. going for 16cells " 12hr cells each is simple and is the easiest fixed ) not many people have the skills to open up the sticky DUCT tape. it is very tough job for people who don't have any knowlegde on electrical wiring+ electronic. that can casue a bad sort - circuit,

it is a very risky to buy vpower battery, if there is a error fault with a cells, Time will be wasted for the repairing, and troubleshoot. i will rather choose Lipo over Vpower. (if there is 2 choice for me) however, there are some cells can do 10c or 20c., that is 38140s,. that was my most recent purchase from BMSbattery. Vpower battery is winner compare with SLA batteries. maybe price they seem to be cheap+ with shipping express cost is very expensive USD200+. im quite happy with recent pack i have bought 48v 12hr (cells 38140s).. it can give me a range of 40km+ easy.


cheers
kentlim

 

[mihai_atanasiu]

If you need 10C yes the Headway are good; but for a normal commute with a 36V and 350W hub motor is too expensive Headway;
yes v-power is a nightmare; I also bought a Ping battery; my e bike drains max 15A from the battery and the Ping battery is good;
If I will repair the v-power I will use it; even if it give only 15 AH;

 

[kentlim26]

Hi, mihai_atanasiu

Do you have a watts up meter. I will like to know, 36v 350watts motor In take power. what is the maximum peak watts/ peak amper for the 36v 350watts. ? Do you know ? i will like to know. this is a very important information, as i have few friends is using a 36v 250watts or 350watts. he ask me ?- How far he can go ? I don't know how to answer him. i can only Guess and tell him a answer. i hope you have a watts up meter/ turnigy meter anaylser to put more information 36v 350watts.

im doing a community work for here too.

thank you
kentlim

 

[mihai_atanasiu]

yes, I have a watt meter; the maximum 14.5 A; the mileage is about 0.25 - 0.33 AH/km; this is tested in many rides;
the bike is 35 kg and with me is about 120 kg;
With the new Ping battery I made a ride of 44 km with a 13.8 AH;
I also want to repair the vPower and test it; maybe it will work;